PRIORITY APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This patent is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/339,426, filed Dec. 19, 2008, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/348,592, filed Jan. 21, 2003, both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to provisioning and maintaining a circuit in a data network without manual intervention. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Data networks contain various network devices, such as switches, for sending and receiving data between two locations. For example, a frame relay network contains interconnected network devices that allow data packets to be channeled over a circuit through the network from a host to a remote device. For a given network circuit, the data from a host location is delivered to the network through a physical circuit such as a T1 line that links to a switch of the network. The remote device that communicates with the host through the network also has a physical circuit to a switch of the network. The communication path between the switches associated with the host and the remote device that passes through the network is a logical circuit. In a frame relay network, end devices do not select different routes for data packets sent between the host and the remote location, but always send the data packets through the same path. A host may have many logical circuits, such as permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) or switched virtual circuits (SVCs), linked to many remote locations. For example, a PVC in a frame relay network sends and receives data packets through the same path leading to the switch of the remote device&#39;s physical connection 
         [0004]    The switches in a data network are generally in communication with one or more legacy logical and physical element modules. For example, in a frame relay network, a logical element module communicates with a switch to instruct the switch to function as a logical port in the network. The switches of the network send data packets to particular destinations and thereby create logical circuits in response to the information provided by the logical element module. Because the legacy logical element module has access to the switches, it can also log the operating parameters of each switch. The legacy logical and physical element modules are utilized by technicians to employ methods for provisioning and maintaining network circuits in the network. These current methods, however, suffer from several drawbacks. 
         [0005]    First, to provision a network circuit for a service, it is currently necessary for a technician to establish the physical circuit by making a physical connection (i.e., wiring the circuit) between a host device and the switch and then to access a terminal in the logical element module to manually enter data for establishing the logical circuit in the switch. However, these current methods for provisioning network circuits require the utilization of manpower resources (i.e., technicians are required at the switch and at the legacy logical element module) which could be deployed elsewhere as well as the time required for the technicians to manually enter the provisioning data. 
         [0006]    Second, to maintain a network circuit, currently two processes generally occur after a problem is reported. First, a technician accesses the legacy logical element module to troubleshoot the logical circuit by accessing and analyzing logical circuit data from one or more switches to determine if the logical circuit is down. If the logical circuit is operating properly, the technician then accesses the legacy physical element module to troubleshoot the physical circuit, which in most instances requires taking the network circuit out of service to perform testing. However, currently there is no access by the legacy physical element module to the logical data provided by the legacy logical element module for use in troubleshooting physical circuits. As a result of not having access to the logical data, there may be instances where the network circuit is unnecessarily taken out of service 
         [0007]    Therefore, there is a need for an interface to provision network circuits in a data network without manual intervention. There is a further need for access to logical circuit data to improve the maintenance of network circuits in a data network. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    Embodiments of the present invention provide for a method and system for provisioning a network circuit in a data network without manual intervention. A network management module receives an order for provisioning the circuit and then, based on the order, transmits a request to a legacy logical element module to configure a logical circuit in one or more network devices in the network. The network device may be a switch. The circuit may be a frame relay circuit, an ATM circuit, or other logical circuit. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment of the invention, a method and system are provided for maintaining a network circuit in a data network. The network circuit includes both a logical circuit and a physical circuit. A legacy physical element module sends a request for logical circuit data to a legacy logical element module through a network management module in communication with the legacy physical element module. Based on the request, the legacy logical element module retrieves the logical circuit data from one or more network devices in the network and transmits the data to the legacy physical element module through the network management module. Upon receiving the logical circuit data, the legacy physical element module troubleshoots the physical circuit to maintain the network circuit. 
         [0010]    The various aspects of the present invention may be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and by reference to the drawings and claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows a networked environment including a data network and a management system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows an illustrative routine for provisioning a network circuit in the networked environment shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows an illustrative routine for performing maintenance on a network circuit in the networked environment shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    Embodiments of the present invention are generally employed in a networked environment  100  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The networked environment  100 , includes a data network  150 , which contains one or more interconnected network elements, such as switches  106 ,  107 , and  108 , for transmitting data. The data network  150  may be a frame relay network. In one embodiment, the switches  106 ,  107 , and  108  may be data packet switches. It will be appreciated that the data network may also contain other interconnected network devices and elements (not shown) such as digital access and cross connect switches (DACS), channel service units (CSUs), and data service units (DSUs). 
         [0015]    The data network  150  channels data using a network circuit  115  between a host device  112  and a remote device  114 . The network circuit  115  includes a physical circuit and a logical circuit. As used in the foregoing description and the appended claims, a physical circuit is defined as the physical path that connects the end point of a network circuit to a network device. For example, in the networked environment  100  of  FIG. 1 , the physical circuit of the network circuit  115  includes the physical connection  121  between the router  109  and the switch  106  as well as the physical connection  103  between the router  110  and the remote device  114 . Routers  109  and  110  carry the physical signal from the end devices  112  and  114  over the connections  101  and  103  to the network  150 . The routers  109  and  110  are connected to host devices  112  and  114  by links  121  and  123  respectively. The routers  109  and  110  may be local area network (LAN) routers, LAN bridges, hosts, front end processors, Frame Relay Access Devices (FRADs), or any other device with a frame relay or network interface. It should be appreciated that the host devices may be configured to serve as routers (thus eliminating the need for the routers  109  and  110 ). It should also be appreciated that a single router may be linked to multiple host devices. The physical connections  101  and  103  for the physical circuit may be any physical communications medium such as a 56 Kbps line or T1 line carried over a four-wire shielded cable or over a fiber optic cable. 
         [0016]    As used in the foregoing description and the appended claims, a logical circuit is defined as a portion of the network circuit wherein data is sent over a communication data path between the first and last network devices in the data network. For example, in the networked environment  100  of  FIG. 1 , the logical circuit of the network circuit  115  may include the communication path  105  between the switches  106 ,  107 , and  108  in the data network  150 . In one embodiment, the logical path  105  may be a trunk for physically interconnecting the switches  106 ,  107 , and  108 . It should be understood that the actual path taken by data through the data network  150  is not fixed and may vary from time to time, such as when automatic rerouting takes place. For example, the logical circuit of the network circuit  115  may include the communication path  104  between the switches  106  and  108 . It should be understood that no matter what path the data takes, the beginning and end of the logical circuit (i.e., the switches  106  and  108 ) will not change. It will be appreciated that the data network  150  may contain additional switches or other interconnected network elements creating multiple paths between the switches  106 ,  107 , and  108  defining the logical circuit in the data network. In the data network  150 , the logical circuit may be either a permanent virtual circuit (PVC) remaining available to the network at all times or a temporary or switched virtual circuit (SVC) available to the network only as long as data is being transmitted. 
         [0017]    In the networked environment  100 , the network circuit  115  is established between the router  109  and the router  110  by channeling data packets or frames through the data network  150 . In frame relay networks, each data frame sent from the host device  112  and the remote device  114  includes a header containing information, called a data link connection identifier (DLCI) which specifies the frame&#39;s destination, along with data. The header also includes specific bits for indicating the existence of congestion in the network and for discarding frames. In one embodiment, the logical circuit in the networked environment  100  may be provisioned with parameters for handling network congestion. These parameters may include a Committed Information Rate (CIR) and a Committed Burst Size (Bc). As is known to those skilled in the art, the CIR represents the average capacity of the logical circuit and the Bc represents the maximum amount of data that may be transmitted. The logical circuit may be provisioned such that when the CIR or the Bc is exceeded, the frame will be discarded by the receiving switch in the data network. It will be appreciated that the parameters for the logical circuit are not limited to the CIR and the Bc and that other parameters may be provisioned which are known to those skilled in the art. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to frame relay networks but may also be implemented in other types of data networks such as asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and native-mode local area networks. 
         [0018]    The networked environment  100  may also include a signaling mechanism for determining the status of the logical circuit in the data network  150 . In a frame relay network, the signaling mechanism may be in accord with a Local Management Interface (LMI) specification which provides for the sending and receiving of “status inquiries” between the network and an access device. The LMI specification includes obtaining status information through the use of special management frames with a unique DLCI address which may be passed between the network and the access device. These frames monitor the status of the connection and provide information regarding the health of the network. For example in the data network  150 , the router  109  receives status information from the switch  106  in response to a status request sent in a special management frame. The LMI status information may include whether or not the logical circuit is congested or whether or not the network circuit is down. It should be understood that the parameters and the signaling mechanism discussed above are optional and that other parameters and mechanisms may also be utilized to obtain connection status information for a network circuit. 
         [0019]    The networked environment  100  includes a service order system  160  for receiving service orders for provisioning network circuits. The service order includes information defining the transmission characteristics (i.e., the logical circuit) of the network circuit. The service order also contains the access speed, CIR, burst rates, and excess burst rates. The service order system  160  communicates the service order information to a network database  170  over management trunk  171 . The network database  170  assigns and stores the parameters for the physical circuit for the network circuit such as a port number on the switch  106  for transmitting data over the physical connections  101  and  103  to the host device  112 . 
         [0020]    The network database  170  may also be in communication with an operations support system (not shown) for assigning physical equipment to the network circuit and for maintaining an inventory of the physical assignments for the network circuit. An illustrative operations support system is “TIRKS”® (Trunks Integrated Records Keeping System) marketed by TELECORDIA™ TECHNOLOGIES, Inc. of Morristown, N.J. The network database  170  may also be in communication with a Work Force Administration and Control system (WFA/C) (not shown) which is used to assign resources (i.e., technicians) to work on installing the physical circuit. 
         [0021]    The networked environment  100  also includes a legacy logical element module  153  in communication with the switches  106 ,  108  and host device  112  and remote devices  114  through management trunks  185 . The legacy logical element module  153  runs a network management application program to monitor the operation and retrieve data regarding the operation of the logical circuit established between switch  106  and switch  108  for the network circuit  115 . The legacy logical element module may consist of terminals (not shown) that display a map-based graphical user interface (GUI) of the logical connections in the data network. An illustrative legacy logical element module is the NAVISCORE™ system marketed by LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES, Inc. of Murray Hill, N.J. 
         [0022]    The networked environment  100  further includes a legacy physical element module  155 . The legacy physical element module  155  runs a network management application program to monitor the operation and retrieve data regarding the operation of the physical circuit of the network circuit  115 . The legacy physical element module is also in communication with the network database  170  for accessing information regarding physical circuits such as the line speed of the physical circuit. Similar to the legacy logical element module  153 , the physical logical element module  155  may also consist of terminals (not shown) that display a map-based graphical user interface (GUI) of the physical connections in the data network. An illustrative physical element module is the Integrated Testing and Analysis System (INTAS), marketed by TELECORDIA™ TECHNOLOGIES, Inc. of Morristown, N.J., which provides flow-through testing and analysis of telephony services. 
         [0023]    The legacy physical element module  155  troubleshoots the physical connections  101  and  103  for the physical circuit by communicating with test module  180  which interfaces with the physical connections via test access points  156  and  157 . The test module  180  obtains the status of the physical circuit by transmitting “clean” test signals to test access points  156  and  157  which “loopback” the signals for detection by the test module  180 . It should be understood that there may be multiple test access points on each of the physical connections  101  and  103  for the physical circuit. 
         [0024]    The networked environment further includes a network management module  175  in communication with the service order system  160 , the network database  170 , the legacy logical element module  153 , and the legacy physical element module  155  through communications channels  172 . The communications channels  172  may be on a local area network (LAN). The network management module  175  may include a terminal (not shown), which may be a general-purpose computer system with a display screen. The network management module  175  serves as an interface for implementing logical operations to provision and maintain network circuits in the networked environment  100 . The logical operations may be implemented as machine instructions stored locally or as instructions retrieved from the legacy element modules  153  and  155 . The network management module  175  may communicate with the legacy element management module  153  and the legacy physical element management module  155  using a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). As is known to those skilled in the art, CORBA is an open, vendor-independent architecture and infrastructure which allows different computer applications to work together over one or more networks using a basic set of commands and responses. An illustrative routine illustrating the logical operations performed by the network management module  175  to provision and maintain network circuits is described below with reference to  FIGS. 2-3 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows an illustrative routine for provisioning a network circuit in the networked environment  100 . Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the routine  200  begins at block  205  wherein the network management module  175  receives a service order from the service order system  160  for provisioning a network circuit for a customer, such as network circuit  115 . As described above, the service order includes information defining the transmission characteristics of the logical circuit (i.e., access speed, CIR, burst rates, excess burst rates, and DCLI), as well as the physical information needed by downstream systems (i.e., TIRKS and WFA) to assign physical equipment for installing the physical circuit. At block  210 , the service order system  160  communicates the physical circuit information to the network database  170  which assigns the parameters for the physical circuit such as the port number on the switch  106  for transmitting data over the physical connections  101  and  103  to the host device  112 . 
         [0026]    The routine  200  continues to block  215  wherein the network management system  175  receives the assignments for the physical circuit from the network database  170 . The network management module  175  then communicates the physical circuit information to a technician who makes the physical connections to establish the physical circuit (i.e., provisions) based on the assignments received from the network database  170 . 
         [0027]    At block  220 , the network management module  175  communicates the logical information from the service order request to the legacy logical element module  153  with instructions to provision the logical circuit. The legacy logical element module  153  provisions the logical circuit by locating the appropriate network devices, and programming ports on the switches in the data network  150  to create the logical circuit. For example, in the networked environment  100 , the legacy logical element module  153  would access ports in network device  106 ,  107 ,  108  and program the ports to deliver data from the host  112  to the remote device  114  over connection path  105 . Thus, the logical circuit for the network circuit  115  is provisioned by the network management module  175  without manual intervention. 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  shows an illustrative routine method  300  for performing maintenance on the network circuit  115  in the networked environment  100 . The routine  300  begins at block  305  wherein, in response to a reported problem, the legacy physical element module  155  obtains the physical circuit information (e.g., port information) from the network database  170  and sends a request to network management module  175  to obtain the logical circuit information for the network circuit  115 . 
         [0029]    The routine  300  continues to block  310 , upon receiving the request from the legacy physical management module  155 , the network management module  175  sends a request to the legacy logical element module  153  to obtain logical circuit data, such as the LMI status, for the logical circuit. At block  315 , the legacy logical element module  153  retrieves the logical circuit data from a switch, such as switch  106 , in the data network  150 . The retrieved data may include the aforementioned LMI information as well as the CIR, the Bc, and the DLCI for the logical circuit. The legacy logical element module  153  then communicates the logical circuit data to the network management module  175 . 
         [0030]    At block  320 , the network management module  175  examines the logical circuit data to determine whether or not the logical circuit has failed (i.e., the logical circuit is not transmitting data) so that the legacy physical element module  155  can safely test the network circuit  115  by taking it out of service without losing data. For example, if the LMI information indicates that the logical circuit is congested (i.e., the current access speed exceeds the CIR or the Bc thereby causing frames to be dropped in the data network  150 ) or if the LMI information indicates that the network circuit  115  is “down” (indicated by the absence of a “keep alive” signal between a router and a switch in the data network), then the network management module  175  will communicate the logical circuit data to the legacy physical element module  155  and instruct the legacy physical element module  155  to test the physical circuit at block  325 . The legacy physical element module  155  tests the physical circuit by communicating a request to the test module  180  to access a loop-able test point  156  or  157  on the physical connections  101  or  103 . The tests may consist of determining whether the test module  180  can detect a clean signal that it transmits out to the loop-able test point. It will be appreciated that more detailed and advanced testing may also be performed by technicians using tools within the legacy physical element module  155  as well as other tools. 
         [0031]    Conversely, if at block  320 , the network management module  175  determines that the legacy physical element module  155  cannot safely test the network circuit  155  (e.g., the logical circuit is not congested and the network circuit  115  is “up,” then the network management module  175  communicates again with the legacy logical element module to determine if another logical circuit in the data network  150  has failed at block  310 . As discussed briefly above, the communications between the legacy physical element module  155 , the network management module  175 , and the legacy logical element module  153  may be implemented using script files containing sets of commands and responses through a CORBA interface. 
         [0032]    The network management module  175  enables the legacy physical element module  155  to obtain logical circuit data from the legacy logical element module  153 . As a result, technicians at the legacy physical element module  155  are able to use the logical circuit data to troubleshoot network circuits without unnecessarily taking them out of service. Although the present invention has been described in connection with various exemplary embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that many modifications can be made thereto within the scope of the claims that follow. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the invention in any way be limited by the above description, but instead be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
A disclosed example method involves at a network management module, receiving a request for logical circuit data associated with a network circuit. In addition, the example method involves requesting the logical circuit data from a legacy logical element in communication with a network device of the network circuit. The logical circuit data is received from the legacy logical element. The logical circuit data is indicative of whether the network circuit has failed.