Diagnosis, parsimony, and genetic algorithms

The Communication Alarm Processor Expert System (CAP), developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Bonneville Power Administration, is a near real-time system that aids microwave communication system operators with interpreting the cause of large communication system problems [Purucker89]. Problems in the communications network are indicated by the real-time arrival of alarms at the central control site. CAP receives and processes these alarms, then presents the operator with a sorted list indicating the most probable cause (and location) generating the alarms. However, to achieve multiple problem diagnosis a diagnostic strategy is needed that: 1) satisfies the previously defined near real-time processing constraints, 2) “scales up” easily to handle large real-world applications (i.e., applications with more than 50 problems/components), and 3) gives the operator highly reliable information on the current status of the communications network. This paper describes recent successful results of our efforts to develop a general multiple problem (fault) diagnostic strategy that meets these requirements. The CAP system is currently being upgraded to incorporate this new strategy.