Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. Introduction

2. Background

3. Possibilities of a Distributed Network Intelligence

4. Heterogeneous Environments

5. Mechanics for Distributing Intelligence

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

The distribution of intelligence in a telecommunications network begins as nothing more than segmentation of responsibility (see Figure 1). The foundations of that segmentation are established according to the trend of moving telecommunications solutions toward more diverse computing platforms and away from monolithic settings. With movement and diversity comes the ability to integrate new solutions into the overall base system with greater speed and efficiency. Ultimately, the base system transforms to become part of a larger set of integrated components—each with differing levels of responsibility and contribution to the intentions of that evolved solution.

Figure 1. Interconnected Intelligent Networking Responsibilities

Implementing the distribution technique requires several fundamental elements: a high-speed communication interface between participating computing platforms, a negotiated protocol between member services, and a delegation authority for assigning responsibilities to computing platforms based on the makeup of their member services. These and many more decision-making activities continually occur in a capable system that dynamically acts and reacts to both the changing environment and changing needs of the networked solution.

Intelligence in the distributed environment finds its roots in the management of the solution. Cooperative behavior between member sets of the distributed environment lends data to the intelligent patterns. Most of all, the intelligent system grows. It exploits the diversity of the system topology to delegate responsibility to the outer reaches of the system informatively.

This tutorial begins with an introduction to the principles of intelligent networking and traditional distributed processing techniques. Before introducing the implementation methods, the emerging capabilities of a distributed intelligent networking system and how they may be engaged to legacy situations through both homogeneous and heterogeneous platforms are discussed. The tutorial then moves to the mechanics and the architecture necessary to perform distributed intelligence implementations and concludes with discussions of today’s tools, standards, and implementation sets considered applicable to constructing the ultimate objectives of distribution in the AIN.