Status-message mapping

• US 20050216573A1
• Filed: 03/23/2004
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus LLC (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Gutjahr, Bernd
• Granted Patent: US 7,499,984 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/044 comprising hierarchical management structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications

Abstract

A method of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system is provided. The service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements. The method includes directing a status message to at least one higher-level service element; ascertaining, at the higher-level service element, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element; down-wardly propagating of the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in the action of ascertaining.

Claims

1. A method of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system, the service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the method comprising:

directing a status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertaining, at the higher-level service element, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

downwardly propagating of the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, before the status message is directed to the at least one higher-level service element, the status message is analyzed, and attributes are added to the status message related to information contained in the status message, wherein said ascertaining is performed on the basis of the attributes associated with the status message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the service elements are logical service elements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein an edge condition is associated with a link connecting the at least one higher-level service element with a lower-level service element, and wherein the edge condition is tested in said ascertaining.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a node condition is associated with the at least one higher-level service element, and wherein the node condition is tested in said ascertaining.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein lower-level service elements are arranged in more than one hierarchical level, and wherein the actions of ascertaining and downwardly propagating are repeatedly carried out downwardly from level to level.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, in said ascertaining, for a service element on a higher hierarchical-level, at least one condition is tested for each service element on a lower hierarchical-level connected with the service element on the higher hierarchical-level, and wherein the downward propagation of the status message is terminated if no condition for propagating the status message to a service element on the lower hierarchical-level is fulfilled.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the element graph is able to be extended by adding further service elements without a necessity to adapt the status messages of the monitored objects to the service elements added.

9. A method of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system, the service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the method comprising:

analyzing a status message of a monitored object, and adding attributes to the status message related to information contained in the status message;

directing the status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertaining, at the higher-level service element, on the basis of at least one of the attributes, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

downwardly propagating of the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least some of the service elements are logical service elements.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein an edge condition is associated with a link connecting the at least one higher-level service element with a lower-level service element, and wherein, in said ascertaining, it is tested, using at least one of the attributes, whether the edge condition is fulfilled.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein a node condition is associated with the at least one higher-level service element, and wherein, in said ascertaining, it is tested, using at least one of the attributes, whether the node condition is fulfilled.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein lower-level service elements are arranged in more than one hierarchical level, and wherein the actions of ascertaining and downwardly propagating are repeatedly carried out downwardly from level to level.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, in said ascertaining, for a service element on a higher hierarchical-level, at least one condition is tested for each service element on a lower hierarchical-level connected with the service element on the higher hierarchical-level, and wherein the downward propagation of the status message is terminated if no condition for propagating the status message to a service element on the lower hierarchical-level is fulfilled.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the element graph is able to be extended by adding further service elements without a necessity to adapt the status messages of the monitored objects to the service elements added.

16. An IT-infrastructure-management server arranged to map status messages of monitored objects of the IT infrastructure to service elements which are represented in the server in an element graph having directed links connecting service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the server being programmed to:

direct a status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertain, at the higher-level service element, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

propagate downwardly the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.

17. An IT-infrastructure-management server arranged to map status messages of monitored objects of the IT infrastructure to service elements

which are represented in the server in an element graph having directed links connecting service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the server being programmed to:

analyze a status message of a monitored object, and add attributes to the status message related to information contained in the status message,

direct the status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertain, at the higher-level service element, on the basis of at least one of the attributes, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

propagate downwardly the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.

18. A computer program product comprising a machine-readable medium with program code stored on it, for carrying out a method, when executed on a computer system, of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system, the service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the program code being arranged to:

direct a status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertain, at the higher-level service element, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

downwardly propagating the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.

19. A computer program product comprising a machine-readable medium with program code stored on it, for carrying out a method, when executed on a computer system, of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system, the service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the program code being arranged to:

analyze a status message of a monitored object, and add attributes to the status message related to information contained in the status message,

direct the status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertain, at the higher-level service element, on the basis of at least one of the attributes, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

propagate downwardly the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.

20. A propagated signal carried on an electromagnetic waveform comprising a representation of program code for carrying out a method, when executed on a computer system, of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system, the service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the program code being arranged to:

direct a status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertain, at the higher-level service element, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

downwardly propagating the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.

21. A propagated signal carried on an electromagnetic waveform comprising a representation of program code for carrying out a method, when executed on a computer system, of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system, the service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements, the program code being arranged to:

analyze a status message of a monitored object, and add attributes to the status message related to information contained in the status message,

direct the status message to at least one higher-level service element;

ascertain, at the higher-level service element, on the basis of at least one of the attributes, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element;

propagate downwardly the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in said ascertaining.