Lightweight alarm manager on web browser and service method thereof, and method of providing alarm information therefor

• US 20040210420A1
• Filed: 02/06/2004
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jong-Ky
• Application Number:
  US10/772,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20040210420A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0266 using meta-data, objects or commands for formatting management information, e.g. using eXtensible markup language [XML]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0273 using web services for network management, e.g. simple object access protocol [SOAP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

An alarm manager on a Web browser for transmitting alarm manager provided by NMS (Network Management System) by simply operating as a dynamic HTML through a HTML document object provided by the Web browser, without a separate loading program, and a service method thereof, and a method of providing alarm information to the alarm manager. The service method includes the steps of: creating a header frame, a contents frame, and a data frame on the Web browser, in response to an alarm manager service from a user; requesting, at the data frame, the NMS to provide alarm information periodically, and managing the alarm information being requested when the alarm information is received; periodically checking, at the contents frame composed of dynamic HTML, whether the alarm information in the data frame is properly managed; and obtaining, at the contents frame, the alarm information being managed by the data frame, composing the alarm information in a data table system, and displaying the alarm information for the user to be able to confirm the alarm info.

Claims

1. A lightweight alarm manager running in a Web browser, to be applied to a computer connected to NMS (Network Management System) over network, comprising:

a header frame fixing a title label of the alarm manager;

a data frame receiving alarm information from the NMS through the network and managing the alarm information in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format; and

a contents frame having dynamic HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) for reading the alarm information being managed in the data frame and providing a user with the alarm information in a data table system.

2. The alarm manager of claim 1, wherein the contents frame handles a table object of a HTML provided by the Web browser, and provides a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

3. The alarm manager of claim 1, wherein the contents frame provides the alarm information that is comprised of {severity} of the alarm, {eventtime} when the alarm is raised, alarm ID {alarm_id}, components of network equipment, {dn}, where the alarm is raised, and contents of the alarm {contents}.

4. A service method of a lightweight alarm manager running in a Web browser, to be applied to a computer connected NMS (Network Management System) through network, the service method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a user to use the alarm manager;

creating a header frame, a contents frame, and a data frame on the Web browser in the alarm manager, in response to an alarm manager service request from a user;

requesting, at the data frame, that the NMS provide alarm information periodically to the data frame;

managing the alarm information in the alarm manager when the alarm information is received by the data frame;

periodically checking, by the contents frame made up of dynamic HTML, whether the alarm information in the data frame is being properly managed;

accessing and obtaining, by the contents frame, the alarm information being managed by the data frame;

constructing a data table of the alarm information being managed by the data frame; and

displaying the alarm information to the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the requesting step is comprised of the sub-steps of:

requesting the NMS connected to the data frame through the network to provide alarm information periodically;

receiving alarm information in a XML format from the NMS; and

managing the received alarm information in the XML format.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the accessing and obtaining, constructing and displaying steps comprise:

obtaining, by the contents frame, the alarm information in XML format from the NMS;

managing, by the data frame, the received alarm information in the data frame;

simply adding a row to a table object, by the contents frame, using attributes of the table object of a HTML provided by the Web browser; and

displaying the alarm information being obtained using the table object.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the accessing and obtaining, constructing and displaying steps comprise:

obtaining, by the contents frame, the alarm information in XML format from the NMS;

managing, by the data frame, the received alarm information in the data frame;

simply adding a row to a table object, by the contents frame, using attributes of the table object of a HTML provided by the Web browser; and

displaying the alarm information being obtained using the table object.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step for adding a row by the contents frame comprises sub-steps of:

checking when a number of current rows in the table object provided by the Web browser is greater than a predetermined number of rows;

deleting the oldest record when the number of current rows in the table object provided by the Web browser is greater than the predetermined number;

creating a new row in the table object comprising the alarm information read by the contents frame; and

displaying the alarm information of the table object when the number of current rows in the table object provided by the Web browser is not greater than the predetermined number of rows to be maintained.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step for adding a row by the contents frame comprises sub-steps of:

checking when a number of current rows in the table object provided by the Web browser is greater than a predetermined number of rows;

deleting the oldest record when the number of current rows in the table object provided by the Web browser is greater than the predetermined number;

creating a new row in the table object comprising the alarm information; and

displaying the alarm information of the table object when the number of current rows in the table object provided by the Web browser is not greater than the predetermined number of rows to be maintained.

10. A method of providing alarm information to a lightweight alarm manager running in a Web browser, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at NMS (Network Management System), an alarm information request from an alarm manager via a network;

confirming, at the NMS, session information related to the alarm manager, and obtaining time information used to form an alarm information packet to be transmitted to the alarm manager;

obtaining, at the NMS, additional alarm information from a database in the NMS, the additional information being based on the time information, the additional information being added to the packet;

converting the packet into XML format at the NMS, and

transmitting the packet of alarm information in XML format to the alarm manager.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of managing, at the NMS, the session information related to each of the alarm managers via a checkSession thread.

12. A method of providing alarm information to a lightweight alarm manager running in a Web browser, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at NMS (Network Management System), an alarm information request from an alarm manager via a network;

creating, at the NMS, a service thread for providing alarm information at a request of the alarm manager, and a checkSession thread for managing session information related to the alarm manager;

determining, at the service thread, whether session information related to the alarm manager exists is present in the NMS, and when the session information is not present, creating a new session information, and when the session information is present, extracting a final search alarm occurrence time from the session information;

based on the alarm occurrence time, obtaining, via the service thread, additional alarm information by searching a database in the NMS and updating the session information accordingly with information found in the database, said additional alarm information being based on the alarm occurrence time;

converting, at the service thread, the alarm information into an XML format, and transmitting the alarm information to the alarm manager as a response to the request; and

checking, at the checkSession thread, an update date of the session info, and deleting the session information when the session information is not valid.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the session information has information about the alarm manager that sent the request, information about a user using the alarm manager, and information about time of final alarm occurrence of the alarm manager.

14. A NMS(Network Management System) server adapted to serve a plurality of alarm managers, the NMS server comprising:

a JSP (Java Server Page) engine comprising a makeXML JSP adapted to transmit XML data to a data frame of one of said plurality of lightweight alarm managers, and a JSP context adapted to store session information about said plurality of lightweight alarm managers; and

a database comprising alarm information.

15. The NMS server of claim 14, wherein the makeXML JSP provides a service thread that is adapted to offer alarm information at the request of each of the plurality of lightweight alarm managers, and a checkSession thread adapted to manage (or check) an existence of each of the plurality of lightweight alarm managers.

16. The NMS server of claim 15, wherein the makeXML JSP regularly receives a HTTP request from each of the lightweight managers, and confirms a final date and time to extract new alarm information from the session information in the JSP Context.

17. The NMS server of claim 14, wherein the makeXML JSP, using a final date and time as a starting point, queries data from the database and constructs a XML document representing the data from the database and transmits the XML document to a data frame of one of the plurality of lightweight alarm managers.

18. The NMS server of claim 14, wherein the JSP context comprising the stored session information is compriesed of NMS user information using the plurality of alarm managers, and information about a time when a corresponding one of said plurality of alarm managers raises a final alarm.