Automating alarm handling in a communications network using network-generated tickets and customer-generated tickets
AssigneeSprint Communications Company L.P.
InventorsNicolita Papa, Satishkumar Sadagopan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for monitoring events impacting service in a network communications system. One embodiment includes monitoring an event data structure for one or more events. The events are based on faulty network components in the communications system. One or more tickets based on the events are created. The tickets may be used to address the events. Further, creating one or more lists of network components impacted by the events, and, based on the lists of impacted network components, correlating the tickets one to another. Finally, based on the correlation, updating the events in the event data structure.
Claims14
One or more nontransitory computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of monitoring events impacting service in a network communications system, the method comprising:
- monitoring an event data structure for events that stem from faulty network components in said communications system;
- creating tickets based on said events, wherein said tickets are at least one of,
- (A) an unscheduled-outage ticket, or
- (B) a customer-service ticket,
- wherein said customer-service ticket is a trouble ticket that was generated in response to a customer complaint, and wherein said tickets may be used to address said events;
- creating an impact list for each of said events, wherein each impact list is a list of network components impacted by one of said events, and wherein a ticket created for the event is associated with the impact list for the event;
- upon creating the ticket for the event, determining whether the impact list associated with the ticket matches an impact list associated with another ticket;
- when the impact list associated with the ticket matches an impact list associated with another ticket, then correlating the ticket with the other ticket in a hierarchical relationship;
- based on said correlation, updating said events in said event data structure;
- deleting one of said tickets;
- determining if a first ticket that was correlated with said one ticket, before said one ticket was deleted, is associated with an impact list of a second ticket that was not deleted, by comparing the impact list of the first ticket with the impact list of the second ticket;
- and
- when said first ticket is associated with said impact list, then re-correlating said first ticket with said second ticket.
A method of monitoring events in a network communications system, the method comprising:
- receiving an indication of events that are designated as service-affecting, wherein a service-affecting event does not impact service to the end user of the communications network but has the potential to do so;
- determining whether the events that are designated as service-affecting should be designated as service-impacting, wherein a service-impacting event impacts service to the end user of the communications network;
- based on said determination, creating tickets related to said events, wherein said tickets are either unscheduled outage tickets or customer tickets and said tickets may be used to address said events;
- for each of said events, creating a list of impacted network components that are impacted by the event, wherein the list of network components is associated with one of said tickets that is related to the event;
- for each ticket, determining whether the list of impacted network components associated with the ticket matches a list of impacted network components associated with another ticket;
- based on matches between the lists of impacted network components, correlating said tickets in a hierarchical relationship;
- and
- clearing one of said tickets, wherein said clearing includes,
- (A) determining if said one ticket to be cleared is in a hierarchical relationship,
- (B) based on said determination, re-correlating tickets that are subordinate to said one ticket with another ticket that is not cleared, and
- (C) deleting said one ticket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.