System and Method for Efficiently Obtaining a Summary from and Locating Data in a Log File

• US 20060184498A1
• Filed: 02/15/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: West, Dean Merritt II, Parvin, William Augustus, Meyer, Joel Peter, Qiao, Wenjian
• Granted Patent: US 7,519,572 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3447 Performance evaluation by modeling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2474 Sequence data queries, e.g. querying versioned data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

Systems and methods for efficiently obtaining a summary from and locating data in a log file allow a user to efficiently obtain summary information and locate specific data records even in large log files. The system includes a configuration program, a log writing program, and a log reading program. The configuration program allows the user to control the duration of monitoring and the frequency of summary record creation by the log writing program. The log writing program writes data records, summary records, and summary information to a log file in response to monitored events. The log reading program retrieves summary records and data records from the log file using summary information in response to user requests.

Claims

1. A method for efficiently obtaining a summary from and locating data in a log file comprising:

(a) monitoring a process;

(b) responsive to finding an event has occurred, writing a data record to a log file;

(c) responsive to finding a summary record is needed, writing a summary record to the log file;

(d) responsive to finding monitoring should continue, repeating steps (a)-(c);

(e) responsive to finding the log file ends with a data record, writing a summary record to the log file;

(f) writing a summary information to the log file;

(g) reading the summary information from the log file;

(h) reading the summary records from the log file;

(i) displaying the summary records to the user;

(j) sending a request to the user to indicate which data records should be displayed;

(k) receiving a response from the user;

(l) identifying the summary records matching the response received in step (j); and

(m) reading the data records matching the response received in step (j) from the log file.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (a)-(f) are performed automatically by a computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (g)-(l) may take place responsive to receiving a request from a user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) is preceded by the steps of:

(a) sending a request to the user to indicate the duration of the process monitoring;

(b) receiving a response from the user; and

(c) writing the response received in step (b) to a configuration data file.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) is preceded by the steps of:

(a) sending a request to the user to indicate the frequency of summary record creation;

(b) receiving a response from the user; and

(c) writing the response received in step (b) to a configuration data file.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) is preceded by the steps of:

(a) sending a request to the user to indicate the frequency of summary record creation and the duration of the process monitoring;

(b) receiving a response from the user; and

(c) writing the response received in step (b) to a configuration data file.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying the data records matching the response received in step (j) to the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the data records includes at least one of the group consisting of an event type, a start time, an end time, and an event detail.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the summary records includes at least one of the group consisting of a total number of events for each event type covered by the summary record, a total number of events covered by the summary record, a start time of the first data record covered by the summary record, and an end time of the last data record covered by the summary record.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the summary information includes at least one of the group consisting of a number of summary records, a summary record name, an offset in the log file, a start time, an end time, and a number of data records.

11. A program product operable on a computer comprising:

a computer-usable medium;

wherein the computer usable medium comprises instructions for a computer to perform steps comprising;

(a) monitoring a process;

(b) responsive to finding an event has occurred, writing a data record to a log file;

(c) responsive to finding a summary record is needed, writing a summary record to the log file;

(d) responsive to finding monitoring should continue, repeating steps (a)-(c);

(e) responsive to finding the log ends with a data record, writing a summary record to the log file;

(f) writing summary information to the log file;

(g) responsive to receiving a request from a user, reading the summary information from the log file;

(h) responsive to receiving a request from a user, reading the summary records from the log file;

(i) displaying the summary records to the user;

(j) sending a request to the user to indicate which data records should be displayed;

(k) receiving a response from the user;

(l) identifying the summary records matching the response received in step (k); and

(m) reading the data records matching the response received in step (k) from the log file.

12. The program product of claim 11, wherein step (a) is preceded by the steps of:

(a) sending a request to the user to indicate the duration of the process monitoring;

(b) receiving a response from the user; and

(c) writing the response received in step (b) to a configuration data file.

13. The program product of claim 11, wherein step (a) is preceded by the steps of:

(a) sending a request to the user to indicate the frequency of summary record creation;

(b) receiving a response from the user; and

(c) writing the response received in step (b) to a configuration data file.

14. The program product of claim 11, wherein step (a) is preceded by the steps of:

(a) sending a request to the user to indicate the frequency of summary record creation and the duration of the process monitoring;

(b) receiving a response from the user; and

(c) writing the response received in step (b) to a configuration data file.

15. The program product of claim 11, further comprising the step of displaying the data records matching the response received in step (k) to the user.

16. The program product of claim 11, wherein each of the data records includes at least one of the group consisting of an event type, a start time, an end time, and an event detail.

17. The program product of claim 11, wherein each of the summary records includes at least one of the group consisting of a total number of events for each event type covered by the summary record, a total number of events record covered by the summary record, a start time of the total number of events for each event type covered by the summary record, and an end time of the last data record covered by the summary record.

18. The program product of claim 11, wherein the summary information includes at least one of the group consisting of a number of summary records, a summary record name, an offset in the log file, a start time, an end time, and a number of data records.

19. A system for efficiently obtaining a summary from and locating data in a log file comprising:

a first computer having a first memory and a first processor;

a second computer having a second memory and a second processor connected to the first computer;

a log reading program loaded into the second memory;

a log writing program loaded into the second memory; and

a log file loaded into the second memory.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the log writing program monitors a process, writes data records to the log file in response to events, writes summary records to the log file, and writes summary information to the log file when monitoring is completed.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the log reading program reads the summary information from the log file, reads the summary records from the log file, displays the summary records to a user, receives input from the user regarding which data records are to be displayed, identifies matching summary records, and reads the data records from the log file matching the user'"'"'s input.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the log reading program displays the data records matching the user'"'"'s input to the user.

23. The system of claim 20, further comprising:

a configuration program loaded into the second memory; and

a configuration data file loaded into the second memory.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the configuration program receives input from a user regarding duration of monitoring and frequency of summary record creation and writes the input to the configuration data file.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the log reading program reads the configuration data file to determine the frequency of summary record creation and when monitoring terminates.