Problem determination rules processing

• US 20070168310A1
• Filed: 10/27/2005
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kaminsky, David, Lake, John
• Granted Patent: US 7,412,432 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/025 Extracting rules from data

Abstract

A context-sensitive pre-evaluation analysis of a set of rules is performed based on the circumstance or the current state of a rule clause directed to an infrequently changing condition. A group of multiple-clause rules are identified which each have a clause defining an infrequently changing condition for evaluating a state of a resource. The current state of the resource is monitored. If the identified group of multiple-clause rules, which cannot evaluate as TRUE under the context of the current state the resource, the identified group of multiple-clause rules are excluded from consideration by the rules engine. The rules engine will then encounter fewer rules to evaluate for a solution. The identified group of multiple-clause rules is further analyzed in the context of the infrequently changing condition for the current resource state. State metrics that are defined by clauses of the identified multiple-clause rules, those that cannot evaluate as TRUE, are identified. Those metrics are then also excluded from consideration by the rules engine. Thus, the rules engine will encounter fewer rules and/or event states that cannot be evaluated to a solution. The context-sensitive pre-evaluation analysis of the rules is performed out-of-band as the rules engine traverses the rule.

Claims

1. A method performing a context-sensitive, pre-evaluation analysis of a set of rules comprising:

identifying at least one multiple-clause rule from a plurality of rules, said at least one multiple-clause rule containing a first clause defining a first characteristic condition in a context of a state of the first characteristic;

ascertaining a current state of the first characteristic;

excluding the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation with the plurality of rules on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic; and

excluding data from evaluation in the context of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein excluding the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation with the plurality of rules on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic, further comprises:

identifying an extraneous metric, said extraneous metric being defined exclusively in a second clause of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule and being undefined in unidentified rules of the plurality of rules; and

excluding data for the extraneous metric from evaluation.

3. The method recited in claim 2, wherein the first clause and the second clause of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule are connected by a logical AND connective.

4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein excluding the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation with the plurality of rules on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic, further comprises:

evaluating the current state of the first characteristic with the first clause of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule;

realizing an evaluation outcome of FALSE; and

setting the identified at least one multiple-clause rule as unavailable for evaluation.

5. The method recited in claim 4, wherein excluding the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation with the plurality of rules on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic, further comprises marking the identified at least one multiple-clause rule as inactive.

6. The method recited in claim 4, wherein excluding data for the extraneous metric from evaluation further comprises instructing a client to suppress messages containing event state data for the extraneous metric.

7. The method recited in claim 4, wherein excluding data for the extraneous metric from evaluation further comprises notifying a client of the first characteristic condition in context of a state of the first characteristic.

8. The method recited in claim 4 further comprising:

receiving event state data from a client, said event state data being non-extraneous for the plurality of rules in the context of the state of the first characteristic;

retrieving a non-excluded rule from the plurality of rules; and

evaluating the non-excluded rule with the non-extraneous event state data.

9. The method recited in claim 4, wherein the first characteristic condition defines one of a temporal state and a computing topology state.

10. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer usable program code for performing a context-sensitive pre-evaluation analysis of a set of rules, said computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code to identify at least one multiple-clause rule from a plurality of rules, said at least one multiple-clause rule containing a first clause defining a first characteristic condition in a context of a state of the first characteristic;

computer usable program code to ascertain a current state of the first characteristic;

computer usable program code to exclude the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation with the plurality of rules on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic; and

computer usable program code to exclude data from evaluation in the context of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule.

11. The computer program product recited in claim 10, wherein the computer usable program code to exclude the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation with the plurality of rules on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic, further comprises

computer usable program code to identify an extraneous metric, said extraneous metric being defined exclusively in a second clause of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule and being undefined in unidentified rules of the plurality of rules;

and

computer usable program code to exclude data for the extraneous metric from evaluation.

12. The computer program product recited in claim 11, wherein the first clause and the second clause of the at least one rule are connected by a logical AND connective.

13. The computer program product recited in claim 12, wherein the computer usable program code to exclude the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation with the plurality of rules on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic, further comprises:

computer usable program code to evaluate the current state of the of the first characteristic with the first clause of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule;

computer usable program code to realize an evaluation outcome of FALSE; and

computer usable program code to set the identified at least one multiple-clause rule as unavailable for evaluation.

14. The computer program product recited in claim 13, wherein the computer usable program code to set the identified at least one multiple-clause rule as unavailable for evaluation, further comprises computer usable program code to mark the identified at least one multiple-clause rule as inactive.

15. The computer program product recited in claim 13, wherein computer usable program code to exclude data for the extraneous metric from evaluation, further comprises computer usable program code to instruct a client to suppress messages containing event state data for the extraneous metric.

16. The computer program product recited in claim 13, wherein computer usable program code to exclude data for the extraneous metric from evaluation, further comprises computer usable program code to notify a client of the first characteristic condition in context of a state of the first characteristic.

17. The computer program product recited in claim 13, wherein the first characteristic condition defines one of a temporal state and a computing topological state.

18. A system for performing a context-sensitive, pre-evaluation analysis of a set of rules comprising:

a rules database to store a plurality of rules;

a rule engine, in communication with the rules database and a managed resource, to receive event state data from the managed resource, retrieve a rule from rules database, and evaluate the rule with the event state data;

an out-of-line rules analyzer, in communication with the rule engine, the rules database and a managed resource, to identify at least one multiple-clause rule from the rules database, said at least one multiple-clause rule containing a first clause defining a first characteristic condition in a context of a state of the first characteristic, to ascertain a current state of the first characteristic, to exclude the identified at least one multiple-clause rule from evaluation by the rules engine on the basis of the first clause in a context of the current state of the first characteristic, to identify an extraneous metric being defined exclusively in a second clause of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule and being undefined in unidentified rules of the plurality of rules, and to suppress event state data for the extraneous metric from evaluation at the managed resource.

19. The system recited in claim 18, wherein the out-of-line rules analyzer evaluates the current state of the of the first characteristic with the first clause of the identified at least one multiple-clause rule, realizes an evaluation outcome of FALSE, and sets the identified at least one multiple-clause rule as unavailable for evaluation.

20. The system recited in claim 18, wherein the out-of-line rules analyzer marks the identified at least one multiple-clause rule in the rules database as inactive.

21. The system recited in claim 18, wherein the out-of-line rules analyzer instructs the managed resource to suppress messages containing event state data for the extraneous metric.