Network events in a large commercial network: What can we learn?

ISP and commercial networks are complex and thus difficult to characterise and manage. Network operators rely on a continuous flow of event log messages to identify and handle service outages. However, there is little published information about such events and how they are typically exploited. In this paper, we describe in as much detail as possible the event logs and network topology of a major commercial network. Through analysing the network topology, textual information of events and time of events, we highlight opportunities and challenges brought by such data. In particular, we suggest that the development of methods for inferring functional connectivity could unlock more of the informational value of event log messages and assist network management operators.