Graphical user interface for displaying information related to a virtual machine network

• US 9,319,288 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2014
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Somaiya, Manasvi, Liu, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): ABDUL-ALI, OMAR R
• Application Number:
  US14/179,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20150229546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 797 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/07 Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/301 where the computing system is a virtual computing platform, e.g. logically partitioned systems virtual machines G06F9/45533; logical partitioning of resources G06F9/5077
• 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 11/327 Alarm or error message display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/328 Computer systems status display G06F11/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• 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 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0823 Errors, e.g. transmission errors
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A graphical user interface for displaying information related to a virtual machine network is disclosed. In an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by a computer, enable a graphical user interface to be displayed. The graphical user interface displays information related to a virtual machine network and includes a chart having error indicators organized in rows and columns, wherein an error indicator corresponds to an entity in the virtual machine network at a time and indicates a state of the entity at that time.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, enable a graphical user interface to be displayed, wherein the graphical user interface displays information related to a virtual machine network, the graphical user interface comprising:

a chart comprising error indicators organized in rows and columns, wherein an error indicator corresponds to an entity in the virtual machine network at a time and indicates a state of the entity at that time; and

a zoom navigator window that indicates a portion of error indicators displayed in the chart, wherein the portion of error indicators is part of a set of error indicators corresponding to error indicators within a defined scope.

2. The graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein error indicators are color-coded to indicate the state of corresponding network entities based on log data entries in a log file.

3. The graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein an error indicator corresponding to an entity in the virtual machine network includes a number, wherein the number is equal to a number of error log data entries related to that time.

4. The graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein error indicators corresponding to entities in the virtual machine network comprise:

color-coding to indicate the state of a corresponding network entity based on log data entries related to the network entity; and

a number equal to the number of error log data entries related to the network entity at the time.

5. The graphical user interface of claim 4, wherein the error indicator corresponds to at least one of a host and a virtual machine.

6. The graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein the rows represent virtual machines and wherein adjacent rows correspond to virtual machines running on the same host.

7. The graphical user interface of claim 1, further comprising a timeline located along an edge of the chart, the timeline including a time-frame window that corresponds to the scope of log data entries indicated by the error indicators.

8. A computer-implemented method for displaying information related to a virtual machine network, the method comprising:

displaying a chart on a display device, the chart comprising error indicators organized in rows and columns, wherein an error indictor corresponds to an entity in the virtual machine network at a time and indicates a state of the entity at that time; and

displaying a zoom navigator window that indicates a portion of error indicators displayed in the chart, wherein the portion of error indicators is part of a set of error indicators corresponding to error indicators within a defined scope.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein error indicators are color-coded to indicate the state of corresponding network entities based on log data entries in a log file.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein an error indicator corresponding to an entity in the virtual machine network includes a number, wherein the number is equal to a number of error log data entries related to that time.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein error indicators corresponding to entities in the virtual machine network comprise:

color-coding to indicate the state of a corresponding network entity based on log data entries related to the network entity; and

a number equal to the number of error log data entries related to the network entity at the time.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the error indicator corresponds to at least one of a host and a virtual machine.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the rows represent virtual machines and wherein adjacent rows correspond to virtual machines running on the same host.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising displaying a timeline located along an edge of the chart, the timeline including a time-frame window that corresponds to the scope of log data entries indicated by the error indicators.

15. A computer-implemented system for displaying a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface displays information related to a virtual machine network, the graphical user interface comprising:

a chart on a display device, the chart comprising error indicators organized in rows and columns, wherein an error indictor corresponds to an entity in the virtual machine network at a time and wherein an error indicator indicates a state of the entity at that time; and

a zoom navigator window that indicates a portion of error indicators displayed in the chart, wherein the portion of error indicators is part of a set of error indicators corresponding to error indicators within a defined scope.

16. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, wherein error indicators are color-coded to indicate the state of corresponding network entities based on log data entries in a log file.

17. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, wherein an error indicator corresponding to an entity in the virtual machine network includes a number, wherein the number is equal to a number of error log data entries related to that time.

18. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, wherein error indicators corresponding to entities in the virtual machine network comprise:

color-coding to indicate the state of a corresponding network entity based on log data entries related to the network entity; and

a number equal to the number of error log data entries related to the network entity at the time.

19. The computer-implemented system of claim 18, wherein the error indicator corresponds to at least one of a host and a virtual machine.

20. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, wherein the rows represent virtual machines and wherein adjacent rows correspond to virtual machines running on the same host.

21. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, further comprising a timeline located along an edge of the chart, the timeline including a time-frame window that corresponds to the scope of log data entries indicated by the error indicators.