Usage metering system
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- (a) collecting, by a first computer system, a peak value indicating a peak level of computer resource utilization in the computer system;
(b) selecting a bucket from a first array of buckets corresponding to the collected peak value, wherein each bucket from the array contains a count value providing a recorded history of how many times a particular level of computer resource utilization was observed;
(c) modifying the count value maintained in the selected bucket corresponding to the collected peak value;
(d) repeating, iteratively, the operational acts described in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) for a first period of time; and
(e) generating a report based on the count values contained in the first array of buckets indicative of the levels of computer resource utilization realized during at least the first period of time and a threshold value such that the report indicates the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value;
wherein the count values in the first array of buckets and the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value are used in generating a bill associated with the amount of computer resources utilized.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A usage metering system for determining computer resource utilization is described herein. Computer resource utilization is determined by accumulating instances of computer resource utilization based on array of counters. This enables an accurate determination of instances of when a predetermined threshold baseline of computer resource utilization is exceeded over an accumulated period of time. By using an array of counters to collect data rather than averaging values over time, a more accurate indication of computer resource utilization is determined. The usage metering system has little impact on computer system resources, because snapshots can be taken on a fairly infrequent basis, and any computer resource utilization calculations can be performed on computer platforms separated from the system being monitored.
91 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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(a) collecting, by a first computer system, a peak value indicating a peak level of computer resource utilization in the computer system; (b) selecting a bucket from a first array of buckets corresponding to the collected peak value, wherein each bucket from the array contains a count value providing a recorded history of how many times a particular level of computer resource utilization was observed; (c) modifying the count value maintained in the selected bucket corresponding to the collected peak value; (d) repeating, iteratively, the operational acts described in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) for a first period of time; and (e) generating a report based on the count values contained in the first array of buckets indicative of the levels of computer resource utilization realized during at least the first period of time and a threshold value such that the report indicates the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value; wherein the count values in the first array of buckets and the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value are used in generating a bill associated with the amount of computer resources utilized. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for metering computer resource utilization occurring on a computer system, comprising:
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maintaining an array of buckets corresponding to different levels of computer peak resource utilization, each bucket having a counter indicating a quantity of instances a level of computer peak resource utilization was reached over a collection time; collecting peak computer resource utilization data indicating an amount of a computer resource utilized during a particular interval of time of a plurality of interval of times within the collection time; modifying the value of the counter in the bucket of the array of buckets corresponding to the level of computer peak resource utilization for the particular interval of time; repeating the steps of collecting computer peak resource utilization data and modifying the value of the counter for each of the plurality of interval of times; and reporting computer peak resource utilization over the collection time based on values of the counters in the array of buckets and a threshold value such that the reporting indicates the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value; wherein the count values in the array of buckets and the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value are used in generating a bill associated with the amount of computer peak resources utilized. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A usage metering system, comprising:
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a collector module, operating on a computer system, the collector module configured to take a snapshot of a process utilization manager of the computer system on a continuous basis over a prescribed period of time and record peak performance data in an array;
wherein the array comprises a plurality of buckets, each bucket represents a particular incremental value of a computer resource utilization level, and each bucket has a counter with a count value indicating the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was observed; anda reporter module, operating on the computer system, the reporter module configured to use a threshold value to generate a report that indicates the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value; wherein the count values in the array and the number of times a particular computer resource utilization level was greater than the threshold value are used in generating a bill associated with the amount of computer resources utilized; wherein each snapshot provides a value indicative of a peak amount of computer resource utilized at a particular time interval within the prescribed period of time, and wherein each value of a snapshot is used by the collector module to select a bucket from the array corresponding to the value of the snapshot, and to modify the count value of the selected bucket each time a particular computer resource utilization level was observed that corresponds to the selected bucket. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification