Method and apparatus for efficiently and dynamically updating monitored metrics in a heterogeneous system

• US 20020175934A1
• Filed: 05/25/2001
• Published: 11/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hand, Leonard S., Washburn, Jeffery R.
• Granted Patent: US 6,871,324 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/734
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for efficiently and dynamically collecting and reporting performance metrics from components within a dynamic complex heterogeneous system, such as a content delivery network (CDN). Update messages containing fields for each metric to reported can be used to update the values for the metric associated with each component or entity in the system. For each field within a message communicating updated values of metrics, codes can be predefined. Update messages can contain updated metric values and/or predefined codes. By using these predefined codes, more than one agent can be used to interrogate and report determined and undetermined values for a specified component within the system to collect information. For example, a update message having five fields can be used to update 5 corresponding performance metrics. In a interrogation by a first agent, a first update message can contain actual updated values in the first, second and third fields of the metrics. Codes can be inserted into the fourth and fifth fields of the update message to instruct a recipient graphical display not the set these fields. In a second subsequent interrogation, a second update message can have actual updated values for the metrics represented in the fourth and fifth fields of the update message. The first, second and third data fields of the second update message can contain code instructing the recipient graphical display not the set these fields.

Claims

1. A dynamic network node metrics reporting method, comprising:

probing a content delivery network (CDN) component for determined and undetermined ones of selected metric values characterizing the performance of said CDN component;

reporting said determined metric values to a recipient graphical display interface; and

repeating said probing and said reporting steps for said undetermined metric values.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said probing and said reporting step occurs in a first agent.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said repeating step occurs in a second agent.

4. The method according the claim 3, wherein said reporting step comprises:

updating a first update message with said determined metric values resulting from said probing step initiated by said first agent; and

adding to said first update message, a predefined code, said predefined code relating to said undetermined values.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said repeating step comprises:

updating a second update message with determined metric values resulting from said probing initiated by a second agent, said determined metrics corresponding to said undetermined metrics resulting from said probing initiated by said first agent; and

adding a predefined code to said second update message, said predefined code relating to said determined metric values in said first update message.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein values within said fields of said first and said second update message are used to update values within said recipient graphical display, where said graphical display is updated using said determined metric values.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said selected predefined code defines an action selected from the group consisting of disregarding a result from said probing step, indicating a problem with said probing step, and keeping an existing value of said metric without setting it.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said metrics is at least one selected from the group consisting of a CPU load, network capacity, run queue size, connections, memory usage, page ins, and disk I/O.

9. A method for dynamically reporting a plurality of metrics for components of a dynamic data space, comprising:

probing a component of the dynamic data space for determined and undetermined ones of selected metric values characterizing the data space;

reporting said determined metric values to a recipient graphical display interface; and

repeating said probing and reporting steps for said undetermined metric values.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said probing and said reporting step occurs in a first agent.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said repeating step occurs in a second agent.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said reporting step comprises:

updating a first update message with said determined metric values resulting from said probing step initiated by said first agent; and

adding to said first update message a predefined code, said predefined code relating to said undetermined values.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said repeating step comprises:

updating a second update message with determined metric values resulting from said probing initiated by a second agent, said determined metrics corresponding to said undetermined metrics resulting from said probing initiated by said first agent; and

adding a predefined code to said second update message, said predefined code relating to said undetermined metric values in said first update message.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein values within said fields of said first and said second update message are used to update values within said recipient graphical display, wherein said graphical display is updated using said determined metric values.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein said selected predefined code defines an action selected from the group consisting of disregarding a result from said probing step, indicating a problem with said probing step, and keeping an existing value of said metric without setting it.

17. The machine readable storage according to claim 16, wherein said probing and said reporting step occurs in a first agent.

18. The machine readable storage according to claim 17, wherein said repeating step occurs in a second agent.

19. The machine readable storage according the claim 18, wherein said reporting step comprises:

updating a first update message with said determined metric values resulting from said probing step initiated by said first agent; and

adding to said first update message, a predefined code, said predefined code relating to said undetermined values.

20. The machine readable storage according to claim 19, wherein said repeating step comprises:

updating a second update message with determined metric values resulting from said probing initiated by a second agent, said determined metrics corresponding to said undetermined metrics resulting from said probing initiated by said first agent; and

adding a predefined code to said second update message, said predefined code relating to said determined metric values in said first update message.

21. The machine readable storage according to claim 20, wherein values within said fields of said first and said second update message are used to update values within said recipient graphical display, where said graphical display is updated using said determined metric values.

22. The machine readable storage according to claim 20, wherein said selected predefined code defines an action selected from the group consisting of disregarding a result from said probing step, indicating a problem with said probing step, and keeping an existing value of said metric without setting it.

23. The machine readable storage according to claim 16, wherein said metrics is at least one selected from the group consisting of a CPU load, network capacity, run queue size, connection, memory usage, page ins capacity, and a disk I/O.

25. The machine readable storage according to claim 24, wherein said probing and said reporting step occurs in a first agent.

26. The machine readable storage according to claim 25, wherein said repeating step occurs in a second agent.

27. The machine readable storage according to claim 26, wherein said reporting step comprises:

updating a first update message with said determined metric values resulting from said probing step initiated by said first agent; and

adding to said first update message a predefined code, said predefined code relating to said undetermined values.

28. The machine readable storage according to claim 27, wherein said repeating step comprises:

updating a second update message with determined metric values resulting from said probing initiated by a second agent, said determined metrics corresponding to said undetermined metrics resulting from said probing initiated by said first agent; and

adding a predefined code to said second update message, said predefined code relating to said determined metric values in said first update message.

29. The machine readable storage according to claim 28, wherein values within said fields of said first and said second update message are used to update values within said recipient graphical display, wherein said graphical display is updated using said determined metric values.

30. The machine readable storage according to claim 28, wherein said selected predefined code defines an action selected from the group consisting of disregarding a result from said probing step, indicating a problem with said probing step, and keeping an existing value of said metric without setting it.

31. The machine readable storage according to claim 28, wherein said component is a CDN component.

16. A machine readable storage having stored thereon, a computer program having a plurality of code sections, said code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

probing a CDN component for determined and undetermined ones of selected metric values characterizing the performance of said CDN component, the code sections for reporting metrics for said CDN components;

reporting said determined metric values to a recipient graphical display interface; and

repeating said probing and said reporting steps for said undetermined metric values.

24. A machine readable storage having stored thereon, a computer program having a plurality of code sections, the code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

probing a component of the dynamic data space for determined and undetermined ones of selected metric values characterizing said component, the code sections for reporting a plurality of metrics for components of a dynamic data space;

reporting said determined metric values to a recipient graphical display interface; and

repeating said probing and reporting steps for said undetermined metric values.

32. A dynamic CDN node metrics reporting system, comprising:

a graphical display map for displaying a plurality of nodes and visual representations of reported metric values for characterizing components, said nodes representing said components; and

a plurality of agents configured to probe said components for determined and undetermined ones of selected metric values, said agents reporting said determined metric values and codes representing said undetermined metric values to said graphical display map.

33. The system according to claim 32, wherein performance metric values are used to characterize said components.