Method and apparatus for configurable data collection on a computer network

• US 20020161861A1
• Filed: 02/27/2001
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Greuel, James R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,120,678 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/103 with adaptive polling, i.e. dynamically adapting the polling rate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

The invention facilitates improved configuration of computer network data collection. In one respect, the invention is a method for determining a network data collection configuration for an entity utilizing a computer network. The method determines which nodes in the network are associated with the entity, reads a view definition associated with the entity and determines which network variables are components of the health score, selects from the nodes associated with the entity those nodes that are components of the view, and produces a configuration file that specifies the network variables for each corresponding selected node. The data collection preferably utilizes the SNMP protocol. The determining step preferably queries a database that stores entity-node associations. The view definition is preferably an XML file and refers to all nodes of a particular device type, so that the selecting step can filter network nodes by device type. In a preferred form, the network is the Internet, the method is performed by an Internet service provider, and the entity is a customer of the Internet service provider. Optionally, the method reads and utilizes a template for the configuration file. In another respect, the invention is an apparatus. The apparatus comprises a first database that stores entity-node associations, a view definition associated with an entity, a second database that stores node device type information, and a network data collection configuration generation tool, connected to the above. The network data collection configuration generation tool generates a network data collection configuration file customized to the view definition.

Claims

1. A method for determining a network data collection configuration for an entity utilizing a computer network, the method comprising:

determining which nodes in the network are associated with the entity;

reading a view definition associated with the entity and determining which network variables are components of the view definition;

selecting from the nodes associated with the entity those nodes that are components of the view definition; and

producing a configuration file that specifies the network variables for each corresponding selected node.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein network data collection configuration is an SNMP data collection configuration.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the view definition is an XML file.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining step comprises:

querying a database that stores entity-node associations.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the view definition refers to all nodes of a particular device type, and the selecting step comprises:

filtering network nodes by device type.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the network is the Internet, the method is performed by an Internet service provider, and the entity is a customer of the Internet service provider.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

reading a template for the configuration file; and

wherein the producing step comprises utilizing the template.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a first database that stores entity-node associations;

a view definition associated with an entity;

a second database that stores node device type information; and

a network data collection configuration generation tool, connected to the first database, the view definition and the second database, whereby the network data collection configuration generation tool generates a network data collection configuration file customized to the view definition.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising the network data collection configuration file.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the network data collection configuration file is an SNMP data collection configuration file.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising:

a second view definition, wherein view definition associated with the entity comprises an expression defined in the second view definition.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising:

a template network data collection configuration file, connected to the network data collection configuration generation tool.

13. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising:

a network data collector, connected to the network data collection configuration.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein network data collection configuration is an SNMP data collection configuration.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein the view definition is an XML file.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein the view refers to all nodes of a particular device type, and the selecting step comprises:

filtering network nodes by device type.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein the network is the Internet, the method is performed by an Internet service provider, and the entity is a customer of the Internet service provider.

14. A computer readable medium on which is embedded a program, the program performing a method for determining a network data collection configuration for an entity utilizing a computer network, the method comprising the following steps:

determining which nodes in the network are associated with the entity;

reading a view definition associated with the entity and determining which network variables are components of the view definition;

selecting from the nodes associated with the entity those nodes that are components of the view definition; and

producing a configuration file that specifies the network variables for each corresponding selected node.