Business intelligence monitoring tool

• US 20060041547A1
• Filed: 08/17/2004
• Published: 02/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telean Technologies Limited
• Original Assignee: Telean Technologies Limited
• Inventors: Karch, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,934 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context

Abstract

An improved method and apparatus for auditing database queries, wherein comments are added by a server prior to the server forwarding the queries to the database system. The comments are then used to derive audit information, which is correlated with other audit information in a different server, to produce a more complete audit record.

Claims

1. A method of logging information related to database access, said method comprising:

Utilizing a first server to accept database queries from plural users, and logging certain information in a first server log,

Transmitting said queries from said first server to a database system;

Capturing said audit information into a second server log, and

Constructing an audit record for said query by correlating and combining information in said first server log that relates to a particular query and information in said second server log that relates to said particular query.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein audit information is added to said query prior to transmitting said query to said database system.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said audit information includes at least one of the report name, universe/catalog name, and user id of a user, initiating said query through said first server.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said step of correlating and combining includes matching a time of transaction recorded in said first server log with a time of transaction recorded in said second server log.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said user initiating said query does so through a thin client in communication with said first server.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said audit information is added as a comment.

7. Apparatus for logging information related to database queries, said apparatus comprising a first server that accepts database queries from plural users, a second server that monitors communications between said first server and a database system, said second server recording a first log from information embedded as comments in messages transmitted from said first server to a database system, and a third server that combines information in said log with information placed in a second log by said first server, in order to construct a third log of desired information relevant to said queries.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said third log is used to update rules governing acceptable queries to be made in said database.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said information includes a user ID to identify a user that initiated a database transaction.

10. A method of compiling audit information related to database access, the method comprising recording a user identification, report name, and universe/catalog name associated, with each of a plurality of database queries, at least one of the user id, report name, and universe/catalogue name being compiled from comments added to database queries, and at least one of said user id, report name, or universe catalog, being compiled from information extracted by a server that also consolidates queries from plural users into a single stream of database queries.

11. A method of implementing database access comprising consolidating, at a first server, queries from plural users to be sent to a database, extracting information from said plural queries, adding comments to said queries and sending said queries to the database, compiling information into a first log by monitoring communications to said database and reading said comments, combining said extracted information with said compiled information to form a second log, said step of combining utilizing identifiers added to said extracted information and said compiled information.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said database is accessed via the Software Query Language (SQL).

13. A method of constructing an audit log for a database accessed via a BI tool comprising modeling reports to be requested in advance of said reports being requested, determining from said modeling step, communications taking place between a BI server and a database when said reports are requested, and ascertaining and logging audit information from comments inserted into said communications and from information ascertained by said modeling.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said modeling includes determining what SQL statements will result from a particular report that is requested.