A Bayesian Argumentation Framework for Distributed Fault Diagnosis in Telecommunication Networks

Traditionally, fault diagnosis in telecommunication network management is carried out by humans who use software support systems. The phenomenal growth in telecommunication networks has nonetheless triggered the interest in more autonomous approaches, capable of coping with emergent challenges such as the need to diagnose faults' root causes under uncertainty in geographically-distributed environments, with restrictions on data privacy. In this paper, we present a framework for distributed fault diagnosis under uncertainty based on an argumentative framework for multi-agent systems. In our approach, agents collaborate to reach conclusions by arguing in unpredictable scenarios. The observations collected from the network are used to infer possible fault root causes using Bayesian networks as causal models for the diagnosis process. Hypotheses about those fault root causes are discussed by agents in an argumentative dialogue to achieve a reliable conclusion. During that dialogue, agents handle the uncertainty of the diagnosis process, taking care of keeping data privacy among them. The proposed approach is compared against existing alternatives using benchmark multi-domain datasets. Moreover, we include data collected from a previous fault diagnosis system running in a telecommunication network for one and a half years. Results show that the proposed approach is suitable for the motivational scenario

An "Autonomic Network Architecture" Research Project

The goal of autonomic networking is to automate as much network maintenance related tasks as possible that beforehand required human intervention. The level at which the delegation of responsibilities can occur ranges from the configuration of address parameters to run-time protocol switching, it includes networking software upgrades and composition and even envisages the evolution of a complete network architecture as a whole. In this paper we describe the profile of the "Autonomic Network Architecture'' project within EU FP6 that has prominent Swiss involvement and roots. We also briefly explain some of the "self-star'' properties which are characteristic for research projects on autonomics