Modular monitor service for smart item monitoring

• US 8,131,838 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Bornhoevd, Christof, Mo, Brian S., Wiemann, Matthias M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Ian N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Dung B
• Application Number:
  US11/444,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20070283002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,106 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/30 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/542 Intercept
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5041 characterised by the time relationship between creation and deployment of a service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5058 Service discovery by the service manager
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks

Abstract

Monitor services deployable on device networks may be implemented using a modular approach, in which a core monitor service is mapped to one or more devices included in, or associated with, the device networks. Additional monitoring-related functionality may be provided to such devices using plug-ins, add-on services or service components, or other service modules, which interact with the core monitor service. The core monitor service(s) and any monitor service modules may be mapped, to specific ones of the devices, based on, for example, requirements of other services and/or relevant device metadata (e.g., capabilities) of the devices. In additional or alternative implementations, various protocols may be used to register new devices and deployed monitor service(s) with the distributed monitoring service(s) in a fast, secure, energy-efficient, and reliable manner, even as devices join or leave the device network(s).

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least a first device of at least one device network that is configured to collect monitor data associated with the at least one device network, using a first instance of a core monitor service and at least a first monitor service module at a first logical layer of a hierarchical, multi-tiered monitor architecture; and

at least a second device of the at least one device network that is configured to propagate at least a portion of the monitor data from the first device up through the hierarchical, multi-tiered monitor architecture, using a second instance of the core monitor service and at least a second monitor service module at a second logical layer of the hierarchical, multi-tiered monitor architecture,

wherein the core monitor service is configured to execute a first subset of monitor functions which are generic with respect to the logical layers and to the devices, including sending and receiving monitor messages to propagate the at least a portion of the monitor data, and

wherein the first monitor service module and the second monitor service module are separable from the core service with respect to installation or removal thereof, and adapted for execution of at least a second subset of monitor functions defined with respect to their respective devices and/or logical layers, the second subset of monitor functions including processing the at least a portion of the monitor data in conjunction with the first instance and the second instance of the core monitor service, respectively, to thereby formulate the monitor messages,

wherein the at least the first device includes a smart item device that is included within the at least one device network, and the smart item device is configured to implement the first instance of the core monitor service and the first monitor service module using an edge monitor service at which the monitor data is collected,

wherein the at least the second device includes a group leader device that is included within the at least one device network, and the group leader device is configured to implement the second instance of the core monitor service and the second monitor service module using a group leader monitor service at which the monitor data is processed for transmission,

wherein the at least the second device includes a local device associated with the group leader monitor service, and the local device is configured to implement a third instance of the core monitor service and at least a third monitor service module using a local monitor service at which the processed monitor data is stored, and

wherein the at least the second device includes a global device associated with the local monitor service, and the global device is configured to implement a fourth instance of the core monitor service and at least a fourth monitor service module using a global monitor service at which the stored monitor data is used to update global monitor data.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the core monitor service includes one or more of:

a system landscape database configured to store known monitor data associated with the at least one device network,

a heartbeat transmitter configured to transmit a heartbeat signal from the first device to the second device,

a ping requestor configured to test for a connection of a lower-level device;

a query router configured to route queries for monitor data to a lower-level instance of the core monitor service, and

an update notification transmitter configured to transmit notifications of changes in a landscape of the hierarchical, multi-tiered monitor architecture.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the core monitor service is associated with a module manager that is configured to select and implement the first monitor service module from among a plurality of monitor service modules, and wherein each of the plurality of monitor service modules includes a common interface for communicating with the core monitor service.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the first monitor service module includes a system adaptor that is configured to collect service metadata associated with a service on the first device and/or device metadata associated with the first device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first monitor service module includes a communication adaptor configured to conduct communications for the first instance of the core monitor service.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the second monitor service module includes a data storage module configured to provide the second instance of the core monitor service with storage of the at least a portion of the monitor data.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the second monitor service module includes a data pre-processor module that is configured to process the monitor data to obtain the at least a portion of the monitor data, the processing including one or more of filtering or aggregating the monitor data.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the device network includes a sensor network in which the smart item device is included, the sensor network being configured to process sensor data external to the device network and collected by at least one sensor associated with the sensor network and the smart item device, to thereby facilitate execution of a collaborative function that includes processing the sensor data.

9. A method comprising:

providing an instance of a core monitor service on each of a plurality of tiers of a hierarchical, multi-tiered monitor architecture associated with devices of at least one device network, the core monitor service associated with collecting monitor data associated with the at least one device network, wherein the core monitor service is configured to execute a first subset of monitor functions which are generic with respect to the tiers and to the devices, including sending and receiving monitor messages to propagate the monitor data; and

providing at least one monitor service module installed on at least one of the plurality of tiers, the at least one monitor service module configured to communicate with the core monitor service to propagate at least a portion of the monitor data upward through the hierarchical, multi-tiered monitor architecture from the at least one device network, wherein the at least one monitor service module is separable from the core service with respect to installation or removal thereof, and adapted for execution of at least a second subset of monitor functions defined with respect to its corresponding tier and/or device, the second subset of monitor functions including processing the at least a portion of the monitor data in conjunction with its corresponding instance of the core monitor service, respectively, to thereby formulate the monitor messages,

wherein at least a first device includes a smart item device that is included within the at least one device network, and the smart item device is configured to implement a first instance of the core monitor service and a first monitor service module using an edge monitor service at which the monitor data is collected,

wherein at least a second device includes a group leader device that is included within the at least one device network, and the group leader device is configured to implement a second instance of the core monitor service and a second monitor service module using a group leader monitor service at which the monitor data is processed for transmission,

wherein the at least the second device includes a local device associated with the group leader monitor service, and the local device is configured to implement a third instance of the core monitor service and at least a third monitor service module using a local monitor service at which the processed monitor data is stored, and

wherein the at least the second device includes a global device associated with the local monitor service, and the global device is configured to implement a fourth instance of the core monitor service and at least a fourth monitor service module using a global monitor service at which the stored monitor data is used to update global monitor data.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the at least one monitor service module includes a system adaptor configured to collect service metadata associated with a service and/or device metadata associated with a device, the method comprising:

polling an edge monitor service deployed on each of a plurality of devices of the at least one device network, the edge monitor service including the core monitor service and the system adaptor;

processing heartbeat messages received from the plurality of devices using at least one group leader monitor service, the group leader monitor service including the core monitor service and a first data pre-processing monitor service module.

11. The method of claim 10 comprising:

processing heartbeat messages received from the at least one group leader monitor service using at least one local monitor service, the local monitor service including the core monitor service, a second data pre-processing monitor service module, and a data storage service module.

12. The method of claim 11 comprising:

processing heartbeat messages received from the at least one local monitor service using a global monitor service, wherein the local monitor service is configured to transmit a delta synchronization message to the global monitor service to update global monitor data stored in association therewith.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the device network includes a sensor network in which a smart item device is included, the sensor network being configured to process sensor data external to the device network and collected by at least one sensor associated with the sensor network and the smart item device, to thereby facilitate execution of a collaborative function that includes processing the sensor data.