Distributed diagnostic logging system

• US 6,247,149 B1
• Filed: 10/28/1997
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Falls, Patrick Terence, Thompson, Neil
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoleil, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bonzo, Bryce P.
• Application Number:
  US08/959,429
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 714/45, 714/25, 714/47, 714/48, 709/224, 709/203
• US Class Current: 714/45
• 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 11/0781 Error filtering or prioritizing based on a policy defined by the user or on a policy defined by a hardware/software module, e.g. according to a severity level

Abstract

A distributed logging system for maintaining and retrieving diagnostic logging information in an efficient manner. A local cache of logging information is maintained at an analysis computer and the local cache is first examined to determine if diagnostic information exists in the cache or if it must be retrieved from a remote server. If the requested diagnostic information is available in the local cache, the local cache is accessed to retrieve the information. If any portion of the requested diagnostic information is not available in the local cache, the information is located and read from the appropriate log file(s) on the remote server, and then stored in the local cache so that subsequent requests for that diagnostic information will not necessitate accessing the remote computer. Native I/O functions are used to allow access to the diagnostic information regardless of the status of the distributed system.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining logging information relating to a computer, comprising:

interfacing a log file analysis tool on a first computer to a second computer;

recording logging information on the second computer;

selecting from the first computer the logging information recorded on the second computer based on a first criteria defined and selected by a user via the log file analysis tool;

determining if at least a first portion of the logging information, which is less than the entirety of the logging information, exists in a cache associated with the first computer using the log file analysis tool;

retrieving the first portion of the logging information from the cache if the first portion exists in the cache using the log file analysis tool; and

retrieving the first portion of the logging information from the second computer if the first portion does not exist in the cache using the log file analysis tool.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising writing the first portion of the logging information to the cache if the first portion of the logging information is read from the second computer.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first criteria comprises a specified range of time within which the logging information was captured on the second computer.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the determining step comprises:

determining if the cache includes a cache file for containing logging information within the specified range of time, and if so,

reading the cache file and determining if the logging information within the specified range of time exists in the cache file.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein retrieving the first portion of the logging information from the second computer comprises retrieving a header portion of a current log file on the second computer, determining from the header portion if the logging information exists in the current log file, and if so, retrieving the logging information from the current log file, and if not, determining which of a plurality of archive log files of the second computer contains the logging information, and retrieving the logging information from the appropriate archive log file.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein each archive log file has a name which includes a date and a time, and wherein the name of the archive log file is examined to determine which of the plurality of archive log files contains the logging information.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the cache comprises a storage medium coupled to the first computer.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the cache comprises a storage medium accessible by the first computer over a local area network.

9. A method for maintaining log file information in a local cache, comprising:

interfacing a log file analysis tool with a remote computer;

recording log file information in the remote computer;

receiving a request from a user defining and selecting via the log file analysis tool the log file information relating to the remote computer;

examining a local cache and determining that a first portion of the requested log file information, which is less than the entirety of the logging information, is absent from the local cache using the log file analysis tool;

retrieving the first portion from the remote computer using the log file analysis tool; and

storing the first portion in the local cache using the log file analysis tool.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the retrieving step comprises:

retrieving a header portion of a current log file from the remote computer;

determining from the header portion if the first portion exists in the current log file or in one or more of a plurality of archived log files;

retrieving the first portion from the current log file if the first portion exists in the current log file; and

retrieving the first portion from one or more of the plurality of archived log files if the first portion does not exist in the current log file.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the requested log file information was generated within a user-specified time range, and wherein the name of each of the plurality of archived log files reflects a time, wherein the names of the archived log files are examined to determine in which archived log files the first portion exists.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the storing step comprises creating a cache log file in the local cache, and storing the first portion in the cache log file at an offset with respect to a beginning of the cache log file which is identical to an offset from the beginning of the respective archive log file at which the first portion within the archive log file is located.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the storing step further comprises merging the first portion with an existing cached portion of information in the cache log file.

14. A method for maintaining logging information for a distributed service in a cache, comprising:

interfacing a log file analysis tool with a plurality of servers;

storing, for each of the servers, logging information for each respective server on a persistent storage device associated with the respective server;

receiving a request defined and selected by a user via the log file analysis tool to access logging information relating to a particular server;

examining a cache and determining that at least a portion of the requested logging information, which is less than the entirety of the logging information, does not exist in the cache using the log file analysis tool; and

retrieving the at least a portion of the requested log file information from the respective server, and storing the portion of the requested log file information in the cache using the log file analysis tool.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the retrieving step comprises determining if the portion of the requested log file information exists in a current log file associated with the respective server, and if so, retrieving the portion of the requested log file information from the current log file, and if not, examining at least one archive log file and retrieving the portion of the requested log file information from the at least one archive log file.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein the storing step comprises determining if a cache file exists in the local cache which is associated with the log file on the respective server from which the portion of the requested log file information was retrieved, and if so, storing the portion in the cache file, and if not, creating a new cache file and storing the portion in the new cache file.

17. A system for obtaining logging information relating to a computer, comprising:

a log file analysis tool executing on a first computer operative to interact with a second computer;

a first processing segment executing on the first computer operative to receive a request from a user accessing the log file analysis tool to obtain logging information relating to the second computer based on a first criteria supplied by the user via the log file analysis tool;

a second processing segment operative to determine if at least a first portion of the logging information, which is less than the entirety of the logging information, exists in a cache associated with the first computer using the log file analysis tool;

a third processing segment operative to retrieve the first portion of the logging information from the cache if the first portion exists in the cache using the log file analysis tool; and

a fourth processing segment operative to retrieve the first portion of the logging information from the second computer if the first portion does not exist in the cache using the log file analysis tool.

18. A system according to claim 17, further comprising a fifth processing segment operative to write the first portion of the logging information to the cache if the first portion of the logging information is read from the second computer.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the first criteria comprises a specified range of time within which the logging information was captured on the second computer.

20. A system according to claim 19, wherein the third processing is operative to determine if the cache includes a cache file for containing logging information within the specified range of time, and if so, to read the cache file and determine if the logging information within the specified range of time exists in the cache file.