OPERATIONAL-RELATED DATA COMPUTATION ENGINE

• US 20100293163A1
• Filed: 05/15/2009
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Apptio Inc (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Elliott, Tavis, McLachlan, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,768,976 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A computation system includes a receiver, a schema generator, and a table generator. The receiver receives operational related data relating to an IT environment of an organization from remote systems. The schema generator organizes the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data based on at least one intrinsic characteristic of the operational related data to generate a schema. The operational related data includes data tables corresponding to IT assets of the organization. The table generator processes an input table based on the schema to generate an output table. The input table includes a starting table having one or more columns. The output table identifies a subset of interrelated data included in the starting table.

Claims

1. A computation system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive operational related data relating to an IT environment of an organization; and

a data processing engine coupled to the receiver,

wherein the data processing engine comprises a schema generator configured to generate a schema by organizing at least part of the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data based on at least one intrinsic characteristic of the operational related data.

2. The computation system of claim 1 wherein the operational related data comprises a plurality of data tables corresponding to IT assets of the organization.

3. The computation system of claim 2 wherein the receiver is configured to receive the plurality of data tables with at least one communication port from a plurality of remote systems, each remote system including at least one data table.

4. The computation system of claim 2 further comprising:

a storage device coupled to the schema generator the storage device configured to store user-defined specifications on the relationship between at least two data tables, the schema generator configured to determine the relationship based on the user-defined specifications.

5. The computation system of claim 2 wherein the schema generator is configured to iteratively process each value of every column of every data table.

6. The computation system of claim 5 wherein the schema generator is configured to record a new type of column when a processed value changes the column type, to record a new cardinality when the processed value changes the column cardinality, to associate the column and table of the processed value with a dictionary entry when the processed value is in the dictionary, to add the processed value to the dictionary when the processed value is not in the dictionary.

7. The computation system of claim 2 wherein the schema generator is configured to compare two or more schemas to detect when the relationship between the data tables has changed, to detect the introduction of new values in the data tables.

8. The computation system of claim 2 further comprising:

a table generator coupled to the schema generator, the table generator configured to process an input table based on the schema to generate an output table, the input table comprising a starting table having one or more columns, the output table identifying a subset of interrelated data included in the starting table.

9. The computation system of claim 8 wherein the table generator is further configured to process the input table and the output table based on the schema to map relationships between the input table and the output table.

10. The computation system of claim 9 wherein the table generator is further configured to estimate the relationship between unrelated data included in the input table and the output table.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 further comprising:

storing user-defined specifications on the relationship between at least two data tables; and

determining the relationship based on the user-defined specifications.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving operational related data related to an IT environment of an organization at a data reception system; and

generating a schema by organizing at least part of the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data based on at least one intrinsic characteristic of the operational related data.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the operational related data comprises a plurality of data tables corresponding to IT assets of the organization.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising:

receiving the plurality of data tables with at least one communication port from a plurality of remote systems, each remote system including at least one data table.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising:

iteratively processing each value of every column of every data table.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 further comprising:

recording a new type of column when a processed value changes the column type;

recording a new cardinality when the processed value changes the column cardinality;

associating the column and table of the processed value with a dictionary entry when the processed value is in the dictionary; and

adding the processed value to the dictionary when the processed value is not in the dictionary.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising:

comparing two or more schemas to detect when the relationship between the data tables has changed, to detect the introduction of new values in the data tables.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising:

processing an input table based on the schema to generate an output table, the input table comprising a starting table having one or more columns, the output table identifying a subset of interrelated data included in the starting table.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18 further comprising:

processing the input table and the output table based on the schema to map relationships between the input table and the output table.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 further comprising:

estimating the relationship between unrelated data included in the input table and the output table.

21. A computer-readable storage medium, having instructions stored therein, which when executed, cause a computer system to perform a method comprising:

receiving operational related data related to an IT environment of an organization at a data reception system; and

generating a schema by organizing the data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data based on at least intrinsic characteristic of the operational related data.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21 wherein the operational related data comprises a plurality of data tables corresponding to IT assets of the organization.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the plurality of data tables with at least one communication port from a plurality of remote systems, each remote system including at least one data table.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the method further comprises:

storing user-defined specifications on the relationship between at least two data tables; and

determining the relationship based on the user-defined specifications.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the method further comprises:

iteratively processing each value of every column of every data table.

26. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the method further comprises:

recording a new type of column when a processed value changes the column type;

recording a new cardinality when the processed value changes the column cardinality;

associating the column and table of the processed value with a dictionary entry when the processed value is in the dictionary; and

adding the processed value to the dictionary when the processed value is not in the dictionary.

27. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the method further comprises:

comparing two or more schemas to detect when the relationship between the data tables has changed, to detect the introduction of new values in the data tables.

28. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the method further comprises:

processing an input table based on the schema to generate an output table, the input table comprising a starting table having one or more columns, the output table identifying a subset of interrelated data included in the starting table.

29. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 28 wherein the method further comprises:

processing the input table and the output table based on the schema to map relationships between the input table and the output table.

30. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 29 wherein the method further comprises:

estimating the relationship between unrelated data included in the input table and the output table.

31. A computation system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive operational related data relating to an IT environment of an organization; and

a table generator coupled to the receiver, the table generator configured to process an input table based a schema to generate an output table, wherein the schema is generated based on organizing at least a portion of the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data.

32. The computation system of claim 31 wherein the input table includes a mapping table, or a starting table comprising at least one column.

33. The computation system of claim 32 wherein the table generator is configured to apply the schema to the starting table to extrapolate the output table, the output table comprising a linked table including at least two different classes of information based on the schema.

34. The computation system of claim 31 wherein the table generator is configured to process input data organized in a plurality of input tables to identify a subset of interrelated data included in the input data corresponding to at least two classes of information based on the schema.

35. The computation system of claim 31 further comprising:

a schema generator coupled to the receiver, the schema generator configured to organize the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data based on at least one intrinsic characteristic of the operational related data, the operational related data comprising a plurality of data tables corresponding to IT assets of the organization.

36. The computation system of claim 31 wherein the table generator is further configured to identify a plurality of intermediate tables consisting of at least two input tables that include logically-connected input data, the intermediate tables including rows and columns, to extract at least a portion of the input data included in each intermediate table, and to construct at least one output table based on the extracted input data while maintaining conceptual integrity among at least a subset of the extracted input data by collapsing at least two individual values included in the extracted input data to produce at least one corresponding aggregated value summary.

37. The computation system of claim 36 wherein the at least one aggregate value summary is the total of corresponding individual values, the average of corresponding individual values, or a measure of a statistical distribution of corresponding individual values.

38. The computation system of claim 35 further comprising:

a storage device coupled to the schema generator, the storage device configured to store user-defined specifications on the relationship between at least two data tables, the schema generator configured to determine the relationship based on the user-defined specifications.

39. The computation system of claim 38 wherein the schema generator is configured to iteratively process each value of every column of every data table.

40. The computation system of claim 39 wherein the schema generator is configured to record a new type of column when a processed value changes the column type, to record a new cardinality when the processed value changes the column cardinality, to associate the column and table of the processed value with a dictionary entry when the processed value is in the dictionary, to add the processed value to the dictionary when the processed value is not in the dictionary.

41. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving operational related data relating to an IT environment of an organization at a data reception system; and

processing an input table based a schema to generate an output table at a table generator, wherein the schema is generated based on organizing at least a portion of the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data at a schema generator.

42. The computer-implemented method of claim 41 wherein the input table includes a mapping table, or a starting table comprising at least one column.

43. The computer-implemented method of claim 42 further comprising:

applying the schema to the starting table to extrapolate the output table, the output table comprising a linked table including at least two different classes of information based on the schema.

44. The computer-implemented method of claim 41 further comprising:

processing input data organized in a plurality of input tables to identify a subset of interrelated data included in the input data corresponding to at least two classes of information based on the schema.

45. The computer-implemented method of claim 41 further comprising:

organizing the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data based on at least one intrinsic characteristic of the operational related data, the operational related data comprising a plurality of data tables corresponding to IT assets of the organization.

46. The computer-implemented method of claim 41 further comprising:

identifying a plurality of intermediate tables consisting of at least two input tables that include logically-connected input data, the intermediate tables including rows and columns with the table generator;

extracting at least a portion of the input data included in each intermediate table with the table generator; and

constructing at least one output table based on the extracted input data while maintaining conceptual integrity among at least a subset of the extracted input data by collapsing at least two individual values included in the extracted input data to produce at least one corresponding aggregated value summary with the table generator.

47. The computer-implemented method of claim 46 wherein the at least one aggregate value summary is the total of corresponding individual values, the average of corresponding individual values, or a measure of a statistical distribution of corresponding individual values.

48. The computer-implemented method of claim 45 further comprising:

storing user-defined specifications on the relationship between at least two data tables in a storage device; and

determining the relationship based on the user-defined specifications with the schema generator.

49. The computer-implemented method of claim 48 further comprising:

iteratively processing each value of every column of every data table with the schema generator.

50. The computer-implemented method of claim 49 further comprising:

recording a new type of column when a processed value changes the column type with the schema generator;

recording a new cardinality when the processed value changes the column cardinality with the schema generator;

associating the column and table of the processed value with a dictionary entry when the processed value is in the dictionary with the schema generator; and

adding the processed value to the dictionary when the processed value is not in the dictionary with the schema generator.

51. A computer-readable storage medium, having instructions stored therein, which when executed, cause a computer system to perform a method comprising:

receiving operational related data relating to an IT environment of an organization; and

processing an input table based a schema to generate an output table, wherein the schema is generated based organizing at least a portion of the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data.

52. The computer-implemented method of claim 51 wherein the input table includes a mapping table, or a starting table comprising at least one column.

53. The computer-implemented method of claim 52 further comprising:

applying the schema to the starting table to extrapolate the output table, the output table comprising a linked table including at least two different classes of information based on the schema.

54. The computer-implemented method of claim 51 further comprising;

processing input data organized in a plurality of input tables to identify a subset of interrelated data included in the input data corresponding to at least two classes of information based on the schema.

55. The computer-implemented method of claim 51 further comprising:

organizing the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data based on at least one intrinsic characteristic of the operational related data, operational related data comprising a plurality of data tables corresponding to IT assets of the organization.

56. The computer-implemented method of claim 51 further comprising:

identifying a plurality of intermediate tables consisting of at least two input tables that include logically-connected input data, the intermediate tables including rows and columns;

extracting at least a portion of the input data included in each intermediate table; and

constructing at least one output table based on the extracted input data while maintaining conceptual integrity among at least a subset of the extracted input data by collapsing at least two individual values included in the extracted input data to produce at least one corresponding aggregated value summary.

57. The computer-implemented method of claim 56 wherein the at least one aggregate value summary is the total of corresponding individual values, the average of corresponding individual values, or a measure of a statistical distribution of corresponding individual values.

58. The computer-implemented method of claim 55 further comprising:

storing user-defined specifications on the relationship between at least two data tables; and

determining the relationship based on the user-defined specifications.

59. The computer-implemented method of claim 58 further comprising:

iteratively processing each value of every column of every data table.

60. The computer-implemented method of claim 59 farther comprising:

recording a new type of column when a processed value changes the column type;

recording a new cardinality when the processed value changes the column cardinality;

associating the column and table of the processed value with a dictionary entry when the processed value is in the dictionary; and

adding the processed value to the dictionary when the processed value is not in the dictionary.

61. A computer system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive operational related data relating to an IT environment of an organization; and

a data processing engine coupled to the receiver to organize at least a portion of the operational related data into at least one class of IT metric-oriented data.