Techniques for use with repetitive event occurrences

• US 8,799,927 B1
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Taylor, Alan L., Goudreau, Robert F. Jr., Ajmera, Mayank
• Primary Examiner(s): DAO, TUAN C.
• Application Number:
  US13/421,227
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3017 where the computing system is implementing multitasking multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3034 where the computing system component is a storage system, e.g. DASD based or network based digital input from or digital output to record carriers G06F3/06; digital recording or reproducing G11B20/18; for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3055 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the status of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring if the computing system is on, off, available, not available error or fault processing without redundancy G06F11/0703; error detection or correction by redundancy in data representation G06F11/08; error detection or correction by redundancy in operation G06F11/14; error detection or correction by redundancy in hardware G06F11/16
• 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: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements

Abstract

Described are techniques for determining noteworthy events. A client performs a first call to a first routine having a first interface. The first interface includes a first set of input parameters specifying noteworthiness criteria indicating which event occurrences in a sequence of event occurrences are noteworthy. The client performs a second call to a second routine having a second interface to record an event occurrence of the sequence. The second routine perform processing returning information to the client including an indicator value denoting whether the event occurrence is noteworthy. In response to receiving the indicator value, the client may perform an action if the indicator value denotes that the event occurrence is noteworthy.

Claims

1. A method for determining noteworthy events comprising:

performing, by a client, a first call to a first routine having a first interface, said first interface including a first set of one or more input parameters specifying noteworthiness criteria indicating which event occurrences in a sequence of event occurrences are noteworthy, said first routine initializing state information for the sequence of event occurrences, said state information including a counter denoting a number of recorded event occurrences in the sequence at a current point in time, said noteworthiness criteria identifying a plurality of positions in the sequence corresponding to event occurrences in the sequence which are noteworthy, said plurality of positions including at least one position determined by multiplying a growth factor by a value denoting a positional distance in the sequence;

responsive to an event occurrence, performing, by the client, a second call to a second routine having a second interface to record the event occurrence of the sequence, said second routine performing first processing for said event occurrence including;

updating the state information for the sequence by incrementing the counter thereby recording that said event occurrence;

determining, using said noteworthiness criteria, whether said event occurrence is noteworthy; and

returning information to the client including an indicator value denoting whether said event occurrence is noteworthy; and

determining, by the client in response to receiving said indicator value for said event occurrence, whether said indicator value indicates that said event occurrence is noteworthy and wherein said client performs an action if said indicator value indicates that said event occurrence is noteworthy.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said client performs a plurality of calls to said second routine to record a plurality of event occurrences for the sequence, each of said plurality of calls resulting in said second routine recording one of said plurality of event occurrences in the sequence and returning an indicator value to the client indicating whether said one event occurrence just recorded is noteworthy in accordance with said noteworthiness criteria.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

performing, by the client, a third call to a third routine to reset the counter of the sequence to zero.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein each call to said second routine to record an event occurrence of the sequence returns a current value of the counter denoting a position of the event occurrence recorded by said each call in the sequence.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each event occurrence in said sequence has a position in said sequence indicating when said each event occurrence is recorded relative to recording other event occurrences in the sequence.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said noteworthiness criteria includes a first parameter indicating a quantity of initial noteworthy events in the sequence and a second parameter indicating an initial noteworthiness goal, said second parameter denoting an initial interval value used to identify a first position in the sequence subsequent to said initial noteworthy events whereby the first position denotes a next noteworthy event in the sequence following said initial noteworthy events.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said noteworthiness criteria includes a third parameter identifying the growth factor denoting a multiplicative amount by which an interval denoting a next noteworthy event occurrence increases when said counter is updated to a value that identifies a position in said sequence that is greater than or equal to the first position and that corresponds to an event occurrence of the sequence that is noteworthy.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said noteworthiness criteria includes a fourth parameter identifying a maximum value for the interval.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the interval has a first value denoting a first positional distance in the sequence of a first noteworthy event occurrence and wherein second processing is performed to record a first event occurrence of the sequence, said second processing comprising:

updating the counter to a first counter value denoting a position in the sequence for the first event occurrence;

determining whether the counter is equal to the interval; and

determining that the first event occurrence is the first noteworthy event occurrence if the counter is equal to the interval.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said second call to said second routine returns a count indicating a number of additional non-noteworthy event occurrences that have to be recorded prior to determining a next noteworthy event occurrence in the sequence.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first call to the first routine and the second call to the second routine each identify an object as a parameter, wherein said object includes said state information for the sequence, and wherein the first routine and the second routine are methods of the object.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the noteworthiness criteria includes iterative count-based intervals whereby a next noteworthy event is determined based on a minimum number of event occurrences between the next noteworthy event in the sequence and the previous noteworthy event in the sequence.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the noteworthiness criteria specifies that a number of non-noteworthy events between successive noteworthy events increases by a multiplicative factor.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the noteworthiness criteria includes time-based intervals whereby a next noteworthy event is determined based on a minimum amount of time having elapsed between the next noteworthy event in the sequence and the previous noteworthy event in the sequence.

15. A method for determining noteworthy events comprising:

performing, by a client, a first call to a first routine having a first interface, said first interface including a first set of one or more input parameters specifying noteworthiness criteria indicating which event occurrences in a sequence of event occurrences are noteworthy, said first routine initializing state information for the sequence of event occurrences, said state information including a counter denoting a number of recorded event occurrences in the sequence at a current point in time;

performing, by the client, a second call to a second routine having a second interface to record an event occurrence of the sequence, said second routine performing first processing for said event occurrence including;

updating the state information for the sequence by incrementing the counter thereby recording that said event occurrence;

determining, using said noteworthiness criteria, whether said event occurrence is noteworthy; and

returning information to the client including an indicator value denoting whether said event occurrence is noteworthy; and

determining, by the client in response to receiving said indicator value for said event occurrence, whether said indicator value indicates that said event occurrence is noteworthy and wherein said client performs an action if said indicator value indicates that said event occurrence is noteworthy, wherein each event occurrence in said sequence has a position in said sequence indicating when said each event occurrence is recorded relative to recording other event occurrences in the sequence, and wherein said noteworthiness criteria specifies a plurality of positions in the sequence corresponding to event occurrences in said sequence which are noteworthy, wherein said noteworthiness criteria includes a first parameter indicating a quantity of initial noteworthy events in the sequence and a second parameter indicating an initial noteworthiness goal, said second parameter denoting an initial interval value used to identify a first position in the sequence subsequent to said initial noteworthy events whereby the first position denotes a next noteworthy event in the sequence following said initial noteworthy events, wherein said noteworthiness criteria includes a third parameter identifying a growth factor denoting a multiplicative amount by which an interval denoting a next noteworthy event occurrence increases when said counter is updated to a value that identifies a position in said sequence that is greater than or equal to the first position and that corresponds to an event occurrence of the sequence that is noteworthy, wherein said noteworthiness criteria includes a fourth parameter identifying a maximum value for the interval, wherein the interval has a first value denoting a first positional distance in the sequence of a first noteworthy event occurrence and wherein second processing is performed to record a first event occurrence of the sequence, said second processing comprising;

updating the counter to a first counter value denoting a position in the sequence for the first event occurrence;

determining whether the counter is equal to the interval; and

determining that the first event occurrence is the first noteworthy event occurrence if the counter is equal to the interval, and wherein if said first event occurrence is identified as the first noteworthy event occurrence in the sequence, performing third processing including;

determining a second value by multiplying the first value by the growth factor;

determining whether the second value is greater than said maximum value; and

updating the interval to the second value denoting a second positional distance in the sequence of a second noteworthy event occurrence subsequent in the sequence to said first noteworthy event if said second value is not greater than said maximum value, and otherwise, if said second value is greater than said maximum value, updating the interval to the maximum value.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a third noteworthy event occurrence in the sequence subsequent to the second noteworthy event occurrence has a third positional distance in the sequence that is a multiple of said maximum value and wherein an event occurrence being recorded is determined as the third noteworthy event if the counter denoting the event occurrence being recorded is equal to the third positional distance.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising code stored thereon for determining noteworthy events, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising code that, when executed by a processor, performs a method comprising:

performing, by a client, a first call to a first routine having a first interface, said first interface including a first set of one or more input parameters specifying noteworthiness criteria indicating which event occurrences in a sequence of event occurrences are noteworthy, said first routine initializing state information for the sequence of event occurrences, said state information including a counter denoting a number of recorded event occurrences in the sequence at a current point in time, said noteworthiness criteria identifying a plurality of positions in the sequence corresponding to event occurrences in the sequence which are noteworthy, said plurality of positions including at least one position determined by multiplying a growth factor by a value denoting a positional distance in the sequence;

responsive to an event occurrence, performing, by the client, a second call to a second routine having a second interface to record the event occurrence of the sequence, said second routine performing first processing for said event occurrence including;

updating the state information for the sequence by incrementing the counter thereby recording that said event occurrence;

determining, using said noteworthiness criteria, whether said event occurrence is noteworthy; and

returning information to the client including an indicator value denoting whether said event occurrence is noteworthy; and

determining, by the client in response to receiving said indicator value for said event occurrence, whether said indicator value indicates that said event occurrence is noteworthy and wherein said client performs an action if said indicator value indicates that said event occurrence is noteworthy.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein said client performs a plurality of calls to said second routine to record a plurality of event occurrences for the sequence, each of said plurality of calls resulting in said second routine recording one of said plurality of event occurrences in the sequence and returning an indicator value to the client indicating whether said one event occurrence just recorded is noteworthy in accordance with said noteworthiness criteria.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein each event occurrence in said sequence has a position in said sequence indicating when said each event occurrence is recorded relative to recording other event occurrences in the sequence.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein said noteworthiness criteria includes a first parameter indicating a quantity of initial noteworthy events in the sequence and a second parameter indicating an initial noteworthiness goal, said second parameter denoting an initial interval value used to identify a first position in the sequence subsequent to said initial noteworthy events whereby the first position denotes a next noteworthy event in the sequence following said initial noteworthy events.