Method for automated provisioning of dedicated circuits

A method for automatically provisioning dedicated circuits within a network, each circuit having a location, a bandwidth and an availability for use, and each circuit being selectable for connection in response to a provisioning command, to yield connectivity of a prescribed bandwidth between an origin and an end point, comprising the steps of:

• maintaining a record for each individual circuit specifying its location, its bandwidth, its availability for use and at least one of the following data:
• length, cost and reliability;
• automatically identifying circuits that are:
• (a) available for use, (b) have the prescribed bandwidth and (c) have a suitable location in response to a need for connectivity of a prescribed bandwidth between the origin and the end point;
• selecting, from among the identified circuits, a group of circuits for interconnection to each other based on at least one of said circuit length, cost and reliability data specified in said circuit records;
• and
• automatically supplying provisioning commands to interconnect the circuits in the group to provide connectivity between the origin and the end point.

A method for automatically provisioning dedicated circuits within a network, each circuit having a location and a bandwidth and each circuit being selectable for connection in response to a provisioning command, to yield connectivity of a prescribed bandwidth, between an origin and an end point, comprising the steps of:

• maintaining a record for each individual circuit specifying its location and its bandwidth and data specifying at least one of the following:
• circuit length, cost and reliability;
• auditing the network to determine if provisioning is necessary to achieve greater efficiency, and if so, then:
• (i) automatically identifying those circuits that have the prescribed bandwidth and a suitable location to provide connectivity of a prescribed bandwidth between the origin and the end point;
• (ii) selecting, from among the identified circuits, a group of circuits for interconnection to each other based on at least one of said circuit length, cost and reliability data specified in said circuit records;
• and
• (iii) automatically supplying provisioning command to accomplish interconnection of the circuits in the group to provide connectivity between the origin and the end point.