Interconnected landscape graphical interface generator

• US 9,231,830 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2012
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Fabiano, Serge
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): VARGA, WILSON V
• Application Number:
  US13/481,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20130318452A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,320 Days
• Field of Search: 715/734, 715/736, 715/762
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

A system and method include obtaining a landscape description document identifying resource elements and their connections in a computing infrastructure. The resource elements are converted into landscape user interface graphical representations of the elements. An interconnected landscape interface is generated using the graphical representations and connection information from the landscape description document.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a landscape description document on a mobile device, the landscape description document identifying resource elements and their connections in a computing infrastructure, wherein the landscape description document is provided to a server by a server client device and is provided by the server to the mobile device, and wherein the landscape description document is representative of a computing infrastructure of the server client device;

converting the resource elements on the mobile device into landscape user interface graphical representations of the elements; and

generating an interconnected landscape interface on the mobile device using the graphical representations and connection information from the landscape description document, wherein the interconnected landscape interface includes landscape user interface graphical representations of a first resource element including a label describing the first resource element, a graphical representation of a first connector pointing to a graphical representation of a second resource element including a label describing the second resource element, on which the first resource element runs, the first connector graphical representation labeled to describe an installed on relationship between the first resource element and the second resource element, wherein the labels are derived from the landscape description document, wherein converting the resource elements into graphical landscape user interface graphical representations includes retrieving geometric shaped landscape skins from a library of skins correlated to types of resource elements identified in the landscape description document, the method further comprising generating a graphical representation of a second connector between the first resource element and a graphical representation of a third resource element including a label describing the third resource element, the graphical representation of the second connector labeled to describe that the first resource element uses the third resource element, and wherein the graphical representations in the landscape are linked to further graphical representations to provide an interactive graphical interface to the computing infrastructure such that selection of a graphical representation pops up a display of additional information about the corresponding resource element derived from the landscape description document.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the landscape description document is an extended markup language (XML) document obtained from a remote server, and representative of the computing infrastructure comprising a mobile device originally obtained from the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical representations include two dimensional representations giving the appearance of three dimensional objects.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the graphical representations include a host and a database.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the graphical representations include a system and a network device.

6. A system comprising:

an input device to receive a landscape description document identifying resource elements and their connections in a computing infrastructure, wherein the resource elements include hardware elements and software elements of the computing infrastructure, wherein the landscape description document is provided to a server by a server client device and is provided by the server to the input device, and wherein the landscape description document is representative of a computing infrastructure of the server client device;

a library of geometric shaped landscape skins correlated to types of resource elements identified in the landscape description document, wherein the landscape skins are graphical representations of the types of resource elements; and

a renderer to generate an interconnected landscape interface using the graphical representations and connection information from the landscape description document, wherein the computing infrastructure comprises a computer system having multiple resource elements, each resource element represented by a landscape skin that includes a label derived from the landscape description document, including a landscape skin for a host and a landscape skin for a database resource element, and connectors including labels specifying a relationship between resource elements, including an installed on relationship wherein the relationship labels are derived from the landscape description document, and wherein the graphical representations in the landscape are linked to further graphical representations to provide an interactive graphical interface to the computing infrastructure such that selection of a graphical representation pops up a display of additional information about the corresponding resource element derived from the landscape description document.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the renderer further provides labels on the landscape skins derived from the landscape description document, wherein the landscape skins are three dimensional geometric representations of the resource elements.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the landscape description document is an extended markup language (XML) document.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the graphical representations include a system, and a network device.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage device having instructions stored thereon to cause a machine to implement a method, the method comprising:

obtaining a landscape description document on a mobile device, the landscape description document identifying resource elements and their connections in a computing infrastructure, wherein the resource elements include hardware elements and software elements of the computing infrastructure, and wherein the landscape description document is provided to a server by a server client device and is provided by the server to the mobile device, and wherein the landscape description document is representative of a computing infrastructure of the server client device;

converting the resource elements on the mobile device into landscape user interface graphical representations of the elements; and

generating an interconnected landscape interface on a display of the mobile device using the graphical representations and connection information from the landscape description document, wherein the interconnected landscape interface includes a landscape user interface graphical representation of a first resource element including a label describing the first resource element, a graphical representation of a first connector pointing to a graphical representation of a second resource element including a label describing the second resource element, on which the first resource element runs, the first connector graphical representation labeled to describe an installed on relationship between the first resource element and the second resource element wherein the installed on relationship labels are derived from the landscape description document, and wherein converting the resource elements into graphical landscape user interface graphical representations includes retrieving geometric shaped landscape skins from a library of skins correlated to types of resource elements identified in the landscape description document, the method further comprising generating a graphical representation of a second connector between the first resource element and a graphical representation of a third resource element including a label describing the third resource element, the graphical representation of the second connector labeled to describe that the first resource element uses the third resource element, and wherein the graphical representations in the landscape are linked to further graphical representations to provide an interactive graphical interface to the computing infrastructure such that selection of a graphical representation pops up a display of additional information about the corresponding resource element derived from the landscape description document.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 10 wherein the landscape description document is an extended markup language (XML) document.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage device of claim 10 wherein the graphical representations include a host, a database, a system, and a network device.