Activity identifier based tracing and troubleshooting

• US 7,904,757 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2008
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chkodrov, Gueorgui Bonov, Lewis, Darene Brice, Feng, Shuangtong, Buch, Jwalin, Jones, Anthony Goodrich, Qian, Tin, Niikkonen, Ari Pekka
• Primary Examiner(s): McCarthy; Christopher S
• Application Number:
  US12/134,181
• Publication Number:
  US 20090307533A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,006 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 714/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0715 in a system implementing multitasking multitasking per se G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0781 Error filtering or prioritizing based on a policy defined by the user or on a policy defined by a hardware/software module, e.g. according to a severity level

Abstract

To trace an activity through multiple components or applications that may be involved in the performance of the activity, an activity identifier can be generated and utilized by the various components or applications. Each can generate its own activity identifier to minimize changes to existing interfaces. When logging of events has been activated, each application or component can provide, to an event store, an indication of the activity identifier it is using for a given activity. If a preceding or subsequent component utilizes a different activity identifier for aspects of the same activity, a link between the two activity identifiers can be communicated to the event store. Subsequently, examination of the event store can filter out irrelevant entries based on the activity identifiers. A graph linking the various related activity identifiers can be created and only those events associated with activity identifiers not in the graph can be filtered out.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising computer-executable instructions for filtering an event store to remove entries unrelated to an activity that is being analyzed, the computer-executable instructions directed to steps comprising:

identifying a first activity identifier associated with the activity and utilized by a first component participating in the activity, wherein the identifying the first activity identifier comprises receiving a first activity identifier from an error analysis component invoked to analyze the activity, and wherein further the first activity identifier was set by the error analysis component;

identifying a second activity identifier associated with the activity and utilized by a second component participating in the activity;

building a graph linking the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier; and

filtering the event store to remove entries associated with activity identifiers that are not in the graph.

2. The computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions directed to the identifying the second activity identifier comprise computer-executable instructions directed to searching the event store for an explicit indication linking the first activity identifier to the second activity identifier.

3. The computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions directed to the identifying the second activity identifier comprise computer-executable instructions directed to deriving the second activity identifier by locating, in the event store, information known to be associated with the activity, and obtaining the second identifier from the located information.

4. The computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions directed to the identifying the second activity identifier comprise computer-executable instructions directed to deriving the second activity identifier based on a temporal connection between at least one first action referenced in the event store and associated with the first activity identifier and at least one second action referenced in the event store and associated with the second activity, the temporal connection being established by reference to timestamps of the at least one first action and the at least one second action.

5. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising computer-executable instructions for logging information in an event store, the computer-executable instructions directed to steps comprising:

deriving an activity identifier, that identifies an activity, for a current action that is associated with the activity;

providing, to the event store, current action information associated with the current action, the current action information comprising the derived activity identifier;

obtaining another activity identifier that also identifies the activity, the obtained other activity identifier being derived for another action associated with the activity, the other action being performed by another component; and

providing linking information to the event store linking the derived activity identifier with the obtained other activity identifier.

6. The computer-readable storage media of claim 5 comprising further computer-executable instructions for providing, to the event store, a beginning indication of the current lifetime of the derived activity identifier, wherein the derived activity identifier is used to identify only the activity during the current lifetime.

7. The computer-readable storage media of claim 5 comprising further computer-executable instructions for providing, to the event store, an ending indication of a current lifetime of the derived activity identifier, wherein the derived activity identifier is used to identify only the activity during the current lifetime.

8. The computer-readable storage media of claim 7 comprising further computer-executable instructions for deriving the activity identifier for a subsequent action that is associated with another activity, the activity identifier now identifying the other activity, after the ending indication was provided to the event store.

9. The computer-readable storage media of claim 5 comprising further computer-executable instructions for receiving, from the other component, a request that references information associated with the activity and that requests the performance of the current action.

10. The computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein the computer-executable instructions directed to deriving the activity identifier comprise computer-executable instructions directed to deriving the activity identifier based on the request-referenced information associated with the activity.

11. The computer-readable storage media of claim 5 comprising further computer-executable instructions for directing a request, to the other component, for the performance of the other action, the request referencing information associated with the activity.

12. A method of tracing an activity across multiple components comprising the steps of:

deriving, at a first component, a first activity identifier that identifies the activity and that is associated with a first action performed by the first component, the activity comprising the first action;

providing, to an event store, first action information associated with the first action, the first action information comprising the first activity identifier;

providing, to the event store from the first component, an ending indication-of a current lifetime of the first activity identifier, wherein the first activity identifier is used by the first component to identify only the activity during the current lifetime;

deriving, at the first component, the first activity identifier for a subsequent action performed by the first component that is associated with another activity, the first activity identifier now identifying the other activity, after the ending indication was provided to the event store;

deriving, at a second component, a second activity identifier that identifies the activity and that is associated with a second action performed by the second component, the activity comprising the second action;

obtaining, at the second component, the first activity identifier;

providing, to the event store, linking information linking the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier;

obtaining, at an event correlation component, a specification of the first activity identifier;

building, at the event correlation component, a graph linking the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier based on the provided linking information; and

filtering the event store to remove entries associated with activity identifiers that are not in the graph.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

locating, in the event store, by the event correlation component, information known to be associated with the activity;

obtaining, at the event correlation component, a third activity identifier from the located information; and

modifying, at the event correlation component, the graph linking the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier to further link the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier to the third activity identifier.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

locating, in the event store, by the event correlation component, a third activity identifier;

identifying, by the event correlation component, the third activity identifier as being linked to the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier based on a temporal connection between at least one first action referenced in the event store and associated with either the first activity identifier or the second activity identifier and at least one second action referenced in the event store and associated with the third activity, the temporal connection being established by reference to timestamps of the at least one first action and the at least one second action; and

modifying, at the event correlation component, the graph linking the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier to further link the first activity identifier and the second activity identifier to the third activity identifier.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of providing, to the event store from the first component, a beginning indication of the current lifetime of the first activity identifier, wherein the first activity identifier is used by the first component to identify only the activity during the current lifetime.