A knowledge-based model for network service management

Management of network services is considered as the process of first recognizing a special situation that occurs in the network environment and then carrying out the corresponding actions. The paper describes a management model which is based on the hierarchical modelling of situations and the association of management actions to the situation descriptions. An inference engine is developed to search the hierarchy for the management strategy that is most suitable for the current situation in the network. The most important advantages of this model are the reusability of knowledge and the support for the rapid integration of management applications into the distributed environment.