2
In eg a ion o Knowledge Managemen in he
MIB o he Ne wo k Managemen
An onio Ma ín and Ca los León
Dp o. Tecnología Elec ónica. Uni e si y o Se illa
Spain
1. In oduc ion
In a he e ogeneous and dis ibu ed con ex , he managemen o elecommunica ion
ne wo ks and se ices is becoming inc easingly impo an in ope a o and se ice p o ide
en i onmen s. This managemen canno be pe o med wi hou he con ibu ion o
in elligen managemen unc ions, which ensu e he mos impo an managemen
ope a ions o p o isioning, assu ance and billing. Mo e ad anced ools a e needed o
suppo his ac i i y. I is necessa y o de elop new models, which o e mo e possibili ies.
To esol e his di icul y in his chap e we s udy he in eg a ion o ad anced a i icial
in elligence echnology in o exis ing ne wo k managemen models. We desc ibe he design
and implemen a ion o a managemen pla o m using A i icial In elligen easoning
echnique.
This s udy ocuses on an in elligen amewo k and a language o o malizing knowledge
managemen desc ip ions and combining hem wi h exis ing OSI managemen model. In
his chap e we p esen a me hodology o speci y in elligen agen s, based on managemen
OSI model.
We p opose a new pa adigm whe e he in elligen ne wo k managemen is in eg a ed in o
he concep ual eposi o y o managemen in o ma ion. In mode n ne wo k elemen s
managemen in o ma ion is inc easingly s o ed in a dis ibu ed manne locally wi h he
ne wo k elemen s in o Managemen In o ma ion Base (MIB) da abases. These da abases
con ain all ele an con igu a ion da a and he dynamic s a e da a (measu emen s and
ala ms) in a s anda dized o ma . We s udy a echnique which in eg a es he knowledge
base o expe sys em wi hin he MIB used o manage a ne wo k.
A new p ope y named RULE has been added in he MIB, which ga he s impo an aspec s
o he ac s and he knowledge base o he embedded expe sys em. By in eg a ing he
knowledge base in esou ces speci ica ions, sys em has he powe o p o ide diagnosis o
aul ne wo k, which can assis enginee ing ainees, inspec o a e s a and p o essional.
Fu he mo e his pape ou lines he de elopmen o an expe sys em p o o ype based in
ou p opose GDMO+ s anda d and desc ibes he mos impo an ace s, ad an ages and
d awbacks ha we e ound a e p o o yping ou p oposal.
This pape is o ganized as ollows. In he sec ion immedia ely below, we desc ibe he
e olu ion o ne wo k managemen and he ole o ne wo k managemen unc ions. We will
examine he managemen ne wo k, including he concep s, majo app oaches, and
managemen models. I s a s wi h speci ic applica ions and wo k on expe sys ems in simila
ields. We p opose a new In elligen In eg a ed Managemen Model and an ex ension o
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s anda d called Ex ended GDMO o simply GDMO+, o he inco po a ion o he managemen
expe ules. Nex will examined he design and de elopmen o a p o o ype. F om he e, we
p esen he concep he o mula ion o he sys em design p oposal and also an ou line o he
a ious s ages in he sys em de elopmen cycle. Nex sec ion summa izes he pe o mance o
he sys em and he esul s o he esea ch. Finally we ou line he conclusion and u u e wo ks.
2. Managemen ne wo k o e iew
The pu pose o ne wo k managemen is he assignmen and con ol o p ope ne wo k
esou ces, bo h ha dwa e and so wa e, o add ess se ice pe o mance needs and he
ne wo k’s objec i es. Wi h he e e -inc easing size and complexi y o unde lying ne wo ks
and se ices, i has become impossible o ca y ou hese unc ions wi hou he suppo o
au oma ed ools (Zuidweg, 2002). As he size o communica ion ne wo ks keeps on g owing,
wi h mo e subsc ibe s, as e connec ions and compe ing and coope a ing echnologies and
he di e gence o compu e s, da a communica ions and elecommunica ions, he managemen
o he esul ing ne wo ks ge s mo e impo an and ime-c i ical. Telecommunica ion and
se ices a e in he p ocess o e olu iona y ye e olu iona y changes due o ans o ma ion o
he egula o y en i onmen ha in u n has gi en ise o apid imp o emen s in he
unde lying applica ion, ne wo king, compu ing, and ansmission echnologies.
The e a e wo dominan ne wo k managemen models, which ha e been used o
adminis a ion and con ol he mos o exis ing ne wo ks: TMN and SNMP. Bo h ne wo k
managemen sys ems ope a e using clien /se e a chi ec u e. SNMP s anda ds a e de ined
in a se ies o documen s, called eques o commen s o RFCs p oposed by he In e ne
Enginee ing Task Fo ce (IETF) and Telecommunica ions Managemen Ne wo k TMN is
in oduced by he ITU-T ( he o me CCITT). O hese wo TMN is gaining popula i y o
la ge complex ne wo ks.
In p i a e ne wo k en i onmen , SNMP enjoys nea -uni e sal suppo . In he public
en i onmen , howe e , a mo e he e ogeneous mix o de ac o elecommunica ions indus y
s anda ds has p e ailed, wi h a mo e owa d TMN suppo . Mo eo e TMN was he i s
who s a ed, as pa o i s Open Sys ems In e connec ion (OSI) p og am, he de elopmen o
he a chi ec u e o ne wo k managemen . The OSI managemen en i onmen consis s o
ools and se ices need o con ol and supe ise he managemen ne wo ks.
2.1 OSI ne wo k managemen model
The OSI ne wo k managemen model is a s a ing poin o unde s anding ne wo k
managemen . The e a e h ee basic componen s comp ising he elemen s o he
managemen a chi ec u e o suppo a success ul implemen a ion o he OSI Ne wo k
Managemen Model, igu e 1:
Fig. 1. O e iew o OSI Ne wo k Managemen Model.
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- An in o ma ion componen in ol ed wi h i e majo unc ional a eas: aul ,
con igu a ion, accoun ing, pe o mance, and secu i y managemen in ne wo k
managemen which acili a e apid and consis en p og ess wi hin each ca ego y’s
indi idual a eas (In e na ional O ganiza ion o S anda diza ion [ISO], 1993).
- A communica ion componen which ocuses upon how he in o ma ion is exchanged
be ween he managed sys ems (In e na ional Telecommunica ion Union [ITU-T],
1992).
- A unc ional componen in ol ed wi h he a ious ac i i ies pe o med in suppo o
ne wo k managemen (In e na ional Telecommunica ion Union [ITU-T], 1996).
Acco ding o he In e na ional O ganiza ion o S anda diza ion (ISO), he OSI ne wo k
managemen model de ines a concep ual model o managing all communica ion en i ies
wi hin a ne wo k. This main concep is he managed objec , which is an abs ac iew o a
logical o physical esou ce o be managed in he ne wo k (Heb awi, 1995). Managed objec s
p o ide he necessa y ope a ions o he adminis a ion, moni o ing and con ol o he
elecommunica ions ne wo k. These ope a ions a e ealized h ough he use he Common
Managemen In o ma ion P o ocol (CMIP) (In e na ional Telecommunica ion Union [ITU-
T], 1997). This is a ne wo k managemen p o ocol buil on he OSI communica ion model.
The ela ed Common Managemen In o ma ion Se ices (CMIS) (In e na ional O ganiza ion
o S anda diza ion [ISO], 1998) de ines se ices o accessing in o ma ion abou ne wo k
objec s o de ices, con olling hem, and ecei ing s a us epo s om hem. Fo a speci ic
managemen sys em, he managemen p ocess in ol ed will ake on one o wo possible
oles, Figu e 2:
- A Manage o Manage Role is an elemen ha p o ides in o ma ion o use s, issues
eques s o de ices in a ne wo k, ecei es esponses o he eques s and ecei es
no i ica ions. These no i ica ions a e unsolici ed in o ma ion om de ices in he
ne wo k conce ning he s a us o he de ices.
- Agen o Agen Role is an uni ha is pa o a de ice in he ne wo k ha moni o s and
main ains s a us abou ha de ice. I can ac and espond o eques s om a manage
and can p o ide unsolici ed in o ma ion (o no i ica ions) o a manage .
Fig. 2. OSI manage /agen a chi ec u e
These managed objec s a e de ined acco ding he ISO Guidelines o De ini ion o Managed
Objec s (GDMO). GDMO language uses he objec o ien p og amming and de ines how
ne wo k objec s and hei beha iou a e o be speci ied, including he syn ax and seman ics.
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This s anda d has been s anda dized by ITU-T in ITU-T X.722 and is now widely used o
speci y in e aces be ween di e en componen s o he TMN a chi ec u e. GDMO p ope ies
alues ypes a e desc ibed using he abs ac syn ax no a ion one (ASN.1) (Mo is, 2003).
ASN.1 desc ibes an abs ac syn ax o da a ypes and alues.
Nowadays he e a e di e en domains o applica ion o he expe sys ems in opics ela ed
wi h he ne wo k managemen . OSI classi ies he sys ems managemen ac i i ies in o i e
unc ional a eas. We can ca ego ize he expe sys ems used in ne wo k managemen wi hin
hese i e g oups. Some expe sys em examples a e Max & Op i, ANSWER, T ouble
Loca o , and CRITTER in aul diagnosis a ea, ESS-ES, ECXpe , and APRI in accoun ing
managemen a ea, ACE, XCON, SMCS, and EXSim in con igu a ion managemen a ea,
TASA, NETTRA, and Scou in pe o mance managemen a ea, NIDES, P-BEST, and NIDX in
secu i y managemen a ea. In his con ex he expe sys em ha we ha e buil , would be
included in he a ea o wo k o he aul managemen (Liao, 2005; Negne i sky, 2002; Yaguo
& Zhengjia, 2009).
A e his b ie in oduc ion o managemen elemen s, we will app oach ou esea ch in he
in eg a ion o knowledge managemen o expe sys em in o MIB in he OSI managemen
model. We a e s udying he way o in eg a e he expe knowledge in he managemen
In e ne model. In e ne managemen model doesn’ use he Objec O ien ed P og amming
such as i is used by he OSI model. This is one o he easons o he In e ne model
simplici y. The de ini ions con ain objec s, speci ied wi h ASN.1 mac os. In in e ne model
he esou ces speci ica ions can only be g oups o scala a iables and cells ables in spi e o
no being an Objec O ien ed P og amming model. We can use he ables o he In e ne
model as classes o he OSI model, whe e he a ibu es a e he able columns and e e y ile
con ains an ins ance o he class. The same as in OSI e e y objec has an OID associa ed
iden i ie .
3. Managemen knowledge de ini ion
A e desc ibing a numbe o impo an aspec s which ha e o be conside ed when
designing a language o beha iou desc ip ions, his sec ion ocuses on he syn ax and
seman ics o he language GDMO which is discussed in his pape . P ac ical expe ience
wi h GDMO shows ha , om an in elligen poin o iew, he quali y o GDMO
speci ica ions is no sa is ac o y. The managed objec speci ica ions a e incomple e o
de ine he managemen knowledge o a speci ic esou ce. As consequence a new elemen
is necessa y.
To sol e he cu en p oblem o unde ake an in elligen in eg a ed managemen we o e an
o iginal con ibu ion o include expe ules in he speci ica ions o he ne wo k ea u es. To
answe hese ques ions, i will be necessa y o make changes on he empla e o he GDMO
s anda d. To o malize he main p oposal o he pape , we analyze necessa y equi emen s
a ea o unde ake he ela ed aspec s wi h he knowledge in eg a ion in he managed
objec s. We p esen an ex ension o he s anda d GDMO, o accommoda e he in elligen
managemen equi emen s, igu e 3.
GDMO is o ganized in o empla es, which a e s anda d o ma s used in he de ini ion o a
pa icula aspec o he objec . A comple e objec de ini ion is a combina ion o in e ela ed
empla es. The e a e nine o hese empla es: class o managed objec s, package, a ibu e,
g oup o a ibu es, ac ion, no i ica ion, pa ame e , connec ion o name and beha iou
(Mo is, 2003), igu e 4.
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Fig. 3. Independence o Objec s and Expe Managemen
Fig. 4. Independence o Objec s and Expe Managemen
The elemen s ha a he momen o m he GDMO s anda d do no make a e e ence o he
knowledge base o an expe sys em. Un il now he managed objec s a e no able o use he
knowledge ha he base o knowledge p o ides which collec s he managemen ope a ions
and con ol o a managemen domain. We obse e he need o de ine new s uc u es o
hose cases in which i is necessa y o exp ess he knowledge. To sol e his p oblem we
sugges a e inemen o he package empla e. We p opose o ex end he Guidelines o
De ini ion o Managed Objec s wi h he ollowing goals: acili a e he no maliza ion and
in eg a ion o he knowledge base o expe sys em in o esou ces speci ica ions.
These goals will allow o de elope s speci y he s o age loca ion and he upda e me hod o
in elligen managed and p o ide a way o speci y complex managed. Thus he desc ip ion
o ce ain aspec s o managed objec knowledge, e.g. he de ini ion o expe ules, can be
suppo ed. We p oposed adding a new p ope y in GDMO s anda d named “ ule”. This
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a ibu e will de ine all he aspec abou he managemen knowledge in a speci ic managed
objec class. The se o managed objec classes and ins ances unde he con ol o an agen is
knows as i ’s a MIB, an abs ac ion o ne wo k esou ces p ope ies and s a es o he
pu pose o managemen . The MIB, which is speci ied using he S uc u e Managemen
In o ma ion (SMI) de ines he ac ual objec s o be managed (Clemm, 2006).
Two ela ionships a e essen ial o he inclusion o knowledge in he componen de ini ion
o he ne wo k: Managed Objec Class and Package. GDMO includes he basic empla e
MANAGED OBJECT CLASS, which is always implemen ed and GDMO also de ines an
op ional empla e named PACKAGE, which de ines a combina ion o p ope ies o la e
inclusion in a managed objec class empla e.
4. Managemen in o ma ion and knowledge managemen s uc u e
Managemen in o ma ion models a e abs ac ions o he ne wo k esou ces. They de ine he
s uc u es and con en s o managemen in o ma ion ha he managemen unc ions ac
upon. A managemen in o ma ion model p o ides a common cha ac e iza ion o he
ne wo k esou ces, enables mul iple managemen unc ions o in e ac wi h each o he , and
suppo s di e en managemen unc ions (Huang, 2008). Managemen in o ma ion is
exchanged among managemen sys ems whe e managemen unc ions a e implemen ed
(Goleniewski & Ja e ), 2006).
A aining in e ope abili y o ne wo k managemen sys ems and a common iew o
managed esou ces in a managed ne wo k en i onmen equi es ha in o ma ion models
comply wi h s anda d models. The managemen unc ions cu en ly exchange managemen
in o ma ion by means o echniques de ined in ITU-T X.700.
These ecommenda ions inco po a e he impo an objec -o ien ed and manage /agen
pa adigms o in o ma ion modelling. The objec -o ien ed app oach o in o ma ion
exchange allows o g ouping o da a and he execu able ope a ions o be ully encapsula ed
in o an objec and objec p ope ies o be ex ended h ough “inhe i ance.” The da a can be
manipula ed only ia he access ope a ions p o ided in he objec . The guidelines o he
de ini ion o managed objec s, ITU-T Recommenda ion X.722 allow o a common da a
s uc u e o managed objec s in he managed and managing sys ems. Managed objec s
include hei names, a ibu es, ope a ions ha can be pe o med on a ibu es, no i ica ions
ha objec s can emi , and beha iou desc ip ions o he objec s.
The de ini ion o a managed objec class is made uni o mly in he s anda d empla e,
elimina ing he con usion ha may esul when di e en pe sons de ine objec s o di e en
o ms. This empla e is used o de ine he di e en kinds o objec s ha exis in he sys em.
Classes desc ibe wha in o ma ion and se ices hey p o ide each manage objec and
GDMO de ines o ma o his in o ma ion (Kuo e al., 2005). This way we ensu e ha he
classes and he managemen expe ules de ined in sys em A can be easily in e p e ed in
sys em B. Managed objec class s uc u e is show he e:
<class-label> MANAGED OBJECT CLASS
[DERIVED FROM <class-label> [,<class-label>]*;]
[CHARACTERIZED BY <package-label> [,<package-label]*;]
[CONDITIONAL PACKAGES
<package-label> PRESENT IF condi ion;
,<package-label>] PRESENT IF condi ion]*;]
REGISTERED AS objec -iden i ie ;
(1)
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DERIVED FROM clause speci ies he supe class o supe classes om which his managed
objec is de i ed (inhe i ed). This plays a e y impo an ole, when de e mining he
ela ions o inhe i ance which makes i possible o eu ilize speci ic cha ac e is ics in o he
classes o managed objec s. In addi ion, a g ea ad an age is he eusabili y o he objec
classes and he e o e o he expe ules which a e de ined. By using his clause, any
a ibu e, ope a ion, no i ica ion, and beha iou exposed by managed objec s, as well as
inhe i ance and con ainmen ela ionships among managed objec s and managed objec
classes, can be de ined, igu e 5.
Fig. 5. Inhe i ance be ween classes
Packages included in he objec class de ini ion a e iden i ied by he CHARACTERIZED BY
and CONDITIONAL PACKAGES clauses. The CHARACTERIZED BY clause iden i ies he
package o packages ha a e always p esen when he managed objec is included in he
sys em. The CONDITIONAL PACKAGES clause is used o iden i y hose packages ha may
o may no be included each ime he managed objec o his class is ins an ia ed. Finally, he
REGISTERED AS clause iden i ies he loca ion o he managed objec class on he OSI
egis a ion ee (S allings, 2000).
4.1 Package empla e
The PACKAGE empla e is used o speci y he cha ac e is ics ha ep esen a consis en se
o speci ica ions abou a ne wo k esou ce. One pu pose o he package is o p o ide a se o
e-useable de ini ions ha can be used in se e al managed objec class speci ica ions. All he
p ope ies ha we de ine in he package will be included la e in he Managed Objec Class
Templa e, whe e he package is inco po a ed. A same package can be e e enced by mo e
han one class o managed objec s. Fo each managed objec s class, he ollowing
in o ma ion is de ined:
1. A ibu es: a e he ypes o da a suppo ed by he class (managed objec ).
2. Ope a ions: a e he ac ions suppo ed by he class.
3. The beha iou o he managed objec .
4. No i ica ions: a e he ypes o unsolici ed in o ma ion a managed objec can send o a
manage .
The cu en empla e package in GDMO s anda d is adap ed and we add a new ea u e. In
addi ion o he p ope ies indica ed abo e, we sugges he inco po a ion o a new p ope y
called RULES and i s associa ed empla e called “RULE”, which con ains all he
speci ica ions o he knowledge base o he expe sys em, igu e 6.
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Fig. 6. New ule empla e.
Nex de ini ion shows he elemen s o a package empla e, in which i is possible o obse e
he new p ope y RULES.
<package-label> PACKAGE
[BEHAVIOUR <beha iou -label> [,<beha iou -label>]*;]
[ATTRIBUTES <a ibu e-label> p ope ylis [,<pa ame e -label>]*
,<a ibu e-label> p ope ylis [,<pa ame e -label>]*]*;]
[ACTIONS <ac ion-label> [<pa ame e -label>]*
[<ac ion-label> [<pa ame e -label>]*]* ;
[NOTIFICATIONS <no i ica ion-label> [<pa ame e -label>]*
[<no i ica ion-label> [<pa ame e -label>]*]* ;]
[RULES < ule-label> [,< ule-label>]*;]
REGISTERED AS objec -iden i ie ;
(2)
The p ope y RULES allows a ea men simila o he o he p ope ies, including he
possibili y o inhe i ance o ules be ween classes. Like he es o he o he p ope ies
de ined in a package, he p ope y RULES needs a co esponding associa ed empla e.
4.2 Expe ule empla e
The e a e a numbe o di e en knowledge ep esen a ion echniques o s uc u ing
knowledge in an expe sys em. The h ee mos widely used echniques a e expe ules,
seman ic ne s and ames (B achman & Le esque, 2004). Fo his s udy we use expe ules.
We ep esen ed he knowledge in p oduc ion ules o simply ules. Rules a e exp essed as
IF-THEN s a emen s which a e ela i ely simple, e y powe ul as well as e y na u al o
ep esen expe knowledge. A majo ea u e o a ule-based sys em is i s modula i y and
modi iabili y which allow o inc emen al imp o emen and ine uning o he sys em wi h
i ually no deg ada ion o pe o mance.
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In ou s udy case he empla e RULE pe mi s he no malized de ini ion o he speci ica ions
o he expe ule o which i is ela ed. This empla e allows a pa icula managed objec
class o ha e p ope ies ha p o ide a no malized knowledge o a managemen dominion.
The s uc u e o he RULE empla e is shown he e:
< ule-label> RULE
[PRIORITY <p io i y> ;]
[BEHAVIOUR <beha iou -label> [,<beha iou -label>]*;]
[IF occu ed-e en -pa e n [,occu ed-e en -pa e n]*]
[THEN sen ence [, sen ence]* ;]
REGISTERED AS objec -iden i ie ;
(3)
The i s elemen in a empla e de ini ion is headed. I consis s o wo sec ions:
- < ule-label>: This is he name o he managemen expe ule. Rule de ini ions mus
ha e a unique cha ac e izing name.
- RULE: A key wo d indica es he ype o empla e, in ou case a de ini ion empla e and
he speci ica ions o he managemen expe ule.
A e he head, he ollowing elemen s compose a no malized de ini ion o an expe ule.
- BEHAVIOUR: This cons uc is used o ex end he seman ics o p e iously de ined
empla es. I desc ibes he beha iou o he ule. This elemen is common o he o he s
empla es o he GDMO s anda d.
- PRIORITY: This ep esen s he p io i y o he ule, ha is, he o de in which compe ing
ules will be execu ed.
- IF: I con ains all he e en s ha mus be ue o ac i a e a ule. Those e en s mus be
de ined in he No i ica ion empla e. The occu ence o hese e en s is necessa y o he
ac i a ion o he ule and he execu ion o hei associa ed ac ions. We can add a logical
condi ion ha will be applied on he e en s occu ed o hei pa ame e s.
- THEN: This gi es de ails o he ope a ions pe o med when he ule is execu ed. Those
ope a ions mus be p e iously de ined in he Ac ion empla e. These a e ac ions and
diagnoses ha he managemen pla o m makes as an answe o ne wo k e en s
occu ed.
- REGISTERED AS is an objec -iden i ie : A clause iden i ies he loca ion o he expe
ule on he OSI egis a ion ee. The iden i ie is compulso y.
5. Faul managemen applica ion using GDMO+ speci ica ions
In o de o e alua e he aul managemen capabili ies o he in eg a e managemen solu ion
p oposed we ha e simula ed an applica ion ha moni o s an en i onmen o collec aul
e en da a (Bake e al., 2008). As said be o e we ha e conside ed a p i a e ne wo k. We
suppose his ne wo k as being he e ogeneous and hie a chical. The in elligen senso nodes
only dissemina e da a when he ne wo k is being moni o ed and an e o occu s in a
esou ce (P emchand e al., 2008), igu e 7.
The use o in eg a e knowledge in agen s can help he sys em adminis a o in using he
maximum capabili ies o he in elligen ne wo k managemen pla o m wi hou ha ing o use
o he speci ica ion language o cus omize he applica ion (Akinyokun & Imian an, 2006).
Ou sys em has he ollowing componen s: an in e ence engine, a knowledge base, and a
use in e ace, igu e 8.
www.in echopen.com