System and method for implementing polling agents in a client management tool

• US 20050005010A1
• Filed: 07/30/2004
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: DeLuca, Steve A., Bishop, David A., Darcy, Paul B.
• Granted Patent: US 7,035,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3442 for planning or managing the needed capacity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/885 Monitoring specific for caches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5032 Generating service level reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV

Abstract

A method and system is provided for implementing a variety of polling agent functions in a client management tool. Users at a central manager are prompted to select either a central polling function or a resident polling function for the collection of client management data from a number of computer objects. Additionally, the polling agent functions of the present invention are capable of distinguishing between critical data and non-critical data and determining an appropriate transmission interval for the data.

Claims

1-9. -9. (Cancelled)

10. A computer system for managing a plurality of objects, the system comprising:

a central manager;

a first of the plurality of objects being in communication with the central manager; and

a polling agent for collecting data from the plurality of objects, wherein the polling agent resides on the first object when the computer system operates in a first polling mode and wherein the polling agent resides on the central manager when the computer system operates in a second polling mode.

11. The computer system recited in claim 10 further comprising a second polling agent which resides on a second of the plurality of objects when the computer system operates in the first polling mode.

12. The computer system recited in claim 10 further comprising a second polling agent which resides on the first object when the computer system operates in the second polling mode.

13. The computer system recited in claim 10 further comprising a database for storing the data collected by the polling agent.

14. The computer system recited in claim 10 further comprising a user interface for prompting the user to select from a plurality of polling modes.

15. The computer system recited in claim 10, wherein the first polling mode is a resident polling mode.

16. The computer system recited in claim 10, wherein the second polling mode is a central polling mode.

24. The computer system recited in claim 16, wherein the central polling mode does not require resident polling agents.

17. A computer system for managing a plurality of objects, the system comprising:

means for centrally managing the computer system;

a first of the plurality of objects being in communication with the central managing means; and

means for collecting data from the plurality of objects, wherein the collecting means reside on the first object when the computer system operates in a first polling mode and wherein the collecting means reside on the central managing means when the computer system operates in a second polling mode.

18. The computer system recited in claim 17, wherein the collecting means include a first collector residing on the first object and a second collector residing on a second of the plurality of objects when the computer system operates in the first polling mode.

19. The computer system recited in claim 17, wherein the collecting means include a first collector on the central managing means and a second collector residing on the first object when the computer system operates in the second polling mode.

20. The computer system recited in claim 17 further comprising storage means for storing the data collected by the collecting means.

21. The computer system recited in claim 17 further comprising a user interface means for prompting the user to select from a plurality of polling modes.

22. The computer system recited in claim 17, wherein the first polling mode is a resident polling mode.

23. The computer system recited in claim 17, wherein the second polling mode is a central polling mode.

25. The computer system recited in claim 23, wherein the central polling mode does not require resident polling agents.