Method and apparatus for configurable data collection on a computer network

• US 7,120,678 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2001
• Issued: 10/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Greuel, James R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dennison, J. Bret
• Application Number:
  US09/794,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20020161861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,051 Days
• Field of Search: 709/208, 709/211, 709/220, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/229, 709/244, 707/1
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/103 with adaptive polling, i.e. dynamically adapting the polling rate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

The invention facilitates improved configuration of computer network data collection. In one respect, the invention is a method for determining a network data collection configuration for an entity utilizing a computer network. The method determines which nodes in the network are associated with the entity, reads a view definition associated with the entity and determines which network variables are components of the health score, selects from the nodes associated with the entity those nodes that are components of the view, and produces a configuration file that specifies the network variables for each corresponding selected node. The data collection preferably utilizes the SNMP protocol. The determining step preferably queries a database that stores entity-node associations. The view definition is preferably an XML file and refers to all nodes of a particular device type, so that the selecting step can filter network nodes by device type. In a preferred form, the network is the Internet, the method is performed by an Internet service provider, and the entity is a customer of the Internet service provider. Optionally, the method reads and utilizes a template for the configuration file. In another respect, the invention is an apparatus. The apparatus comprises a first database that stores entity-node associations, a view definition associated with an entity, a second database that stores node device type information, and a network data collection configuration generation tool, connected to the above. The network data collection configuration generation tool generates a network data collection configuration file customized to the view definition.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first database that stores information identifying which of one or more nodes in a network are associated with each of a plurality of customers;

a plurality of customer-defined view definition files each containing at least one definition of an aspect of the network to be viewed by a corresponding customer, wherein at least one of the at least one definition defines a calculation based on at least one component, and wherein at least one of the at least one component defines a function involving collecting data associated with at least one network variable from at least one of said one or more nodes associated with the corresponding customer;

a second database that stores device-type information for nodes on the network; and

a configuration generation tool operable to generate a network data collection configuration file customized to one of said customer-defined view definition files based on information received from said first and second databases, wherein the generated network data collection configuration file is usable in directing a network data collector to collect network data in accordance with the customer-defined view definition file.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the customer is an entity.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one definition defines at least one performance metric of said at least one node associated with said corresponding customer.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said plurality of customer-defined view definition files comprise extensible markup language (XML) formatted view definition files.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a global definition file that stores definitions for at least one of said at least one component of said at least one customer-defined view definition file, wherein said configuration generation tool generates said network data collection configuration file further also based on information received from said global definition file.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said at least one definition stored in said global definition file comprise at least one mapping.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of customer-defined view definition files further comprises an identity of said corresponding customer.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said network data collection configuration file is a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) data collection configuration file.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a template file that stores at least one network data collection configuration file template usable by said configuration generation tool to generate said network data collection configuration file.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said at least one component of said plurality of customer-defined view definition files is independent and self-contained.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said at least one component of said plurality of customer-defined view definition files is defined in a file other than the plurality of customer-defined view definition files.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said template file stores with said at least one network data collection configuration file template a polling frequency at which the network data collector is to access said nodes associated with the corresponding customer for values of said at least one network variable.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the network is the Internet, and wherein said configuration generation tool is controlled by a network provider which provides networks or network services to a customer of the network provider.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said network provider is an Internet service provider (ISP), and the customer is a customer of the ISP.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said network provider is an on-line service provider (OSP), and the customer is a customer of the OSP.

16. A method comprising:

determining which one or more nodes in a network are associated with a corresponding customer;

reading a customer-defined view definition file containing at least one definition of an aspect of the network to be viewed by the corresponding customer, wherein at least one of the at least one definition defines a calculation based on at least one component, and wherein at least one of the at least one component defines an expression involving collecting data associated with at least one network variable from at least one node associated with said corresponding customer;

deriving from the nodes associated with the corresponding customer, values for said at least one network variable referenced in the said customer-defined view definition file; and

generating a network data collection configuration file customized to said customer-defined view definition file based on said at least one network variable derived from said nodes associated with the corresponding customer, wherein the generated network data configuration file is usable in directing a network data collector to collect network data in accordance with the customer-defined view definition file.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein determining which nodes in the network are associated with the corresponding customer comprises:

querying a customer-node database that stores information identifying which nodes in the network are associated with each of a plurality of customers for said node associated with said corresponding customer.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein deriving said at least one network variable comprises:

deriving from the nodes associated with the corresponding customer said at least one network variable referenced in said customer-defined view definition file based on information received from a network device database that stores device-type information for nodes on the network.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the customer is an entity.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein said at least one definition defines at least one performance metric of said at least one node associated with said corresponding customer.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein said plurality of customer-defined view definition files comprise extensible markup language (XML) formatted view definition files.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing a global definition file that stores definitions for at least one of said at least one component of said at least one customer-defined view definition file, and wherein generating said network data collection configuration file further comprises;

receiving said definition for at least one of said at least one component from said global definition file.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein each of said plurality of customer-defined view definition files further comprises an identity of said corresponding customer.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein said network data collection configuration file is a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) data collection configuration file.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing a template file that stores at least one network data collection configuration file template; and

receiving from said template file a network data collection configuration file template; and

using said received template to generate said network data collection configuration file.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one of said at least one component of said plurality of customer-defined view definition files are independent and self-contained.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein the network is the Internet and wherein said configuration generation tool is controlled by a network provider which provides networks or network services to a customer of the network provider.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein said network provider is an Internet service provider (ISP), and the customer is a customer of the ISP.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein said network provider is an on-line service provider (OSP), and the customer is a customer of the OSP.

30. A computer-readable storage medium on which is embedded a program, the program capable of performing a method comprising:

determining which of one or more nodes in a network are associated with a corresponding customer;

reading a customer-defined view definition file containing at least one definition of an aspect of the network to be viewed by a corresponding customer, wherein at least one of the at least one definition defines a calculation based on at least one component, and

wherein each of the at least one component defines a function involving collecting data associated with at least one network variable from at least one node associated with said corresponding customer;

deriving from the nodes associated with the corresponding customer, for said at least one network variable referenced in the said customer-defined view definition file; and

generating a network data collection configuration file customized to said customer-defined view definition file based on said at least one network variable derived from said nodes associated with the corresponding customer, wherein the generated network data configuration file is usable in directing a network data collector to collect network data in accordance with the customer-defined view definition file.

31. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein determining which nodes in the network are associated with the corresponding customer comprises:

querying a customer-node database that stores information identifying which nodes in the network are associated with each of a plurality of customers for said nodes associated with said corresponding customer.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein deriving said at least one network variable comprises:

deriving from the nodes associated with the corresponding customer said at least one network variable referenced in said customer-defined view definition file based on information received from a network device database that stores device-type information for nodes on the network.

33. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein said at least one definition defines at least one performance metric of said at least one node associated with said corresponding customer.

34. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein said plurality of customer-defined view definition files comprise extensible markup language (XML) formatted view definition files.

35. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, further comprising:

providing a global definition file that stores definitions for at least one of said at least one component of said at least one customer-defined view definition file, and wherein generating said network data collection configuration file further comprises;

receiving said definition for at least one of said at least one component from said global definition file.

36. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein said network data collection configuration file is a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) data collection configuration file.

37. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, further comprising:

providing a template file that stores at least one network data collection configuration file template; and

receiving from said template file a network data collection configuration file template; and

using said received template to generate said network data collection configuration file.

38. An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining which one or more nodes in a network are associated with a corresponding customer; and

means for reading a customer-defined view definition file containing at least one definition of an aspect of the network to be viewed by a corresponding customer, wherein at least one of the at least one definition defines a calculation based on at least one component, and wherein at least one of the at least one component defines an expression involving collecting data associated with at least one network variable from at least one node associated with said corresponding customer;

means for deriving the nodes associated with the corresponding customer,

values for said at least one network variable referenced in said customer-defined view definition file; and

means for generating a network data collection configuration file customized to said customer-defined view definition file based on said at least one network variable derived from said nodes associated with the corresponding customer, wherein the generated network data configuration file is usable in directing a network data collector to collect network data in accordance with the customer-defined view definition file.