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Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!henry.jpl.nasa.gov!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jpl-devvax!david
From: david@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (David E. Smyth)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.ai.neural-nets
Subject: Re: Request for Info. on AI WRT Data Networks
Message-ID: <5964@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
Date: 4 Sep 89 18:20:31 GMT
References: <128@arinc.UUCP>
Reply-To: david@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (David E. Smyth)
Distribution: na
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Lines: 36

In article <128@arinc.UUCP> arinc!jph@opel.UUCP writes:
>Does anyone have any information on the use of Artificial Intelligence 
>applications (Neural Networks, Expert Systems, etc.) in data communications
>networks.  Specifically, we're looking to automate network management and 
>alarm processing.  We're, also, looking into other possibilities such as: 
>applying AI to adaptive routing, database management, protocol processing, 
>network modelling, etc.  I'm looking for articles, books or existing products
>that address these areas.

Don't just assume that AI, NN, and/or ES are the correct way to do this
type of thing.  Network management is an easy problem using domain
specific languages.  It is a hard problem using Expert Systems.

Reference: it took about a month to design a language, implement it
using yacc, and deliver a commercially viable network management system
using a domain specific language (aka little languages).  Many people
have and are writing doctoral dissertations on using ES for network
management, but the systems I've seen don't really work.

I do not think I am at liberty to broadcast on the net which companies
are involved in using these two approaches to solve your problem with
greatly different results.  You can find many papers on the Expert
System mis-approach.

One company I know which uses the domain specific language approach has
realized such huge gains in market position and software development
productivity that they would be foolish to broadcast their strategy.

I am not down on AI, NN, or ES.  I just claim that one should always
use the right tool for a given job.  A job which can be explained
completely and unambiguously by an expert in, say, 15 minutes is a
perfect candidate for using a little lanugage.  Network management,
alarm processing, routing, protocol processing, and network modelling
are all perfect candidates.

Database management is too: SQL.