Monitoring network functions concurrently utilizing a performance display

• US 7,890,870 B1
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Issued: 02/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Metters, Dahl, Pishey, Arathi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHANTANA ANGKOOL, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US11/951,952
• Time in Patent Office: 1,167 Days
• Field of Search: 715/736, 715/853, 345/593
• US Class Current: 715/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

A computerized method, computer system, and computer-readable media for monitoring network functions concurrently on a performance display is provided. In particular, the performance display is presented to an operator at a user-interface display that includes performance images that represent various network functions. These network functions may be selected from a listing of network functions by the operator for a personalized display. Upon selection, configuration settings are compiled based on the selected network functions and other information. The configuration settings direct a web server to retrieve corresponding performance images stored in a known location by a communications-network server that generates the network performance images from network-function data files. These performance images may be populated onto a layout pattern to generate the performance display. Accordingly, the operator is provided with a mechanism to monitor a plurality of network functions at the same time on a single user-interface display.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of monitoring network applications utilizing a performance display, the method comprising:

receiving, from a computing device, configuration settings, the configuration settings comprising a manifest of applications-of-interest;

identifying the appropriate network applications to query based on the applications-of-interest;

performing a performance-display generation process, wherein the performance-display generation process comprises;

collecting performance images stored in a known location by a communications-network server, wherein the performance images are derived from a set of network-function data files provided by the identified network applications;

formatting a layout pattern based on a number of applications-of-interest included in the configuration settings; and

populating the layout pattern with the collected performance images; and

transmitting to the computing device the performance display for rendering on a user-interface display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration settings further comprise an ordering associated with the manifest of applications-of-interest that indicates a location of the performance images within the layout pattern of the performance display.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying comprises searching an index of network applications and matching each of the manifest of applications-of-interest to the network applications based on the network functions managed by the network applications.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein populating the layout pattern with the performance images comprises resizing the performance images based on dimensions of the layout pattern.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the performance images upon comparing the collected performance images against corresponding current performance images stored in a known location by the communications-network server.

6. A computerized system for performing a method of monitoring network functions utilizing a performance display, the system comprising:

a receiving component for receiving a request to view the performance display, the request comprising a manifest of applications-of-interest;

an identification component for identifying the appropriate network functions to watch based on the applications-of-interest;

a communications-network server for retrieving a set of network-function data files from one or more network applications, wherein the set of network-function data files corresponds to the identified network functions being managed by the one or more network applications, wherein performance images are derived from the set of network-function data files;

a performance-display generation component for executing a performance-display generation process, wherein the performance-display generation process comprises;

collecting the performance images stored in a known location by the communications-network server,

formatting a layout pattern based on a number of applications-of-interest included in the configuration settings; and

populating the layout pattern with the performance images; and

a transmission component for transmitting to a computing device the performance display.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising a computing device for conveying the request to view a performance display, wherein the request is an operator-initiated input to a web-browser application operating on the computing device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the user-initiated input is a uniform resource locator (URL) address that targets a web server on which the receiving component resides.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the computing device is operably coupled to a user-interface display configured for rendering the performance display thereon.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the user-interface display is configured for receiving operator-initiated selections in response to a listing of network functions, the selections being aggregated into the manifest of applications-of-interest.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the communications-network server is further configured for automatically retrieving a set of current network-function data files from the one or more network applications upon receiving an indication of a change to one of the set of network-function data files from a file-system watcher.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the communications-network server is further configured to derive current performance images from the set of current network-function data files, the current performance images having a time-date stamp appended thereto.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a monitoring component for determining whether to update the performance images rendered at the user-interface display.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein determining comprises:

requesting the time-date stamp appended to the current performance images; and

comparing the time-date stamp to an indication of when the performance images are rendered.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein determining comprises:

recognizing an elapse of a predefined time interval while monitoring the performance images; and

retrieving for rendering the current performance images upon recognizing the predefined time interval elapsing and identifying the current performance images as having been updated.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the monitoring component further comprises alerting an operator of an update to the performance images by highlighting each updated performance image of the performance images for a predetermined time interval.

17. The system of claim 6, wherein the communications-network server is further configured to color code at least one graphic object within the performance images, wherein color coding comprises:

receiving function-aspect data within each of the set of network-function data files;

populating each performance image of the performance images with the at least one graphic object; and

assigning a color code to the at least one graphic object according to the function-aspect data.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein assigning a color code comprises:

determining a score for the at least one graphic object according to the function-aspect data;

querying a network analysis key with the score, the network analysis key associating the color code with a range of data values; and

mapping the color code to the graphic object if the score appertains to the range of data values.

19. The system of claim 6, wherein identifying the appropriate network functions to watch based on the applications-of-interest comprises searching an index of network functions residing on a web server.

20. A computerized method for monitoring network functions utilizing a performance display, the method comprising:

receiving at a web server, from a web-browser application, a request to view network functions, the request comprising a uniform resource locator (URL) address targeting the web server, a manifest of applications-of-interest, and an ordering of the manifest of applications-of-interest that relates to a location of performance images within the layout pattern of the performance display;

identifying the appropriate network applications to query based on the applications-of-interest;

retrieving a set of network-function data files from the identified network applications, wherein each data file of the set network-function data files corresponds to the network functions being managed by one of the identified network applications;

performing a performance-display generation process, wherein the performance-display generation process comprises;

collecting performance images stored in a known location from a communications-network server, wherein each of the performance images is derived from each of the set of network-function data files, respectively;

formatting a layout pattern based on the ordering of the applications-of-interest; and

populating the layout pattern with the collected performance images;

transmitting the performance display for rendering on a user-interface display;

updating the collected performance images by monitoring current performance images being stored in the communications-network server; and

if the collected performance images vary upon comparison against corresponding current performance images stored in the communications-network server, populating the pattern layout with the current performance images.