Method for detecting a system condition

• US 7,437,455 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2005
• Issued: 10/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: EMKA Beschlagteile GmbH & Co., KG
• Original Assignee: EMKA Beschlagteile GmbH & Co., KG
• Inventors: Hoffman, Rainer, Zaspel, Armin
• Primary Examiner(s): WON, MICHAEL YOUNG
• Application Number:
  US11/211,683
• Publication Number:
  US 20060045026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/220, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor

Abstract

A method is provided for detecting a system condition of a system having at least one agent by means of at least one manager coupled with the agent, whereby agents and manager communicate with one another by means of SNMP protocol.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a system condition of a system comprising at least one agent by means of a manager coupled with the agents, whereby the at least one agent and manager communicate with one another by means of SNMP-protocol, the method comprising the following steps:

each at least one agent provides parameters as SNMP variables and/or sum variables for request by the manager, wherein said parameters include information about a device controlled, regulated or monitored by the at least one agent;

each at least one agent makes available additionally validity variables for request by the manger, wherein said validity variables include validity information, respectively, of a group of SNMP variables, whereby each change in a value of an SNMP variable in the group of SNMP variables simultaneously affects a change of a value of an associated validity variable; and

each such group of SNMP variables can contain reference variables, wherein said reference variables make reference to other groups, whereby each reference in turn is added to the validity variables of the related group of SNMP variables, wherein an object identification identifier of each variable is broken down by the at least one agent into parts and same parts are omitted within a sum variable, wherein the at least one agent or manager is equipped in a program-technical manner, such that it automatically supplements missing parts for further processing before or after transmission of the variable from the at least one agent to the manager.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each group of variables is combined to an individual sum variable.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the validity variable is incremented with a change of an SNMP variable of the corresponding sum variable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein frequently required parameters are saved in the same sum variable.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the validity variable is of type integer, and wherein a value of the validity variable is incremented with each change of a value of another variable of the group of SNMP variables or sum variable.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sum variable is a variable of the type octet string.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the variables saved in the sum variable can be of the type integer and octet-string and in the sum variable, a variable type identifier known by the agent or manager is associated with the respective variable.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a variable type identifier implicates a length of the variables.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein an object identification identifier of each variable is broken down by the agents into parts and same parts are replaced within a sum variable by a shortened partial identifier for this part, wherein the shortened partial identifier of the agents is known, and wherein shortening also can comprise an omission of the parts.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the variable type identifier, with variables that follow a variable with an identical variable type identifier within a sum variable, are omitted, wherein the at least one agent or manager is equipped in a program-technical manner, such that it automatically supplements missing variable type identifiers for further processing before or after transmission of the variable from the at least one agent to the manager.

11. The method of claim 1, in which the sum variable of one of the at least one agent has a hierarchal structure and each sum variable refers to at least one subordinate sum variable and if necessary to a superordinate sum variable.