User-initiated mode for remote support

• US 8,910,049 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2010
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Harlan, Jay, Charles, Andy, Carlson, Roy
• Primary Examiner(s): LONG, ANDREA NATAE
• Application Number:
  US12/859,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20120047439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 715/736, 379/9.03
• US Class Current: 715/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3013 where the computing system is an embedded system, i.e. a combination of hardware and software dedicated to perform a certain function in mobile devices, printers, automotive or aircraft systems testing or monitoring of control systems or parts thereof G05B23/02
• 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 11/3093 Configuration details thereof, e.g. installation, enabling, spatial arrangement of the probes

Abstract

Some embodiments disclose a remote support system having an analyzer and a communication link to connect to an event log associated with a monitored system. The analyzer is to monitor the event log over the link and to create a report using information in the event log. In response to the analyzer detecting a user-initiated service mode indication in the information the analyzer includes in the report additional information relating to the user-initiated service mode to facilitate events in the report to be ignored.

Claims

1. A remote support system comprising program code stored on a non-transient computer-readable medium and executable by a processor, the system further comprising:

a communication link to connect to an event log associated with a monitored system; and

an analyzer to monitor the event log over the link and to create a report using information in the event log, wherein in response to the analyzer detecting a user-initiated service mode indication in the information the analyzer includes in the report additional information relating to the user-initiated service mode to indicate events in the report to be ignored.

2. The remote support system of claim 1, wherein the additional information comprises user-initiated mode status information.

3. The remote support system of claim 1, wherein the additional information comprises information relating to at least one of:

a start time of a user-initiated mode;

an end time of a user-initiated mode;

a time to expiry of a user-initiated mode;

an instant user-initiated mode status;

an instant state of a user-initiated mode flag;

an indication that a remote support provider will not take action on the report based on an instant user-initiated mode status;

an indication that notification of the report will not be initiated to a support provider system.

4. The remote support system of claim 1, an initiator to initiate notification of the report to a support provider system.

5. The remote support system of claim 1, to initiate notification of the report to a remote system, and to select a destination remote system for the notification according to a present user-initiated mode status.

6. A processor-implemented initiator comprising program code stored on a non-transient computer-readable medium and executable by a processor, the initiator being activatable to cause a user-initiated mode indication to be stored in an event log in a memory communicatively connected to the processor, the event log to receive event data relating to a monitored system, the user-initiated mode indication identifying events in the event log occurring during a user-initiated service mode to be ignored by a support provider.

7. The processor-implemented initiator of claim 6, the initiator comprising a hardware actuator of the monitored system, the actuator being activatable by a user to cause a user-initiated signal to be sent to the processor.

8. The processor-implemented initiator of claim 6, the initiator comprising a user-activatable software-generated graphical user-input arrangement.

9. The processor-implemented initiator of claim 6, the user-initiated mode indication being associated with a time parameter, the time parameter having a predetermined value or a value input by a user and stored in the event log.

10. The processor-implemented initiator of claim 6, the initiator being activatable during an active user-initiated mode to change an active time period of the user-initiated mode.

11. The processor-implemented initiator of claim 6, the initiator comprising a user activatable graphical user-input arrangement provided by a management application through a user interface;

the management application to receive event data from the monitored system and store the data in the event log; and

the user interface to display and receive information relating to the management application.

12. The processor-implemented initiator of claim 11, wherein the user interface requires a user to input user-initiated mode time-related information to enable activation of the graphical user-input arrangement.

13. A method comprising receiving from a user of a monitored system, and storing in an event log in a computer-accessible memory, a user-initiated event indication relating to the monitored system, and using a processor to process the user-initiated event indication according to a computer-implemented rule to determine what subsequently received monitored system event information is reported to a support provider, wherein the user-initiated event indication identifies events in the event log occurring during a user-initiated service mode to be ignored by the support provider.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the rule causes a remote support application, in response to detecting the start of a user-initiated event mode, to continue to initiate communication of event reports concerning the monitored system to a remote support provider, and to include in the reports a present user-initiated event mode status.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the user-initiated event mode status includes information relating to at least one of a duration or an expiry of a user-initiated mode active time period.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the rule causes a remote support application, in response to detecting the start of a user-initiated event mode, to discontinue communication of event reports concerning the monitored system to a remote support provider.

17. A method of monitoring a system, the system communicatively connected to a memory storing a system event log, the method comprising:

using a processor to automatically monitor the event log, create reports using information obtained by the monitoring, store the reports in memory communicatively connected to the processor, and in response to detecting user-initiated mode information in the event log, include in a subsequent report updated user-initiated mode status information.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising using the processor to initiate notification of the report to a remote system.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising using the processor to select a destination of the notification according to the user-initiated mode status.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the updated user-initiated mode status information relates to at least one of:

a start time of the user-initiated mode;

an end time of the user-initiated mode;

a time to expiry of the user-initiated mode;

an instant user-initiated mode status;

an instant state of a user-initiated mode flag;

an indication that a remote support provider will not take action on the report based on an instant user-initiated mode status;

an indication that notification of the report will not be initiated to a specified remote support system.