Management of system events using one or more event attributes

• US 10,055,324 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2017
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brugler, Thomas S., Conzola, Vincent C., Craig, Randall A., Franks, John P., Molander, Mark E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Naji, Younes
• Application Number:
  US15/809,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20180095856A1
• Time in Patent Office: 284 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3075 the data filtering being achieved in order to maintain consistency among the monitored data, e.g. ensuring that the monitored data belong to the same timeframe, to the same system or component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/321 Display for diagnostics, e.g. diagnostic result display, self-test user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring

Abstract

A method for managing a system may include gathering, with a system manager, data about a first system event and a second system event. The method further includes determining, with the system manager, a plurality of first system event attribute values and a plurality of second system event attribute values. The first and second system event attribute values are based on the data gathered about the first and second system event. The method further includes generating, with the system manager, a display of the plurality of first system event attribute values in hierarchal relation to the plurality of second system event attribute values.

Claims

1. A method for managing a computer system, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user utilizing a client device, user credentials and duties of the user;

gathering, with a system manager, data about a first system event, the first system event referencing malfunction of a device within the computer system, wherein the system manager is located within main memory of a server that is communicatively connected to the client device over a network, wherein the main memory further includes an event data attribute value table, a dimensions table, and a values table;

utilizing, by the computer system, virtual addressing mechanisms that allow one or more programs within the computer system to behave as if the one or more programs are accessing a large entity;

receiving, with the system manager, a set of event attribute values from one or more sensors;

determining, with the system manager, a plurality of first system event attribute values based on the user duties, for a plurality of attributes, with the data gathered about the first system event,

wherein the plurality of attributes includes;

event ID attribute values, an event description attribute, a time/date attribute, a duration attribute, a source attribute, progress of resolution attribute, an importance attribute, a time sensitivity attribute, an urgency attribute, a risk attribute, a resolvability attribute, a ripple attribute, a redundancy attribute, an ownership and roles attribute, a frequency attribute, a scope attribute, a fuzziness attribute, an SLA attribute, and a cost attribute,

wherein each attribute of the plurality of attributes includes a numeric value that indicates a severity of the attribute, wherein a higher numeric value represents a higher severity wherein the severity is the importance of the attribute to the first system event;

creating, with the system manager, an event data attribute value table that includes the plurality of attributes and their associated numeric value;

ordering, with the system manager, the plurality of attributes according to their associated numeric value;

gathering, with the system manager, data about a second system event;

determining, with the system manager, a plurality of second system event attribute values based on the user credentials, for the plurality of attributes, with the data gathered about the second system event;

assigning each of the plurality of attributes to a different dimension from a set of dimensions based on the user credentials, the plurality of attributes comprising at least three attributes, the set of dimensions comprising at least three graph dimensions;

generating, with the system manager, a graph based on the received user credentials, the graph comprising a first object representing the first system event using the plurality of first system event values according to the assigned dimensions and a second object representing the second system event using the plurality of second system event values according to the assigned dimensions;

displaying a graphical user interface containing the graph on a display device, wherein the graph is in the form of an interactive report;

allowing, by the interactive report, the user to control and vary the assigned dimensions and scopes of the varied dimensions in the displayed graph;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a particular dimension from the set of dimensions in a drop-down list to add to the displayed graph;

reassigning, with the system manager, a first attribute from the plurality of attributes to the selected particular dimension;

receiving, from the user, a selection of the second system event within the generated graph;

emphasizing, with the system manager, by displaying, within the generated graph, one or more system events and attributes that are correlated to the second system event in the same color as the selected second system event; and

predicting, by the system manager analyzing historical data and user inputted data, a forecast of each attribute of the second system event and the one or more emphasized system events.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking, with the system manager, changes of the plurality of first system event attribute values over a time interval, wherein the graph further comprises a third object representing the first system event using previous first system event attribute values from the time interval.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking, with the system manager, changes of the plurality of first system event attribute values over a first time interval; and

predicting, with the system manager, future attribute values for the first system event based on the tracked changes, wherein the graph further comprises a third object representing the first system event based on the future attribute values.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning, with the system manager, one of the plurality of attributes to an emphasis dimension;

receiving, through the graphical user interface, a selection of the first system event; and

graphically emphasizing, in the graph, objects representing a set of events, the set of events each having a similar attribute value to a first event'"'"'s attribute value for the attribute assigned to the emphasis dimension.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

normalizing, with the system manager, the plurality of first system event attribute values and the plurality of second system event attribute values to a common scale.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of dimensions comprises bubble size and bubble color.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of attributes consists of attributes with attribute values that vary among events in the graph.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathering data about the first system event comprises receiving data from sensors that detect and send data about components of the computer system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathering data about the first system event comprises receiving, from a user input device, data from a user of the system manager.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of attributes comprises a risk attribute based on redundancy within the computer system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface allows a user to modify the assignment of attributes to graph dimensions.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon which, when executed, cause a processor to perform the following operations:

receiving, from a user utilizing a client device, user credentials and duties of the user;

gathering, with a system manager, data about a first system event, the first system event referencing malfunction of a device within a computer system, wherein the system manager is located within main memory of a server that is communicatively connected to the client device over a network, wherein the main memory further includes an event data attribute value table, a dimensions table, and a values table;

utilizing, by the computer system, virtual addressing mechanisms that allow one or more programs within the computer system to behave as if the one or more programs are accessing a large entity;

receiving, with the system manager, a set of event attribute values from one or more sensors;

determining, with the system manager, a plurality of first system event attribute values based on the user duties, for a plurality of attributes, with the data gathered about the first system event,

wherein the plurality of attributes includes;

event ID attribute values, an event description attribute, a time/date attribute, a duration attribute, a source attribute, progress of resolution attribute, an importance attribute, a time sensitivity attribute, an urgency attribute, a risk attribute, a resolvability attribute, a ripple attribute, a redundancy attribute, an ownership and roles attribute, a frequency attribute, a scope attribute, a fuzziness attribute, an SLA attribute, and a cost attribute, wherein each attribute of the plurality of attributes includes a numeric value that indicates a severity of the attribute,

wherein a higher numeric value represents a higher severity wherein the severity is the importance of the attribute to the first system event;

creating, with the system manager, an event data attribute value table that includes the plurality of attributes and their associated numeric value;

ordering, with the system manager, the plurality of attributes according to their associated numeric value;

gathering, with the system manager, data about a second system event;

determining, with the system manager, a plurality of second system event attribute values based on the user credentials, for the plurality of attributes, with the data gathered about the second system event;

assigning each of the plurality of attributes to a different dimension from a set of dimensions based on the user credentials, the plurality of attributes comprising at least three attributes, the set of dimensions comprising at least three graph dimensions;

generating, with the system manager, a graph based on the received user credentials, the graph comprising a first object representing the first system event using the plurality of first system event values according to the assigned dimensions and a second object representing the second system event using the plurality of second system event values according to the assigned dimensions;

displaying a graphical user interface containing the graph on a display device, wherein the graph is in the form of an interactive report, and wherein the interactive report being configured to allow the user to control and vary the assigned dimensions and scopes of the varied dimensions in the displayed graph;

receiving, from the user, a selection of a particular dimension from the set of dimensions in a drop-down list to add to the displayed graph;

reassigning, with the system manager, a first attribute from the plurality of attributes to the selected particular dimension;

receiving, from the user, a selection of the second system event within the generated graph;

emphasizing, with the system manager, by displaying, within the generated graph, one or more system events and attributes that are correlated to the second system event in the same color as the selected second system event; and

predicting, by the system manager analyzing historical data and user inputted data, a forecast of each attribute of the second system event and the one or more emphasized system events.

13. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

tracking changes of the plurality of first system event attribute values over a time interval, wherein the graph further comprises a third object representing the first system event using previous first system event attribute values from the time interval.

14. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

tracking, with the system manager, changes of the plurality of first system event attribute values over a first time interval; and

predicting future attribute values for the first system event based on the tracked changes, wherein the graph further comprises a third object representing the first system event based on the future attribute values.

15. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

assigning one of the plurality of attributes to an emphasis dimension;

receiving, through the graphical user interface, a selection of the first system event; and

graphically emphasizing, in the graph, objects representing a set of events, the set of events each having a similar attribute value to a first event'"'"'s attribute value for the attribute assigned to the emphasis dimension.

16. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

normalizing the plurality of first system event attribute values and the plurality of second system event attribute values to a common scale.

17. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the set of dimensions comprises bubble size and bubble color.

18. The storage medium of claim 17, wherein the plurality of attributes consists of attributes with attribute values that vary among events in the graph.