Control system and method for management items

• US 20050004931A1
• Filed: 04/16/2004
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Hirata, Toshiaki, Kihara, Kenichi, Izumida, Yusuke
• Granted Patent: US 7,266,564 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/324 Display of status information
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

To reduce the burden of labor relating to setting and changing management items in an environment where a plurality of management tools are used. In one specific embodiment, management tools 1332 control management targets 1331 on the basis of retained management definition information (management items) 1333. A user I/F unit 1131 displays operations management information 36 and selects an editing class and management items of the management tools 1332 by an instruction of a user, and an editing instruction unit 1134 sends the editing class and the management items to an editing execution unit 1334 and conducts editing of the management items. A status monitoring unit 1335 monitors status, a change detection unit 1135 detects a status change and notifies the editing instruction unit 1134, and the editing instruction unit 1134 receives this notification and instructs editing processing with respect to management items relating to the management targets 1331.

Claims

1. A management item management system for managing management items with respect to management targets retained by an operations management module that operates and manages the management targets in a computer system, the management item management system comprising:

an operations management information module configured to accumulate operations management information that identifies management targets and operations management modules managing the management targets in the computer system;

a display module configured to display the management targets; and

a selection module configured to select an operations management module which retains the management target displayed by the display module in response to an instruction of a user, the operations management information identifying management items.

2. The management item management system of claim 1, further comprising an editing instruction unit configured to send an editing instruction to an editing execution unit of the computer system to edit one or more of the management items serving as editing processing items based on the editing instruction.

3. The management item management system of claim 2, wherein the display module is configured to display a plurality of editing processing classes of the management items based on the selected target and operations management module;

wherein the selection module is configured to select the operations management information and the plurality of editing processing classes with respect to the management items in response to the instruction of the user; and

wherein the editing instruction unit is configured to issue an editing instruction for editing processing of the selected editing processing classes with respect to the determined management targets.

4. The management item management system of claim 2, further comprising a change detection unit configured to detect a change in status of the management targets to obtain detection result and, based on the detection result, notify the editing instruction unit of the change in status of the management targets;

wherein the editing instruction unit is configured to receive the notification and to instruct editing processing with respect to the management items in response to the notification.

5. The management item management system of claim 1, wherein the management targets comprise hardware items or software items or both hardware and software items.

6. The management item management system of claim 1, wherein the management items comprise contents of management targets being managed by the operations management module in the computer system.

7. A management system comprising:

a computer system including operations management modules configured to operate and manage management targets; and

a management item management system including;

an operations management information module configured to accumulate operations management information that identifies management targets and operations management modules managing the management targets in the computer system; and

a selection module configured to select an operations management module which retains the management target displayed by the display module in response to an instruction of a user, the operations management information identifying management items.

8. The management system of claim 7, wherein the management item management system further comprises a display module configured to display the operations management information, including a plurality of editing processing classes with respect to the operations management information and the management items.

9. The management system of claim 8, wherein the selection module is configured to select the operations management information and the plurality of editing processing classes with respect to the management items in response to the instruction of the user;

and wherein the editing instruction unit is configured to issue an editing instruction for editing processing of the selected editing processing classes with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items.

10. The management system of claim 9, wherein management items of other dependent management targets dependent on presence of the management targets associated with the editing processing items are included in the management items serving as the editing processing items, with the editing module executing editing processing of the same class with respect to the management items retained by the other dependent management targets.

11. The management system of claim 9, wherein the computer system further comprises an editing execution unit configured to move the editing processing items to a different storage module from a storage module storing the management items when an editing processing class with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items has temporarily stopped, and to move the editing processing items to the storage module storing the management items prior to the temporary stopping from the different storage module when the temporary stopping is cancelled.

12. The management system of claim 9, wherein the computer system further comprises an editing execution unit configured to move the editing processing items to a backup storage module from a storage module storing the management items when an editing processing class with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items is backed up, and to move the editing processing items to the storage module storing the management items prior to being backed up from the backup storage module at a time of restoration.

13. The management system of claim 9, wherein the computer system further comprises an editing execution unit configured to perform editing processing of the management items in the computer system in response to the editing instruction, said editing processing including at least one of:

deleting one or more management items with respect to management targets when deletion of the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

invalidating one or more management items with respect to management targets when temporary stop relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

validating one or more management items with respect to management targets when cancellation of temporary stop relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

changing an identifier of a designated management target in one or more management items with respect to management targets when change of management target name relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

moving, to a backup memory, one or more management items with respect to management targets when back up relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system; and

moving, from the backup memory to the operations management module, one or more management items with respect to management targets when restoration relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system.

14. A management method for managing management items with respect to management targets retained by an operations management module that operates and manages the management targets in a computer system, the management method comprising:

accumulating, in a memory, operations management information that identifies management targets and operations management modules managing the management targets in the computer system;

displaying the management targets; and

selecting an operations management module which retains the management target displayed by the display module in response to an instruction of a user, the operations management information identifying management items.

15. The management method of claim 14, further comprising sending an editing instruction to an editing execution unit of the computer system to edit one or more of the management items serving as editing processing items based on the editing instruction.

16. The management method of claim 14, wherein displaying the operations management information comprises displaying a plurality of editing processing classes with respect to the operations management information and the management items;

and selecting from the displayed operations management information comprises selecting the operations management information and the plurality of editing processing classes with respect to the management items in response to the instruction of the user.

17. The management method of claim 16, further comprising issuing an editing instruction for editing processing of the selected editing processing classes with respect to the determined management items.

18. The management method of claim 17, further comprising, in a case where a change in status of the management targets is detected, editing processing of the selected processing classes with respect to the determined management items retained by the operations management module managing the management targets.

19. The management method of claim 17, further comprising including in the management items serving as the editing processing items, management items of other dependent management targets dependent on presence of the management targets associated with the editing processing items;

and executing editing processing of the same class with respect to the management items retained by the other dependent management targets.

20. The management method of claim 17, further comprising:

when an editing processing class with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items has temporarily stopped, moving the editing processing items to a different storage module from a storage module storing the management items; and

when the temporary stopping is cancelled, moving the editing processing items to the storage module storing the management items prior to the temporary stopping from the different storage module.

21. The management method of claim 17, wherein

when an editing processing class with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items is backed up, moving the editing processing items to a backup storage module from a storage module storing the management items;

and

at a time of restoration, moving the editing processing items to the storage module storing the management items prior to being backed up from the backup storage module.

22. The management method of claim 17, further comprising editing processing of the management items in the computer system in response to the editing instruction.

23. The management method of claim 22, wherein editing processing of the management items in the computer system in response to the editing instruction comprises:

deleting one or more management items with respect to management targets when deletion of the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

invalidating one or more management items with respect to management targets when temporary stop relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

validating one or more management items with respect to management targets when cancellation of temporary stop relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

changing an identifier of a designated management target in one or more management items with respect to management targets when change of management target name relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

moving, to a backup memory, one or more management items with respect to management targets when back up relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system; and

moving, from the backup memory to the operations management module, one or more management items with respect to management targets when restoration relating to the one or more management items is received as an editing instruction by the computer system.

24. In a computer readable medium storing a program for managing management items with respect to management targets retained by an operations management module that operates and manages the management targets in a computer system, the program comprising:

code for accumulating, in a memory, operations management information that identifies management targets and operations management module managing the management targets in the computer system;

code for displaying the management targets; and

code for selecting an operations management module which retains the management target displayed by the display module in response to an instruction of a user, the operations management information identifying management items.

25. The program of claim 24, further comprising code for sending an editing instruction to an editing execution unit of the computer system to edit one or more of the management items serving as editing processing items based on the editing instruction.

26. The program of claim 24, wherein the code for displaying the operations management information comprises code for displaying a plurality of editing processing classes with respect to the operations management information and the management items;

and wherein the code for selecting from the displayed operations management information comprises code for selecting the operations management information and the plurality of editing processing classes with respect to the management items in response to the instruction of the user.

27. The program of claim 26, further comprising code for issuing an editing instruction for editing processing of the selected editing processing classes with respect to the determined management items.

28. The program of claim 27, further comprising code for, in a case where a change in status of the management targets is detected, editing processing of the selected processing classes with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items.

29. The program of claim 27, further comprising:

code for including in the management items serving as the editing processing items, management items of other dependent management targets dependent on presence of the management targets associated with the editing processing items; and

code for executing editing processing of the same class with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items by the other dependent management targets.

30. The program of claim 27, further comprising:

code for, when an editing processing class with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items has temporarily stopped, moving the editing processing items to a different storage module from a storage module storing the management items; and

code for, when the temporary stopping is cancelled, moving the editing processing items to the storage module storing the management items prior to the temporary stopping from the different storage module.

31. The program of claim 27, further comprising:

code for, when an editing processing class with respect to the management items identified as editing processing items is backed up, moving the editing processing items to a backup storage module from a storage module storing the management items; and

code for, at a time of restoration, moving the editing processing items to the storage module storing the management items prior to being backed up from the backup storage module.

32. The program of claim 27, further comprising code for editing processing of the management items in the computer system in response to the editing instruction.

33. The program of claim 32, wherein the code for editing processing of the management items in the computer system in response to the editing instruction comprises:

code for deleting management items with respect to management targets when deletion is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

code for invalidating management items with respect to management targets when temporary stop is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

code for validating management items with respect to management targets when cancellation of temporary stop is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

code for changing an identifier of a designated management target in management items with respect to management targets when change of management target name is received as an editing instruction by the computer system;

code for moving, to a backup memory, management items with respect to management targets when back up is received as an editing instruction by the computer system; and

code for moving, from the backup memory to the operations management module, management items with respect to management targets when restoration is received as an editing instruction by the computer system.

34. A management system comprising:

a computer system including;

a plurality of management targets;

a plurality of operations management modules configured to operate and manage the management targets; and

a status monitoring unit configured to monitor status of the management targets; and

a management item management system including;

an operations management information module configured to accumulate operations management information that identifies management targets and operations management modules managing the management targets in the computer system;

a selection module configured to select an operations management module which retains the management target displayed by the display module in response to an instruction of a user, the operations management information identifying management items;

a change detection unit configured to receive notification from the status monitoring unit of the computer system of a change in the status of the management targets; and

an editing instruction unit configured to instruct editing process with respect to management items relating to management targets for which notification of a change in the status is received from the change detection unit,

wherein the computer system further comprises an editing execution unit configured to execute editing processing of the management items based on an instruction sent from the editing instruction unit of the management item management system, and

wherein the management item management system further comprises a display unit configured to display the operations management information.