CUSTOMIZABLE GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR NETWORK MANAGEMENT

• US 20150019991A1
• Filed: 07/09/2013
• Published: 01/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tail-f Systems AB (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Tail-f Systems AB (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: KRISTJNSSON, Helgi
• Granted Patent: US 10,084,650 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/747
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a method for providing a customizable user interface capable of auto rendering data models of a data network, for monitoring and management purposes a data network so as to allow for management of boilerplate operations such as logon/logout, fetching and storing data, executing actions and transactions management. The method comprising the steps of: storing: a data model having a plurality of elements and sub-elements representative of the data network, a widget library, default registry data, customization registry data. The method further comprises the steps generating, a request for a portion of the data model representative for a part of the network of interest for display in the customizable user interface, selecting a graphical representations for each element and sub element based on the customization registry data and the default registry data and rendering the part of the data network using the selected graphical representations.

Claims

1. A method for providing a customizable user interface in a user equipment associated to a network management system for monitoring and configuring a data network, the method comprising the steps of:

storing information comprising;

a data model representative of the data network, wherein said data model has a plurality of elements and sub elements, each associated to a data type of a set of data types,

a default widget library comprising a plurality of widgets,

default registry data, having entries identifying for each data type of the set of data types, a default graphical representation, in the form of at least one predetermined widget from the default widget library,

customization registry data, having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration, said at least one key identifying at least one element and/or sub element of the data model for which an alternative graphical representation as defined by customization registration is to be provided,

receiving a user input that identifies a portion of the data network of interest for display in the user interface,

generating a request for data from the data model based on the received user input,

receiving data from the data model, said received data being representative for the portion of the data network of interest for display,

selecting the alternative graphical representation for each element of the received data, having associated the at least one key and the default graphical representation for each element of the received data, not having associated the at least one key, and

rendering, in the user interface, the portion of the data network of interest using the selected graphical representations.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration in combination with at least one statement that identifies one or more instances of an element or sub element of the data model for which the customization is to be provided.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration in combination with a keypath statement, said keypath statement defining a search path to a unique instance of an element or sub element of the data model so as to provide customization of the unique instance of the element or sub element.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration in combination with a tagpath statement, said tagpath statement defining a search path to all instances of a unique element or sub-element of the data model so as to provide customization of all the instances of the unique element or sub element.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration, wherein said associated customization registration is related to a predetermined translation altering the graphical representation of at least one element or sub-element with regard to textual representation of at least one label or at least one argument of the at least one element or sub-element.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration, wherein said associated customization registration is related to at least one customization selected from a group of customizations comprising a predetermined translation, a widget life cycle handler and a widget contextual setting, said customizations altering the graphical representation of at least one element or sub-element with regard to at least one property of a number of properties comprising life cycle behaviour, textual representation and graphical appearance.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration in combination with a tag statement, said tag statement defining in which view of a number of preconfigurable views that alternative graphical representation is to be provided.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining a matcher function, said matcher function operable using one or more conditional operators and/or logical operators on at least one entry selected from a group of entries comprising at least one keypath with associated customization registrations, at least one bundle with associated customization registrations, and at least one tag with associated customization registrations so as to identify at least one unique element and/or unique sub-elements for which customization as defined by the customization registration is to be provided.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining a bundle statement, said bundle statement grouping a number of registry entries selected from a group comprising at least one tagpath entry with associated customization registrations, at least one keypath entry with associated customization registrations, at least one tag entry with associated customization registrations and at least one matcher function entry.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

assembling the graphical representations logically before rendering the portion of the data network of interest using the selected graphical representation.

11. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of:

storing a custom widget library comprising at least one custom widget.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said customization registry data having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration, wherein said associated customization registration is related to defining an alternative graphical representation in the form of a custom widget from the custom widget library.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

storing information comprising a configuration data base, said configuration data base comprising information related to configuration parameters associated to the data model.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the step of generating, a request for data from the data model based on the received user input in addition comprises generating a request for information from the configuration data base based on the received user input.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of receiving data from the data model, in addition comprises receiving information from the configuration data base, said information received from the configuration data base being associated the data received from the data model.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step of rendering, in the user interface, the portion of the data network of interest using the selected graphical representations in addition comprises rendering the portion of the data network of interest using the selected graphical representations in combination with information received from the configuration data base.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data model comprises a data model representative of network elements and services.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data model is formatted using extensible mark-up language format.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data model data model is a YANG based data model, comprising one or more YANG schemas representative of the data network.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the each of the one or more YANG schemas of the YANG based model, having declared at least one YANG statement and/or YANG sub-statement selected from a group of YANG statements comprising:

a module, a container, a leaf, a list, a leaf list, an action, a grouping.

21. A method for providing a customizable user interface in a web browser of a client, said customizable user interface being associated to a network management system for monitoring and configuring a data network, the method comprising the steps of:

storing, at a server, information comprising;

a data model representative of the data network, wherein said data model having a plurality of elements and sub elements, each associated to a data type of a set of data types,

storing, at the client, information comprising;

a default widget library comprising a plurality of widgets,

default registry data, having entries identifying for each data type of the set of data types, a default graphical representation, in the form of at least one predetermined widget from the default widget library,

customization registry data, having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration, said at least one key identifying at least one element and/or sub element of the data model for which an alternative graphical representation as defined by customization registration is to be provided,

displaying, a user input dialog in the web browser, said user input dialog configured to allow a user to identify a portion of the data network of interest for display in the user interface,

receiving, at the client, a user input, identifying the portion of the data network of interest for display in the user interface,

generating, at the client, a request to the server for data from the data model based on the received user input,

receiving, at the client, data sent from the server, said received data being representative for the portion of the data network of interest for display,

selecting, at the client, the alternative graphical representation for each element of the received data, having associated the at least one key and the default graphical representation for each element of the received data, not having associated the at least one key, and

rendering, in the user interface in the web browser of the client, the portion of the data network of interest using the selected graphical representations.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising the step of:

formatting the selected graphical representations for the web browser.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising the step of:

storing, at the client, HTML templates and wherein the step of formatting the selected graphical representations comprises formatting selected graphical representations using the HTML templates.

24. (canceled)

25. A computer program product for providing a user interface in a user equipment associated to a network management system for monitoring and/or configuring a data network, the computer program product comprising a non-volatile memory storing a computer program comprising computer-readable code which when executed by a processing unit of a user equipment causes the user equipment to perform a method comprising the steps of:

storing information comprising;

a data model representative of the data network, wherein said data model a plurality of elements and sub elements, each associated to a data type of a set of data types,

a default widget library comprising a plurality of widgets,

default registry data, having entries identifying for each data type of the set of data types, a default graphical representation, in the form of at least one predetermined widget from the default widget library,

customization registry data, having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration, said at least one key identifying at least one element and/or sub element of the data model for which an alternative graphical representation as defined by customization registration is to be provided,

receiving a user input that identifies a portion of the data network of interest for display in the user interface,

generating a request for data from the data model based on the received user input,

receiving data from the data model, said received data being representative for the portion of the data network of interest for display,

selecting the alternative graphical representation for each element of the received data, having associated the at least one key and the default graphical representation for each element of the received data, not having associated the at least one key, and

rendering, in the user interface, the portion of the data network of interest using the selected graphical representations.

26. A user interface system of a user equipment associated to a network management system for monitoring and configuring data a data network, the user interface comprising:

a link communicatively coupling the user interface to a storage medium of the network management system, said storage medium of the network management configured to store a data model representative of the data network, wherein said data model having a plurality of elements and sub elements, each associated to a data type of a set of data types,

a storage medium configured to store information comprising;

a default widget library comprising a plurality of widgets,

default registry data, having entries identifying for each data type of the set of data types, a default graphical representation, in the form of at least one predetermined widget from the default widget library,

customization registry data, having at least one entry, defining at least one key with an associated customization registration, said at least one key identifying at least one element and/or sub element of the data model for which an alternative graphical representation as defined by customization registration is to be provided,

a client that is configured to;

generate a user input dialog so as to allow an operator identifying a portion of the data network of interest for display in the user interface,

receive the user input identifying the portion of the data network of interest,

generate a request for retrieving data, from the storage medium of the network management system, based in the received user input,

receive the requested data from storage medium of the network management system, said received data being representative for the portion of the data network of interest for display,

select the alternative graphical representation for each element of the received data, having associated the at least one key and the default graphical representation for each element of the received data not having associated the at least one key, and

render the portion of the data network of interest using the selected graphical representations.

27-48. -48. (canceled)