Approach for canceling events

• US 7,853,683 B1
• Filed: 07/31/2002
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Popescu, Manuela, Shyu, Jackson, Dini, Cosmin, Dini, Petre
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder; Patrice L
• Assistant Examiner(s): BILGRAMI, ASGHAR H
• Application Number:
  US10/210,471
• Time in Patent Office: 3,058 Days
• Field of Search: 702/202, 702/225, 702/232, 719/318, 709/224, 709/202, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

An approach for processing events generally involves receiving event data that specifies one or more attributes of an event that has occurred. A determination is made whether the event data satisfies one or more event cancellation criteria. If so, then event report data is provided to a recipient, such as an application layer. The event report data specifies at least one attribute of the event that occurred. If the event data does not satisfy the one or more event cancellation criteria, then the event data is not provided to the recipient and the event is canceled. The cancellation criteria may include policy-based rules that may specify event cancellation based upon, for example, event frequency, correlation window size, particular information associated with an event, or other management application rules. The particular cancellation criteria used may vary from application to application. Furthermore, the cancellation criteria used for any particular application may be dynamic and change over time.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing events in a communications network comprising:

in response to querying one or more event cancellation policies from a database management system, receiving one or more event cancellation criteria that specify one or more conditions under which events are to be cancelled;

wherein the one or more event cancellation criteria include the one or more event cancellation policies;

receiving, from a network device in the communications network, event data that specifies one or more attributes of an event that has occurred in the communications network;

wherein the network device is the source of the event data within the communications network;

determining whether the event data satisfies the one or more event cancellation criteria;

if the event data satisfies the one or more event cancellation criteria, then;

not providing event reporting data for the event to an application layer, and generating a request to cancel the event at the network device and sending the request to the network device over the communications network, wherein sending the request to cancel the event at the network device causes the network device to perform cancellation processing on the event; and

if the event data does not satisfy the one or more event cancellation criteria, then providing, to the application layer, reporting data for processing by the application layer that specifies at least one of the one or more attributes of the event that occurred in the communications network wherein the method is performed by an event processing computing device in the communications network.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more event cancellation criteria includes an event cancellation rule.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving one or more other event cancellation criteria that specify one or more other conditions under which events are to be cancelled;

receiving second event data that specifies one or more attributes of a second event that has occurred in the communications network;

determining whether the second event data satisfies the one or more other event cancellation criteria; and

if the event data does not satisfy the one or more other event cancellation criteria, then providing to the application layer second reporting data that specifies at least one of the one or more attributes of the second event that occurred in the communications network.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the cancellation processing performed by the network device includes the network device deleting a record of the event from a local storage device of the network device.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for processing events in a communications network, the non-transitory computer-readable non transitory storage medium storing one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:

in response to querying one or more event cancellation policies from a database management system, receiving one or more event cancellation criteria that specify one or more conditions under which events are to be cancelled;

wherein the one or more event cancellation criteria include the one or more event cancellation policies;

receiving, from a network device in the communications network, event data that specifies one or more attributes of an event that has occurred in the communications network;

wherein the network device is the source of the event data within the communications network;

determining whether the event data satisfies the one or more event cancellation criteria;

if the event data satisfies the one or more event cancellation criteria, then;

not providing event reporting data for the event to an application layer, and

generating a request to cancel the event at the network device and sending the request to the network device over the communications network,

wherein sending the request to cancel the event at the network device causes the network device to perform cancellation processing on the event; and

if the event data does not satisfy the one or more event cancellation criteria, then providing, to the application layer, reporting data for processing by the application layer that specifies at least one of the one or more attributes of the event that occurred in the communications network.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 4, wherein the one or more event cancellation criteria includes an event cancellation rule.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 4, further comprising one or more sequences of additional instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:

receiving one or more other event cancellation criteria that specify one or more other conditions under which events are to be cancelled;

receiving second event data that specifies one or more attributes of a second event that has occurred in the communications network;

determining whether the second event data satisfies the one or more other event cancellation criteria; and

if the event data does not satisfy the one or more other event cancellation criteria, then providing to the application layer second reporting data that specifies at least one of the one or more attributes of the second event that occurred in the communications network.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 4, wherein the cancellation processing performed by the network device includes the network device deleting a record of the event from a local storage device of the network device.

7. A system configured to process events in a communications network, comprising:

an event processing mechanism;

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one event processing mechanism to perform;

in response to querying one or more event cancellation policies from a database management system, receiving one or more event cancellation criteria that specify one or more conditions under which events are to be cancelled;

wherein the one or more event cancellation criteria include the one or more event cancellation policies;

receiving, from a network device, event data that specifies one or more attributes of an event that has occurred in the communications network;

wherein the network device is the source of the event data within the communications network;

determining whether the event data satisfies the one or more event cancellation criteria;

if the event data satisfies the one or more event cancellation criteria, then the event processing mechanism;

not providing event reporting data for the event to an application layer, and generating a request to cancel the event at the network device and sending the request to the network device over said communications network, wherein sending the request to cancel the event at the network device causes the network device to perform cancellation processing on the event and if the event data does not satisfy the one or more event cancellation criteria, then the event processing mechanism providing, to the application layer, reporting data for processing by the application layer that specifies at least one of the one or more attributes of the event that occurred in the communications network.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the one or more event cancellation criteria includes an event cancellation rule.

9. The system as recited in claim 7, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium further comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the event processing mechanism to perform:

receiving one or more other event cancellation criteria that specify one or more other conditions under which events are to be cancelled;

receiving second event data that specifies one or more attributes of a second event that has occurred in the communications network;

determining whether the second event data satisfies the one or more other event cancellation criteria; and

if the event data does not satisfy the one or more other event cancellation criteria, then providing to the application layer second reporting data that specifies at least one of the one or more attributes of the second event that occurred in the communications network.

12. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the cancellation processing performed by the network device includes the network device deleting a record of the event from a local storage device of the network device.