| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20090144764 | BILLING ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM FOR MULTIMEDIA CONTENT - A system and method is disclosed for processing refund requests. For IPTV broadcast programs, refund requests initiated by users may be for pay-per-view or on-demand programs. After accepting the refund request, user information and historical event information for the provider network are collected and analyzed using a set of rules. The refund request may be granted or denied, either in whole or in part, based on the user information and the historical event information. In addition, detection of network outages and service interruptions is correlated to the refund requests, whereby remediation service may be initiated for network components determined to be in a fault condition. | 06-04-2009 |
| 20090161530 | Method and System of Addressing A Problem Associated With A Network Including A Video Access Ready Device - A method can be used to detect a problem, isolate the cause of the problem to a particular device in which the cause resides, and potentially repairing the particular device. In one embodiment, the method can be fully automated using a system. In another embodiment, the method may be partly automated. In this particular embodiment, the system can perform most or all of the testing or diagnosis automatically. The system can perform the method until a point where human intervention is required. The problem, the cause, and particular device may be known at the time notification is sent to customer care, a workcenter, or another network operations center. With the information regarding the problem, cause and particular device, a technician or other personnel can be dispatched and repair the problem more quickly than if only the problem is provided and the technician needs to perform the testing and diagnosis. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090161679 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CUSTOMER-CONTROLLED ROUTING MANAGEMENT - In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for customer-controlled routing management. In one embodiment, a system for managing routing in a virtual private network includes a configuration management system for receiving settings from a user of the virtual private network, the settings specifying at least one of: virtual private network topology and routing preferences, and for provisioning the virtual private network in accordance with the user settings and a validation management system for validating the provisioned virtual private network. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090175180 | Method and System of Addressing a Condition Experienced by a Customer When Using A Network - A method can be used to address a condition experienced by a customer when using a network. The method can include receiving a first communication from the customer, wherein the first communication is related to the condition of a video content as experienced by the customer, reviewing a log for an alarm, and testing a portion of the network that would process the video content, wherein testing generates a test result. The method can also include correlating the condition to a service parameter, an alarm, a maintenance event, a test result, or any combination thereof. The method can further include sending a second communication to the customer related to the condition. In one embodiment, the method can be fully or partly automated using a system. | 07-09-2009 |
| 20090182812 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMIC SCALING OF DATA CENTER PROCESSOR UTILIZATION - In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for dynamic scaling data center of processor utilization. In one embodiment, a system for managing a data center includes a control module for gathering data related to at least one server in the data center, the data being gathered from a plurality of sources, and a user interface coupled to the control module for displaying the gathered data to a user in a centralized manner. The control module is further configured to receive a command from the user, the command relating to the operation of the server, and to transmit the command to server. | 07-16-2009 |
| 20090319656 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A NETWORK - A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller to perform a first query of a network device by way of a wired connection with the network device, perform a second query of the network device by way of a wireless connection with the network device, detect an undesired condition associated with at least one of the network device and the wired connection with the network device based at least in part on the first and second queries, and discern between the undesired condition being associated with the network device and being associated with the wired connection based at least in part on the first and second queries. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20100027412 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SERVICE RESTORATION IN A MEDIA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a set-top box (STB) having a controller to generate a trouble report indicating a malfunction with one or more services, and submitting the trouble report to a mitigation system. The mitigation system can be adapted to detect one or more operational faults in at least one of a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM), a residential gateway (RG), and the STB, cycle operations of at least one of the DSLAM, the RG, and the STB responsive to detecting an undesirable state of operation of at least one of the DSLAM, the RG, and the STB, and generate a trouble ticket directed to a service agent responsive to detecting that at least one of the DSLAM, the RG and the STB continues to exhibit at least one operational fault. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100027560 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SERVICE MITIGATION IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a system having a controller to monitor in a communication system bandwidth utilization by CPE, detect bandwidth utilization by the CPE that exceeds a bandwidth utilization limit, reconfigure a portion of the communication system to accommodate the increase in bandwidth utilization by the CPE, and generate a mitigation plan directed to a user of the CPE to address the increased bandwidth utilization by the CPE. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100036939 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A NETWORK - A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server comprising a controller to monitor a physical layer, a data link layer and a network layer of an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network, obtain a plurality of alarm signals from one or more of the physical layer, the data link layer and the network layer that are associated with an undesired condition of the IPTV network, synthesize the plurality of alarm signals to determine a correlation, obtain topology information associated with network devices in the IPTV network, and isolate the undesired condition to a network component in the IPTV network using the correlation and the topology information. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100052924 | Method and System for Detecting and Managing a Fault Alarm Storm - A method and system of managing network alarms including associating an alarm type with a plurality of network alarms using information associated with the plurality of network alarms, the information comprising a quantity of the plurality of network alarms and a cause of the network alarms; and processing the plurality of network alarms based on the alarm type associated therewith. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100054136 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A NETWORK - A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller to receive information from a set top box that is associated with an undesired condition being experienced by a user of the set top box where the information is inputted into the set top box by the user, determine a failure condition associated with the information, perform a first diagnostic process to isolate the failure condition between a network failure and a customer premises equipment (CPE) failure, and transmit correction instructions to the set top box for presentation to the user when the failure condition is isolated to the CPE failure. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100080115 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO MONITOR BORDER GATEWAY PROTOCOL SESSIONS - Example methods and apparatus to monitor border gateway protocol sessions are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes detecting a failure of a first border gateway protocol (BGP) session and initiating a session-down timer in response to detecting the failure. The example method also includes generating a sustained-down alarm when a threshold time value of the session-down timer is exceeded before the first BGP session is re-established. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100111522 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A NETWORK - A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller to monitor first and second access devices of a communications network for an alarm where the first and second access devices are connected to each other by a fiber optic cable and where the first and second access devices are capable of transmitting media content to a communications device of a user, identify hierarchical cable relationships associated with the fiber optic cable, monitor network elements of the communications network that are associated with the hierarchical cable relationships for other alarms, and determine a fiber cut of the fiber optic cable based at least in part on the alarm of the monitored first and second access devices and the other alarms of the monitored network elements. Other embodiments are disclosed. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100124165 | Silent Failure Identification and Trouble Diagnosis - According to one method for identifying and resolving a silent failure in a telecommunications network, performance data associated with data traffic passing through a network element in the telecommunications network is collected. A determination is made whether the performance data has fallen below a threshold to identify the silent failure at the network element. The silent failure fails to trigger an alarm included on the network element. Responsive to determining that the performance data is below the threshold and thereby identifying the silent failure at the network element, troubleshooting rules may be retrieved. The silent failure is resolved based on the performance data and the troubleshooting rules. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100124170 | Methods and Apparatus to Detect Border Gateway Protocol Session Failures - Methods and apparatus to detect border gateway protocol (BGP) session failures are disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus comprises a database interface to obtain provisioned configuration information for a provider edge (PE) router, a BGP engine to receive one or more BGP messages from a route reflector, the one or more BGP messages representing a list of active routes for the PE router, and a session analyzer to compare the list of active routes with the provisioned configuration information to determine whether a provisioned route is not present in the list of active routes, and to declare a BGP session failure when the provisioned route is not present in the list of active routes. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100161770 | USER-CONTROLLED NETWORK VIDEO MANAGEMENT - A process and system for user-controlled configuration of an Internet protocol network. The user may supply input for generating a network classification profile, which includes a number of classes of service (COSs) for prioritizing network traffic, including video transmission. A quality of service (QOS) may be measured and compared with a COS for video transmission. Depending on the measured QOS, a network alert may be issued and a priority of packets associated with the COS for video transmission may be increased. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20100246436 | USER-CONTROLLED NETWORK CONFIGURATION FOR HANDLING MULTIPLE CLASSES OF SERVICE - A process and system for user-controlled configuration of an Internet-protocol (IP) network wherein the user may supply input for generating a network classification profile (NCP), which includes a number of classes of service (COSs) for prioritizing network traffic. Network packets belonging to a COS may be classified according to a packet parameter. The NCP may be used to prioritize packets sent to the network from a network ingress router. A queuing profile for scheduling packets received from the network based on the NCP may also be generated and used by a network egress router. The packet parameter may be based on information in the packet header. | 09-30-2010 |
| 20100265832 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING A SLOW RESPONSE ON A NETWORK - A method and an apparatus for detection and prevention of a slow response on a network are disclosed. For example, the method selects a router automatically for testing in response to a ticket indicating a slow response, and performs a diagnostic test on the router, wherein the diagnostic test comprises at least one of: a protocol diagnostic test, a circuit diagnostic test or, a congestion diagnostic test. The method then performs at least one remedial step to address a root cause that is identified by the diagnostic test, wherein the root cause is associated with the slow response. | 10-21-2010 |
| 20110075567 | METHODS, APPARATUS AND ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE TO MONITOR COMMUNICATION PATHS IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS - Example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture to monitor communication paths in communication systems are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes identifying first and second inter-network communication links of a communication system, identifying a first plurality of router pairs associated with the first inter-network communication link, identifying a second plurality of router pairs associated with the second inter-network communication link, partitioning the first plurality of router pairs into a first subset of router pairs and a second subset of router pairs, partitioning the second plurality of router pairs into a third subset of router pairs and a fourth subset of router pairs, during a first time interval, performing first reachability tests for respective ones of the first and third subsets of router pairs, and during a second time interval, performing second reachability tests for respective ones of the second and fourth subsets of router pairs. | 03-31-2011 |
| 20110141914 | Systems and Methods for Providing Ethernet Service Circuit Management - Methods and systems for providing Ethernet service circuit management are disclosed. A system includes a network and a root cause analysis system (RCAS). Device, link, and network topologies are developed for all devices in the network and are stored at a desired data storage location. When an alarm is received by the RCAS, the RCAS retrieves the device, link, and network topologies, and performs a root cause analysis based upon the topologies and one or more rules. Depending upon the outcome of the root cause analysis, some alarms may be consolidated, suppressed, and/or reported to the appropriate network personnel. | 06-16-2011 |
| 20110149721 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DETECT AND RESTORE FLAPPING CIRCUITS IN IP AGGREGATION NETWORK ENVIRONMENTS - Methods and apparatus to detect and restore flapping circuits in IP aggregation network environments are disclosed herein. An example method for use in maintaining a communication network includes retrieving information related to an operating state of a device associated with a network disturbance; determining whether the information related to the operating state of the device is indicative of a flapping condition; when the operating state information indicates that the flapping condition is present in the network, determining a cause of the flapping condition; when the cause of the flapping condition is a physical cause, selecting a first recovery procedure; and when the cause of the flapping condition is a logical cause, selecting a second recovery procedure different from the first recovery procedure. | 06-23-2011 |
