Network topology discovery and obsolescence reporting
View Patent ↗Implementations of the present disclosure involve an apparatus and/or method for a network topology discovery engine that detects one or more network elements and/or one or more connections between a plurality of network elements. The network topology discovery engine transmits a request for operational and connection information from at least one network element. In response, network topology information is received by the network topology discovery engine by one or more elements of the network that provide information on the topology and operational state of the telecommunications network. The received information may then be stored in a network topology database. This network topology database may be utilized by the network or a related component for information or maintenance of the telecommunications network, such as an obsolescence tracker to detect one or more network elements that could be replaced or upgraded.
1. A method for managing a telecommunications network, the method comprising:
transmitting a request to a first network element of a telecommunication network, the request configured to request operational attributes of the first network element and the location of the first network element, wherein the location includes at least one of a geographic location and a location within a network facility site;
receiving the operational attributes and location of the first network element;
obtaining operational attributes of a replacement network element from a database, the operational attributes of the replacement network element including at least the available bandwidth of the replacement network element;
determining a cost savings of replacement of the first network element with the replacement network element, wherein the calculation of the cost savings includes the operational attributes and the location of the first network element and the operational attributes of the replacement network element; and
providing a notification to an administrator of the telecommunications network when the cost savings of replacement of the first network element with the replacement network element exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
storing the operational attributes and location of the first network element in a network topology database, the network topology database configured to store topology information of the telecommunications network.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the operational attributes of the first network element includes the average power consumed by the first network element, the provisioned bandwidth of the first network element, the cost of electricity at the location of the first network element, or the failure rate of the network element.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the operational attributes of the replacement network element further includes the average power consumed by the replacement network element or the average failure rate of the replacement network element.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing operation comprises:
accumulating a list of a plurality of network elements wherein the cost of replacement of the plurality of network elements exceeds the predetermined threshold value; and
transmitting the list of the plurality of network elements to the administrator of the telecommunications network.
6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
sorting the list of the plurality of network elements based on at least a difference between the cost savings of replacement of the first network element with the replacement network element and the threshold value.
7. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
receiving operational attributes for a second network element from the first network element, the second network element connected to the first network element; and
storing the operation attributes for the second network element in the network topology database.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the second network element is an unaddressable network element.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the operational attributes for the second network element includes an address for communicating with the second network element.
10. A system for managing a telecommunications network, the system comprising:
a database configured to store topology information for a telecommunications network, the topology information comprising an identification of at least one network element, one or more operational attributes for the at least one network element and a geographic location of the at least one network element;
a processor; and
a computer-readable device associated with the processor and including instructions stored thereon and executable by the processor to:
retrieve the one or more operational attributes for the at least one network element and the geographic location of the at least one network element from the database;
obtain one or more operational attributes of a replacement network element, the operational attributes of the replacement network element including at least the available bandwidth of the replacement network element;
calculate a value of replacement of the first network element with the replacement network element, wherein the calculation of the value includes an analysis of the operational attributes and a remoteness of the geographic location of the first network element and the operational attributes of the replacement network element; and
transmit a notification to an administrator of the telecommunications network when the value of replacement of the first network element with the replacement network element exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the one or more operational attributes for the at least one network element stored in the database include the average power consumed by the first network element, the provisioned bandwidth of the first network element, the cost of electricity at the location of the first network element, or the failure rate of the network element.
12. The system of claim 10 wherein the database is further configured to store the one or more operational attributes of a replacement network element, including the available bandwidth of the replacement network element.
13. The system of claim 10 wherein the calculating instructions are further executable to:
determine the cost of labor associated with the replacement of the first network element with the replacement network element.
14. The system of claim 10 wherein the notification includes a list of a plurality of network elements wherein the value of replacement of the plurality of network elements exceeds the predetermined threshold value.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the instructions are further executable to:
sort the list of the plurality of network elements based on at least a difference between the cost of replacement of the first network element with the replacement network element and the threshold value.
16. The system of claim 10 wherein the topology information for a telecommunications network stored in the database further comprises a plurality of identified network elements, one or more operational attributes associated with the plurality of identified network elements, and a plurality of addresses associated with the identified network elements that are addressable.
17. The system of claim 16 further comprising:
a topology discovery engine configured to obtain the topology information for the telecommunications network and stored the obtained information in the database.