System and methods for monitoring a geographic information system

• US 8,825,843 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2011
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vestra Resources, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Vestra Resources, Inc.
• Inventors: Laine, Davin Peter, Lanzing, Gregg Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Halim, Sahera
• Application Number:
  US13/196,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20120066553A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 455/404.2
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• 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 11/3058 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring environmental properties or parameters of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring of power, currents, temperature, humidity, position, vibrations thermal management in cooling arrangements of a computing system G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3089 Monitoring arrangements determined by the means or processing involved in sensing the monitored data, e.g. interfaces, connectors, sensors, probes, agents software debugging using additional hardware using a specific debug interface G06F11/3656; performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring G06F11/3466

Abstract

Disclosed are new approaches for monitoring an information system such as a GIS. For each service of a plurality of services provided by service computers, a periodic evaluation is performed by requesting performance of the selected test service routine by the service. If no valid response to the request is received within a response window the monitoring computer may produce an output indicating an error status for the service. The response window may be a time window or a maximum number of transmitted requests without a valid response. A monitoring computer may transmit requests to perform a service at a first period if an error indicator associated therewith is set and periodically at a second period if the error indicator associated therewith is not set. Requests to perform the service may not be transmitted during an exclusion time associated with a service or its corresponding service computer.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a geographic information system, the method comprising:

for each service of a plurality of geographic services provided by one or more service computers, periodically performing;

selecting, by a monitoring computer, a geographic information test routine corresponding to the service;

requesting, by the monitoring computer, performance of the selected geographic information test routine by the service;

monitoring, by the monitoring computer, communications from a service computer of the one or more service computers providing the service;

evaluating, by the monitoring computer, information in any response to the request received from the service computer of the one or more service computers providing the service with respect to an expected geographic information system content specification corresponding to the service;

if one of no response and no valid response to the request is received within a response window and the information in any response to the request does not conform to the expected geographic information system content specification, outputting, by the monitoring computer, an output indicating an error status for the service;

for each request, recording a log record describing one of responses to the request and a lack of response to the request;

wherein each service has a maximum number of requests associated therewith; and

wherein recording the log record further comprises, for each service;

for first consecutive requests corresponding to the service for which the one of no response and no valid response is received having a number up to or equal to the maximum number of requests, recording a log record having a verbose format; and

for second consecutive requests corresponding to the service and consecutive to the first consecutive requests corresponding to the service for which the one of no responses and no valid response is received, recording a log record having an abbreviated format relative to the verbose format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the response window is a time window.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each service has an error indicator associated therewith;

and

wherein requesting, by the monitoring computer, performance of the selected geographic information test routine by the service is performed periodically at a first period if the error indicator associated therewith is set and is performed periodically at a second period if the error indicator associated therewith is not set.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the response window is the maximum request number associated with the service.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the service is a primary service and has a dependent service associated therewith;

and

wherein requesting, by the monitoring computer, performance of the geographic information test routine comprises;

transmitting, by the monitoring computer, a first request for performance of the selected test service routine addressed to the primary service;

if no valid response to the first request is received within the response window, transmitting, by the monitoring computer, a second request for performance of the selected test service addressed to the dependent service; and

wherein outputting, by the monitoring computer, an output indicating the error status for the primary service is performed if no valid response to the second request is received during the response window.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of services include at least one of a geocoding service and a map image service.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the service has an exclusion time associated therewith, the method further comprising refraining from requesting performance by the service of the selected geographic information test routine during the exclusion period.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the service computer of the one or more service computers providing the service has an exclusion period associated therewith, the method further comprising refraining from requesting performance by the service of the selected geographic information test routine during the exclusion period.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting, by the monitoring computer, the output indicating the error status for the service comprises outputting a graphical indicator to a display.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting, by the monitoring computer, the output indicating the error status for the service comprises transmitting a text message.

11. A system for monitoring a geographic information system comprising:

one or more processors;

memory coupled with the one or more processors;

a monitor point database defining a plurality of addressable points each having a service for providing geographically referenced data associated therewith; and

a monitoring module programmed, for each point of the monitor point database, to periodically;

select a test service routine corresponding to the service associated with the point, the test service routine programmed to request a geographically referenced response from the point;

request performance of the selected test service routine by the point;

monitor communications from the point; and

if one of no response and no valid response to the request is received within a response window and a response is received that does not conform to an expected geographic information content specification corresponding the point, produce an output indicating an error status for the point;

for each request, recording a log record describing one of responses to the request and a lack of response to the request;

wherein each service has a maximum number of requests associated therewith; and

wherein recording the log record further comprises, for each service;

for first consecutive requests corresponding to the service for which the one of no response and no valid response is received having a number up to or equal to the maximum number of requests, recording a log record having a verbose format; and

for second consecutive requests corresponding to the service and consecutive to the first consecutive requests corresponding to the service for which the one of no responses and no valid response is received, recording a log record having an abbreviated format relative to the verbose format.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the response window is a time window.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein each point has an error indicator associated therewith in the monitor point database;

and

wherein the monitoring module is further programmed to request performance of the selected test service routine by the point periodically at a first period if the error indicator associated therewith is set and periodically at a second period if the error indicator associated therewith is not set.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the response window is a maximum request number associated with each point;

and

wherein the monitoring module is further programmed to produce the output indicating the error status for the point when the point fails to provide information corresponding to the expected geographic information specification in response to a number of consecutive requests to perform the test service routine equal to the maximum request number.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the plurality of addressable points is a primary point and at least one of the plurality of addressable points is a dependent point associated with the at least one primary point;

and

wherein the monitoring module is further configured, for each of the at least one primary points, to;

transmit a first request for performance of the selected test service routine to the primary point;

if no valid response to the first request is received within the response window, transmit a second request for performance of the selected test service to the dependent point associated with the primary point; and

produce an output indicating an error status for the primary point if no valid response to the second request is received during the response window.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of points include applications executing on one or more service computers.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the GIS services include one or more of a geocoding service and a map image service.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one point of the plurality of points has an exclusion period associated therewith, the monitoring module is further programmed to refrain from requesting performance of the selected test routine by the at least one point during the exclusion period associated therewith.

19. A computer program product for monitoring a geographic information system, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied therein, the computer-usable program code comprising:

computer-usable program code to, for each service of a plurality of geographic services provided by one or more service computers, periodically;

select a geographic information test routine corresponding to the service;

request performance of the selected geographic information test routine by the service;

monitor communications from a service computer of the one or more service computers providing the service;

evaluate information in any response to the request received from the service computer of the one or more service computers providing the service with respect to an expected geographic information system content specification corresponding to the service;

if one of no response and no valid response to the request is received within a response window and the information in any response to the request does not conform to the expected geographic information system content specification, produce an output indicating an error status for the service;

for each request, recording a log record describing one of responses to the request and a lack of response to the request;

wherein each service has a maximum number of requests associated therewith; and

wherein recording the log record further comprises, for each service;

for first consecutive requests corresponding to the service for which the one of no response and no valid response is received having a number up to or equal to the maximum number of requests, recording a log record having a verbose format; and

for second consecutive requests corresponding to the service and consecutive to the first consecutive requests corresponding to the service for which the one of no responses and no valid response is received, recording a log record having an abbreviated format relative to the verbose format.