Systems and methods for classifying and analyzing runtime events

• US 9,454,412 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2014
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Benefitfocus.com, Inc. (Benefitfocus, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Benefitfocus.com, Inc. (Benefitfocus, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rosier, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Truong, Lechi
• Assistant Examiner(s): SEYE, ABDOU K
• Application Number:
  US14/506,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20160098304A1
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/30 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/321 Display for diagnostics, e.g. diagnostic result display, self-test user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/40 Data acquisition and logging for input to computer G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A system may be able classify events that occur during the runtime of applications (e.g., exceptions). The system may receive an indication of the event and may classify the event based on a comparison with elements of a classification data structure. The classification data structure may be a hierarchical data structure, and child elements may inherit characteristics from parent elements. Based on the classification, the system may perform one or more actions, which may be specified by the elements of the data structure. For example, the system may provide notifications to administrators and/or user, may attempt to recover from the event, and/or the like. Each event may be associated with a unique identifier so the user can more easily identify the event to support personnel. The system may include analysis tools to assist administrators in tracking events and identifying which events are most important.

Claims

1. A system for classifying runtime events, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing instructions which when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

receive an indication of an event and one or more characteristics of the event, wherein the event occurs during a runtime of an application and wherein the one or more characteristics include context for the event;

compare the one or more characteristics of the event with characteristics of a plurality of previously classified events by traversing a predefined hierarchical data structure comprising the characteristics of the plurality of previously classified events, wherein each set of characteristics corresponding to one of the plurality of previously classified events is a data entry;

assign a classification to the event based on the comparison;

identifying a tag associated with the number of events previously classified similarly to the classification; and

perform an action within the system, at the time of the event, based on the tag associated with the classification of the event.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the event comprises an exception.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein a hierarchy comprises the plurality of previously classified events, and wherein the instructions cause the processor to classify the event by traversing the hierarchy according to the one or more characteristics.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the instructions cause the processor to create a new entry in the hierarchy in response to determining the event does not match a previously classified event.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the instructions cause the processor to determine which characteristics to save to the new entry based on the kind of event.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the processor to assign a unique identifier to the event, and display the unique identifier to a user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more characteristics includes a type and a value, and wherein user access to view a characteristic is determined based on the type.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the processor to receive an indication of a second event, determine the second event is intentional, and ignore the second event without classifying it.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the processor to receive a user request to reclassify the event.

10. A method of classifying runtime events, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of an event and one or more characteristics of the event, wherein the event occurs during a runtime of an application and wherein the one or more characteristics include context for the event;

comparing the one or more characteristics of the event with characteristics of a plurality of classification elements by traversing a predefined hierarchical data structure comprising the characteristics of the plurality of classification elements, wherein each set of characteristics corresponding to one of the plurality of classification elements is a data entry;

assigning a classification to the event based on the comparison; and

identifying a tag associated with the number of events previously classified similarly to the classification

performing an action within the system, at the time of the event, based on the tag associated with the classification of the event.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a tree structure comprises the plurality of previously classified events, and wherein comparing the one or more characteristics of the event with the characteristics of the plurality of classification elements comprises searching the tree structure for a matching classification element.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein classifying the event comprises creating a new entry in the tree structure in response to determining the event does not match any of the plurality of classification elements.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein classifying the event comprises determining which characteristics to save to the new entry for classifying future events.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising performing an action in response to the event based on the classification of the event.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein further comprising determining which action to perform based on one or more tags and/or notes associated with the classification element.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising notifying an event context that the event has been fully processed.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising assigning a unique identifier to the event, and instructing the application to display the unique identifier to a user.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program code configured to cause a processor to perform a method of classifying runtime events, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of an event associated with an application and one or more characteristics of the event, wherein the one or more characteristics include context for the event;

classifying the event based on a comparison with a classification data structure by traversing the classification data structure comprising characteristics of a plurality of classification elements, wherein each set of characteristics corresponding to one of the plurality of classification elements is a data entry;

identify a tag associated with one or more classification elements classified similarly to a classification of the event; and

performing an action indicated by the classification data structure via the tag associated with the classification data structure at the time of the event.