METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UNIFIED VIEW
First Claim
1. An apparatus for presenting a unified view for management of a plurality of devices and logical elements in a distributed network, comprising:
- at least one agent that is any of hosted on, logically proximate to, and physically proximate to said devices and logical elements, said agent configured for allowing visibility and control over said devices and logical elements;
at least one bridge that is physically proximate to at least one external data system, said bridge configured to provide visibility of but no control over said external data system;
a management system configured for receiving information from said devices and logical elements and from said bridge, and for propagating advice to any of said devices and logical elements, based on any of an automatic response and a human response caused by a particular representation of said devices and logical elements, and said external data system, wherein said propagated advice comprises an action which causes relevant ones of said devices and logical elements to change, and wherein said change is caused by said at least one agent; and
a console configured for presenting correlated information from both one or more of said devices and logical elements, and from said external data systems in a unified view of any of said devices, logical elements, and external data systems.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Visibility and control are provided for a variety of different assets as found in a particular networked environment, such as, for example an enterprise network environment. Visibility and control of properties of assets are achieved by way of native agents, pseudo-agents that provide visibility and control of properties of assets of external systems by inspecting and applying changes into such assets, and bridges that provide visibility of other external data sources that cannot be controlled. A technique is provided that brings such visibility and control into a unified view that can be displayed in front of a console operator, for example. The controllable assets may be managed directly from the unified view at the console.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An apparatus for presenting a unified view for management of a plurality of devices and logical elements in a distributed network, comprising:
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at least one agent that is any of hosted on, logically proximate to, and physically proximate to said devices and logical elements, said agent configured for allowing visibility and control over said devices and logical elements; at least one bridge that is physically proximate to at least one external data system, said bridge configured to provide visibility of but no control over said external data system; a management system configured for receiving information from said devices and logical elements and from said bridge, and for propagating advice to any of said devices and logical elements, based on any of an automatic response and a human response caused by a particular representation of said devices and logical elements, and said external data system, wherein said propagated advice comprises an action which causes relevant ones of said devices and logical elements to change, and wherein said change is caused by said at least one agent; and a console configured for presenting correlated information from both one or more of said devices and logical elements, and from said external data systems in a unified view of any of said devices, logical elements, and external data systems. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer implemented method for presenting a unified view for management of a plurality of devices and logical elements in a distributed network, comprising the steps of:
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providing at least one agent that is any of hosted on, logically proximate to, and physically proximate to said devices and logical elements, said agent configured for allowing visibility and control over said devices and logical elements; providing at least one bridge that is physically proximate to at least one external data system, said bridge configured to provide visibility of but no control over said external data system; providing a management system configured for receiving information from said devices and logical elements and from said bridge, and for propagating advice to any of said devices and logical elements, based on any of an automatic response and a human response caused by a particular representation of said devices and logical elements, and said external data system, wherein said propagated advice comprises an action which causes relevant ones of said devices and logical elements to change, and wherein said change is caused by said at least one agent; and providing a console configured for presenting correlated information from both one or more of said devices and logical elements, and from said external data systems in a unified view of any of said devices, logical elements, and external data systems.
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11. An apparatus for presenting a unified view and management of a plurality of devices and logical elements in a distributed network, comprising:
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at least one agent that is any of hosted on, logically proximate to, and physically proximate to said devices and logical elements, said agent configured for allowing visibility and control over said devices and logical elements; at least one bridge that is physically proximate to at least one external data system, said bridge configured to provide visibility of but no control over said external data system; a management system configured for receiving information from said devices and logical elements and from said bridge; and a console configured for presenting correlated information from both one or more of said devices and logical elements, and from said external data systems in a unified view of any of said devices, logical elements, and external data systems and for effecting control of said one or more of said devices and logical elements.
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12. An apparatus for presenting a unified view for management of a plurality of devices and logical elements in a distributed network, comprising:
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at least one agent that is any of hosted on, logically proximate to, and physically proximate to said devices and logical elements, said agent configured for allowing visibility and control over said devices and logical elements; a management system configured for receiving information from said devices and logical elements and, if present, from at least one bridge that is physically proximate to at least one external data system, said bridge configured to provide visibility of but no control over said external data system, and for propagating advice to any of said devices and logical elements, based on any of an automatic response and a human response caused by a particular representation of said devices and logical elements, and said external data system, wherein said propagated advice comprises an action which causes relevant ones of said devices and logical elements to change, and wherein said change is caused by said at least one agent; and a console configured for presenting correlated information from both one or more of said devices and logical elements, and from said external data systems in a unified view of any of said devices, logical elements, and external data systems.
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Specification