WO2021165725A1

WO2021165725A1 - Coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts

Info

Publication number: WO2021165725A1
Application number: PCT/IB2020/051489
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jürgen Goerge
Original assignee: Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
Priority date: 2020-02-21
Filing date: 2020-02-21
Publication date: 2021-08-26

Abstract

There are provided measures for coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts. Such measures exemplarily comprise, at a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, determining whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

Description

COORDINATION OF COMPENSATION OF NETWORK PART FAILURE IMPACTS

Field

The present invention relates to coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts. More specifically, the present invention exemplarily relates to measures (including methods, apparatuses and computer program products) for realizing coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts.

The present specification generally relates to, in networks like mobile networks, a network management system that manages a system, which is composed by multiple parts (i.e. managed entities), and where these multiple parts depend on each other to provide an overall service.

An example of such network management system is a central end-to-end (E2E) management domain that manages multiple domains of a telecommunication system, like a radio access network (RAN) management domain, a core domain, and a transport network management domain, where each of these management domains are managing the corresponding network elements.

Such systems are described e.g. in ITU-T M3010 (ITU: International Telecommunication Union).

The present specification particularly relates to more recent architecture of Zero-touch network and Service Management (ZSM, ZSM002 "Reference Architecture" (ETSI GS ZSM 002 vl.1.1; ETSI: European Telecommunications Standards Institute)), which shall exhibit closed loop automation to allow for automatic healing in case of failures (ZSM008 "Inter Management Domain Life Cycle Management" and ZSM009 "Closed-Loop Automation").

More particularly, the present specification and exemplary embodiments of the present invention relates to interfaces between the management systems and managed entities.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, these interfaces may be introduced to 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) regulations and those of other Standards Developing Organizations (SDO) like ZSM, TeleManagement Forum (TMF), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), or Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF).

Fiowever, while the problems underlying the present disclosure and exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described based on such architectures and frameworks, the present invention is not limited thereto.

If one part of such a managed system experiences a fault, e.g. if a so-called fronthaul link between e.g. a remote radio head (RRH) and e.g. the baseband unit of a base transceiver station (BTS) breaks down, then the corresponding cells will not be able to work, e.g. the antennas of the base station are not able to communicate to the rest of the system such that the corresponding cells are not able to handle voice and data calls.

In such scenarios, in many cases both at least two parts of the system will send a failure notification to the management system. Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment with signaling variants according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. As shown in the example of Figure 7, one system may report the root cause (e.g. the transport network will report broken link), while the part of the system that depends on the availability of the link may send a failure notification (alarm corresponding to a failure, fault) to indicate, that it is not able to work due to some missing preconditions (e.g. the BTS might report "Cell down due to Loss of Communication to Remote Radio Head").

If closed loop automation services in both management domains/systems are able to restore the service at least partially, then the end-to-end management system must assess all potential solutions and workarounds in order to choose the best possible compensating action.

In the above-mentioned example, the best solution might be if the transport domain restores the broken link, because this would fully restore the overall service. The second-best solution might be a cell outage compensation (COC) within the RAN domain, which restores the coverage at reduced capacity. COC means that in case of a coverage hole due to e.g. a failure of a cell in the RAN, the surrounding cells might be reconfigured (e.g. tilt of the antenna, transmit power, pattern of the beam grid) to cover the hole. However, such compensating action recovers the coverage only. Since COC covers the hole by using the capacity of surrounding cells, COC is not able to compensate the lost capacity of the failed cell. In principle, the fault situation as described above might be solved in a distributed manner without central coordination, e.g. in the following way.

As shown in Figure 7, Link-0 experiences a problem and is going down.

Consequently, the BTS detects the broken Link-0 towards the remote radio head.

As a consequence, the RAN domain may apply COC autonomously.

In parallel, the transport domain detects that Link-0 is down.

As a consequence, the transport domain may repair the link autonomously, which may take some time. Once repaired, the transport domain restores the link.

Once restored, the BTS may detect that Link-0 is working again and that the remote radio head is connected again.

As a consequence, the RAN domain may stop COC and resume normal operations.

However, as history of self-optimizing networks (SON) has shown, although many use cases can be automated in a distributed manner ("D-SON"), nevertheless many operators select a solution based on a centralized architecture ("C-SON"). Such approach may at least provide more explicit control to the operators.

Hence, the problem arises that interfaces must be provided for supporting a centralized architecture of network management including compensation of network part failure impacts. As such, also architectures, regulations and standards must be prepared to support such centralized architectures, e.g. within the ZSM reference architecture.

Hence, there is a need to provide for coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts.

Summary Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention aim at addressing at least part of the above issues and/or problems and drawbacks.

Various aspects of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are set out in the appended claims.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, the method comprising determining whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of a system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains, the method comprising receiving information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain, and deciding on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus of a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, the apparatus comprising determining circuitry configured to determine whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting circuitry configured to transmit said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus of a system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains, the apparatus comprising receiving circuitry configured to receive information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain, and deciding circuitry configured to decide on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus of a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and at least one interface configured for communication with at least another apparatus, the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform determining whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus of a system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and at least one interface configured for communication with at least another apparatus, the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform receiving information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain, and deciding on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer-executable computer program code which, when the program is run on a computer (e.g. a computer of an apparatus according to any one of the aforementioned apparatus-related exemplary aspects of the present invention), is configured to cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of the aforementioned method-related exemplary aspects of the present invention.

Such computer program product may comprise (or be embodied) a (tangible) computer-readable (storage) medium or the like on which the computer-executable computer program code is stored, and/or the program may be directly loadable into an internal memory of the computer or a processor thereof.

Any one of the above aspects enables an efficient determination interfacing between management entities or management domains, respectively, in particular for the case of failures and the compensation thereof, to thereby solve at least part of the problems and drawbacks identified in relation to the prior art.

By way of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there is provided coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts. More specifically, by way of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there are provided measures and mechanisms for realizing coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts.

Thus, improvement is achieved by methods, apparatuses and computer program products enabling/realizing coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts.

In the following, the present invention will be described in greater detail by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment with signaling variants according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 8 is a schematic overview of a provided service according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 9 is a schematic overview of exemplary data provided by the service according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of signaling sequences according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and

Figure 11 is a block diagram alternatively illustrating apparatuses according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

The present invention is described herein with reference to particular non-limiting examples and to what are presently considered to be conceivable embodiments of the present invention. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is by no means limited to these examples, and may be more broadly applied.

It is to be noted that the following description of the present invention and its embodiments mainly refers to specifications being used as non-limiting examples for certain exemplary network configurations and deployments. Namely, the present invention and its embodiments are mainly described in relation to 3GPP/ZSM specifications being used as non-limiting examples for certain exemplary network configurations and deployments. As such, the description of exemplary embodiments given herein specifically refers to terminology which is directly related thereto. Such terminology is only used in the context of the presented non-limiting examples, and does naturally not limit the invention in any way. Rather, any other communication or communication related system deployment, etc. may also be utilized as long as compliant with the features described herein. As an example, communication or communication related system deployment according to ZSM, TMF, IETF, or MEF may be utilized.

Flereinafter, various embodiments and implementations of the present invention and its aspects or embodiments are described using several variants and/or alternatives. It is generally noted that, according to certain needs and constraints, all of the described variants and/or alternatives may be provided alone or in any conceivable combination (also including combinations of individual features of the various variants and/or alternatives).

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in general terms, there are provided measures and mechanisms for (enabling/realizing) coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, interfaces to enable coordination of compensating actions by closed loop automations are provided.

Namely, as mentioned above, if closed loop automation services in both management domains/systems are able to restore the service at least partially, then the end-to-end management system must assess all potential solutions and workarounds in order to choose the best possible compensating action. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the (end-to- end) management system needs to balance between the quality of the solutions, its costs, and at which point of time the corresponding solution might be available.

In the above-mentioned example, the best solution would be if the transport domain restores the broken link, because this would fully restore the overall service - but it might require manual construction work, which might take some time, e.g. several days. The second-best solution might be a cell outage compensation within the RAN domain, which restores the coverage at reduced capacity and would be available immediately. Therefore, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, time has to be handled as dimension independent from the quality of the solution to allow the management system a comprehensive assessment of the potential solutions. A single, scalar utility function that combines time and quality may not be sufficient, because it does not differentiate between benefit, cost, and time to implement.

In order to solve problems underlying the present invention, a decision logic that bases its decisions for a best solution on potentially multi-dimensional utility functions might be utilized. In particular, multi-dimensional utility functions that differentiate between several dimensions of "qualities of a solution" and "costs of a solution" might be utilized, where the "time needed to implement a solution" might be regarded a specific kind of cost.

However, current interfaces do not allow a management system to query the managed entities for potential compensating actions regarding a given fault, nor do current interfaces allow the managed entities to provide the quality and time they would need to establish a solution and to thereby potentially to allow for (an efficient) coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts. In addition to the information regarding the possible compensating actions including the quality and time they would need to establish a solution, interfaces according to some exemplary embodiments of the present invention offer the possibility for all involved parties to relate queries and replies with corresponding faults in the related managed system.

In brief, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, managed entities offer via an interface a management service, that enables a management system to receive from the managed entities whether the managed entities have possibilities to autonomously heal a fault, which might be identified e.g. by a corresponding object ID and alarm ID. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the information provided by the managed entities to the management system comprise an indication for the quality of the solution and an indication of the cost of the solution. Cost in this context might relate to monetary costs but especially relates to the time required to implement the compensating action.

Here, while according to some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the management system actively queries the managed entities for a potential compensating action, according to other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the managed entities convey this information as part of the alarm message (alarm corresponding to a failure, fault) on their own.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in more generic terms below. Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus may be a management entity 10 (management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain) such as (an entity of) a RAN management domain, (an entity of) a core domain, or (an entity of) a transport network management domain, comprising a determining circuitry 11, and a transmitting circuitry 12. The determining circuitry 11 determine whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain. The transmitting circuitry 12 transmits said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining. Here, the information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

Implementations of the above exemplary embodiments of the present invention allow managed entities (i.e., management entities managing network entities of associated management domains) to provide quality (i.e. benefit) and time they would need to establish a solution for compensating for an experienced fault. In so doing, a management system (i.e., system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains) is enabled to assess all possible solutions and workarounds in order to choose the best possible compensating action.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus according to Figure 1 may perform the method of Figure 5 but is not limited to this method. The method of Figure 5 may be performed by the apparatus of Figure 1 but is not limited to being performed by this apparatus.

As shown in Figure 5, a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention comprises an operation of determining (S51) whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and an operation of transmitting (S52) said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In particular, Figure 2 illustrates a variation of the apparatus shown in Figure 1. The apparatus according to Figure 2 may thus further comprise receiving circuitry 21, detecting circuitry 22, applying circuitry 23, and/or cancelling circuitry 24.

In an embodiment at least some of the functionalities of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 (or 2) may be shared between two physically separate devices forming one operational entity. Therefore, the apparatus may be seen to depict the operational entity comprising one or more physically separate devices for executing at least some of the described processes.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 5, exemplary details of the determining operation (S51) are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such.

Such exemplary determining operation (S51) according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of receiving a query for said information on said provided actions.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said query includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 5, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of detecting necessity of an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, and an operation of transmitting said alarm message based on a result of said detecting.

Such exemplary determining operation (S51) according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of detecting necessity of an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is transmitted in said alarm message. According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 5, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of receiving an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and an operation of applying said at least one action for said object.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 5, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of receiving an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and an operation of cancelling said at least one action for said object.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said information on said provided actions includes at least one fault for which said at least one action is provided.

According to still further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said information on said provided actions includes a description of said at least one action.

According to still further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said information on said provided actions includes information on costs of said at least one action.

According to still further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said information on said provided actions includes a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action.

According to still further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said information on said provided actions includes a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action. Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus may be a system management entity 30 (system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains) such as (an entity of) an end-to-end management domain, comprising a receiving circuitry 31, and a deciding circuitry 32. The receiving circuitry 31 receives information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain. The deciding circuitry 32 decides on activation of at least one action based on said information. Here, the information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

Implementations of the above exemplary embodiments of the present invention allow management systems (i.e., system management entities managing compounds of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains) to gain quality (i.e. benefit) and time managed entities (i.e., management entities managing network entities of associated management domains) would need to establish solutions for compensating for experienced faults. In so doing, a management system is enabled to assess all possible solutions and workarounds in order to choose the best possible compensating action. In particular, a management system is enabled to balance between the quality (benefit) of different solutions, their costs, and at which point of time each of the different solutions would be available.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus according to Figure 3 may perform the method of Figure 6 but is not limited to this method. The method of Figure 6 may be performed by the apparatus of Figure 3 but is not limited to being performed by this apparatus.

As shown in Figure 6, a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention comprises an operation of receiving (S61) information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain, and an operation of deciding (S62) on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In particular, Figure 4 illustrates a variation of the apparatus shown in Figure 3. The apparatus according to Figure 4 may thus further comprise transmitting circuitry 41 and/or correlating circuitry 42.

In an embodiment at least some of the functionalities of the apparatus shown in Figure 3 (or 4) may be shared between two physically separate devices forming one operational entity. Therefore, the apparatus may be seen to depict the operational entity comprising one or more physically separate devices for executing at least some of the described processes.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 6, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of transmitting a query for said information on said provided actions.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 6, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of receiving an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, wherein said query is transmitted in response to said alarm message.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 6, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of receiving an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is included in said alarm message.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 6, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, said alarm message is a first alarm message including a reference to at least one first fault and a reference to a first object in said associated management domain as a first associated management domain experiencing said at least one first fault, and an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of receiving a second alarm message including a reference to at least one second fault and a reference to a second object in a second associated management domain experiencing said at least one second fault, and an operation of correlating said at least one first fault and said first object with said at least one second fault and said second object.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 6, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of transmitting an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action based on a result of said deciding.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 6, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of transmitting an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action.

According to still further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said information on said provided actions includes a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action. According to still further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said information on said provided actions includes a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail below.

The different management tools in a layered management architecture like ZSM may depend on standardized interfaces between the management systems. Instead of defining additional standards, ZSM may try to rely on standardization organizations that are experts for the specific domains, like 3GPP for RAN and core network, IETF, MEF, BBF, or TMF, etc. (BBF: Broadband Forum). If ZSM identifies the need for additional or enhanced interfaces, then ZSM may try to initiate the corresponding activities in the corresponding standardization organizations.

As mentioned above, although the present invention is not limited thereto, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are illustrated as augmenting the 3GPP framework of service based management (3GPP TS 28.533 "Management and orchestration; Architecture framework"; TS: Technical Specification).

Figure 8 is a schematic overview of a provided service according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Namely, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, managed entities in a 3GPP management system (as a example) offer a management service (MnS) “CompensatingActions”, that enables the management consumer by using the service “queryCompensatingActions” to query from the managed entity whether the managed entity is able to offer one or multiple compensating actions corresponding to a specific fault. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the service responds with a list of potentially compensating actions “FistOf Actions”, which contains as items the individual potential compensating actions “CompensatingAction”.

ManagementService: CompensatingActions (« MnS » CompensatingActions ) query Comp ensatingActionsf In: reference to object, reference to alarm; Out: ListOfActions ) activateCompensatingAction( In: compensatingActionld ) deactivateCompensatingAction( In: compensatingActionld ) with the following (interface/service) definitions:

Service: query CompensatingActions

In: Reference to the alarming object(s), i.e. the distinguished name of the alarming object.

In: Reference to the alarm(s), i.e. Alarmld Out: List of CompensatingActions

Service: activateCompensatingAction

In: The ID of the compensating action that the consumer of the management service wants to activate. This also might be a list of ID in order to activate multiple actions in one operation

Service: deactivateCompensatingAction

In: The ID to the compensating action that the consumer of the management service wants to deactivate. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this may also be a list of IDs in order to deactivate multiple actions in one operation

As an alternative, similar thereto, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, e.g. the information element alarmlnformation as of 3GPP TS 32111-2 "Fault Management; Part 2: Alarm Integration Reference Point (IRP)" may be augmented to inform the management entity about the list of potential compensating actions that are related to the alarm.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the list of compensating actions and the compensating actions are modelled as objects e.g. in the context of 3GPP network resource models (3GPP TS 28.541 "Management and orchestration; 5G Network Resource Model"), as illustrated in Figure 9.

Figure 9 is a schematic overview of exemplary data provided by the service according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. List of compensating actions ( ListOfActions )

CompensatingAction

_CompensatingActionld referenceTo Alarms: list of related AlarmID benefit: Quantitative measure of the quality cost: Quantitative measure of the cost timeToImplement: Time needed to implement the corrective action relatedActions: Reference to related compensating actions conflicting Actions: Reference to related, conflicting actions with the following (interface/service) definitions:

Each CompensatingAction contains the following attributes:

CompensatingActionld: Id of the compensating action. Unique on the scope of the instance of the MnS. This Id is required to address individual actions e.g. to activate or deactivate them. referenceTo Alarms: Reference to the alarm(s), i.e., list of Alarmld. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, one compensating action may relate to multiple alarms. This attribute is required to relate a compensating action to the alarms and faults, that the compensating action is able to compensate.

Description of the compensating action. According to exemplary embodiments, this item may be filled with free text. According to other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, certain compensating actions are predefined (e.g. standardized), and predefined (e.g. standardized) "ActionID" may be assigned for a specific kind of actions. benefit: A quantitative measure of the benefit of the compensating action. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this quantitative measure is e.g. an indicator indicative of a quality (gain) of an action. According to other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this quantitative measure is a list (or a vector) in order to allow for multiple, independent benefits, i.e. a vector-valued utility function with multiple dimensions. cost: A quantitative measure of the cost to implement the compensating action. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this quantitative measure is e.g. an indicator indicative of a quality (gain) of an action. According to other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this quantitative measure is a list (or a vector) in order to allow for multiple, independent costs to cope with multiple dimensions. timeToImplement: Time to implement. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this value is one dedicated dimension of the cost. However, "time to implement" is a very specific cost because it can be clearly quantified and standardized, which might not be the case for other costs. In view thereof, according to other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this value is handled separate from the cost quantity. relatedActions: Reference to related compensating actions conflicting Actions: Reference to conflicting compensating actions.

Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of signaling sequences according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Based on Figure 10, a management system using an exemplary sequence of messages to coordinate the potential compensating actions from multiple managed systems is explained.

In procedure 1 of Figure 10, the core management domain (entity) informs the E2E management domain (entity) about an alarm (e.g. corresponding to a fault) that within the domain is addressed by e.g. Object=l.l and e.g. Alarm ID=1.

In procedure 2 of Figure 10, the RAN management domain (entity) informs the E2E management domain (entity) about an alarm (e.g. corresponding to a fault) that within the RAN management domain is addressed by Object=2.1 and Alarm ID=2.

In procedure 3 of Figure 10, the E2E management domain (entity) correlates the alarms and detects that these two alarms belong to each other. Here, the correlation of the alarms may be implemented in several ways by the E2E management domain (entity).

In procedure 4 of Figure 10, the E2E management domain (entity) asks the core management domain (entity) whether it is able to offer any action to compensate the Alarm ID=2. The core management domain (entity) offers a compensating action with Action ID=11 to replace the user plane function (UPF), which will take, in the present example, 24 h to implement and will fully restore the service. In procedure 5 of Figure 10, the E2E management domain (entity) asks the RAN management domain (entity) whether it is able to offer any action to compensate the Alarm ID=1. The RAN management domain (entity) offers a compensating action with Action ID=22 to apply COC. COC will restore the coverage of the radio network by re-directing cells or beams to areas of the network that due to the induced fault are not covered anymore, while COC is not able to restore the lost capacity. Therefore, COC does not fully compensate the fault, but only to e.g. 50%. However, it takes e.g. only a minute to change the coverage area of the compensating cells (or beams) to fill the coverage hole.

In procedure 6 of Figure 10, the E2E management domain (entity) decides on the compensating action to be applied. It must balance between quality of the solution and the time needed to implement it. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the decision might depend on e.g. the location of the fault, the time of day, on expected time to implement and the qualities. In the illustrated example, the E2E management domain (entity) decides to activate COC in the RAN management domain.

In procedure 7 of Figure 10, the E2E management domain (entity) activates in the RAN management domain the compensating action with Action ID=22 for Object ID=2.1. In particular, the E2E management domain (entity) instructs the RAN management domain (entity) to activate the compensating action with Action ID=22 for Object ID=2.1.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, once the management domains (management domain entities) clear the alarms, the E2E management domain (entity) re-evaluates the situation. Based on such re-evaluation, the E2E management domain (entity) may in this example deactivate the compensating action with Action ID=22 for Object ID=2.1.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in order to cope with the situation due to correlation being much more complicated in case of multiple alarms, a close re-assessment by the E2E management domain is provided to decide on activation/deactivation of compensating actions. Here, the correlation of the alarms and the logic required to decide on activation/deactivation of compensating actions may be implemented in several ways by the E2E management domain (entity).

The above-described procedures and functions may be implemented by respective functional elements, processors, or the like, as described below. In the foregoing exemplary description of the network entity, only the units that are relevant for understanding the principles of the invention have been described using functional blocks. The network entity may comprise further units that are necessary for its respective operation. However, a description of these units is omitted in this specification. The arrangement of the functional blocks of the devices is not construed to limit the invention, and the functions may be performed by one block or further split into sub-blocks.

When in the foregoing description it is stated that the apparatus, i.e. network entity (or some other means) is configured to perform some function, this is to be construed to be equivalent to a description stating that a (i.e. at least one) processor or corresponding circuitry, potentially in cooperation with computer program code stored in the memory of the respective apparatus, is configured to cause the apparatus to perform at least the thus mentioned function. Also, such function is to be construed to be equivalently implementable by specifically configured circuitry or means for performing the respective function (i.e. the expression “unit configured to" is construed to be equivalent to an expression such as “means for”).

In Figure 10, an alternative illustration of apparatuses according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention is depicted. As indicated in Figure 10, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the apparatus (management entity) 10’ (corresponding to the management entity 10) comprises a processor 111, a memory 112 and an interface 113, which are connected by a bus 114 or the like. Further, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the apparatus (system management entity) 30’ (corresponding to the system management entity 30) comprises a processor 115, a memory 116 and an interface 117, which are connected by a bus 118 or the like, and the apparatuses may be connected via link 119, respectively. It is noted that the apparatus (system management entity) 30’ (corresponding to the system management entity 30) may be connected to a plurality of (at least two) apparatuses (system management entities) 30’ (corresponding to the system management entities 30).

The processor 111/115 and/or the interface 113/117 may also include a modem or the like to facilitate communication over a (hardwire or wireless) link, respectively. The interface 113/117 may include a suitable transceiver coupled to one or more antennas or communication means for (hardwire or wireless) communications with the linked or connected device(s), respectively. The interface 113/117 is generally configured to communicate with at least one other apparatus, i.e. the interface thereof. The memory 112/116 may store respective programs assumed to include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by the respective processor, enables the respective electronic device or apparatus to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

In general terms, the respective devices/apparatuses (and/or parts thereof) may represent means for performing respective operations and/or exhibiting respective functionalities, and/or the respective devices (and/or parts thereof) may have functions for performing respective operations and/or exhibiting respective functionalities.

When in the subsequent description it is stated that the processor (or some other means) is configured to perform some function, this is to be construed to be equivalent to a description stating that at least one processor, potentially in cooperation with computer program code stored in the memory of the respective apparatus, is configured to cause the apparatus to perform at least the thus mentioned function. Also, such function is to be construed to be equivalently implementable by specifically configured means for performing the respective function (i.e. the expression “processor configured to [cause the apparatus to] perform xxx-ing” is construed to be equivalent to an expression such as “means for xxx-ing”).

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus representing the management entity 10 (management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain) comprises at least one processor 111, at least one memory 112 including computer program code, and at least one interface 113 configured for communication with at least another apparatus. The processor (i.e. the at least one processor 111, with the at least one memory 112 and the computer program code) is configured to perform determining whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for determining), and to perform transmitting said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for transmitting). According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus representing the system management entity 30 (system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains) comprises at least one processor 115, at least one memory 116 including computer program code, and at least one interface 117 configured for communication with at least another apparatus. The processor (i.e. the at least one processor 115, with the at least one memory 116 and the computer program code) is configured to perform receiving information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for receiving), and to perform deciding on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for deciding).

For further details regarding the operability/functionality of the individual apparatuses, reference is made to the above description in connection with any one of Figures 1 to 10, respectively.

For the purpose of the present invention as described herein above, it should be noted that

- method procedures likely to be implemented as software code portions and being run using a processor at a network server or network entity (as examples of devices, apparatuses and/or modules thereof, or as examples of entities including apparatuses and/or modules therefore), are software code independent and can be specified using any known or future developed programming language as long as the functionality defined by the method procedures is preserved;

- generally, any method procedure is suitable to be implemented as software or by hardware without changing the idea of the embodiments and its modification in terms of the functionality implemented;

- method procedures and/or devices, units or means likely to be implemented as hardware components at the above-defined apparatuses, or any module(s) thereof, (e.g., devices carrying out the functions of the apparatuses according to the embodiments as described above) are hardware independent and can be implemented using any known or future developed hardware technology or any hybrids of these, such as MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor), CMOS (Complementary MOS), BiMOS (Bipolar MOS), BiCMOS (Bipolar CMOS), ECL (Emitter Coupled Logic), TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic), etc., using for example ASIC (Application Specific IC (Integrated Circuit)) components, FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Arrays) components, CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) components or DSP (Digital Signal Processor) components;

- devices, units or means (e.g. the above-defined network entity or network register, or any one of their respective units/means) can be implemented as individual devices, units or means, but this does not exclude that they are implemented in a distributed fashion throughout the system, as long as the functionality of the device, unit or means is preserved;

- an apparatus like the user equipment and the network entity /network register may be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of an apparatus or module, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as software in a (software) module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution/being run on a processor;

- a device may be regarded as an apparatus or as an assembly of more than one apparatus, whether functionally in cooperation with each other or functionally independently of each other but in a same device housing, for example.

In general, it is to be noted that respective functional blocks or elements according to above- described aspects can be implemented by any known means, either in hardware and/or software, respectively, if it is only adapted to perform the described functions of the respective parts. The mentioned method procedures can be realized in individual functional blocks or by individual devices, or one or more of the method procedures can be realized in a single functional block or by a single device.

Generally, any method procedure is suitable to be implemented as software or by hardware without changing the idea of the present invention. Devices and means can be implemented as individual devices, but this does not exclude that they are implemented in a distributed fashion throughout the system, as long as the functionality of the device is preserved. Such and similar principles are to be considered as known to a skilled person.

Software in the sense of the present description comprises software code as such comprising code means or portions or a computer program or a computer program product for performing the respective functions, as well as software (or a computer program or a computer program product) embodied on a tangible medium such as a computer-readable (storage) medium having stored thereon a respective data structure or code means/portions or embodied in a signal or in a chip, potentially during processing thereof. The present invention also covers any conceivable combination of method procedures and operations described above, and any conceivable combination of nodes, apparatuses, modules or elements described above, as long as the above-described concepts of methodology and structural arrangement are applicable.

In view of the above, there are provided measures for coordination of compensation of network part failure impacts. Such measures exemplarily comprise, at a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, determining whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

Even though the invention is described above with reference to the examples according to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted thereto. Rather, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be modified in many ways without departing from the scope of the inventive idea as disclosed herein.

List of acronyms and abbreviations

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

BBF Broadband Forum

BTS base transceiver station

COC cell outage compensation

E2E end-to-end

ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute

IETF Internet Engineering Task Force

IRP Integration Reference Point

ITU International Telecommunication Union

MEF Metro Ethernet Forum

MnS management service

RAN radio access network

RRH remote radio head SDO Standards Developing Organization

SON self-optimizing network

TMF TeleManagement Forum

TS Technical Specification UPF user plane function ZSM Zero-touch network and Service Management

Claims

1. A method of a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, the method comprising determining whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in relation to said determining, the method further comprises receiving a query for said information on said provided actions.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said query includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising detecting necessity of an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, and transmitting said alarm message based on a result of said detecting.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein in relation to said determining, the method further comprises detecting necessity of an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is transmitted in said alarm message.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

7. The method according to claims 3, 4 or 6, further comprising receiving an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and applying said at least one action for said object.

8. The method according to claims 3, 4, 6 or 7, further comprising receiving an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and cancelling said at least one action for said object.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one fault for which said at least one action is provided.

10. The method according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein said information on said provided actions includes a description of said at least one action, and/or information on costs of said at least one action, and/or a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action, and/or a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action.

11. A method of a system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains, the method comprising receiving information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain, and deciding on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising transmitting a query for said information on said provided actions.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said query includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising receiving an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, wherein said query is transmitted in response to said alarm message.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising receiving an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is included in said alarm message.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

17. The method according to claims 13, 14 or 16, wherein said alarm message is a first alarm message including a reference to at least one first fault and a reference to a first object in said associated management domain as a first associated management domain experiencing said at least one first fault, and the method further comprises receiving a second alarm message including a reference to at least one second fault and a reference to a second object in a second associated management domain experiencing said at least one second fault, and correlating said at least one first fault and said first object with said at least one second fault and said second object.

18. The method according to claims 13, 14, 16 or 17, further comprising transmitting an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action based on a result of said deciding.

19. The method according to claims 13, 14, 16, 17 or 18, further comprising transmitting an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action.

20. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one fault for which said at least one action is provided.

21. The method according to any of claims 11 to 20, wherein said information on said provided actions includes a description of said at least one action, and/or information on costs of said at least one action, and/or a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action, and/or a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action.

22. An apparatus of a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, the apparatus comprising determining circuitry configured to determine whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting circuitry configured to transmit said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising receiving circuitry configured to receive a query for said information on said provided actions.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said query includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising detecting circuitry configured to detect necessity of an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, and transmitting circuitry configured to transmit said alarm message based on a result of said detecting.

26. The apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising detecting circuitry configured to detect necessity of an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is transmitted in said alarm message.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

28. The apparatus according to claims 24, 25 or 27, further comprising receiving circuitry configured to receive an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and applying circuitry configured to apply said at least one action for said object.

29. The apparatus according to claims 24, 25, 27 or 28, further comprising receiving circuitry configured to receive an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and cancelling circuitry configured to cancel said at least one action for said object.

30. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one fault for which said at least one action is provided.

31. The apparatus according to any of claims 22 to 30, wherein said information on said provided actions includes a description of said at least one action, and/or information on costs of said at least one action, and/or a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action, and/or a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action.

32. An apparatus of a system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains, the apparatus comprising receiving circuitry configured to receive information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain, and deciding circuitry configured to decide on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, further comprising transmitting circuitry configured to transmit a query for said information on said provided actions.

34. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein said query includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

35. The apparatus according to claim 34, further comprising receiving circuitry configured to receive an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, wherein said query is transmitted in response to said alarm message.

36. The apparatus according to claim 32, further comprising receiving circuitry configured to receive an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is included in said alarm message.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

38. The apparatus according to claims 34, 35 or 37, wherein said alarm message is a first alarm message including a reference to at least one first fault and a reference to a first object in said associated management domain as a first associated management domain experiencing said at least one first fault, and the apparatus further comprises receiving circuitry configured to receive a second alarm message including a reference to at least one second fault and a reference to a second object in a second associated management domain experiencing said at least one second fault, and correlating circuitry configured to correlate said at least one first fault and said first object with said at least one second fault and said second object.

39. The apparatus according to claims 34, 35, 37 or 38, further comprising transmitting circuitry configured to transmit an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action based on a result of said deciding.

40. The apparatus according to claims 34, 35, 37, 38 or 39, further comprising transmitting circuitry configured to transmit an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action.

41. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one fault for which said at least one action is provided.

42. The apparatus according to any of claims 32 to 41, wherein said information on said provided actions includes a description of said at least one action, and/or information on costs of said at least one action, and/or a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action, and/or a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action.

43. An apparatus of a management entity managing a network entity of an associated management domain, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and at least one interface configured for communication with at least another apparatus, the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: determining whether to announce information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, and transmitting said information on said provided actions based on a result of said determining, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

44. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein in relation to said determining, the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving a query for said information on said provided actions.

45. The apparatus according to claim 44, wherein said query includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

46. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: detecting necessity of an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, and transmitting said alarm message based on a result of said detecting.

47. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein in relation to said determining, the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: detecting necessity of an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is transmitted in said alarm message.

48. The apparatus according to claim 47, wherein said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

49. The apparatus according to claims 45, 46 or 48, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and applying said at least one action for said object.

50. The apparatus according to claims 45, 46, 48 or 49, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action, and cancelling said at least one action for said object.

51. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one fault for which said at least one action is provided.

52. The apparatus according to any of claims 43 to 51, wherein said information on said provided actions includes a description of said at least one action, and/or information on costs of said at least one action, and/or a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action, and/or a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action.

53. An apparatus of a system management entity managing a compound of management entities respectively managing network entities of respectively associated management domains, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and at least one interface configured for communication with at least another apparatus, the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving information on provided actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in an associated management domain, and deciding on activation of at least one action based on said information, wherein said information on said provided actions includes said at least one action, information on a benefit of said at least one action, and information on a time necessary to implement said at least one action.

54. The apparatus according to claim 53, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: transmitting a query for said information on said provided actions.

55. The apparatus according to claim 54, wherein said query includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

56. The apparatus according to claim 55, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving an alarm message indicative of said at least one fault and said object, wherein said query is transmitted in response to said alarm message.

57. The apparatus according to claim 53, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving an alarm message indicative of at least one fault, wherein said information on said provided actions is included in said alarm message.

58. The apparatus according to claim 57, wherein said alarm message includes a reference to an object in said associated management domain experiencing said at least one fault, and a reference to said at least one fault.

59. The apparatus according to claims 55, 56 or 58, wherein said alarm message is a first alarm message including a reference to at least one first fault and a reference to a first object in said associated management domain as a first associated management domain experiencing said at least one first fault, and the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving a second alarm message including a reference to at least one second fault and a reference to a second object in a second associated management domain experiencing said at least one second fault, and correlating said at least one first fault and said first object with said at least one second fault and said second object.

60. The apparatus according to claims 55, 56, 58 or 59, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: transmitting an action activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action based on a result of said deciding.

61. The apparatus according to claims 55, 56, 58, 59 or 60, wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform: transmitting an action de-activation instruction including said reference to said object and said at least one action.

62. The apparatus according to claim 53, wherein said information on said provided actions includes at least one fault for which said at least one action is provided.

63. The apparatus according to any of claims 53 to 62, wherein said information on said provided actions includes a description of said at least one action, and/or information on costs of said at least one action, and/or a reference to related actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said related actions being related to said at least one action, and/or a reference to conflicting actions for compensation of impacts of respective faults in said associated management domain, said conflicting actions conflicting with said at least one action.

64. A computer program product comprising computer-executable computer program code which, when the program is run on a computer, is configured to cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 21.

65. The computer program product according to claim 64, wherein the computer program product comprises a computer-readable medium on which the computer-executable computer program code is stored, and/or wherein the program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the computer or a processor thereof.