The Network Trouble Ticket Data Model
Handling multiple sets of network trouble tickets (TTs) originating from different participants inter-connected network environments poses a series of challenges for the involved institutions, Grid is a good example of such multi-domain project. Each of the participants follows different procedures for handling trouble in its domain, according to the local technical and linguistic profile. The TT systems of the participants collect, represent and disseminate TT information in different formats. As a result, management of the daily workload by a central Network Operations Centre (NOC) is a challenge on its own. Normalization of TTs to a common format for presentation and storing at the central NOC is mandatory. In the present document we provide a model for automating the collection and normalization of the TT received by multiple networks forming the Grid. Each of the participants is using its home TT system within its domain for handling trouble incidents, whereas the central NOC is gathering the tickets in the normalized format for repository and handling. XML is used as the common representation language. The model was defined and used as part of the networking support activity of the EGEE project (Enabling Grids for E-sciencE).