Method of monitoring and controlling applications in an ACD

• US 20060048135A1
• Filed: 08/31/2004
• Published: 03/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Electronics Commerce Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Electronics Commerce Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Hollatz, Mike, Hodson, Jeff
• Application Number:
  US10/930,997
• Publication Number:
  US 20060048135A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/172
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/508 Monitor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/50 Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for monitoring and controlling a plurality of computing applications in an automatic contact distribution system. The method includes the steps of objectively determining an availability of resources of the automatic contact distributor and automatically activating an application of the plurality of computing applications when the objectively determined resource availability within the automatic call distributing system exceeds a resource requirement of the application.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring and controlling a plurality of computing applications in an automatic contact distribution system, such method comprising the steps of:

objectively determining an availability of resources of the automatic contact distributor; and

automatically activating an application of the plurality of computing applications when the objectively determined resource availability within the automatic call distributing system exceeds a resource requirement of the application.

2. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 1 further comprising determining a resource requirement of the application.

3. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 1 wherein the step of determining a resource requirement of the application further comprises identifying another computer application of the plurality of computer applications that interacts with the application.

4. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 1 wherein the step of determining a resource requirement of the application further comprises determining a maximum loading level of the other application that allows the application to achieve a predetermined performance level.

5. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 4 further comprising providing a SIP presence server for tracking the availability of resources.

6. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 5 further comprising at least some of the plurality of applications registering a loading level of the respective plurality of applications with the presence server.

7. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 6 wherein the step of determining the availability of resources further comprises retrieving the registered loading level of the at least some applications.

8. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 7 wherein the step of retrieving the registered loading level of the at least some applications further comprises sending a SIP REGISTER message to the SIP presence server.

9. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 7 further comprising comparing the retrieved loading level with the maximum loading level of the other application and activating the application when the retrieved loading level does not exceed the maximum loading level.

10. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 9 further comprising comparing the retrieved loading level with the maximum level of the other application and de-activating the application when the retrieved loading level exceeds the maximum loading level.

11. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 1 further comprising retrieving a resource requirement from the application.

12. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 11 further comprising pinging a computer resource of the retrieved resource requirements of the application.

13. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 12 further comprising measuring a delay between transmission of the ping and detecting receipt of a response to the ping.

14. The method of monitoring and controlling as in claim 13 further comprising comparing the measured delay with a threshold value for the computer resource.

15. An apparatus for monitoring and controlling a plurality of computing applications in an automatic contact distribution system, such apparatus comprising:

means for objectively determining an availability of resources of the automatic contact distributor; and

means for automatically activating an application of the plurality of computing applications when the objectively determined resource availability within the automatic call distributing system exceeds a resource requirement of the application.

16. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 15 further comprising means for determining a resource requirement of the application.

17. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 15 wherein the means for determining a resource requirement of the application further comprises means for identifying another computer application of the plurality of computer applications that interacts with the application.

18. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 15 wherein the means for determining a resource requirement of the application further comprises means for determining a maximum loading level of the other application that allows the application to achieve a predetermined performance level.

19. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 18 further comprising means for providing a SIP presence server for tracking the availability of resources.

20. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 19 further comprising means within at least some of the plurality of applications for registering a loading level of the respective plurality of applications with the presence server.

21. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 20 wherein the means for determining the availability of resources further comprises means for retrieving the registered loading level of the at least some applications.

22. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 21 wherein the means for retrieving the registered loading level of the at least some applications further comprises means for sending a SIP REGISTER message to the SIP presence server.

23. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 21 further comprising means for comparing the retrieved loading level with the maximum loading level of the other application and activating the application when the retrieved loading level does not exceed the maximum loading level.

24. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 23 further comprising means for comparing the retrieved loading level with the maximum level of the other application and de-activating the application when the retrieved loading level exceeds the maximum loading level.

25. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 15 further comprising means for retrieving a resource requirement from the application.

26. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 25 further comprising means for pinging a computer resource of the retrieved resource requirements of the application.

27. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 26 further comprising means for measuring a delay between transmission of the ping and detecting receipt of a response to the ping.

28. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 27 further comprising means for comparing the measured delay with a threshold value for the computer resource.

29. An apparatus for monitoring and controlling a plurality of computing applications in an automatic contact distribution system, such apparatus comprising:

a SIP presence server that objectively determines an availability of resources of the automatic contact distributor; and

an application controller that automatically activates an application of the plurality of computing applications when the objectively determined resource availability within the automatic call distributing system exceeds a resource requirement of the application.

30. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 29 further comprising a resource file that provides a resource requirement of the application.

31. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 30 wherein the resource file further comprises a threshold value that determines a maximum loading level of the other application that allows the application to achieve a predetermined performance level.

32. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 31 further comprising a user agent within at least some of the plurality of applications for registering a loading level of the respective plurality of applications with the presence server.

33. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 32 wherein the SIP presence server further comprises a SIP REGISTER message that transfers resource information between the SIP presence server and an application of the plurality of computer applications.

34. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 33 further comprising a comparator that compares the retrieved loading level with the maximum loading level of the other application and activates the application when the retrieved loading level does not exceed the maximum loading level.

35. The apparatus for monitoring and controlling as in claim 34 wherein the comparator de-activates the application when the retrieved loading level exceeds the maximum loading level.

36. A method of monitoring and controlling a plurality of computing applications in an automatic contact distribution system, such method comprising the steps of:

objectively determining an availability of resources that are used by an application of the automatic contact distributor computing applications; and

activating the application when the objectively determined resource availability within the automatic call distributing system exceeds a resource requirement of the application.

37. A method of monitoring and controlling a plurality of computing resources in an automatic contact distribution system, such method comprising the steps of:

determining a resource requirement of an application of the plurality of applications;

determining a resource availability of the determined resource requirement within the automatic contact distribution system;

comparing the resource requirement with the resource availability; and

activating the application when the resource availability exceeds the resource requirement of the application.

38. The method monitoring and controlling computing resources as in claim 37 further comprising deactivating the application when the resource availability does not exceed the resource requirement.

39. The method monitoring and controlling computing resources as in claim 37 further comprising the application registering a loading level with a presence server.