Configuration interface manager

• US 8,881,172 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2008
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Schneider, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sough, H S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Onat, Umut
• Application Number:
  US12/025,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20090199212A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,465 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

A method and system for managing configuration interfaces. In one embodiment, a system includes a user interface for receiving a user login, causing a configuration process to be invoked, and receiving user input for managing the configuration process. A log file is used to store log file information in response to the received user input for managing the configuration process. The log file can be used by a process monitor to determine if there is any recent user activity. The process monitor can determine whether the log file has been changed in response to the received user input during a specific time interval. In response to a determination that the log file has not been changed in response to the received user input during the specific time interval, the process monitor can terminate the configuration process.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

invoking, by a processing device of a computer system, a configuration process in the computer system, wherein the configuration process provides a user interface (UI) for a user of the computer system in order to at least one of configure, administer, or diagnose problems within the computer system, and wherein the configuration process is associated with a configuration server, communicably coupled to the computer system via a network, that provides configuration services targeted to the computer system;

opening, in view of an instruction from the configuration process, a port of the computer system in order for the configuration process to communicate with the configuration server via the network;

when a time interval associated with the configuration process expires, accessing a log file corresponding to the configuration process, wherein interactions of the user with the configuration process via the UI provided by the configuration process are recorded in the log file;

identifying entries of the log file related to activity of the user of the computer system;

examining a file attribute of the log file to identify a most recent date and time of update to the log file;

determining, in view of the identified entries related to the activity of the user and the identified most recent date and time of the update to the log file, that the log file has not been updated within the time interval;

sending, in response to the determining that the log file has not been updated, a warning message to the user within the time interval, the warning message comprising an indication informing the user that the log file has not been updated in the time interval; and

in response to the determination that the log file has not been updated and in response to a lack of feedback from the user in response to the warning message, terminating the configuration process, wherein terminating the configuration process results in closing the opened port.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the configuration process is invoked by the user, wherein the user is a remote user that uses the opened port.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration process is invoked by the user, wherein the user is a local user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the log file has not been updated is performed in response to an expiration of the timer.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the log file has been updated in response to the user responding to the sent warning message.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the log file has been updated within the time interval; and

waiting for another time interval before performing a subsequent determination of whether the log file has been updated.

7. A non-transitory machine-accessible medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

invoking, by the processing device of a computing device, a configuration process in the computing device, wherein the configuration process provides a user interface (UI) for a user of the computing device in order to at least one of configure, administer, or diagnose problems within the computer system, and wherein the configuration process is associated with a configuration server, communicably coupled to the computing device via a network, that provides configuration services targeted to the computing device;

opening, in view of an instruction from the configuration process, a port of the computing device in order for the configuration process to communicate with the configuration server via the network;

when a time interval associated with the configuration process expires, accessing a log file corresponding to the configuration process, wherein interactions of the user with the configuration process via the UI provided by the configuration process are recorded in the log file;

identifying entries of the log file related to activity of the user of the computing device;

examining a file attribute of the log file to identify a most recent date and time of update to the log file;

determining, in view of the identified entries related to the activity of the user and the identified most recent date and time of the update to the log file, that the log file has not been updated within the time interval;

sending, in response to the determining that the log file has not been updated, a warning message to the user within the time interval, the warning message comprising an indication informing the user that the log file has not been updated in the time interval; and

in response to the determination that the log file has not been updated and in response to a lack of feedback from the user in response to the warning message, terminating the configuration process, wherein terminating the configuration process results in closing the opened port.

8. The non-transitory machine-accessible medium of claim 7, wherein the configuration process is invoked by the user, wherein the user is a remote user that uses the opened port.

9. The non-transitory machine-accessible medium of claim 7, wherein the configuration process is invoked by the user, wherein the user is a local user.

10. The non-transitory machine-accessible medium of claim 7, wherein the determining whether the log file has not been updated is performed in response to an expiration of the timer.

11. The non-transitory machine-accessible medium of claim 7, wherein the time interval is specified in a crontab file.

12. The non-transitory machine-accessible medium of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise determining that the log file has been updated in response to the user responding to the sent warning message.

13. The non-transitory machine-accessible medium of claim 7, wherein the opened port are closed after waiting for another time interval.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory;

a processing device communicably coupled to the memory;

a user interface (UI), executable from the memory by the processing device, to receive a user login, to cause a configuration process to be invoked, and to receive user input for managing the configuration process, wherein the configuration process provides the UI for a user of the apparatus in order to at least one of configure, administer, or diagnose problems within the apparatus, and wherein the configuration process is associated with a configuration server, communicably coupled to the apparatus via a network, that provides configuration services targeted to the apparatus;

a log file in the memory to store log file information in response to the received user input for managing the configuration process; and

a process monitor, executed from the memory by the processing device and coupled with the user interface and the log file, the process monitor to;

open, in view of an instruction from the configuration process, a port of the apparatus in order for the configuration process to communicate with the configuration server via the network;

when a time interval associated with the configuration process expires, access the log file corresponding to the configuration process, wherein interactions of the user with the configuration process via the UI provided by the configuration process are recorded in the log file;

identify entries of the log file related to activity of the user of the apparatus;

examine a file attribute of the log file to identify a most recent date and time of update to the log file;

determine, in view of the identified entries related to the activity of the user and the identified most recent date and time of the update to the log file, that the log file has not been updated within the time interval;

send, in response to the determining that the log file has not been updated, a warning message to the user within the time interval, the warning message comprising an indication informing the user that the log file has not been updated in the time interval; and

in response to the determination that the log file has not been updated and in response to a lack of feedback from the user in response to the warning message, terminate the configuration process, wherein terminating the configuration process results in closing the opened port.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the process monitor is further to determine whether the log file has been changed by verifying that a file date and time attribute falls within the time interval.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the process monitor is further to determine whether the log file has been changed by evaluating contents of the log file.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the process monitor is further to:

determine that the log file has been updated within the time interval; and

wait for another time interval before performing a subsequent determination of whether the log file has been updated.