Process and apparatus for managing network event counters
First Claim
1. A method of detecting event thresholds, comprising the steps ofmeasuring successive intervals of time,maintaining an indication of the total number of events that have occurred,establishing an event threshold comparison value at the beginning of each interval relative to the total number of events that have occurred up to that point, andin response to a prescribed stimulus, comparing the indication of the total number of events that have occurred to the event comparison threshold value to determine if the threshold has been reached during the interval.
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Abstract
A process and apparatus for detecting the occurrence of an event threshold and performing some type of action in response to the detection. The disclosed use of the invention is for managing communication connections in a network. An event counter, a sliding event threshold counter and a sliding interval counter are initialized to prescribed initial states at the start of counter management. At the expiration of an interval specified by the contents of the sliding interval counter, the sliding interval counter is incremented by an offset time value, and the sliding event threshold counter is updated by the sum of an offset event value and the event counter. The event counter is incremented on each occurrence of an event to be counted. Each time the event counter exceeds a threshold established by the sliding threshold event counter, the sliding threshold event counter is incremented by the contents of the offset event value, and the sliding interval counter is updated to the sum of the offset time value and the present time. Thus, all values of interest are maintained by a combination of keeping an absolute count of the events, and by "sliding" the contents of two counters, one of which is used to measure successive time intervals and the other to set a new threshold for each successive interval based on the offset threshold and the absolute event count at the beginning of the interval.
85 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of detecting event thresholds, comprising the steps of
measuring successive intervals of time, maintaining an indication of the total number of events that have occurred, establishing an event threshold comparison value at the beginning of each interval relative to the total number of events that have occurred up to that point, and in response to a prescribed stimulus, comparing the indication of the total number of events that have occurred to the event comparison threshold value to determine if the threshold has been reached during the interval.
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9. A method of managing event counters, comprising the steps of
incrementing the contents of an interval timer by a prescribed amount at the expiration of each interval defined by the timer to define the expiration time of the next interval defined by the timer relative to real time, establishing an event threshold comparison value at the beginning of each interval relative to the total number of events that have already occurred, incrementing an event counter in response to the occurrence of an event, and comparing the event counter to the event comparison threshold value to determine if the threshold has been reached during a present interval.
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10. A method of managing event counters, comprising the steps of
initializing an event counter, a sliding event threshold counter and a sliding interval counter to prescribed initial states at the start of counter management, at the expiration of an interval specified by the contents of the sliding interval counter, a) incrementing the sliding interval counter by an offset time value, and b) updating the sliding event threshold counter by the sum of an offset event value and the event counter, incrementing the event counter on each occurrence of an event to be counted, and each time the event counter exceeds a threshold established by the sliding threshold event counter, c) incrementing the sliding threshold event counter by the contents of the offset event value, and d) updating the sliding interval counter to the sum of the offset time value and the present time.
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11. In a communications network comprising a network management application program, a plurality of data processing nodes, each node further comprising at least one communications adapter interfacing the node to a connection to another node of the network, a method of detecting event thresholds, comprising the steps executed by the communications adapter of
measuring successive intervals of time, maintaining an indication of the total number of events of a prescribed type that have occurred on the connection, establishing an event threshold comparison value at the beginning of each interval relative to the total number of events that have occurred up to that point, in response to a prescribed stimulus, comparing the indication of the total number of events that have occurred to the event comparison threshold value to determine if the threshold has been reached during the interval, and transmitting the event information to the network management application program.
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12. Apparatus for detecting event thresholds, comprising
means for measuring successive intervals of time, means for maintaining an indication of the total number of events that have occurred, means for establishing an event threshold comparison value at the beginning of each interval relative to the total number of events that have occurred up to that point, and means responsive to a prescribed stimulus for comparing the indication of the total number of events that have occurred in the maintaining means to the event comparison threshold value in the establishing means to determine if the threshold has been reached during the interval.
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20. A apparatus for managing event counters, comprising:
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means for incrementing the contents of an interval timer by a prescribed amount at the expiration of each interval defined by the timer to define the expiration time of the next interval defined by the timer relative to real time, means for establishing an event threshold comparison value at the beginning of each interval relative to the total number of events that have already occurred, means for incrementing an event counter in response to the occurrence of an event, and means for comparing the event counter to the event comparison threshold value to determine if the threshold has been reached during a present interval.
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21. A apparatus for managing event counters, comprising
means for initializing an event counter, a sliding event threshold counter and a sliding interval counter to prescribed initial states at the start of counter management, means activated at the expiration of an interval specified by the contents of the sliding interval counter for, a) incrementing the sliding interval counter by an offset time value, and b) updating the sliding event threshold counter by the sum of an offset event value and the event counter, means for incrementing the event counter on each occurrence of an event to be counted, and means activated each time the event counter exceeds a threshold established by the sliding threshold event counter for c) incrementing the sliding threshold event counter by the contents of the offset event value, and d) updating the sliding interval counter to the sum of the offset time value and the present time.
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22. For use in a communications network comprising a network management application program, a plurality of data processing nodes, each node further comprising at least one communications adapter interfacing the node to a connection to another node of the network and containing apparatus for detecting event thresholds, said apparatus further comprising
means for measuring successive intervals of time, means for maintaining an indication of the total number of events of a prescribed type that have occurred on the connection, means for establishing an event threshold comparison value at the beginning of each interval relative to the total number of events that have occurred up to that point, means responsive to a prescribed stimulus for comparing the indication of the total number of events that have occurred to the event comparison threshold value to determine if the threshold has been reached during the interval, and means for transmitting the event information to the network management applications program.
Specification