Providing a monitoring service in a cloud-based computing environment

• US 8,380,845 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2010
• Issued: 02/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Mercuri, Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): JEAN GILLES, JUDE
• Application Number:
  US12/900,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20120089723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/225, 709/203, 709/223, 709/226, 709/204
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3072 where the reporting involves data filtering, e.g. pattern matching, time or event triggered, adaptive or policy-based reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/18 Protocol analysers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

Technologies are described herein for providing a monitoring service in a cloud-based computing environment. A request is received from a user to subscribe to the monitoring service. The monitor workflow may correspond to the monitoring service. A first call to a finder application is executed over a communications network to retrieve data points according to the monitor workflow. A second call to an analyzer application is executed over the communications network to identify a relevant data point in the data points. A third call to a notifier application is executed over the communications network to notify the user of the relevant data point.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing a monitoring service in a cloud-based computing environment, the method comprising computer-implemented operations for:

receiving a request from a user to subscribe to the monitoring service;

retrieving a monitor workflow corresponding to the monitoring service;

executing a first call to a finder application over a communications network to retrieve data points according to the monitor workflow;

executing a second call to an analyzer application over the communications network to identify a relevant data point in the data points; and

executing a third call to a notifier application over the communications network to notify the user of the relevant data point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a request from a user to subscribe to the monitoring service comprises:

receiving subscription criteria from the user, the subscription criteria specifying relevant parameters related to the monitoring service;

receiving a workflow lifecycle configuration from the user, the workflow lifecycle configuration specifying a time limit of the monitoring service; and

receiving a notification configuration from the user, the notification configuration specifying a notification method to be implemented by the notifier application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein retrieving a monitor workflow corresponding to the monitoring service comprises:

determining whether a database contains an existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria;

in response to determining that the database contains the existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria, retrieving the existing monitor workflow from the database; and

in response to determining that the database does not contain the existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria, generating a new monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein executing a first call to a finder application over a communications network to retrieve data points according to the monitor workflow comprises sending the subscription criteria to the finder application over the communications network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the finder application is configured to (a) query one or more content services over the communications network to retrieve the data points corresponding to the subscription criteria and (b) return the data points in response to the first call.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein executing a second call to an analyzer application over the communications network to identify the relevant data point in the data points comprises sending the data points to the analyzer application over the communications network.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the analyzer application is configured to (a) query one or more context services over the communications network to retrieve context information providing contextual insight to the data points, (b) apply the context information to the data points to identify a relevant data point, and (c) return the relevant point in response to the second call.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein executing a third call to a notifier application over the communications network to notify the user of the relevant data point comprises sending the relevant data point and the notification configuration to the notifier application over the communications network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the notifier application is configured to (a) identify a relevant notification service in a plurality of notification services, the relevant notification service configured to notify the user through the notification method, (b) instruct the relevant notification service to notify the user of the relevant data point through the notification method.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising terminating the monitoring service when the monitoring service expires according to the workflow lifecycle configuration.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a request from a user to subscribe to a monitoring service comprises receiving the request from the user to subscribe to the monitoring service from a faç

ade over the communications network.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the faç

ade comprises a website.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a monitor workflow corresponding to the monitoring service comprises receiving the monitor workflow corresponding to the monitoring service from a monitoring application over the communications network.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitor workflow specifies web addresses for the finder application, the analyzer application, and the notifier application.

15. A computer system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor; and

a program module which executes in the processor from the memory and which, when executed by the processor, causes the computer system to provide a monitoring service in a cloud-based computing environment by

receiving subscription criteria from a user, the subscription criteria specifying relevant parameters related to the monitoring service;

receiving a workflow lifecycle configuration from the user, the workflow lifecycle configuration specifying a time limit of the monitoring service; and

receiving a notification configuration from the user, the notification configuration specifying a notification method to be implemented by a notifier application;

retrieving a monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria;

executing a first call to a finder application over a communications network to retrieve data points corresponding to the subscription criteria according to the monitor workflow;

executing a second call to an analyzer application over the communications network to identify a relevant data point in the data points; and

executing a third call to a notifier application over the communications network to notify the user of the relevant data point through the notification method.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein retrieving a monitor workflow corresponding to the monitoring service comprises:

determining whether a database contains an existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria;

in response to determining that the database contains the existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria, retrieving the existing monitor workflow from the database; and

in response to determining that the database does not contain the existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria, generating a new monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein executing a first call to a finder application over a communications network to retrieve data points corresponding to the subscription criteria according to the monitor workflow comprises sending the subscription criteria to the finder application over the communications network;

and

wherein the finder application is configured to (a) query one or more content services over the communications network to retrieve the data points corresponding to the subscription criteria and (b) return the data points in response to the first call.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein executing a second call to an analyzer application over the communications network to identify the relevant data point in the data points comprises sending the data points to the analyzer application over the communications network;

and

wherein the analyzer application is configured to (a) query one or more context services over the communications network to retrieve context information providing contextual insight to the data points, (b) apply the context information to the data points to identify a relevant data point, and (c) return the relevant point in response to the second call.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein executing a third call to a notifier application over the communications network to notify the user of the relevant data point through the notification method comprises sending the relevant data point and the notification configuration to the notifier application over the communications network;

and

wherein the notifier application is configured to (a) identify a relevant notification service in a plurality of notification services, the relevant notification service configured to notify the user through the notification method, and (b) instruct the relevant notification service to notify the user of the relevant data point through the notification method.

20. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive subscription criteria from a user, the subscription criteria specifying relevant parameters related to a monitoring service;

receive a workflow lifecycle configuration from the user, the workflow lifecycle configuration specifying a time limit of the monitoring service;

receive a notification configuration from the user, the notification configuration specifying a notification method to be implemented by a notifier application;

determine whether a database contains an existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria;

in response to determining that the database contains the existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria, retrieve the existing monitor workflow as a monitor workflow from the database;

in response to determining that the database does not contain the existing monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria, generate a new monitor workflow as the monitor workflow corresponding to the subscription criteria;

executing a first call to a finder application over a communications network to retrieve data points corresponding to the subscription criteria according to the monitor workflow;

executing a second call to an analyzer application over the communications network to identify a relevant data point in the data points; and

executing a third call to a notifier application over the communications network to notify the user of the relevant data point through the notification method.