Help us improve your experience.

Let us know what you think.

Do you have time for a two-minute survey?

 
 

Add a Network Maintenance Task

You can add a network maintenance task to schedule maintenance events for network elements, so that you can perform updates or other configuration tasks. Currently, you can add maintenance events only for nodes with the overload bit set.

Maintenance events are planned failures at specific future dates and times. During a scheduled maintenance event, the selected elements are considered logically down, and the system reroutes the LSPs around those elements during the maintenance period. After the maintenance event is completed, the default behavior is that all LSPs that were affected by the event are reoptimized.

Note:

The Path Computation Element (PCE) attempts to reoptimize only PCE-initiated and PCC-delegated LSPs (not PCC-controlled LSPs).

To add a network maintenance task:

  1. Select Administration > Task Scheduler.

    The Task Scheduler page appears.

  2. Click Add.

    The Create New Task page (wizard) appears.

  3. Configure the fields in each step of the wizard according to the guidelines provided in Table 1.

    Click Next to go to the next step.

    Note:

    Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

  4. After you complete steps 1, 2, and 3 in the wizard, click Submit.

    The details of the task that you added are displayed on the Task Scheduler page.

    After the task is completed, select the task in the list to view the results in the Summary, Status, and History tabs.

Every time the task runs, it first checks the complete condition for the maintenance event created by the task. If all the elements included in the maintenance task satisfy the complete condition (for example, overloadBit = false), it completes the maintenance event. Next, it looks for elements that match the create conditions (for example, overloadBit = true). If it finds such elements, it creates a new maintenance event that includes those elements.

Just as for other maintenance events, the “M” symbol on the topology map indicates the affected nodes. In the Maintenance tab of the network information table, the maintenance event displays the comment Created by maintenance task in the Comment column.

Note:

This type of maintenance event completes when the included nodes no longer have the overload bit set, but the event will not be deleted automatically. You must manually delete the completed event from the Maintenance tab of the network information table.
Table 1: Fields on the Create New Task Wizard (Network Maintenance)

Field

Description

Step 1

Name

Specify a meaningful name for the task.

Task Group

From the list, select Utility Tasks.

Task Type

From the list, select Network Maintenance.

Step 2

Task Options

Configure the following fields:

  • Event Name Prefix—Specify a prefix that the PCE uses to name the maintenance event that is created by the task. The prefix is followed by a timestamp to ensure that the event name is unique.

    Alternatively, you can select the check box corresponding to the Use Task Name option to use the name of the task as the prefix.

  • No LSP Optimization Upon Completion—Select the check box corresponding to this option if you don’t want the PCE to automatically reoptimize LSPs when the event completes.

Event Create Conditions

Specify what conditions should trigger the creation of the maintenance event.

Select one or more conditions displayed in the Available column and click the right arrow to move them into the Selected column. Currently, the only available condition is Node.

Once Node has been moved to the Selected column, the Attributes table appears. Click the plus sign (+) to add a property row and then click in the Name field to see the drop-down menu arrow. From the drop-down menu, select the create condition. Currently, the only available create condition is overloadBit. In the Value column, use the drop-down menu to select the value of True for the overloadBit create condition.

Note:

For other create conditions available in future releases, False might be the appropriate selection.

Event Complete Conditions

Specify what conditions should trigger the completion of the maintenance event. The fields on this tab work the same way as the fields in the Event Create Conditions tab.

Step 3

Schedule

Schedule the task to be triggered once or to recur automatically based on the interval you specify.

Startup Options:

  • Starts On—Click the calendar icon to select the date and time at which the task starts. To start the task at the current date and time, click Current Date and Time at the bottom of the calendar.

  • Timezone—Displays the client timezone.

Recurrence Options:

  • Repeats—Specify the frequency (in Minutes, Hours, or Days) with which the task recurs.

  • Every—Specify the periodicity of recurrence.

  • Ends—Select Never if you want the task to recur at the specified interval automatically. Alternatively, select On, and click the calendar icon to specify a date and time at which you want the task to end. To end a task at the current date and time, click Current Date and Time at the bottom of the calendar.

  • Timezone—Displays the client timezone.

Note:

Instead of scheduling recurrence, you can select to chain the task after an already-scheduled recurring task, so that it launches immediately after the other task completes. Select Chain after another task. From the list of recurring tasks that is displayed, select the task after which you want to launch the task that you added.

Related Documentation