Method and system for logging and accessing diagnostic result messages

• US 20040153776A1
• Filed: 02/05/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Megatrends International, LLC
• Original Assignee: American Megatrends Incorporated
• Inventors: Thomas, Satheesh, Rhea, Paul Anthony, Bhattacharjee, Saikat
• Granted Patent: US 7,313,728 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0727 in a storage system, e.g. in a DASD or network based storage system drivers for digital recording or reproducing units G06F3/06; circuits for error detection or correction within digital recording or reproducing units G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/321 Display for diagnostics, e.g. diagnostic result display, self-test user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

A method, system, computer-readable medium, and computer-controlled apparatus are provided for logging and accessing diagnostic result messages. Diagnostic client modules transmit diagnostic result messages to a diagnostic event service module. The diagnostic event service module receives diagnostic result messages from the diagnostic client modules and relays the messages to diagnostic subscriber modules. Diagnostic subscriber modules may comprise a log writer module for storing the messages in a diagnostic results database or a progress viewer module for displaying an indication of the progress of a diagnostic test based on the diagnostic result messages. A query access layer module, a log viewer module, a report tools module, and a report server module may also be provided.

Claims

1. A system for logging diagnostic result messages and providing access to the diagnostic result messages, comprising:

one or more diagnostic client modules capable of performing diagnostic tests on one or more managed elements of a computer system, of generating one or more diagnostic result messages during the performance of the diagnostic test, and of transmitting the one or more diagnostic result messages to a diagnostic event service module;

a diagnostic event service module operative to receive the one or more diagnostic result messages from the diagnostic client modules and to provide the diagnostic result messages to one or more diagnostic subscriber modules; and

one or more diagnostic subscriber modules operative to communicate with the diagnostic event service module and to receive the diagnostic result messages from the diagnostic event service module.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a one of the one or more diagnostic subscriber modules comprises a log writer module operative to receive the diagnostic result messages from the diagnostic event service module and to store the diagnostic result messages in a diagnostic results database.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein a one of the one or more diagnostic subscriber modules comprises a progress viewer module operative to receive the diagnostic results messages and to display an indication of the progress of the diagnostic tests based on the diagnostic results messages.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a query access layer module operative to provide an interface to the diagnostic results database.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising a log viewer module operative to receive a request to query the diagnostic results database, to format and transmit a query to the query access layer module in response to the request, to receive a query response from the query access layer module, and to display the query response.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a report tools module operative to generate a viewable report from a query response, and wherein the log viewer module is further operative to transmit a request to generate a viewable report to the report tools module including the query response, to receive the viewable report from the report tools module, and to display the viewable report.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising a report server module for providing an external interface to the query access layer module.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the report server module is operative to receive a request to query the diagnostic results database from a script or other automation client, to format and transmit a query to the query access layer module in response to the request, to receive a query response from the query access layer module, to transmit a request to generate a viewable report to the report tools module including the query response, to receive the viewable report from the report tools module, and to provide the viewable report to the script or other automation client in response to the request to query the diagnostic results database.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the diagnostic event service module comprises:

a client message handler object operative to receive the one or more diagnostic result messages from the diagnostic client modules and to transmit the diagnostic result messages to a dispatcher thread;

a dispatcher thread operative receive the one or more diagnostic result messages, to identify a subscriber thread for receiving each of the diagnostic result messages based on subscription information provided by one or more subscriber proxy objects associated with the subscriber threads;

one or more subscriber proxy objects for receiving the subscription information from the one or more subscriber modules; and

one or more subscriber threads operative to receive the one or more diagnostic result messages from the dispatcher thread and to transmit the diagnostic result messages to the one or more diagnostic subscriber modules.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the report tools module is further operative to accept options with a request to generate a viewable report and to customize the viewable report based upon the options.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the diagnostic result messages comprise data structures expressed using an extensible markup language.

12. A method for logging diagnostic result messages and providing access to the diagnostic result messages, comprising:

generating a diagnostic result message during the performance of a diagnostic test on a managed element in a computer system;

receiving the diagnostic result message;

identifying one or more diagnostic subscriber modules that should receive the diagnostic result message; and

forwarding the diagnostic result message to the identified one or more diagnostic subscriber modules.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving the diagnostic result message at one of the one or more diagnostic subscriber modules; and

storing the diagnostic result message in a diagnostic results database.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving the diagnostic result message at a one of the one or more diagnostic subscriber modules; and

based upon the diagnostic result message, generating an indication of the progress of the diagnostic test.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

displaying the indication on a graphical user interface provided by the computer system.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing an interface for accessing the diagnostic results database;

formatting and transmitting a query to the interface;

receiving the query at the interface and retrieving data from the diagnostic results database based upon the query; and

returning the data retrieved from the diagnostic results database in response to the query.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving the data retrieved from the diagnostic results database;

transmitting a request to a report tools module for a viewable report, the request comprising the data retrieved from the diagnostic results database and options for customizing the report;

generating a viewable report including the data retrieved from the diagnostic results database and customized based upon the options; and

displaying the viewable report.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the query is received from a log viewer module.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the query is received from a report server module.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the query is generated by the report server module in response to a request from a script or other automation client.

21. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of claim 12.

22. A computer-controlled apparatus capable of performing the method of claim 12.