Method and system to evaluate utilization of resources

• US 7,627,682 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2004
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Uthe, Robert T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rao; Seema S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ANDREWS, LEON T
• Application Number:
  US10/711,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20060039293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,930 Days
• Field of Search: 370/238, 370/252, 709/203, 709224-226, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level

Abstract

A method to evaluate utilization of a plurality of resources linked by segments may include tracking a sequence of utilization of the plurality of resources in responding to a request or a set of requests and representing a quantity of occurrences of each segment linking resources in the sequence. The method may also include representing a time duration since each resource was last utilized.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to evaluate utilization of a plurality of resources linked by segments, comprising:

tracking a sequence of utilization of the plurality of resources in responding to a request or a set of requests, wherein the tracking is performed by a computer;

representing a quantity of occurrences of each segment linking resources in the sequence;

representing a time duration since each resource was last utilized;

representing each resource by a predetermined resource symbol; and

representing each segment between a pair of resources in the sequence by a line between the resource symbols corresponding to the pair of resources, wherein each line has a selected line width corresponding to a quantity of occurrences of the segment in responding to the request or set of requests.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting each resource symbol at a predetermined level or degree of translucency corresponding to a time duration since the resource was last utilized.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting each resource symbol at a predetermined level or degree of translucency corresponding to a number of times the resource was utilized in responding to the request or set of requests.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sequentially storing at least a resource identification, segment or path information between sequential resources and a time of access for each resource in the sequence.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising continuing to sequentially store the resource identification, segment or path information between sequential resources and time of access for each resource in the sequence until one of a predetermined time period expires, the sequence is completed, the request or set of requests is satisfied, or a request for a resource utilization diagram is received.

6. A computer-implemented method to evaluate utilization of a plurality of resources linked by segments, comprising:

tracking a sequence of utilization of the plurality of resources in responding to a request or a set of requests, wherein the tracking is performed by a computer;

representing a time duration since each resource was last utilized;

representing each resource by a predetermined resource symbol; and

representing each segment between a pair of resources in the sequence by a line between the resource symbols corresponding to the pair of resources.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein representing a time duration since each resource was last utilized comprises presenting each resource symbol at a predetermined level or degree of translucency corresponding to the time duration since the resource was last utilized.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising representing a quantity of occurrences of each segment linking resources in the sequence.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein each line has a selected line width corresponding to a quantity of occurrences of the segment in responding to the request or the set of requests.

10. A computer-implemented method to evaluate utilization of a plurality of resources linked by segments, comprising:

tracking a sequence of utilization of the plurality of resources in responding to a request or set of requests, wherein the tracking is performed by a computer;

determining a quantity of occurrences of each segment linking a pair of resources in the sequence;

determining a time duration since each resource in the sequence was last utilized;

representing each resource by a predetermined resource symbol; and

representing each segment by a line between the resource symbols corresponding to the pair of resources.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising representing in a resource utilization diagram the quantity of occurrences of each segment linking resources in the sequence.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein each line has a selected line width corresponding to the quantity of occurrences of the segment in responding to the request or set of requests.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

representing the time duration since each resource was last utilized.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein representing a time duration since each resource was last utilized comprises presenting each resource symbol at a predetermined level or degree of translucency corresponding to the time duration since the resource was last utilized.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising sequentially storing at least a resource identification, segment or path information between sequential resources and a time of access for each resource in the sequence.

16. A system to evaluate utilization of a plurality of resources linked by segments, comprising:

a processor;

a resource utilization program which operates on the processor, wherein the

resource utilization program includes;

computer executable instructions to track a sequence of utilization of the plurality of resources in responding to a request or set of requests;

computer executable instructions to determine a quantity of occurrences of each segment linking a pair of resources in the sequence;

computer executable instructions to determine a time duration since each resource in the sequence was last utilized;

computer executable instructions to represent each resource by a predetermined resource symbol; and

computer executable instructions to represent each segment between a pair of resources in the sequence by a line between the resource symbols corresponding to the pair of resources.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the resource utilization program comprises computer executable instructions to generate a resource utilization representation including a representation of the quantity of occurrences of each segment linking resources in the sequence.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the resource utilization program comprises computer executable instructions to generate a resource utilization representation including a representation of the time duration since each resource in the sequence was last utilized.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein each line has a selected line width corresponding to the quantity of occurrences of the segment in responding to the request or set of requests.

20. The system of claim 16, further comprising means for representing each resource symbol at a predetermined level or degree of translucency corresponding to a time duration since the resource corresponding to the resource symbol was last utilized.

21. The system of claim 16, further comprising a database to sequentially store a resource identification, segment or path information between sequential resources and time of access for each resource in the sequence.

22. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code comprising:

computer-readable program code configured to track a sequence of utilization of the plurality of resources in responding to a request or set of requests;

computer-readable program code configured to determine a quantity of occurrences of each segment linking resources in the sequence;

computer-readable program code configured to determine each resource based on a predetermined resource symbol;

computer-readable program code configured to determine each segment between a pair of resources in the sequence by a line between the resource symbols corresponding to the pair of resources;

computer-readable program code configured to determine a time duration since each resource in the sequence was last utilized;

computer-readable program code configured to represent each resource by a predetermined resource symbol; and

computer-readable program code configured to represent each segment by a line between the resource symbols corresponding to the pair of resources

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein each line has a selected line width corresponding to the quantity of occurrences of the segment in responding to the request or set of requests.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, further comprising computer-readable program code configured to present each resource symbol at a predetermined level or degree of translucency corresponding to a time duration since the resource was last utilized.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, further comprising computer-readable program code configured to present each resource symbol at a predetermined level or degree of translucency corresponding to a number of times the resource was utilized in responding to the request or set of requests.

26. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, further comprising computer-readable program code configured to sequentially store at least a resource identification, segment or path information between sequential resources and a time of access for each resource in the sequence.