High-performance expert system-DBMS interface for network management and control

The field of network management in modern telecommunications networks is discussed along with the need for database and expert systems techniques in this field. It is pointed out that one of the requirements is the capability of inferencing with a very large volume of factual information. A framework is presented for optimization in coupling an expert system and a database management system (DBMS) in such a way to satisfy this requirement. A loose coupling strategy is adopted as a practical solution allowing utilization of an existing DBMS. Specifically, techniques for normalizing the logic query, implementation primitives, and the set of access strategies as mappings between the normalized primitives and implementation primitives is presented. The techniques are discussed in the context of an expert system shell, the SOL Inference Engine for Network Applications (SIENA).<>