Method and system for managing computer systems

• US 9,020,877 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2012
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: IpVenture, Inc.
• Original Assignee: IpVenture, Inc.
• Inventors: Das, Saumitra, Sokolov, Stepan, Chiu, Bill Yuan-Chi
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUSS, BENJAMIN J
• Application Number:
  US13/662,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20130054507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 911 Days
• Field of Search: 706 45- 48, 706 50- 51, 706 59- 61, 714/18, 714/26, 714/31, 714/48, 714/E11.025
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3604 Software analysis for verifying properties of programs byte-code verification G06F9/44589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3612 by runtime analysis performance monitoring G06F11/3466
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/00 Computing arrangements using knowledge-based models
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/025 Extracting rules from data
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/043 Distributed expert systems; Blackboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/046 Forward inferencing; Production systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/16 using machine learning or artificial intelligence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

A management system for a computer system is disclosed. The computer system operates or includes various products (e.g., software products) that can be managed in a management system or collectively by a group of management systems. Typically, the management system operates on a computer separate from the computer system being managed. The management system can make use of a knowledge base of causing symptoms for previously observed problems at other sites or computer systems. In other words, the knowledge base can built from and shared by different users across different products to leverage knowledge that is otherwise disparate. The knowledge base typically grows over time. The management system can use its ability to request information from the computer system being managed together with the knowledge base to infer a problem root cause in the computer system being managed. The computer system being managed can also request the management system to process its knowledge base for possible problem cause analysis. The management system can also continually identify persisting problem causing symptoms.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for managing an enterprise computer system, the enterprise computer system being configured to operate a plurality of different software products, said method comprising:

receiving a fact pertaining to a condition of at least one of the plurality of different software products that are operating in the enterprise computer system;

asserting the fact to an inference engine, the inference engine using rules based on facts, the rules are obtained from a knowledge base that stores the rules as well as resources associated with the plurality of different software programs;

retrieving at least one updated fact from the inference engine based on at least one rule from those of the rules stored in the knowledge base that are dependent on the fact that has been asserted; and

performing an action in view of the at least one updated fact,

wherein said method is able to diagnose a root cause of a software problem at the enterprise computer system due to at least one of the plurality of different software programs operating at the enterprise computer system, using the inference engine and the at least one rule from the knowledge base, and

wherein different rules added to the knowledge base are able to be automatically related to one another through commonality of resources used by such rules.

2. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the action includes a debug action, and wherein the debug action further asserts at least one fact with respect to the inference engine.

3. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method comprises:

obtaining resource information from the different products to process rules based on at least one fact already asserted.

4. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the different rules being added to the knowledge base is described by a user via a graphical user interface.

5. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 4, wherein the at least one of the different rules being added to the knowledge base is dependent on conditions of more than one of the plurality of different software programs.

6. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method further comprises:

making a log entry.

9. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method comprises:

making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to at least the fact that has been asserted, and

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one updated fact.

10. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 9, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the action being performed.

11. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 9, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one rule.

12. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 11, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the firing of the at least one rule and the resources associated with one or more of the plurality of different software programs.

13. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 9, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to debug data.

14. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method comprises:

making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to debug data.

15. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method comprises:

making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the action being performed.

16. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 15, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the firing of the at least one rule and the resources associated with one or more of the plurality of different software programs.

17. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 15,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one rule,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to at least the fact that has been asserted, and

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one updated fact.

7. A computer-implemented method as recited in clam 6, wherein said method further comprises:

retrieving log data from the log entry; and

generating a report from the log data.

8. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 7, wherein said method further comprises:

determining a report delivery method; and

delivering the report using the determined report delivery method.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including at least computer program code stored therein for managing an enterprise computer system, the enterprise computer system being configured to operate a plurality of different software products, said computer-readable medium comprising:

computer program code for receiving a fact pertaining to a condition of at least one of the plurality of different software products that are operating in the enterprise computer system;

computer program code for asserting the fact to an inference engine, the inference engine using rules based on facts, the rules are obtained from a knowledge base that stores the rules as well as resources associated with the plurality of different software programs;

computer program code for retrieving at least one updated fact from the inference engine based on at least one rule from those of the rules stored in the knowledge base that are dependent on the fact that has been asserted;

computer program code for initiating an action in view of the at least one updated fact; and

computer program code for diagnosing a root cause of a software problem at the enterprise computer system due to at least one of the plurality of different software programs operating at the enterprise computer system, using the inference engine and the at least one rule from the knowledge base, and

wherein different rules added to the knowledge base are able to be automatically related to one another through commonality of resources used by such rules.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein the action includes a debug action, and wherein the debug action further asserts at least one fact with respect to the inference engine.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein said computer-readable medium comprises:

computer program code for obtaining resource information from the different products to process rules based on at least one fact already asserted.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein at least one of the different rules being added to the knowledge base is described by a user via a graphical user interface.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the at least one of the different rules being added to the knowledge base is dependent on conditions of more than one of the plurality of different software programs.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein said computer readable medium comprises:

computer program code for making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to at least the fact that has been asserted, and

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one updated fact.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the action being performed.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one rule.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 25, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the firing of the at least one rule and the resources associated with one or more of the plurality of different software programs.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 23, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to debug data.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein said method comprises:

computer program code for making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to debug data.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 18, wherein said method comprises:

making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the action being performed.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 29, wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the firing of the at least one rule and the resources associated with one or more of the plurality of different software programs.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 29,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one rule,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to at least the fact that has been asserted, and

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one updated fact.

32. A computer system, comprising:

one or more processing units configured to operate a plurality of different software products;

a management system including at least an inference engine and a knowledge base; and

one or more storage devices that store computer program code associated with the management system,

wherein the stored computer program code comprises;

computer program code for receiving a fact pertaining to a condition of at least one of the plurality of different software products that are operating in the computer system;

computer program code for asserting the fact to the inference engine, the inference engine using rules based on facts, the rules are obtained from the knowledge base that stores the rules as well as resources associated with the plurality of different software programs;

computer program code for retrieving at least one updated fact from the inference engine based on at least one rule from those of the rules stored in the knowledge base that are dependent on the fact that has been asserted;

computer program code for initiating an action in view of the at least one updated fact; and

computer program code for diagnosing a root cause of a software problem at the computer system due to at least one of the plurality of different software programs operating at the computer system, using the inference engine and the at least one rule from the knowledge base, and

wherein different rules added to the knowledge base are able to be automatically related to one another through commonality of resources used by such rules.

33. A computer system as recited in claim 32, wherein the action includes a debug action, and wherein the debug action further asserts at least one fact with respect to the inference engine.

34. A computer system as recited in claim 32, wherein the at least one of the different rules being added to the knowledge base is dependent on conditions of more than one of the plurality of different software programs.

35. A computer system as recited in claim 34, wherein the stored computer program code comprises:

computer program code for making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to at least the fact that has been asserted, and

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one updated fact.

36. A computer system as recited in claim 35,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one rule, and

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the firing of the at least one rule and the resources associated with one or more of the plurality of different software programs.

37. A computer system as recited in claim 34, wherein at least one of the different rules being added to the knowledge base is described by a user via a graphical user interface.

38. A computer system as recited in claim 34, wherein the stored computer program code comprises:

computer program code for obtaining resource information from the different products to process rules based on at least one fact already asserted.

39. A computer system as recited in claim 32, wherein the stored computer program code comprises:

computer program code for making log entries to store log data in a log,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to debug data and/or the action being performed.

40. A computer system as recited in claim 39,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one rule,

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to at least the fact that has been asserted, and

wherein at least one of the log entries pertains to the at least one updated fact.