Method and apparatus for network element resource utilization tracking

摘要

A method and apparatus are provided for monitoring resource utilization within a connection oriented switch. An operator defines a utilization threshold in terms of percentage of maximum capacity, and a connection resource tracker determines whether utilization of specified resources within the switch have exceeded this threshold. The switch then either sends a report to the operator identifying all such resources, or generates an alarm, revealing sources of congestion within the switch without requiring the operator to manually query each resource. The method and apparatus can alternatively be used to monitor for underutilization of resources. The method and apparatus allow rapid diagnostic and simplified monitoring of connection oriented switches.

主权项

1. A method of monitoring and diagnosing resource utilization within a connection oriented network made of network elements, at least one of said network elements including a connection resource tracker for maintaining a database of resource utilization, the method comprising:
specifying a plurality of resource types for the network elements of the connection oriented network, each resource type being defined by a capacity limit and a utilization; providing a utilization threshold and a specified threshold for each specified type of resource, wherein the utilization threshold that triggers monitoring of high utilization is set at a threshold value used to determine whether resources are being over-utilized, and the specified threshold that triggers generation of alarms is set at a threshold value used to determine whether resources used are exceeding a maximum allowable limit; monitoring for receipt of call connection establishment signals; measuring the utilization for all resources at the network elements; in response to a query from a user relating to a particular type of resource, comparing the utilization for all resources of the particular type as measured in the measuring step with the utilization threshold for said particular type for determining whether the utilization of any resource of said particular type is above the corresponding utilization threshold; if the utilization is above the corresponding utilization threshold for at least one said resource, generating a report and identifying in the report each resource of the particular type for which the utilization is above the corresponding utilization threshold and presenting the report to an operator of said connection oriented network; if the utilization is above the corresponding specified threshold for at least one said resource, checking a timer associated with the resource; when the timer has expired, generating an alarm for the resource and resetting the timer associated with the resource only when the alarm has been generated for the resource; and, when the timer has not expired, selecting a next resource.