Fragility handling

• US 20070100850A1
• Filed: 10/31/2005
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Parupudi, Gopal, Murthy, Mukunda, Choe, Calvin
• Granted Patent: US 7,526,677 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/065 involving logical or physical relationship, e.g. grouping and hierarchies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management

Abstract

A method is provided for handling failures in a computer system including a compliance checking system in a computer network. In response to a client computer failing to obtain a compliance check, a determination is made as to a category of an error that at least partially caused the failure in obtaining the compliance check. As a result, the method includes performing an action to at least partially based on the determined category of the error. In some instances, the action can include allowing the client computer to connect to the network. Another method includes receiving a definition of a configurable mitigation rule, where the configurable mitigation rule describes an action to perform at least partially based on the category of an error. Yet another method includes receiving a selection of a security level of operation of the compliance checking system.

Claims

1. A method of handling failures in a computer system including a compliance checking system in a computer network, the method comprising computer-implemented acts of:

(A) in response to a client computer failing to obtain a compliance check, determining a category of an error that at least partially caused the failure to obtain the compliance check; and

(B) performing an action at least partially based on the determined category of the error.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the action comprises allowing the client computer to connect to the network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the action is at least partially performed on a server that attempted to perform the compliance check.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (B) is performed according to a configurable mitigation rule.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the category of the error comprises a client computer error or a client communication error.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the category of the error comprises a server computer error or a server communication error, wherein the server comprises at least one computer accessed by the client to obtain the compliance check.

7. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the acts recited in claim 1.

8. A method of handling failures in a computer system including a compliance checking system in a computer network, the method comprising a computer-implemented act of:

(A) receiving a definition of a configurable mitigation rule, the configurable mitigation rule describing an action to perform at least partially based on a category of an error, wherein the error is at least partially responsible for a failure to obtain a compliance check.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising acts of:

(B) in response to a client computer failing to obtain a compliance check, determining a category of an error that at least partially caused the failure to obtain the compliance check; and

(C) performing an action at least partially based on the determined category of the error and the configurable mitigation rule defined in act (A).

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the action is at least partially performed by a server that attempted to perform the compliance check.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the action comprises allowing the client computer to connect to the network.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising an act of providing descriptive information about the error that at least partially caused the failure to obtain the compliance check.

13. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the acts recited in claim 8.

14. A method of handling failures in a computer system including a compliance checking system in a computer network, the method comprising a computer-implemented act of:

(A) receiving a selection of the security level of operation of the compliance checking system.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the security level of operation of the compliance checking system comprises not relaxing security policies of the compliance checking system.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein not relaxing security policies of the compliance checking system results in not allowing a client computer to connect to the network as a result of a failure to obtain a compliance check.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the security level of operation of the compliance checking system comprises deliberately relaxing at least some security policies of the compliance checking system.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the relaxation of at least some security policies of the compliance checking system results in allowing a client computer to connect to the network despite a failure to obtain a compliance check.

19. The method of claim of claim 18, wherein allowing a client computer to connect to the network comprises allowing the client computer to connect to the network for a limited length of time.

20. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the acts recited in claim 14.