Method for controlling managing computer, medium for storing control program, and managing computer

• US 6,219,701 B1
• Filed: 10/27/1998
• Issued: 04/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sato, Toshio, Miyazaki, Satoshi, Hirata, Toshiaki, Urano, Akihiro, Fujino, Shuji, Yamamura, Norio
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US09/179,091
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/223, 709/101, 705/11, 714/57, 714/805
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3017 where the computing system is implementing multitasking multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3051 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the configuration of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring the presence of processing resources, peripherals, I/O links, software programs verification or detection of system hardware configuration G06F11/2247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3068 where the reporting involves data format conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3086 where the reporting involves the use of self describing data formats, i.e. metadata, markup languages, human readable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/328 Computer systems status display G06F11/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/069 using logs of notifications; Post-processing of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

A managing computer is provided having an acquiring device for acquiring log information and event information from among a plurality of computers connected via a network to each other into a common database of the managing computer. A data controller may be provided for storing into the common database of the managing computer, operation definition information used to define a schedule of process operations executed in the plurality of computers in relation to the log information and the event information acquired by the acquiring device. A display device may display the operation definition information in relation to event information related to a process operation defined by the operation defining information with reference to the information stored in the database.

Claims

1. A managing computer comprising:

an acquiring device for acquiring log information and event information from among a plurality of computers connected via a network to each other into a common database of said managing computer, said log information indicating as to whether or not an execution of an operation process is carried out under normal condition, and said event information indicating whether or not an execution of an operation process is carried out under normal condition;

a data controller for storing into said common database of said managing computer, operation definition information used to define a schedule of process operations executed in said plurality of computers in relation to said log information and said event information acquired by said acquiring device; and

a display device for displaying said operation definition information in relation to event information related to a process operation defined by said operation definition information with reference to the information stored in said common database of said managing computer.

2. A managing computer as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

each of said log information and said event information respectively owns a tag indicative of said log information and a tag representative of said event information.

3. A managing computer as claimed in claim 1 wherein said managing computer comprises:

a definition device for forming a schedule of process operations that are commonly executed in all of said plurality of computers; and

a distributor for distributing said process operation schedule formed by said definition device from said managing computer to all of said plurality of computers.

4. A managing computer as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said display device displays on the same display screen, said operation definition information and said event information in relation to predetermined log information among said log information.

5. A managing computer as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said acquiring device acquires a preselected sort of log information at predetermined timing.

6. A managing computer as claimed in claim 5 wherein:

said acquiring device acquires information other than said preselected sort of log information in response to an operator'"'"'s request.

7. A managing computer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a definition for a process to be executed when a specified event is received and a command for executing the process is transmitted to a computer when said specified event is received.

8. A program product for storing thereinto a program executed on a computer managed by the managing computer as recited in claim 1,

said program comprising:

a defining process for forming operation definition information used to define a schedule of process operations executed in said plurality of computers;

an expanding process for expanding a portion within said operation definition information distributed from said managing computer, said portion being related to said managed computer;

a normalizing process for respectively adding a tag indicative of a log for an operation process and a tag representative of an event for an operation process to log information and event information with respect to a process operation executed in said computer to be converted into a normalized format; and

an outputting process for outputting said operation definition information and said event information.

9. A program product according to claim 8, wherein a definition for a process to be executed in a computer when a specified event is received and a command for executing the process is transmitted to the computer when said event is received.

10. In a storage medium for storing thereinto a program executed on a managing computer for managing a plurality of computers connected via a network to said managing computer, said program comprising:

an acquiring process for acquiring log information and event information from any of said plurality of computers into a common database of said managing computer, said log information indicating as to whether or not an execution of an operation process is carried out under normal condition, and said event information indicating as to whether or not an execution of an operation process is carried out under normal condition and necessary to inform to an operator;

a storing process for storing into said common database of said managing computer, operation definition information used to define a schedule of process operations executed in said plurality of computers in relation to said log information and said event information acquired by said acquiring process; and

a displaying process for displaying said operation definition information in relation to event information related to a process operation defined by said operation definition information with reference to the information stored in said database.

11. A storage medium as claimed in claim 10 wherein:

said program is comprised of;

a defining process for forming a schedule of process operations which are commonly executed in all of said plurality of computers; and

a distributing process for distributing said process operation schedule formed by said defining process to all of said plurality of computers.

12. A storage medium as claimed in claim 10 wherein:

said displaying process displays on the same display screen said operation definition information and said event information in relation to predetermined log information among said log information.

13. A storage medium as claimed in claim 10 wherein:

said acquiring process of said program acquires a preselected sort of log information at predetermined timing.

14. A storage medium as claimed in claim 13 wherein:

said acquiring process acquires information other than said preselected sort of log information in response to a request.

15. A method for managing a plurality of computers by employing a managing computer connected via a network to a plurality of computers, comprising:

acquiring log information and event information from any of said plurality of computers connected via a network to each other into a common database of said managing computer, said log information indicating as to whether or not an execution of an operation process is carried out under normal condition, and said event information being more concise than said log information and indicating as to whether or not an execution of an operation process is carried out under normal condition;

storing into said common database of said managing computer, operation definition information used to define a schedule of process operations executed in said plurality of computers in relation to said log information and said event information acquired by said acquiring process; and

displaying said operation definition information in relation to event information related to a process operation defined by said operation definition information with reference to the information stored in said database.

16. A computer managing method as claimed in claim 15 wherein:

each of said log information and said event information respectively owns a tag indicative of said event information and a tag representative of said event information.

17. A computer managing method as claimed in claim 15 wherein said computer managing method further comprises:

forming a schedule of process operations which are commonly executed in all of said plurality of computers; and

distributing said schedule of process operations to all of said plurality of computers.

18. A computer managing method as claimed in claim 15 wherein:

said displaying displays on the same display screen, said operation definition information and said event information in relation to predetermined log information among said log information.

19. A computer managing method as claimed in claim 15 wherein:

said acquiring acquires a preselected sort of log information at predetermined timing.

20. A computer managing method as claimed in claim 19 wherein:

said acquiring acquires information other than said preselected sort of log information in response to a request.

21. A computer managing method as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

defining a process to be executed in a computer when a specified event is received, and

transmitting a command for executing the process when said specified event is received.

22. A computer operation managing method employed in a computer system in which a plurality of computers are connected via a network to a managing computer for managing said plurality of computers wherein:

said managing computer forms in a batch mode operation definition information in which a schedule of administrate operations is defined and a computer for executing each of the administrate operations is defined, and distributes the formed operation definition information to the respective computers;

each of said computers individually forms operation definition information in which a schedule of operations executed by the own computer is defined, and also forms operation definition information in which a portion related to the own computer is expanded from said operation definition information distributed from said managing computer;

said managing computer acquires operation definition information related to said computer, log information indicative of an execution result of the operation process executed in said computer, and event information indicative of an event occurred in an execution stage of said operation process, and then stores the acquired information into a database; and

said managing computer displays the operation related to each of said computers in relation to log information and event invention of administrate operation defined by said operation definition information with reference to the information stored in said database.

23. A computer operation managing method as claimed in claim 22, wherein

said managing computer defines a process to be executed in a computer when a specified event is received, and

said computer executes said process when said event is received.