Continuous computer performance measurement tool that reduces operating system produced performance data for logging into global, process, and workload files

• US 5,067,107 A
• Filed: 11/05/1988
• Issued: 11/19/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Wade, Gerald T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coleman, Eric
• Application Number:
  US07/229,573
• Time in Patent Office: 1,109 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 364/300 MS File, 364/550, 364/551.01, 364/554, 364/570, 364/579, 364/580, 371/16, 371/17, 371/19, 371/29.1, 371/21.6, 371/16.5
• US Class Current: 703/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence

Abstract

A performance and measurement system for a computing system is presented. Performance data produced by the computing system is collected and reduced before being logged. Once the data is logged, the data may be transported to a workstation and accessed by a user.

In the preferred embodiment, the collected and reduced data is logged into three files. The first file is a global data file into which is logged information about the computing system as a whole. The second file is a process data file into which is logged information about selected processes. The third file is a workload data file into which is logged information about classes of processes.

Information about processes are logged into the process data file when a process does something "interesting" during a specified interval. For example, a process may be considered to have done something interesting when the process is started, is terminated or uses a predetermined amount of a computing system resource during the specified interval.

Claims

1. A performance and measurement system embedded within a computing system for measuring performance of the computing system, the performance and measurement system comprising:

performance data production means within an operating system of the computing system for producing performance data;

at least one data file; and

data collection and reduction means, coupled to the performance data production means and to the at least one data file, for receiving the performance data, reducing the performance data into standardized metrics to produce reduced data, and logging the reduced data into the at least one data file; and

wherein said at least one data file comprises

a global data file into which said data collection and reduction means logs information about the computing system as a whole;

a process data file into which said data collection and reduction means logs information about selected processes selected by the data collection and reduction means, wherein said selected processes include processes which during a specified interval are terminated, and processes which during a specified interval use at least a predetermined amount of a given resource of the computing system; and

a workload data file into which said data collection and reduction means logs information about classes of processes.