EP0772319A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and system for sharing information between network managers
Assignee: Sun Microsystems Inc
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Filing: 1996-10-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2016-10-10
Abstract
Abstract A technique for managing a network by sharing information between distributed network managers which manage a different portion of a large network is disclosed. By sharing such network information, the network management performed by the distributed network managers can inform site managers not only local network conditions but also about network conditions on other remote networks. A filtering operation is used to determine that portion of the network information deemed important to forward to another network manager. A database synchronization operation is also optionally provided so that databases of each network manager, which store topology information concerning the particular portion of the network, can be automatically synchronized.
Inventors
- 👤 Surinder Singh
- 👤 Robert P. St. Pierre
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 06:42
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L41/00; H04L41/04; H04L41/042; H04L41/046; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/0016; H04Q3/0062; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/13516; H04Q2213/13535; H04Q2213/13547
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
202 words
A network management system for sharing information between a plurality of distributed network managers, said system comprising: a sending machine including at least a first network manager for managing a first network, said first network manager receiving event and trap information from agents associated with the first network; an authorization list containing information indicating whether receiving machines are authorized to receive the event and trap information; and a sender process, operatively coupled to said first network manager, for receiving the event and trap information received by said first network manager; a receiving machine including at least a second network manager for managing a second network; a receiver process for receiving the event and trap information; and a registration list for identifying sender machines to which said receiving machine is to connect to receive event and trap information; and a communication link connecting said sending machine and said receiving machine, wherein said sender process forwards the event and trap information to said receiving machine if said authorization list authorizes said receiving machine to receive the event and trap information, and wherein said receiver process forwards the event and trap information received from the sender process to said second network manager for processing thereof.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
47 words
A network management system as recited in claim 1, wherein said sender process filters the event and trap information, and then forwards the filtered event and trap information to said receiving machine if said authorization list authorizes said receiving machine to receive the event and trap information.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
A network management system as recited in claim 2, wherein said sending machine further includes a filter file containing filter tables, the filter tables are utilized by said sender process to filter the event and trap information.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
93 words
A network management system as recited in claim 1, wherein said first network manager maintains a first database and said second network manager maintains a second database, wherein said sender process receives a synchronization request from said receiver process and in response thereto generates a database trap for each record in the first database and then forwards the database traps to said receiver process, and wherein said receiver process receives the database traps from said sender process and then synchronizes the second database to the first database in accordance with the database traps.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
52 words
A network management system for sharing information between a plurality of distributed network managers, said system comprising: a first network manager for managing a first network; a second network manager for managing a second network; and information sharing means for sharing information between said first network manager and said second network manager.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as recited in claim 1 or 5, wherein the second network is distinct from the first network.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
63 words
A system as recited in claim 5, wherein the first network includes a first set of agents and the second network includes a second set of agents, and wherein each of the agents generates events or traps, and wherein the information being shared between said first and second network managers includes one or more of the events or traps generated by the agents.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
A system as recited in claim 5, wherein said information sharing means comprises: filter means for filtering the information before being transferred to said second network manager; and means for transferring the filtered information from said first network manager to said second network manager.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
59 words
A system as recited in claim 5 or 8, wherein said first network manager maintains a first database of topology data for the first network and the second network manager maintains a second database of topology data for the second network, and wherein said system further comprises means for automatically synchronizing topology data between said first and second databases.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
97 words
A computer-implemented method for sharing network management data between first and second network managers, the first network manager locally managing a first network, and the second network manager locally managing a second network, said method comprising the steps of: (a) connecting a receiver process associated with the second network to a sender process associated with the first network; (b) receiving, at the sender process, network management data for the first network; (c) forwarding the network management data from the sender process to the receiver process; and (d) processing the network management data in the second network manager.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein the network management data includes event and trap data.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 11, wherein the trap data includes one or both of database traps and non-database traps.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein said method further comprises: (e) filtering, prior to said forwarding (c), the network management data at the sender process to produce filtered data for the receiver process.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein the first network manager maintains a first database and the second network manager maintains a second database, and wherein said method further comprises: (e) automatically synchronizing the second database to the first database.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
62 words
A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 14, wherein said synchronizing (e) comprises the steps of: (e1) sending a synchronization request from the receiver process to the sender process; (e2) generating database traps for the entire contents of the first database; (e3) forwarding the database traps to the receiver process; and (e4) updating the second database in accordance with the database traps.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
31 words
A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 15, wherein said synchronizing (e) further comprises the step of: (e5) filtering the database traps prior to said forwarding (e3) and said updating (e4).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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