Mapping key performance indicators derived from machine data to dashboard templates

• US 9,596,146 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2016
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Splunk Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Splunk Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Coates, John Robert, Malviya, Poorva, Bingham, Brian John
• Primary Examiner(s): BURKE, JEFF A
• Application Number:
  US15/012,817
• Publication Number:
  US 20160147380A1
• Time in Patent Office: 407 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/321 Display for diagnostics, e.g. diagnostic result display, self-test user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/34 Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24542 Plan optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/334 Query execution G06F16/335 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/903 Querying for retrieval from the web G06F16/953
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90335 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 : Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 : Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 : Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 : Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06393 : Score-carding, benchmarking or key performance indicator [KPI] analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 : Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 : involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 : Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 : for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 : comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 : Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5032 : Generating service level reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 : Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 : for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/091 : Measuring contribution of individual network components to actual service level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 : Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/55 : Testing of service level quality, e.g. simulating service usage
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 : Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Raw machine data are captured and organized as events. Entity definitions representing machine entities that perform a service identify the machine data associated with respective entities. KPI search queries each define a KPI. Each KPI search query derives one or more values for the KPI from machine data identified in the entity definitions. A dashboard template having an identifier for the KPI is presented by a graphical interface. The identifier presents at a user-designated location and may be a widget that provides a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI. Embodiments may allow modification of the template.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

causing display of a dashboard template in a graphical interface having an identifier for a KPI at a designated location, the KPI defined by a search query that derives one or more values for the KPI from machine data identified in stored entity definitions for one or more entities that perform a service, the one or more values reflecting a measure of the service;

wherein the KPI and the designated location are based on dashboard specification information in computer storage, the dashboard specification information based at least in part on prior user input;

wherein each stored entity definition identifies machine data generated by or about a corresponding one of the entities, and is associated with a stored service definition for the service;

wherein the machine data is produced by one or more components within an information technology environment and reflects activity within the information technology environment; and

wherein the method is performed by a computer system comprising one or more processors coupled to the computer storage.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the machine data associated with one of the entities comes from more than one source.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the machine data are organized as events each having a segment of raw machine data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the search query is in a format for execution by an event processing system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the machine data associated with a particular one of the entities comes from the particular entity and at least one other source.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the designated location corresponds to dashboard specification information about a graphical interface widget for the KPI, the widget providing a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the designated location corresponds to dashboard specification information about a graphical interface widget for the KPI, the widget providing a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI and having a style indicated in the dashboard specification information.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the designated location corresponds to dashboard specification information about a graphical interface widget for the KPI, the widget providing a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI, and wherein the identifier for the KPI includes the widget.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein causing the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein causing the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information related to a background of the dashboard template.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein causing the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information related to a background of the dashboard template, the background comprising an image.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein causing the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information related to a second KPI.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein causing the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information related to at least one of the designated location and the KPI.

14. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processing device coupled with the memory to;

cause display of a dashboard template in a graphical interface having an identifier for a KPI at a designated location, the KPI defined by a search query that derives one or more values for the KPI from machine data identified in stored entity definitions for one or more entities that perform a service, the one or more values reflecting a measure of the service;

wherein the KPI and the designated location are based on dashboard specification information in computer storage, the dashboard specification information based at least in part on prior user input;

wherein each stored entity definition identifies machine data generated by or about a corresponding one of the entities, and is associated with a stored service definition for the service; and

wherein the machine data is produced by one or more components within an information technology environment and reflects activity within the information technology environment.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the search query is in a format for execution by an event processing system.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the designated location corresponds to dashboard specification information about a graphical interface widget for the KPI, the widget providing a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the designated location corresponds to dashboard specification information about a graphical interface widget for the KPI, the widget providing a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI, and wherein the identifier for the KPI includes the widget.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the machine data associated with a particular one of the entities comes from the particular entity and at least one other source.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein the machine data associated with one of the entities comes from more than one source.

20. The system of claim 14 wherein the machine data are organized as events each having a segment of raw machine data.

21. The system of claim 14 wherein the designated location corresponds to dashboard specification information about a graphical interface widget for the KPI, the widget providing a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI and having a style indicated in the dashboard specification information.

22. The system of claim 14 wherein to cause the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information.

23. The system of claim 14 wherein to cause the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information related to at least one of the designated location and the KPI.

24. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoding instructions thereon that, in response to execution by one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to perform operations comprising:

causing display of a dashboard template in a graphical interface having an identifier for a KPI at a designated location, the KPI defined by a search query that derives one or more values for the KPI from machine data identified in stored entity definitions for one or more entities that perform a service, the one or more values reflecting a measure of the service;

wherein the KPI and the designated location are based on dashboard specification information in computer storage, the dashboard specification information based at least in part on prior user input;

wherein each stored entity definition identifies machine data generated by or about a corresponding one of the entities, and is associated with a stored service definition for the service; and

wherein the machine data is produced by one or more components within an information technology environment and reflects activity within the information technology environment.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein the machine data associated with a particular one of the entities comes from the particular entity and at least one other source.

26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein the machine data associated with one of the entities comes from more than one source.

27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein the machine data are organized as events each having a segment of raw machine data.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein the designated location corresponds to dashboard specification information about a graphical interface widget for the KPI, the widget providing a numerical or graphical representation of one or more values for the KPI and having a style indicated in the dashboard specification information.

29. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein causing the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information.

30. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 24 wherein causing the display further includes enabling user interaction to modify the dashboard specification information related to at least one of the designated location and the KPI.