CA2241905A1 - System and method for managing a telecommunications network - Google Patents

Abstract

System and method for managing telecommunications networks. The state of network elements is managed by associating and correlating network events across many different network domains. Network elements include tangible elements, such as hardware and equipment, and non-tangible elements, such as customers, countries, and services. By incorporating an inferencing engine or expert system, sources of network problems are inferred, impacts of network events are assessed, and corrective actions are recommended.

Description

CA 0224l905 1998-06-26 W O 97/24838 PCTrUS96/20280 System and Method for lVl~n~in~ a Telecommunications Network ~ Background of the Invention 1. Field of the ~nvention The present invention relates generally to telecommunications network management. More particularly, the present inventions relates to a system and method for state-management of network elements that incorporates the irnpact of network events from ~lirrelel~- domains of the network.

2. R~ Art Commercial teleco.,.~ mi~tion~ networks must function plo~.ly in any environment or contlitinn to s~lcc~c~fillly deliver clletomer traffic. However, due to their wide geographical coverage and technically complex nature, telecommunications n~lwc,.k~ are vulnerable to frequent traffic-impz~eting I S problems.
Telecollllllunications network management personnel must monitor several sources of network data. These data represent various network events, such as fiber cuts, switch outages, and call blockage. Often, several dirr~ datafrom di~ L sources may be generated as a result of the same, single event. It is difficult for network management personnel to piece together these di~ le data and arrive at a conclusion regarding the cause of such events. It is also difficult for them to analyze these disparate data to dt;l~ e the current state of the network.

CA 0224190~ 1998-06-26 W 097/24838 PCT~US96/20280 A~c~ ,ly,teleco..~...l...i(~.~tionsnclwulksrequiresophisticatednetwork management ~y~Lellls to provide visibility to the condition of the entire network and any problems that occur, such as fiber cuts and sv~itch outages. These systems must also enable network management personnel to quickly analyze the S problem and ~l~t~nnine the optimal solution for r~storing traffic. In order to meet these objectives, a telecommunications network management system must perform several functions. Such a system would monitor network events, associate related events with each other, infer possible root causes of events, determine impact of events in terms of customer traffic, present the current state ofthe network, and recommen~ lu~l;ate actions.
However, conventional telecommunications network management systems do not meet these objectives. Conventional telec~ tions network m~n~gem~nt systems monitor alarms and report when an alarm is triggered. Such alarms may in~lic~t~ that noise levels or blocked calls have exceeded a preset threshold,orthataco.. ;r.~tionslinkhasbeenbroken. Networkmanagement p~;lsol~-el must then correlate these disparate alarms and infer the source of the problem, such as a fiber cut or switch outage. Network management personnel must then ~l~tP.1~nin~ a solution from their irlrelcnce, and take a~plu~liate action.
These collv~ ional teleco.. ~ ic~tions network management systems have many shortcomings since they do little more than report events. They do not present the current state of the network or how that state has recently ch~n~e-1 Conventional telecommllnic~tions network management systems represent the network only as a collection of physical elements, such as switches and multiplexing equipment.
~Conventional telec.. -.. ications network management systems are also subject to systemic errors that may produce anomalous results. This is due to the fact that actions of conventional systems are based on receipt of a sequence of alarms. For exarnple, if an alarm A is triggered by a tr~n~mi~ion failure, and the res~llfin~. blocked calls on a switch triggers an alarm B, a conventional network management system may receive alarrn B prior to receiving alarm A. In fact, CA 0224190~ 1998-06-26 numerous related alarms may be received in any order. This fact makes it difficult for a conventional system to ciçtennine if all related alarms have been received, and to then correlate related events.
Another drawback of conventional network management systems is that S they receive event information from several different sources, and then present this information in the same ~let~h~A and unrelated manner. This requires the network manager to compose the proper scenario by m~ml~lly correlating information from the dirre~ sources.
Since conventional systems are limited to l~polLillg events, they require the network manager to m~ml~l]y correlate reported events and to infer possible root problems. This requires a high level of expertise and experience on the part of the network manager. It also requires exka time for a network manager to perform these functions.
Conventional network management systems do not provide correlation that spans multiple ~1Om~in~ (i.e., k~n~mi~ion, switching, traffic). As such, they are exkemely limited in their ability to Leco~ n~1 corrective actions. Most actions needed to resolve a nclw~lk problem must therefore be suggested by the net ,vork ~ ag,~
There is thus a need for a teleco~ tions network management system that provides llclv~olk management personnel with an integrated view of the current state of the network, that correlates related network events, and that recomm~on~le corrective action.

W O 97/24838 PCT~US96/20280 ~umm~ry of the Inven~ion The present invention is a system and method for m~n~ging telecommunications networks. The present invention manages the state of network elements by associating and correlating network events across many different network ~1Om~inc The network elements include not only network hh..lw~ and equiI~m~nt, but also non-tangible elements such as customers, countries, and services. In addition to correlating network events, the present invention infers sources of problems, assesse, impacts of net~,vork events, and provides l~,coll"llendations based on network state ch~ngec.
In one aspect of the invention, a method for m~n~ging a telecomm--nications network is provided. In this method, a network object ~l~t~qb~ce is ...~;..I~;.,e~l The network object rl~t~h~ce is made up of networkobjects, each corresponding to a network element. Each network object is defined by a set of attributes. The value of each attribute represents the current state of the corresponding network element When network i~ (network event information or nclw~lh topology information) is received, network ob~ects impacted by the inforlnation are identified as impacted network objects. The impacted attributes are also identified. The impacted network objects colle~ond to network elementc imp~ctecl by the network information. The values of the imp~cte~l attributes are changed in a network object ~1~t~h~ce to reflect the impact of the network information. In this manner, the current state of the impacted network elements is updated with a state change. The current and updated state of the network elements is provided to a network management wulk~l~lion.
The network object fl~t~h~ee may be m~int~inPcl by m~ inill~ a network topology object ~l~t~b~ce that contains the network objects; a call dataobject ~l~t~h~ce that contains call data objects that correspond to data contained in call data records; and a traffic metric objects ~l~f~h~ce that contains network traffic objects that c~ ~ond to network traffic data. The network objects in the CA 0224190~ 1998-06-26 W 097/24838 PCTnUS96/20Z80 network topology object ~l~t~b~e may include network hardware objects that correspond to haldw~e elements of the network, and network route objects that correspond to network routes.
In a further aspect of the invention, the method includes ~iet~rmining whether a state change is a significant state change. For each significant statechange, an expert system rule may be applied to produce an ~es~ment of the significant state change.
In yet a further aspect of the invention, a system for m~n~E~inp a telecommllnic~tions network is provided. The system includes a network management workstation for displaying a network state. The system also includes a network inforrnation receiving and processing means communicating with the workstation for receiving and processing information affecting the network state. The network infi~rm~tion receiving and proc~ing means provides ~yardlus for implement~tion of the methods of the present invention.
Fea~ures and Advantages One feature of the present invention is that it provides the current state of the network, as well as historical (recent but past) states.
A further feature of the present invention is that the network is .G~lc;,cl-ted as con~i~ting of customers, countries, services, and other non-tangible network çl~ment~, in addition to the physical or hardware elements such as switches and multiplexing eq lipm~-nt This feature enables the present invention to determinecustomer and service impacts, as well as impacts to network hardware.
It is yet a fi~rther feature of the present invention that an inferencing engine is provided to correlate events, to infer possible causes of such events, and to recommend actions to be taken in response to such events.
An advantage of the present invention is that, by ms-n~ging the state of the network, it associates and correlates network events across dir~clGllt network W O 97/24838 PCTnUS96120280 ~l- m~in~. Such d- m~in~ in~ cle, but are not limited to, tr~n~ s~ion~ switching, customer traffic, and network routing.
A further advantage of the present invention is that improved temporal reasoning is realized by presentin~ the state of the network with every event.
S Instead of ~ Lillg to correlate sequential events after they have been non-sequentially reported, the present invention correlates state changes of networkelements based on progr~mme(l heuristics. This elimin~tes the need to properly sequence alarrns and events.
Another advantage of the present invention is that inforrnation from various sources is ~Jleselll~d in a manner that provides an integrated view of the current state of the entire network. For example, all information regarding any element that is part of a particular nc~Lw~lk route is prese~te-l as a single row in a table.

Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention is described with reference to the accom~ ,yi.lg drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference nurnber first appears.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram that illustrates the three-tiered network management hierarchy implementecl by the system and method of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a high-level block diagram illu~t~dtillg the system architecture of the present invention;
FIG. 3 shows a more detailed block diagram of the system architecture of FIG. 2;

W O 97124838 PCTrUS96120280 FIG. 3a shows an ~ltern~tive embodiment for aNetwork Topology Obiect Database of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a proeess flowchart illustrating the operation of the present invention, using an example of a typical fiber cut;
FIG. 5 shows a process flowchart illustrating the operation of the present invention, using an example of call blockage on a switched trunk;
E~'IG. 5a shows a process flowchart illustrating the operation of an ~It~rn~tf~ embodiment of the present invention, using an example of call blockage on a switched trunk;
FIG. 6 shows a screen print of a network management workstation display: The screen print contains a sample data table that shows the present state of a network, including correlated recent events;
FIG. 7 shows another screen print of a ~ w~lk management workstation display that has been sorted by country code;
FIG. 8 shows an Object Oiagram generally depicting objects for an object tz~h~e suitable for use in the present invention;
FIG. 9shows a table ~lefinin~ a switch object class;
FIG. 10 shows a table defining a customer obiect class;
FIG. 11 shows a table defining a country object elass;
FIG. 12 shows a table defining an 800 service obiect class; and li'IG. 13 shows an exemplary eomputer system for use in the network m~n~gf~m~nt system of the present invention.

Det~iled Description of the Embodiments 1. Overview The present invention is a system and method for msm~inp;
teleeommllnic~tions networks, partieularly eircuit-switehed networks. The CA 0224190~ 1998-06-26 W 097/24838 PCTrUS96/20280 present invention provides enh~n~e~l inferencing and correlation flm~tinn~ not found in conventional systems. In contrast to the "event" management of conventional network management systems, the present invention manages the "state" of the network. As used herein, "state" refers to a set of circllm~t~nre~ or attributes characterizing a network element (or its corresponding object) at a g;ven time, i.e., the condition of the network element. A network element's state can be a simple, boolean value (e.g., in-service or out-of-service), or it can be more complex (e.g., in-service, but service is degraded). State can be current (e.g., a trunk group's Answer/Seizure Ratio for the last five minute reporting period) or historical (e.g., a list of key traffic mca~ul.,nlents for that trunk group for the last 24 hours). Expert system rules that correlate events, infer sources of problems, assess imp~ct~, and provide Icc~.. nen~l~tions aretriggered by network state changes.
The present invention pc.rw..ls these functions by implemçnting a three-tiered network management hierarchy. The bottom tier is static and represents a model of the network. It provides nrtl~t~cl network topology information. The middle tier is dynamic and lc~,lesc..L~ state management of the modeled net~,vork.
It provides visibility to the current conditions of the network that is modeled in the bottom tier. The top tier consists of enhanced functions and intelligence. It 2~ provides analysis, reporting, inference, presentation, and recommendations for actions.
In a first and preferred embodiment, the inferencing and correlation capabilities are performed by an expert system. The expert system perforrns thisfunction by applying rules, and graphically ~lcsell~ the results in a number of ways, e.g., ~.h~ngin~ color of a route on a map or illustrating a line or bar graph.
In an ~ltPrn~t~ embofliml nt expert system rules are not applied. Rather, a sweep of a networ}c object database is p~ ollned at regular intervals. This sweep identifies: (1) significant state changes of network element objects;
(2) potentially impacted network elements using predefined relationships among CA 0224190~ 1998-06-26 WO 97/24838 PCTtUS96120280 the objects in the network object ~l~t~b~ee; and (3) impacts to the related obiects.
The impacts to the network elements are reported as a table of correlations.
State management is realized by modeling each network element as an object within an object ~l~t~h~ce A network object c~ onds to a network S element. As used herein, a "network element" ;ncludes, but is not limited to, non-tangible elements, such as customers, countries, and services, and tangible elements such as network hardware elements (e.g., switches and multiplexing equiprrient). As event information is received by the system of the present invention, a~r ~ ;ate attributes of impacted objects are changed to reflect the change of state of that object. The current state of the network is then presented to the user on regular intervals, as significant state changes occur, or on userdem~ncl Impacts of these events, such as customer outages or blocked traffic routes, can also be ~lete~mined and pres~nte-1 The system of the present invention also has the ability to present impacts of network controls and corrective actions immet1i~tely after they are implemented.
The present invention allows ll~.w~lk management personnel to monitor and analyze various data collected from several ~lirrelelll sources of the network that is presented in a simple, integrated fashion. It provides s~ntc-m~ted functions that were previously done ms~nl-~lly, such as correlating network events and inferring possible causes of such events. The present invention achieves these results by presenting the state of the network, and how that state changes with events, rather than just reporting the occurrence of the events.

2. System D_s~ ,lion With reference to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown that illustrates the three-tiered network management hierarchy implemented by the system and method of the present invention. The bottom filntl~m~ nts~l tier is a static network topology tier 102 that contains a model of the entire network. Tier 102 providesstatic information regarding the topology and design of the network. Although WO 97/24838 PCTrUS96/2028U

this information is static in relation to network events, it is updated regularly as the topology of the network changes.
A middle dynamic state management tier 104 is built over network topology tier 102. Srate management tier 104 consists of dynamic information S relating to events that occur in or impact the network. The present invention reflects changes in state of various elements of the network through state management tier 104. State management tier 104 also provides visibility to the current state of the entire network. The implement~ti--n of state management tier 104 marks a ci~nific~nt difference from the event management of conventional network management systems.
A top intelligenre, analysis, and reporting tier 106 is built over the middle state management tier 104. Tier 106 provides analysis and reporting based on changes in the state of the network. Analysis consists of such çnh~nre-l functions as event correlation and inference of the cause of events.
Turning now to FIC;. 2, a high-level block ~ gr~m is shown that ill~Ll~L~s the arrhitec~lre of the present invention. The components of a systemarclf,~e~iLurt 208 are ~l.c~ p~cse~l by the broken line. A network to be managedby the system and method of the present invention is shown generally as elem~nt 202. Network Fault Information 204 and Network P~;;lrv~ ce Tnform~tion 206 are collected fromNetwork 202 by conventional mech~nicmc apparent to one of skill in the relevant art. Network Fault Information 204 refers to alarms, outages, and other problems. Network Performance Inforrnation 206 refers to ~affic loads, call data, exceeded thresholds, and other data reflecting the performanceof Network 202.
Network Fault Information 204 and Network Performance Info~nation 206 are fed to a Network Object Database 214 that is part of system ar~ .hitectllre 208. Network Object Database 214 is built from objects rather than records.
Each object corresponds to or ,.~lesellt~ a network element, such as a switch, customer, country or service.

CA 0224190~ 1998-06-26 WO 97/24838 PCT/US96/2028(~

FIG. 8 shows an Object Diagram from a C-~nl~ule~ Aided Systems Fn~in~çrin~ tool (Paradigm Plus, Protosoft) that generally depicts obiects for an - object ~l~t~b~ce suitable for use in the present invention. A ~ ;~lled object fl~t~h:-~e that may be used is a Versant object ~l~t~h~ee One example of a specific object definition is shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows a table defining a class of objects entitled "switch." A switch object is a network hardware objectthat corresponds to a ha dw~c element of the network, particularly a stored program m~rhin~, such as a co~ ulel, that connects and determin~s the routing of calls. FIG. 9 shows how switch objects relate to other network elements and their corresponding objects. As shown in FIG. 9, the switch class is a subclass of "Equipment." The definition also includes a set of attributes (e.g., "vendor"or "model nurnber"). The behavior component of this object class is i~lentifi~clby the operations ("set" and "get"). The relationships with other objects are also icl~ntifie~l (e.g., "Trunk Group" and "Port"3.
As another example, FIG. 10 shows a table defining a class of obiects entitled "cllstomex." A cll~tomer object corresponds to a non-tangible network element, particularly an entity that uses services. As shown in FIG. 10, the customer class is a superclass of other classes (e.g., "Residential" or "GeneralBusiness"). FIG. 10 illustrates the relationship and attribute definition for cll~tom~r objects. For example, a customer object has "name" and "customer id"
attributes. A cll~tom~or object relates to "Service", "Ol~ on"~ and "Country"
objects. A "Counky" class of objects is defined in the table shown in FIG. 11.
FIG. 11 shows the relationship to customer obiects.
An example of a service class of objects is shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 shows a table defining a class of objects entitled "800 Service" in which the called party is the billable customer. The 800 Service class is a subclass of "Service" that relates to "Customer" objects. FlG. 12 illuskates the relationship and attribute definition for 800 Service objects.
Each object is defined by a set of attributes, the values of which reflect the current state of the corresponding network element. As event inforrnation is W O 97/24838 PCT~US96120280 received from Network 202, network elem~nt~ that are impacted by the event (impacted network elements) are identifiecl by their colle~.ol1ding object as impz~cte~l net~,vork objects. Appropriate attributes of each object are identified as imp~ct~l attributes. The values of imp~qcterl attributes are then changed to reflect the impact of the event. The changed attributes then represent the updated current state of that object. This process of identifying impacted network objects and ch~nginp the values of impsl~te-1 attributes is represented in dynamic state management tier 104 shown in FIG. 1.
Referring again to FIG. 2, Network Object Database 214 is populated with input from a Network D~t~bz-ee7 shown generally at 210. This ~i~t~ ce is a conventional source of data that an enterprise uses to build its network. Network ~l~t~h~ce 210 cont~in~ data that l~?les~.l the current topology, structure, routing, and capacity of the net~,vork. These data are fed to Net~,vork Object Database 214 via a Database Server 212. A pl~r. Iled ~l~tAh~e server for use with the presentinvention is a Sybase OMNI SQL Server. The data are processed to represent each element as an object, which is then entered into Network Object Database 214. Data is periodically provided to Network Object Database 214 to m~int~in a current view of network topology. This process of updating network objects to m~int~in a current view of network topology and arrhitectllre is ~ se~ d in static net~,vork topology tier 102 shown in FIG. 1.
An Inferencing Engine 218 CO~ icates with Network Object Database 214 to provide intelligence capabilities. A particularly preferred Inferencing Engine 218 is Talarian's RTWorks Expert System. Inferencing Engine 218 is prograrnmed with rules and heuristics that are used to induce and deduce resultsof events that are input to Network Object Database 214. This provides the inferencing and correlation capabilities of the present invention. As imp~te~l attributes are changed in response to events, a change in state to coll~s~ondingelements is registered. If such a state change is deemed .~i~nific~.~nt, a notification message is issued to InfelGn~ g Engine 218. This notification message triggers rules in Inferencing Engine 218 that are applied to perform enhanced functions.

W O 97/24838 PCT~US96/20280 These functions include event correlation, impact ~e~;~. . .ents, problem inference, and action recommçn(l~tion. These intelligence functions are Ic~lese"ted in - intelligence, analysis, and reporting tier 106 shown in FIG. 1.
Processed data, reflecting recent ~istorical) and current states of network S elements, are collected by a Pl~,s~ ion Manager 216. These data are f(~ tt~-l into tables, graphs, or maps that show the correlation of events. The data are l"~ d to a Network Management Workstation 220 for presçnt~tion and display. Network management personnel who use workstation 220 can then view current and previous states of the entire network.
FIG. 3 shows a more dets.iled block ~ m of the system alcl~ile~;lulc; of FIG. 2. Net~,vork Object Database 214 shown in FIG. 2 is comprised of three obiect ~l~t~b~e~ The three object ~l~tS~b~es shown in FIG. 2 for Net~,vork Object Database 214 are illll~LIdLiv~, and the present invention is not limited to use of such databases for Network Object Database 214. It ;s to be understood that Network Object Database 214 could contain any number of other object ~t~b~ce~ The first is a Network Topology Object Database 318 that contains objects that represent network elçm~nt~ The attributes of each object represent the present state of the network element corresponding to that object. These attributes are changed by events that are received by Network Object Database 214. As shown in FIG. 3, such events include Network Alarms 306 and Network Outage Information 308. This information is collected from Network 202 and input to a Network Event Parser 314.
Network Event Parser 314 serves as a gateway for event data. Network Event Parser 314 parses and formats the data to be uploaded to Network Topology Object D~t~b~e 318. This ensures that objects that are irnp~cted by a certain event are adequately identified, and that the a~ropl;ate attributes ofeach imp~.ted object are properly updated.
As an ~hern~tive embodiment, Network Topology Object Database 318 may be partitioned into two databases, as shown in FIG. 3a. A Network Topology Object Database 318a contains objects and obJect relationships W 097124838 PCTrUS96/20280 identifying each network element and its relationship to other elements. A
Network State Object Database 318b contains Network State Objects representing the dynamic state of each network element. Each network element object in Network Topology Object Database 318a is linked to a network state object in Network State Object Database 318b, which provides the culTent state of that network element ~ach network state object is defined by a set of networkstate attributes that ~ ;selll the dynamic state of the corresponding network object. As an exarnple, an object lc~ sc~ network element Trunk Group 1234 is c~ ntz-int~1 in Network Topology Object Database 318a. Attributes of this object may include switch/port #1 i~1~ntifier, switch/port #2 identifier, nurnber of circuits, and type of service supported by the Trunk Group. Also contained within this object is a pointer to a state object contained within Network StateObject Database 318b. This state object may include an attribute whose value indicates Trunk Group 1234 is currently experiencing complete blockage on 75%
of its circuits.
The second obiect ~ b~e that makes up Network Object Database 214 is a Call Data Object Database 316. Call Data Object Database 316 collects Network Call Data Records 304 from Network 202 and converts them into call data objects. Call Data Records are also referred to as Call Detail Records (CDR). CDR data, such as oriPinz-tin~. ANIs ~Automatic Number It1entifiers) and service types, builds and modifies call data s lmm~ objects in Call Data Object Database 316. These call data summary objects are linked to network element objects in Net ,vork Topology Object Database 318 via pre-defined relationships.These relationships provide an association between net~,vork elementc and CDR-based performance data that pertain to the associated network elements.
The third object ~1~t~h~ce that makes up Network Object Database 214 is a Traffic Metrics Object Database 320. Traffic Metrics Object Databace 320 collects Network Traffic Statistics 310 that originate on Network 202 and converts them into network traffic objects. These statistics represent customer traffic loads on each trunk and switch in the network. They reflect the W O 97/24838 PCT~US96/20280 performance of the network, and include such data as call attempts, call completions, call blocking percentages, kunk utilization and switch lltili7~tion.
Network kaffic objects are related to network element objects in Network Topology Object Database 318. These relationships provide an assoc;ation between network elements and network kaffic statistics to reflect the impact of network kaffic on the associated network elements.
Network Database 210 is partitioned into a Network Topology Database 322 and a Network Routing Database 324. Network Topology Database 322 contains data that specify the skucture, topology, architecture, and capacity ofNetwork 202. Net~,vork Routing Database 324 contains data that specify logical routes and paths of kaffic~ as well as connections to various clestin~tions. Thedata of Network Topology Database 322 and Network Routing Database 324 are periodically input to Network Topology Object Database 318 via Database Server 212. For example, as changes to the design of Network 202 are impl~mentP~l, the data in Network Topology Database 322 and Network Routing Database 324 are changed to reflect the new design. These data are then fed via Database Server 212 to Network Topology Object Database 318. Network Topology Object Database 318 updates imp~ctecl attributes of objects imp~ctecl by the design change. This m~int:~in~ a current view of network topology.
One example of Inferencing Engine 218 is an Expert System 326. Expert System 326 interfaces with Network Topology Object Database 318 to provide the filn-~.ti~n~ that con~itlltt~ intelligence tier 106. Expert System 326 reads state changes from Network Topology Object Database 318. Based on these state changes, Expert System 326 applies ayy~ dle rules that correlate various events and infer possible root causes of events to produce an ~ses~ment of the events.
The ~cses~ment, C~ i..i"g the results of such correlation and inference, is provided to Plcsenl~tion Manager 216 to format for y.l s~ n. Expert System 326 can also provide a .~collllnendation on corrective action or network conkolsto Network Topology Object Database 318, and can then monitor the impact of such controls to determine when to remove them. The impact of such W O 97/24838 PCT~US96/20280 rec- mm~nclç-1 corrective actions are applied to impacted objects. The resultingstate changes are then provided to Presentation Manager 216 to format for presentation.
As an ~It~rn~tive to using Expert System 326, correlation may be performed by a~-litin~ Network Topology Object Database 318, or Network State Object Database 318b if that embodiment is used, at periodic intervals. This audit is performed to identify ~i~nific~nt ~~h~ng~:s in the state of network element objects. If such a significant state change is identified, all related network elements are then identified via pre-defined n~lwulk element object relationships.
These relationships are defined and m~int~ine~l in Network Topology Object Database 318, and are based on actual ll~;lwolk topology. Impacts to states of the related network elementc are then acsçsse-l and changes in states of all relatednetwork elements are correlated and reported to the user via a table of correlations.
Presentation Manager 216 receives data from Expert System 326 and from each of ~l~t~h~ces 316, 318, and 320. These data ~ ,les~.lt updated states of Network 202, network events, network pc~rollll~lce, correlation of events, inferred causes of events, impacts of events, and recommended actions.
Presentation Manager 216 formats these data into tables, graphs, or maps so thatthey are presented to a user, such as network management personnel, in a clear and useful manner. Presentation Manager 216 provides the formatted data to Network Management Workstation 220, for viewing by network management p~ ollllel. For ~mplt~, assume a DS-3 outage event occurs, and several alarms are received that are correlated to that DS-3 outage event. This network event information is received and processed, and the data formatted so that the DS-3 outage event, all correlated events, and all impacted network elements are cs~ t;d as correlated. This presentation may be as a table with correlated events appearing on a single row, as a bar or line graph ~ sellling the impacts of correlated events, as a route map showing correlated events in specific colors or p~ , or other methods apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts. This -W O 97/24838 PCTrUS96nO280 allows the user to see all reported and filtered events related to the DS-3 outage event. This assists network management personnel in det~rminin~ the iate controls and corrective action.
An example of a screen print of a network management workstation display is shown in FIG. 6. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, Expert System 326 is not used. Rather, event correlation is performed by sweeping the network object database. The screen print contains a sample data table that shows the present state of a network, including correlated recent events. Each row in the table ~ esents a route to a specific country and cl~stin~tion switch, which are l 0 identified in the first column. Other columns represent the country code (CCode) for that country, the ori~in~tin~ switch that serves it, and a route number. Therern~in~ r of the row ~ S~ a series of st~ti~ti~s that reflect the current state of that route. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, these include:

~ this~ te D~ ~ion Route % ASR Route or Trunk Group The call attempt Answer/
Seizure Ratio (ASR) of a particular route.
Destination % ASR Switch-to-Country The ASR pe.celllage to a relationship or link country as reported by a particular switch.
Dçstin~tiQn % OVFL Switch-to-Country The traffic overflow percentage relationship or link to a country as reported by a particular switch.
Signal Failure Switch-to-Signal Point Loss of sign~lin~ capability to a relationship or 1ink remote switching center as reported by a particular switch.
B-Category EOS Route or Trunk Group The category of failure for call (End-of-Selection) ~ ~ on a route which have failed during a recent time interval.
B-Cat % Failure Route or Trunk Group The pe.cen~ge of call ~Ue;
on a route which have failed during a recent time interval.

_ W 097/24838 PCT~US96120280 . -18-,: . . ,, , . ,- ~ ,, . . :
,.................. ....... ~ ,ç~ - t ~ if iP~l lby Ele~hentStnte ~ this State ~ ~'~ nlState D~ Li~n Ckts Blocked/Total E~oute or Trunk Group The number of circuits blocked over the total number of circuits on that trunk group.
TransmissionOut DS3 Tdentifiec pa~ticularDS3 for DS3 End Point which impacts have been reported or assessed.
Transmission Out DS3 Identif;es station pair on DS3 S Break Point between which impacts have been reported or ac~essecl Type Trs~ncmicciQn Segment Identifies technology (e.g., fiber optic or digital radio) of tr~ncmicsi~n segment on which impacts have been reported or ~ccçc~e~l By placing all state data in a single row, the results of the correlation processing by the present invention is ~lese~ d to the user. This enables network management persormel to forrn~ t~ a clearer picture of what is hal~pt;"illg in aparticular portion of the network, including causes and impacts of events.
Another example of a screen print of a network management workstation display is shown in FIG. 7. In ~IG. 7, information lines have been sorted by country code. For example, all information for the United Kingdom has been grouped together, even though the information was reported by more than one gateway. This feature assists network management personnel in identifying systematic network events that impact more than one gateway, such as a transoceanic cable outage.
In the ~ltPrn~tive embodiment of the invention, in which Expert System 326 is not used, the display of network state information is refreshed every twominllt~s, "sweeping through" Network Topology Object Database 318. The state of any particular network element persists until it is cleared by a subsequent state change.

W O 97/24838 ~CTrUS96/20280 An exemplary Co~ uL~.. system 1302 for use in the network management system of the present invention is shown in FIG. 13. In a preferred embodiment computer system 1302 is an IBM RS/6000. Computer System 1302 implements System Architecture 208 by receiving and processing network information.
5Computer System 1302 provides data to Network Management Workstation 220.
Computer System 13Q2 includes one or more processors, such as processor 1304.
Processor 1304 is connected to a communication bus 1306. Computer System 1302 may ~;o~ lullicate with other simil~rly configured co~ Jul~l systems or with Network Management Workstation 220 via a network 1318.
10Co~ uL~l system 1302 also includes a main memory 1308, pler~.ably random access memory (~AM), and a secondary memory 1310. Secondary memory 1310 includes, for example, a hard disk drive 1312 and/or a removable storage drive 1314, l~lese~ g a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, a compact disk drive, etc. Removable storage drive 1314 reads from and/or writes 15to a removable storage unit 1316 in a well known manner.
Removable storage unit 1316, also called a program storage device or a computer program product, represents a floppy disk, m~gn~tic tape, compact disk,etc. As will be appreciated, removable storage unit 1316 includes a Coll,~uL~ .
usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.
20Computer programs (also called colll~?ulel control logic) are stored in main memory and/or secondary memory 1310. Such colllpul~ . programs, when executed, enable computer system 1302 to ~ rOI.ll the features of the present invention as ~ cll~se~l herein. In particular, the Co~ ult;l programs, when executed, enable processor 1304 to perform the features of the present invention.
25Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of computer system 1302.
In an alternate embodiment, the invention is directed to a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having control logic (computer software) stored therein. The control logic, when executed by W097/24838 PCTrUS96/20280 processor 1304, causes processor 1304 to perform the functions of the invention as described herein.
When network event information (such as one of the alarms in Network Alarms 306) is received, the network event information is processed to answer S three basic inquiries:
~1) what objects are imp~(~t~d by this network event information;
(2) what attributes of each impacted object are impacted by this network event information, and (3) to what value should each imp~t.tecl attribute be changed to reflect the impact of the network event information.
These same inquiries are made when network topology information is received from Network Database 210 regarding network topology and routing.
The operation of the present invention is illuskated in the following examples.

3. F-: rl~

Referring to FIG. 4, a process fl~ w-,l~ L is shown that illuskates how the present invention ~cldLes in response to a typical network event, a kiqn~mie.ci~n fiber cut. A fiber cut generates an alarm from a network that indicates which tr~nemie.eion sç~ l is out-of-service in a step 402. The alarm is generated and the associated data are provided via conventional network mech~nieme In this example, the impacted k~nemieeion segment is identified as XYZ, which may represent a segment of fiber between two optical repeaters or tcnnin~le.
When the alarrn data are received, the data are parsed by Network Event Parser 314, and an object representing the event is created in a step 404. In a step 406, the network object repres~nting k~nemi.eeion segment XYZ is located in Network Topology Object Database 318. The state of the segment XYZ is updated in a step 408. The event attributes of the event object created in step 404 are used to control the changes made to the impacted attributes of the XYZ

W O 97/24838 PCTrUS96/20280 object. By rh~nping the value of the imp~ctlo~l attributes of the XYZ object, the state of the tr~n~mi~ion seE~m~nt XYZ is changed.
In a step 410, a state filter is used to determine if the state change of tr~n~mi~ion segment XYZ is significant enough to report. This process S elimin~t~s l~l.ul Ling of several trivial events that may occur, such as a negligible increase in call blockage. The state filter of step 410 may be implt-.ment~-1 through rimin~tjon rules in Network Topology Object Database 318. Such discrimination rules are included in the obiect definition or registration. For .ox~mple in the cl~finition of a network route object that corresponds to a network route, a rule can be written to notify if a route attribute changes. Alternatively, a discrimin~tion rule can be written to notify only if the route attribute changes in a particular way, i.e., a si~nific~nt state change. Alternatively, the state filter of step 410 may be implf~ r(~ through rules cont~in~tl in Inferencing Engine 218, or Expert System 326.
If the state filter ~lettormin~s the state change is not significant, the process ends as indicated in a step 412, and the state change does not get reported or ~ses~e-l If the state filter ~et~,..i..~s the state change is significant, the process proceeds to a step 414, in which a notification message of the XYZ state change is ~ llrrl This message defines howthe state of XYZ was eh~ngç~1 so that the impact can be determined. In a step 416, the state change notification message is queued. A message manager reads the notification message from the queue, and forwards it to Expert System 326 in a step 418.
In a step 420, Expert System 326 reads the notification message and applies the ~I-propliate rules to assess the impact of the state change, as well as to as oclate or corrç!ate this st~e çha~ge with other state changes. These rules, as applied by Expert System 326, are based on pro~r~mmP~I heuristics that definehow network entities are related, how they are impacted by various events, and how they behave. In this particular example, Expert System 326 applies or carries out the rules identified in steps 422-428. Expert System 326 ex~min~s the links in Network Topology Object Database 318 between tr~n~mis~ion segment W 097/24838 PCT~US96/20280 XYZ and each ofthe switched trunks to ~l~t~rmin~ which :jwil~,hcd trunks traverse segment XYZ. Expert System 326 also queries the state of each switched trunk to ~let~rmine if any of them are in a blocked state. This cletf~rrninzltiQn is made in a step 422 to identify switched trunks that may be blocked as a result of the fiber cut in tr~n~mi~ion segment XYZ.
If no switched trunks in a blocked state are found to traverse segment XYZ, the process ends as indicated in a step 424. However, if such trunks are found, they are identified in a step 426, i.e., identify all switched trunks in a blocked state that traverse segment XYZ. These data are presented via Present~tion Manager 216 to notify the users of the determine~l correlation between the XYZ segmçnt outage and the blocked trunks, as indicated in a step 428.
The process of FIG. 4 illustrates how the present invention correlates network events. In step 420, the state of each switched trunk in Network Topology Object D~t~b~e 318 is queried to ~ietP~nine which trunks are being blocked. This query is n~cç~ry to correlate the XYZ tr~n~mi~ion segment outage to blocked trunks.
A further example of how the present invention correlates network events through state management is provided in FIG. 5. The process of identifying blocked trunks and correlating them to a tr~n~mi~sion outage is illustrated in FIG. 5.
When a certain threshold of trunk blockage is ~xcee-le-l a network switch generates an alarm indicating trunks on a trunk group are blocked, as shown in a step 502. The alarm is generated and the associated data are provided via conventional network mech~ni~m~. In this particular example, the trunk group experiencing blockage is identified as 123 for illustrative purposes.
When the alarm data are received, the data are parsed by Network Event Parser 314, and an object repr~senting the event is created in a step 504. In a step ~06, the network object representing trunk group 123 is located in Network Topology Object Database 318. The state of the trunk group 123 is updated in CA 0224l905 l998-06-26 W O 97/24838 PCT~US96/20280 a step 508. The event attributes of the event object created in step 504 are used to control the changes made to the impacted attributes of the 123 object. By ch~ngin~ the impacted attributes of the 123 object, the state of the trunk group123is changed.
S In a step 510, a state filter is used to ~1ett~rtnine if the state change of trunk group 123 is significant enough to report. lnis process elimin~tes repo~ing of several trivial events that may occur, such as a negligible increase in call blockage. In a manner similar to that of step 410, the state filter of step 510 may be implemented through discrimin~tion rules in Network Topology Object Database 318, Inferencing Engine 218, or Expert System 326.
If the state filter ~lett~rmines the state change is not signi~iC~r~, the process ends as indicated in a step 512, and the state change does not get reported or :~eee5ee~1 If the state filter clet~nin~e the state change is significant, the process proceeds to a step 514, in which a notification message of the 123 state change is generated. This mees~e defines how the state of 123 was changed so that the impact can be determined. In a step 516, the state change notification message is queued. A message manager reads the notification message from the queue, and forwards it to Expert System 326 in a step 518. The process up to this pointparallels the one illustrated in FIG. 4.
In a step 520, Expert System 326 reads the notification message and applies the dpplo~l;dl~ rule to assess the impact ofthe state change, as well as to associate or correlate this state change with other state ch~ng~e In this example, one of these other state changes may be the tr~nemiesion outage identified in FIG. 4.
As in FIG.4, the rules applied by Expert System 326 in step 520 are based on pro~,l~.".~ed heuristics that define how network entities are related, how they are imp~ctec~ by various events, and how they behave. In this particular example, Expert System 326 applies or carries out the rules ;dentified in steps 522-528.
Expert System 326 t x~mincs the links in Network Topology Object Database 318 between trunk group 123 and each of the tr~nemieeion segm~nt.~ that trunk group W 097/24838 PCTrUS96/20280 123 traverses. Expert System 326 also queries the state of each tr~nemieeion segment to ~1etermine if any of them are in an out-of-service state. This tion is made in a step 522. If no segmente are found to be in a state of degraded service, the process ends as indicted in a step 524.
If a problem is found on any tr~nemieeion segment traversed by trunk group 123, the segment is identified in a step 526. These data are presented viaPresent~tion Manager 216 to notify the users of the detPrmined correlation between the trunk group 123 blockage and the degraded or out-of-service state of each tr~nemieeinn, as indicated in a step S28.
The difference in the processes of FIGs. 4 and 5 ;llustrates one advantage of the present invention, i.e., its ability to perform event correlation withoutregard to the domain from which the notifications are received. For example, in FIG. 4, notification (step 402) is received from the tr~nemieeion domain, while in FIG. 5, notification (step 502) is received from a dirr.,.~l~ domain (switching).
Although notification is received from different domains, the same event correlation is ~"ro~ ed (steps 4261428 and steps 526l528).
FIG. Sa illustrates how events are correlated without the use of Expert System 326, as can be done in an alternative embodiment of the present invention. The process c~l~es the same as in FIG. 5 through step 508, in which the object le~lc;s~l-lil,g the state of Trunk Group 123 is updated in accordance~,vith the Event Object. In a step 509, Network Topology Object Database 318 is ex~mined to identify all Network Element Objects which have a defined relationship with the Trunk Groupl23 object. Network elements are related via their actual network topology, and these relationships are represented by objectlinkage within Network Topology Object Database 318. In this example, related network elements will include the various tr~nemieeion segmente that Trunk Group 123 traverses.
In a step 511, the State Objects that are linked to each Network Element Object examined in step 509 are themselves examined to detect any change in W O 97/24838 PCTrUS96/20280 element state. These State Objects represent the state of Network Element Ob~ects.
The ~x~min~tion of Network Topology Object Database 318 that occurs in step 509 is per~ormed for all Network Flemtqnt Objects that have been updated.
The related Network Element Objects for each such updated Network Element Object are identified and ~xAmin~fl in step 509. The State Objects for each suchrelated Network Element Objects are then exAmine~l in step 511. This eXAminAtion of Network Topology Object Database 318 is performed at regular periodic intervals. Thus, in a step 513, the process that occurs in steps 509 and Sll repeats; the process loop formed by steps 509, 511, and 513 runs continuously. The example illustrated in ~IG. Sa uses processing on Trunk Group 123 as a single example.
If any state change of Trunk Group 123-related network elements is detected in step 511, then in a step 515 it is d~tennined if there is a problem related to any trAn~mi~ion segment that was e~mint~l1 in steps 509 and 511.
Again, the use of "trAn~mi~ion segment" is for the example of Trunk Group 123.
Such an exAmin~tion and ~1et.orminAtion is yc~r(J~ ed for all updated Network Element Objects and related Network Element Objects.
If a problem with a related trAn~mi~sion segment is detecte.-l in step 515, then in a step 517 the association between the Trunk Group 123 blockage and the trAn~mi~ion segment problem is presented to the user. This presentation is via Presentation Manager 216 and Network Management Workstation 220. The association may be presented in a number of ways, such as a table of corre1~tion~-If no problem is tletçcte~l in step 51~, then no such preSçntAtion is made, and this segment of the process ends in a step 519. Of course, the process loop .c~i~sc-lled in steps 509, 511, and 513 executes continuously.

W O 97/24838 PCTrUS96/20280 4. Co~ ion While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. The present invention can be used to manage networks S of any scale, e.g., ~l~mesfic, regional, inttornz2tional, global, etc. The present invention can also be configured for standards-based exchange using such standards as Open-Systems I~ .,omlection (OSI) or Telecommunication Management Network (TMN). The present invention is not limited to management of a telecollllllullications net~,vork, and can be used in other industries. For example, the present invention could be used in the fin~nr,i~l services industry. The present invention could be used, for example, to monitor credit card usage and provide notification for a pattern of llmlell~l credit card usage. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embo-1iment~, but should be defined only in accordance ~,vith the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims (43)

What Is Claimed Is:

1. A method for managing a telecommunications network, comprising:
(1) maintaining a network object database comprising a plurality of network objects, wherein each of said network objects corresponds to at least one of a plurality of network elements, said plurality of network elements includingtangible network elements and non-tangible network elements, wherein each of said network objects is defined by a set of attributes, each of said attributes having a value that represents a current state of the corresponding network element;
(2) receiving network event information from a plurality of network domains, (3) identifying each of said network objects that is impacted by said network event information as impacted network objects, wherein said impacted network objects correspond to impacted network elements;
(4) identifying each of said attributes of said impacted network objects that is impacted by said network event information as impacted attributes;
(5) changing the value of said impacted attributes to reflect the impact of said network event information, thereby updating the current state of said impacted network elements to incorporate a state change and correlating network event information from at least one of said network domains with state changes in said at least one of said network domains and other ones of said network domains; and (6) providing data reflecting the current state of said network elements and the updated current state of said impacted network elements to a network management workstation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (1) further comprises:

(a) maintaining a network topology object database containing said network objects;
(b) maintaining a call data object database containing a plurality of call data objects, wherein each of said call data objects is defined by a set of call data attributes that correspond to data contained in network call data records; and (c) maintaining a traffic metrics object database containing a plurality of network traffic objects, wherein each of said network traffic objects is defined by a set of network traffic attributes that corresponds to network traffic data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein step (2) further comprises:
(a) parsing said network event information to identify an event; and (b) creating an event object defined by a set of event object attributes that corresponds to said event.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:
(c) repeating steps (a) and (b) for each event contained in said network event information.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said network event information comprises network alarms and network outage information.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said event object attributes are used in step (5) to change the value of said impacted attributes to update the current state of said impacted network elements.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein said call data attributes are used in step (5) to change the value of said impacted attributes to update the current state of said impacted network elements.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein said network traffic attributes are used in step (5) to change the value of said impacted attributes to update the current state of said impacted network elements.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said call data attributes and said network traffic attributes are used in step (5) to change the value of said impacted attributes to update the current state of said impacted network elements.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein said network objects in said network topology object database comprise:
network customer objects defined by a set of network customer attributes that correspond to network customers;
network country objects defined by a set of network country attributes that correspond to countries served by the network; and network service objects defined by a set of network service attributes that correspond to services performed by the network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said network objects in said network topology object database further comprise:
network hardware objects defined by a set of network hardware attributes that correspond to hardware elements of the network.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said network objects in said network topology object database further comprise:
network route objects defined by a set of network route attributes that correspond to network routes.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(7) for each of said impacted network elements, determining whether said state change is a significant state change; and (8) sending a notification message to said network management workstation for each significant state change.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
(7) receiving notification of a hardware change to said hardware elements of the network;
(8) identifying each of said network hardware objects that is impacted by said hardware change as impacted network hardware objects;
(9) identifying each of said network hardware attributes of said impacted network hardware objects that is impacted by said hardware change as impacted network hardware attributes;
(10) changing the value of said impacted network hardware attributes to reflect the impact of said hardware change.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
(7) receiving notification of a route change to said network routes;
(8) identifying each of said network route objects that is impacted by said route change as impacted network route objects;
(9) identifying each of said network route attributes of said impacted network route objects that is impacted by said route change as impacted network route attributes;
(10) changing the value of said impacted network route attributes to reflect the impact of said route change.

16. A method for managing a telecommunications network, comprising:
(1) maintaining a network topology object database comprising a plurality of network objects, wherein each of said network objects corresponds to at least one of a plurality of network elements, said plurality of network elements including tangible network elements and non-tangible network elements, wherein each of said network objects is defined by a set of attributes, each of said attributes having a value that represents a current state of the corresponding network element;
(2) receiving network event information from a plurality of network domains;
(3) receiving network topology information;
(4) identifying each of said network objects that is impacted by said network event information, and each of said network objects that is impacted by said network topology information, as impacted network objects, wherein said impacted network objects correspond to impacted network elements;
(5) identifying each of said attributes of said impacted network objects that is impacted by said network event information and said network topology information as impacted attributes;
(6) changing the value of said impacted attributes to reflect the impact of said network event information and said network topology information, thereby updating the current state of said impacted network elements to incorporate a state change and correlating network event information from at least one of said network domains with state changes in said at least one of said network domains and other ones of said network domains;
(7) for each of said impacted network elements, determining whether said state change is a significant state change;
(8) for each significant state change, applying an expert system rule to produce an assessment of said significant state change and providing said assessment to a network management workstation; and (9) providing data reflecting the current state of said network elements and the updated current state of said impacted network elements to the network management workstation.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
(10) maintaining a call data object database containing a plurality of call data objects, wherein each of said call data objects is defined by a set of call data attributes that correspond to data contained in network call data records, wherein said call data attributes are used in step (6) to change the value of said impacted attributes to update the current state of said impacted network elements.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
(10) maintaining a traffic metrics object database containing a plurality of network traffic objects, wherein each of said network traffic objects is defined by a set of network traffic attributes that correspond to network traffic data, wherein said network traffic attributes are used in step (6) to change the value of said impacted attributes to update the current state of said impacted network elements.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein step (2) further comprises:
(a) parsing said network event information to identify an event; and (b) creating an event object defined by a set of event object attributes that correspond to said event.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein said network objects in said network topology object database comprise:
network customer objects defined by a set of network customer attributes that correspond to network customers;
network country objects defined by a set of network country attributes that correspond to countries served by the network; and network service objects defined by a set of network service attributes that correspond to services performed by the network.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said network objects in said network topology object database further comprise:
network hardware objects defined by a set of network hardware attributes that correspond to hardware elements of the network.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said network objects in said network topology object database further comprise:
network route objects defined by a set of network route attributes that correspond to network routes.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein said network topology information comprises a hardware change to said hardware elements of the network, further comprising:
(10) identifying each of said network hardware objects that is impacted by said hardware change as impacted network hardware objects;
(11) identifying each of said network hardware attributes of said impacted network hardware objects that is impacted by said hardware change as impacted network hardware attributes;
(12) changing the value of said impacted network hardware attributes to reflect the impact of said hardware change.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein said network topology information comprises a route change to said network routes, further comprising:
(10) identifying each of said network route objects that is impacted by said route change as impacted network route objects;
(11) identifying each of said network route attributes of said impacted network route objects that is impacted by said route change as impacted network route attributes;
(12) changing the value of said impacted network route attributes to reflect the impact of said route change.

25. A system for managing a telecommunications network, comprising:
a network management workstation for displaying a network state; and network information receiving and processing means communicatively coupled to said network management workstation for receiving and processing information affecting the network state, said network information receiving and processing means comprising, database maintenance means for maintaining a network topology object database comprising a plurality of network objects, wherein each of said network objects corresponds to at least one of a plurality of network elements, said plurality of network elements including tangible network elements and non-tangible network elements, wherein each of said network objects is defined by a set of attributes, each of said attributes having a value that represents a current state of the corresponding network element, event receiving means for receiving network event information from a plurality of network domains, topology receiving means for receiving network topology information, means for identifying each of said network objects that is impacted by said network event information, and each of said network objects that is impacted by said network topology information, as impacted network objects, wherein said impacted network objects correspond to impacted network elements, means for identifying each of said attributes of said impacted network objects that is impacted by said network event information and said network topology information as impacted attributes, means for changing the value of said impacted attributes to reflect the impact of said network event information and said network topology information, thereby updating the current state of said impacted network elements to incorporate a state change and correlating network event information from at least one of said network domains with state changes in said at least one of said network domains and other ones of said network domains, means for determining whether said state change is a significant state change, means for applying an expert system rule to produce an assessment of said significant state change, means for transmitting said assessment to said network management workstation, and means for transmitting data reflecting the current state of said network elements and the updated current state of said impacted network elements to said network management workstation.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said network information receiving and processing means further comprises:
means for maintaining a call data object database containing a plurality of call data objects, wherein each of said call data objects is defined by a set of call data attributes that correspond to data contained in network call data records.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein said network information receiving and processing means further comprises:
means for maintaining a traffic metrics object database containing a plurality of network traffic objects, wherein each of said network traffic objects is defined by a set of network traffic attributes that correspond to network traffic data.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein said network information receiving and processing means further comprises:
means for parsing said network event information to identify an event; and means for creating an event object defined by a set of event object attributes that correspond to said event.

29. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for enabling a processor in a computer system to manage a telecommunications network, said computer program logic comprising:
database maintenance means for enabling the processor to maintain a network object database comprising a plurality of network objects, wherein each of said network objects corresponds to at least one of a plurality of network elements, said plurality of network elements including tangible network elementsand non-tangible network elements, wherein each of said network objects is defined by a set of attributes, each of said attributes having a value that represents a current state of the corresponding network element;
receiving means for enabling the processor to receive network event information from a plurality of network domains;
impacted network object identifying means for enabling the processor to identify each of said network objects that is impacted by said network event information as impacted network objects, wherein said impacted network objects correspond to impacted network elements;
impacted attributes identifying means for enabling the processor to identify each of said attributes of said impacted network objects that is impacted by said network event information as impacted attributes;
attribute changing means for enabling the processor to change the value of said impacted attributes to reflect the impact of said network event information, thereby updating the current state of said impacted network elements to incorporate a state change and correlating network event information from at least one of said network domains with state changes in said at least one of said network domains and other ones of said network domains; and data providing means for enabling the processor to provide data reflecting the current state of said network elements and the updated current state of saidimpacted network elements to a network management workstation.

30. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for enabling a processor in a computer- system to manage a telecommunications network, said computer program logic comprising:
database maintenance means for enabling the processor to maintain a network topology object database comprising a plurality of network objects, wherein each of said network objects corresponds to at least one of a plurality of network elements, said plurality of network elements including tangible network elements and non-tangible network elements, wherein each of said network objects is defined by a set of attributes, each of said attributes having a value that represents a current state of the corresponding network element;
event receiving means for enabling the processor to receive network event information from a plurality of network domains;
topology receiving means for enabling the processor to receive network topology information;
impacted network object identifying means for enabling the processor to identify each of said network objects that is impacted by said network event information, and each of said network objects that is impacted by said network topology information, as impacted network objects, wherein said impacted network objects correspond to impacted network elements;
impacted attribute identifying means for enabling the processor to identify each of said attributes of said impacted network objects that is impacted by said network event information and said network topology information as impacted attributes;
attribute changing means for enabling the processor to change the value of said impacted attributes to reflect the impact of said network event information and said network topology information, thereby updating the current state of said impacted network elements to incorporate a state change and correlating network event information from at least one of said network domains with state changes in said at least one of said network domains and other ones of said network domains;
state change determining means for enabling the processor to determine, for each of said impacted network elements, whether said state change is a significant state change;
rule applying means for enabling the processor to apply, for each significant state change, an expert system rule to produce an assessment of saidsignificant state change and to provide said assessment to a network management workstation; and data providing means for enabling the processor to provide data reflecting the current state of said network elements and the updated current state of saidimpacted network elements to the network management workstation.

31. The computer program product of claim 30, further comprising:
notification means for enabling the processor to generate, for each significant state change, a notification message that triggers said rule applying means to apply the appropriate expert system rule.

32. The method of claim 2, wherein step (1)(a) comprises:
(i) maintaining a network state object database containing a plurality of network state objects, wherein each of said network state objects is linked to a corresponding network object.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein each of said network state objects is defined by a set of network state attributes that represent the dynamic state of the corresponding network object.

34. The system of claim 25, wherein said network information receiving and processing means further comprises:

means for generating a notification message for said significant state change, wherein said notification message triggers said means for applying to produce said assessment of said significant state change.

35. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein said network topology object database comprises a network state object data base containing a plurality of network state objects, wherein each of said network state objects is linked to a corresponding network object.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein each of said network state objects is defined by a set of network state attributes that represent thedynamic state of the corresponding network object.

37. The method of claim 10, wherein said network customer objects have a predefined relationship to said network country objects and to said network service objects.

38. The method of claim 20, wherein said network customer objects have a predefined relationship to said network country objects and to said network service objects.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of network domains comprises transmission, switching, customer traffic, and network routing domains.

40. The method of claim 16, wherein said plurality of network domains comprises transmission, switching, customer traffic, and network routing domains.

39.1

41. The system of claim 25, wherein said plurality of network domains comprises transmission, switching, customer traffic, and network routing domains.

42. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein said plurality of network domains comprise transmission, switching, customer traffic, and network routing domains.

43. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein said plurality of network domains comprises transmission, switching, customer traffic, and network routing domains.