Computing System Infrastructure To Administer Distress Messages

• US 20080189369A1
• Filed: 02/02/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Parupudi, Gopal, Chandrasekaran, Nirupama, Padhi, Prabhu, Gul, Atif, Yim, Ben
• Granted Patent: US 8,312,135 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0609 based on severity or priority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0686 Additional information in the notification, e.g. enhancement of specific meta-data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area

Abstract

A system and method that allows for distress or SoS messages from various managed resources to be sent to a reliable location such as a server. The server can gather the distress messages and provide a summary or health status based on the gathered distress messages.

Claims

1. A resource comprising:

a memory;

one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory; and

an interface couple to the memory, configured to provide an interface between the resource and a dedicated communication channel, wherein the communication channel provides for a distress message from the resource to a central location that is continuously available to the resource.

2. The resource of claim 1, wherein the interface is a communication pipe interface and the communication channel is a communication pipe continuously available to the resource and central location.

3. The resource of claim 1, wherein the communication channel uses a protocol at the resource and central location, where the distress message is passed absent any other process or infrastructure.

4. The resource of claim 1, wherein the distress message is generated from a minimum reporting set that is available to one or more applications of the resource.

5. The resource of claim 4, wherein the minimum reporting set includes a library of messages that help generate the distress message.

6. The resource of claim 1, further comprising an application program interface to format and send the distress message.

7. The resource of claim 1, wherein the resource is one of the following:

a cell phone, a personal digital assistants (PDA), a laptop computer, a desktop computers, or a mobile communication devices.

8. A server comprising:

a memory;

one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory; and

a collector included in the memory, and configured to receive one or more distress messages, wherein the one or more distress messages are received through a communication pipe from one or more resources.

9. The server of claim 8, wherein the collector filters the one or more distress messages, as to relevant distress messages are sent to a second server.

10. The server of claim 8, wherein collector retains the most recent of the one or more distress messages.

11. The server of claim 8, further comprising a summarizer that summarizes the one or more distress messages per a predefined format.

12. The server of claim 8, wherein a second server defines the predefined format.

13. The server of claim 8, further comprising a reporter to provide the one or more messages to a second server.

14. The server of claim 8, wherein the reporter propagates a pre-determined number of distress messages.

15. A method comprising:

identifying one or more distress messages at one or more resources;

communicating the identified distress messages to a dedicated location; and

filtering the communicated distress messages based a predetermined format.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the identifying is of one or more applications resident at the one or more resources.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein any of the one or more applications can report service, health, or configuration problems.

18. The method of claim 16.he method of claim 15, wherein the identifying includes sending information to allow an administer to perform one or more of the following:

determine problems at the one or more resources, root cause analysis, and trend analysis

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the communicating is through a continuously available channel connecting the one or more resources to the dedicated location.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising summarizing the messages.