Automatic task generator method and system

• US 7,912,820 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2003
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Walters, Robert, Garden, Euan
• Primary Examiner(s): TIMBLIN, ROBERT M
• Application Number:
  US10/456,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20040249856A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,846 Days
• Field of Search: 707/609, 707/665, 707/702, 707/999.2, 707/694, 719/318, 718/100
• US Class Current: 707/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/217 Database tuning G06F16/2282 takes precedence; database performance monitoring G06F11/3409
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24564 Applying rules; Deductive queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

An automatic task generation mechanism provides generation of tasks such as maintenance tasks for a computer system. A set of tasks is set up along with rules for performing the tasks. The rules may be associated with metadata that allow the tasks to be mapped to the tasks. Events may be detected that are related to database operations such as a create, modify, delete or add command. Upon event detection by the system, the system may store the event and associated metadata. Another process may query the event and metadata storage and compare those items to the rules previously set up. If there is a match between the rules and the event, one or more tasks may be established which correspond to an action that is desired to be taken. The task may then be inserted into a computer system for subsequent execution.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically generating maintenance tasks for a SQL database management system, the method automatically performed by a computer, the method comprising:

detecting an event that operates on the database management system, the event associated with one or more pre-determined rules comprising user-defined policies based on a database system environment and installation, wherein each of the pre-determined rules utilize database object metadata and is associated with stored tasks;

registering the event in an event queue;

storing metadata associated with the event in the event queue, wherein the metadata is generated in response to the occurrence of the event and an identification of the event and the associated metadata are stored as an XML payload in the event queue;

requesting, by a server agent, the event and the associated metadata from the event queue, wherein the server agent is constantly monitoring the event queue;

sending the event and the associated metadata to the server agent, from the event queue;

retrieving all pre-determined rules associated with the event from a set of stored pre-determined rules;

comparing the event and associated metadata with the retrieved pre-determined rules to detect a correspondence between the event and the associated metadata and one or more of the retrieved pre-determined rules;

when the correspondence is detected, automatically generating an automatic maintenance task by automatically assembling the automatic maintenance task from the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules having a correspondence with the event and the associated metadata and automatically placing appropriate constraints on the automatic maintenance task; and

automatically delivering the stored tasks comprising the automatic maintenance task to the SQL database management system as commands for execution, wherein the automatic maintenance task is not generated when the correspondence is not detected.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining automatic maintenance tasks using at least one of a user interface and a programmatic interface.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the database object metadata comprises one or more of size, location, users, language, number of files, free space, and custom attributes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules comprise at least one database management system command that corresponds to at least one automatic maintenance task.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules comprise at least one of a hardware command and a software command directed towards at least one of a database management function and a non-database management function.

6. A system for automatically generating maintenance tasks for a database management system, the system comprising:

a storage device providing means for storing a set of pre-determined rules and system tasks for operation on database objects, wherein each of the pre-determined rules utilize database object metadata and is associated with stored tasks, the pre-determined rules comprising user-defined policies based on a database system environment and installation;

means for automatically detecting an event that operates on the database management system and registering the event with associated metadata in an event queue, wherein the means for automatically detecting the event is constantly monitoring the event queue, wherein the metadata is generated in response to the occurrence of the event, and wherein an identification of the event and the associated metadata is stored as an XML payload in the event queue;

means for retrieving all pre-determined rules corresponding to the event from the set of stored pre-determined rules; and

processing means for generating the maintenance tasks that includes;

means for comparing the event and associated metadata with the retrieved pre-determined rules to detect a correspondence between the event and the associated metadata and one or more of the retrieved pre-determined rules,

means for automatically generating a maintenance task by automatically assembling the automatic maintenance task from the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules having a correspondence with the event and the associated metadata when the correspondence is detected, and means for automatically placing appropriate constraints on the maintenance task; and

means for automatically delivering the stored tasks comprising the automatic maintenance task to the SQL database management system as commands for execution, wherein the maintenance task is not generated when the correspondence is not detected.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising means for providing an input for the rules and the system tasks.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules comprise at least one of a database management system command and a non-database system command.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the database management system is a SQL based database management system.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules tasks are Transact-SQL commands for directing operations on a SQL database.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the specific tasks comprise activating at least one of a hardware function and a software function.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, storing computer-executable instructions, for performing a method comprising:

automatically detecting an event that operates on the database management system, the event associated with one or more pre-determined rules comprising user-defined policies based on a database system environment and installation;

registering the event in an event queue;

storing metadata associated with the event in the event queue, wherein the metadata is generated in response to the occurrence of the event and an identification of the event and the associated metadata are stored as an XML payload in the event queue;

retrieving all pre-determined rules corresponding to the event from a set of stored pre-determined rules, wherein each of the pre-determined rules utilize database object metadata and is associated with stored tasks;

responding, by the event queue, to a request by a server agent by sending the event and the associated metadata to the server agent, wherein the server agent is constantly monitoring the event queue;

comparing the event and associated metadata with the retrieved pre-determined rules to detect a correspondence between the event and the associated metadata and one or more of the retrieved pre-determined rules;

when the correspondence is detected, automatically generating an automatic maintenance task by automatically assembling the automatic maintenance task from the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules having a correspondence with the event and the associated metadata and automatically placing appropriate constraints on the automatic maintenance task; and

automatically delivering the stored tasks comprising the automatic maintenance task to the SQL database management system as commands for execution, wherein the automatic maintenance task is not generated when the correspondence is not detected.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the database object metadata comprises one or more of size, location, users, language, number of files, free space, and custom attributes.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules comprise at least one of a database management system command and a non-database management system command.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the database management system is a SQL-based database management system.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules are Transact-SQL commands for directing maintenance operations on a SQL database.

17. A system for automatically generating maintenance tasks for a database management system, the system comprising:

a computer comprising a database management system;

an interface to receive and store at least one system maintenance task and at least one pre-determined rule related to the at least one system maintenance task wherein each of the at least one pre-determined rules utilize database object metadata and is associated with stored tasks, the pre-determined rules comprising user-defined policies based on a database system environment and installation;

a memory to store the at least one system maintenance task and the at least one pre-determined rule;

an event detector to detect a database event, wherein metadata is generated in response to the occurrence of the database event;

an event queue to register a database event indictor and the related metadata, wherein the event indicator corresponds to the database event;

a server agent to sense a registration of the database event indicator by requesting and receiving all pre-determined rules associated with the event from the stored at least one pre-determined rule, and an XML payload from the event queue, wherein the server agent is constantly monitoring the event queue, the XML payload comprising event information and the related metadata, the server agent comparing contents of the XML payload with the received pre-determined rules to detect a correspondence between the event and the associated metadata and one or more of the retrieved pre-determined rules, determining that an automatic maintenance task is required based upon the correspondence, and automatically generating the automatic maintenance task by automatically assembling the automatic maintenance task from the stored tasks associated with the one or more retrieved pre-determined rules having a correspondence with the event and the associated metadata and automatically placing appropriate constraints on the automatic maintenance task; and

a task generator to produce commands based on the stored tasks comprising the automatic maintenance task.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the database management system is a SQL database management system.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the commands are Transact-SQL commands directed towards maintenance operation execution within the database management system.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the commands comprise at least one of a hardware command and a software command directed towards at least one of a database management function and a non-database management function.