Graphical user interface for providing component relational information for a uniform configuration controller for replicated component systems

• US 6,580,439 B1
• Filed: 12/15/1999
• Issued: 06/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Ardis, Mark Alan, Olsen, Robert Gregg, Pontrelli, Paul Mitchell
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Sy D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LE V
• Application Number:
  US09/464,602
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 345/754, 345/735, 345/965, 345/810, 345/835, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 715/735
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

In a replicated component system, changing the condition of a component can deleteriously affect the system as a whole unless the result of making such a change may have on other components is considered. In response to a request to change the condition of a subject component to a specified condition, the request is first validated using a particular validation algorithm associated with the request type. Prior to effecting a change to any component in the system, the configuration controller is provided with information that includes the type of component that each component in the system is and the relationships that exist between components. This information is provided through a graphical user interface in which the attributes of each component type and the relationships between components are specified using dialog windows and a canvas window which visually displays representations of each component in the system and the relationships that exist between these components.

Claims

1. A user interface for inputting initialization information via a display on a computer system for a uniform configuration controller for a replicated component system, said information being stored in a storage means for access by said uniform configuration controller, said user interface comprising:

means for displaying representations of the components in the system in a canvas window on said display;

means for displaying iconic representations of a set of possible relationships between components in said canvas window; and

graphical pointing means for graphically selecting in said canvas window;

     1) a relationship from among the iconic representations of the possible relationships, and

     2) the components from among the representation of components in the system that have that selected relationship in the component system;

wherein said selected relationship and the identity of the components that have that selected relationship are stored in the storage means and wherein the possible relationships that exist between components comprise child, spare, mate, helper, interrupt physical unit group, logical unit group, and switch physical unit group.

2. The user interface in accordance with claim 1 wherein when a relationship is selected and components having that relationship are selected by the graphical pointing means, a line is drawn between the representations of those components in the canvas window.

3. The user interface in accordance with claim 2 wherein the particular selected relationship is displayed in the canvas window in association with the line.

4. The user interface in accordance with claim 3 further comprising means for querying a user via at least one dialog window on said display for attributes associated with the types of components in the system;

the information inputted by the user associated with the attributes of the types of components in the system being stored in the storage means.

5. The user interface in accordance with claim 4 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise conditions that a component of that type can be in.

6. The user interface in accordance with claim 5 wherein the conditions that a component can be in comprise a primary condition, a secondary condition, and a tertiary condition.

7. The user interface in accordance with claim 5 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise whether the condition of a component of that type can have an inhibit state.

8. The user interface in accordance with claim 4 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise the type of actions that can be performed with respect to that type of component.

9. The user interface in accordance with claim 4 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise at least one timer value associated with at least one operation that can be performed on that type of component for determining whether the operation has failed.

10. The user interface in accordance with claim 4 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise the maximum number of components of that type in the system.

11. A method for inputting initialization information via a display on a computer system for a uniform configuration controller for a replicated component system, said method comprising:

displaying representations of the components in the system in a canvas window on said display;

displaying iconic representations of a set of possible relationships between components in said canvas window;

selecting in said canvas window;

     1) a relationship from among the iconic representations of the possible relationships, and

     2) the components from among the representation of components in the system that have that selected relationship in the component system;

storing said selected relationship and the identity of the components that have that selected relationship for access by said uniform configuration controller and wherein the possible relationships that exist between components comprise child, spare, mate, helper, interrupt physical unit group, logical unit group, and switch physical unit group.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of selecting is performed by a graphical pointer.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of displaying a line in the canvas window between the representations of those components selected in the step of selecting.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of displaying the particular selected relationship in the canvas window in association with the line.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising the steps of querying a user via at least one dialog window on said display for attributes associated with the types of components in the system;

and storing the information inputted by the user in response to the query for access by the uniform configuration controller.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise conditions that a component of that type can be in.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the conditions that a component can be in comprise a primary condition, a secondary condition, and a tertiary condition.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise whether the condition of a component of that type can have an inhibit state.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise the type of actions that can be performed with respect to that type of component.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise at least one timer value associated with at least one operation that can be performed on that type of component for determining whether the at least one operation has failed.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein the attributes associated with a type of component comprise the maximum number of components of that type in the system.