METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING THE STATUS OF OBJECTS IN COMPUTER NETWORKS USING VIRTUAL STATE MACHINES

• US 20090216881A1
• Filed: 03/24/2009
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Optanix, Inc. (Axispoint Technology Solutions Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ShoreGroup, Inc.
• Inventors: Fagan, Brant M., Lovy, David M., Bojanek, Robert J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,971,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0233 Object-oriented techniques, for representation of network management data, e.g. common object request broker architecture [CORBA]
• 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 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps

Abstract

A network appliance for monitoring, diagnosing and documenting problems among a plurality of devices and processes (objects) coupled to a computer network utilizes periodic polling and collection of object-generated trap data to monitor the status of objects on the computer network. The status of a multitude of objects is maintained in memory utilizing virtual state machines which contain a small amount of persistent data but which are modeled after one of a plurality of finite state machines. The memory further maintains dependency data related to each object which identifies parent/child relationships with other objects at the same or different layers of the OSI network protocol model. A decision engine verifies through on-demand polling that a device is down. A root cause analysis module utilizes status and dependency data to locate the highest object in the parent/child relationship tree that is affected to determine the root cause of a problem. Once a problem has been verified, a “case” is opened and notification alerts may be sent out to one or more devices. A user interface allows all objects within the network to be displayed with their respective status and their respective parent/child dependency objects in various formats.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. In a computer system having a processor, memory and a network interface, an method for monitoring a plurality of device or process objects operatively coupled to the computer system over a computer network, a method comprising:

(a) monitoring the status of the plurality of monitored objects over the computer network;

(b) storing in memory a plurality of different finite state machine models;

(c) storing in memory a virtual state machine associated with each of the plurality of monitored objects;

(d) receiving with a decision engine input event data relating to one of the monitored objects and accessing the virtual state machine in memory associated with said one monitored object; and

(e) manipulating with the decision engine the data identifying the current state of the virtual state machine and determining which actions associated with an identified finite state machine model should be performed.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a finite set of states, only one of the states being active at a time and referred to as the current state.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a finite set of input events that trigger state changes and execution of actions.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a finite set of transitions, each of which, given a current state and a specific input event, cause a transition of the finite state machine model to a next state.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a set of actions associated with selected of the finite states.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the set of actions associated with selected of the plurality of different finite state machine module comprises actions to be performed based on a current state of the finite state machine model and a received input data.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the set of actions associated with selected of the plurality of different finite state machine models comprises actions to be performed based on a next state of the virtual state machine model, without regard to a current state of the finite state machine model and any received input data.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein each virtual state machine comprises data identifying the monitored object.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein each virtual state machine comprises data identifying one of the plurality of finite state machine models.

20. The method of claim 12 wherein each virtual state machine comprises data identifying one of the finite states of the identified finite state machine model as a current state of the virtual state machine.

21. A computer program product for use with an computer system operatively coupled over a computer network to a plurality of device or process objects, the computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having embodied therein program code comprising:

(a) program code for monitoring the status of the plurality of monitored objects over the computer network;

(b) program code for storing in memory a plurality of different finite state machine models;

(c) program code for storing in memory a virtual state machine associated with each of the plurality of monitored objects;

(d) program code for receiving input event data relating to one of the monitored objects and accessing the virtual state machine in memory associated with said one monitored object; and

(e) program code for manipulating the data identifying the current state of the virtual state machine associated with said one monitored object and determining which actions associated with the identified finite state machine model should be performed.

22. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a pat on a finite set of states, only one of the states being active at a time and referred to as the current state.

23. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a finite set of input events that trigger state changes and execution of actions.

24. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a finite set of transitions, each of which, given a current state and a specific input event, cause a transition of the finite state machine model to a next state.

25. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein each finite state machine model comprises a set of actions associated with selected of the finite states.

26. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the set of actions associated with selected of the plurality of different finite state machine module comprises actions to be performed based on a current state of the finite state machine model and a received input data.

27. The computer program product of claim 25 wherein the set of actions associated with selected of the plurality of different finite state machine models comprises actions to be performed based on a next state of the virtual state machine model, without regard to a current state of the finite state machine model and any received input data.

28. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein each virtual state machine comprises data identifying the monitored object.

29. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein each virtual state machine comprises data identifying one of the plurality of finite state machine models.

30. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein each virtual state machine comprises data identifying one of the finite states of the identified finite state machine model as a current state of the virtual state machine.

31-33. -33. (canceled)

34. A computer program product for use with a computer system operatively coupled over a computer network to a plurality of device or process objects, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied thereon comprising:

a) program code for monitoring the status of the plurality of monitored objects over the computer network;

(b) program code for receiving data indicating that the status of a monitored objects, and, if the data indicating that the status of a monitored object is not normal, for verifying that the status of a monitored object is not normal;

(c) program code for storing, in a memory, data relating to the status of the monitored objects wherein the memory stores a plurality of virtual state-machines relating to the monitored objects; and

(d) program code for presenting data relating to the monitored objects.

35. An apparatus for use with a computer system operatively coupled over a computer network to a plurality of device or process objects, some of the plurality of objects having dependency relationships therebetween, the apparatus comprising:

(a) a display device;

(b) a memory coupled to the display device;

(a) program logic for monitoring the status of the plurality of monitored objects;

(b) program logic for storing, in the memory, data relating to the status of the monitored objects;

(c) program logic for receiving a request to display the status of one of the monitored objects;

(d) program logic for simultaneously presenting, on the display device, a macroview visual representation of the computer network and a microview visual representation of a node-level map of a designated portion of the macroview visual representation.

36. In a computer system operatively coupled over a computer network to a plurality of device or process objects, a method comprising:

(a) monitoring the status of the plurality of monitored objects over the computer network;

(b) receiving data indicating that the status of a monitored object, and, if the data indicating that the status of the monitored object is not normal, sending a verification request to the monitored object requesting verification of abnormal status and for receiving from the monitored object data confirming or denying abnormal status thereof;

(c) storing in memory data relating to the status of the monitored object; and

(d) presenting a visual representation of the monitored object, and a current state of a plurality of parameters associated with the status of the monitored object, the current state of the plurality of parameters represented as a visual icon.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein (d) comprises:

(d1) representing dependency relationships of the monitored object to others of the monitored objects in the computer network with indicators of Boolean relations.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein (d) further comprises:

(d2) presenting a visual representation of any child monitored object which depends directly from the requested monitored object and a current state of any said child monitored object.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein (d) further comprises:

(d2) presenting a current state of a plurality of parameters associated with the status of a child monitored object, the current state of the plurality of parameters represented as a visual icon.

40. The method of claim 37 wherein (d) further comprises:

(d2) presenting a visual representation of any parent monitored object on which the requested monitored object depends directly and a current state of any said parent monitored object.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein (d) further comprises:

(d2) presenting a current state of a plurality of parameter associated with the status of a parent monitored object, the current state of the plurality of parameters represented as a visual icon.