Patent US 7,539,752

A next generation performance network management system (30′) includes a first component (34a) that monitors one or more attributes of network elements (111-11n, 121-12m, 20 and 26) as well as peripheral devices (16 and 22) and interconnecting links (18, 24) to establish an historic trend for each monitored element. A second performance management system component (34b) monitors, on a near real-time basis, critical attributes of elements identified from historic trends as undergoing performance degradation: If such performance degradation persist, as detected by such near real-time monitoring, then the network operator can repair or replace the element in question to maintain network performance.