Verification support method, verification supporting device, and storage medium

• US 9,811,357 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2015
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Watanabe, Yukihiro, Otsuka, Hiroshi, Matsumoto, Yasuhide
• Primary Examiner(s): Henderson, Esther B
• Application Number:
  US14/627,476
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

A verification support method includes generating, every time a setting change of a certain computer among a plurality of computers is executed, a configuration change information item that includes one or more setting change information items indicating a content of the setting change of the certain computer and a content of a setting change to be made by a computer other than the certain computer in response to the setting change of the certain computer; calculating a co-occurrence probability for each of combinations of setting change items extracted from a plurality of setting change items included in a plurality of generated configuration change information items; extracting a second setting change item of which a co-occurrence probability when the first setting change item is changed is equal to or larger than a first threshold when information of a first setting change item is received; and outputting the second setting change item.

Claims

1. A verification support method executed by a processor included in a verification supporting device coupled to a system including a plurality of computers, the verification supporting device being configured to support a change in a setting of software to be executed by any of the plurality of computers, the verification support method comprising:

generating, every time a setting change of a certain computer among the plurality of computers is executed, a configuration change information that includes a setting change item changed by the certain computer and one or more setting change items changed by one or more computers which are different from the certain computer in response to the setting change of the certain computer;

calculating, for each of all combinations of two setting change items extracted from the generated configuration change information, a co-occurrence probability indicating a value of a probability of changing a setting change item among the two setting change items when another setting change item among the two setting change items is changed;

extracting a second setting change item of which a co-occurrence probability when the first setting change item is changed is equal to or larger than a first threshold, from the plurality of configuration change information, when information of a first setting change item is received from any of the plurality of computers; and

outputting the extracted second setting change item.

2. The verification support method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an instruction to update information registered in the verification supporting device from the interested computer, every time a setting change of any of the plurality of computers is executed; and

associating a setting change item among setting change items of which co-occurrence probability are equal to or larger than the first threshold with the first setting change item, the setting change item being not included in configuration change information items changed between a timing of a previous reception of the instruction and a timing of the receiving.

3. The verification support method according to claim 1, wherein the generating includes:

receiving a configuration information item from a certain computer among the plurality of computers when a setting change of the certain computer is executed;

generating a setting change information item corresponding to the setting change of the certain computer based on the received configuration information item and a configuration information item before the setting change of the certain computer which is stored in a memory included in the verification supporting device.

4. The verification support method according to claim 1, wherein each of the one or more setting change information items includes:

a type of a setting change;

a computer that is among the plurality of computers and is to be changed;

the setting change item; and

information stored in the setting change item and representing setting values before and after the setting change.

5. The verification support method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating of the co-occurrence probability includes:

counting, for combinations of the setting change items, the numbers of times when the combinations appear in the plurality of configuration change information items; and

calculating an appearance probability by dividing the counted numbers by the number of the configuration change information items.

6. The verification support method according to claim 1, further comprising:

calculating an appearance probability indicating a probability at which a setting change is executed, for the plurality of setting change items included in the plurality of configuration change information items; and

outputting the first setting change item when an appearance probability of the first setting change item is equal to or smaller than a second threshold.

7. The verification support method according to claim 5, wherein the calculating of the appearance probability includes:

counting, for the plurality of setting change items, numbers of times when the combinations appear in the plurality of the configuration change information items; and

calculating the appearance probability by dividing the counted numbers by the number of the configuration change information items.

8. The verification support method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing a co-occurrence probability indicating a relation between devices of a pair of setting change items of which a co-occurrence probability is equal to or larger than the first threshold.

9. The verification support method according to claim 1,

wherein the outputting includes displaying the extracted second setting change item on a display.

12. The verification support method according to claim 1,

wherein the calculating includes dividing times of appearance of the setting change item in the configuration change information by times of appearance of the another setting change item in the configuration change information.

13. The verification support method according to claim 4,

wherein the type of the setting change includes added, modified and deleted.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a verification supporting device to execute a process, the verification supporting device being coupled to a system including a plurality of computers and configured to support a change in a setting of software to be executed by any of the plurality of computers, the process comprising:

generating, every time a setting change of a certain computer among the plurality of computers is executed, a configuration change information that includes a setting change item changed by the certain computer and one or more setting change items changed by one or more computers which are different from the certain computer in response to the setting change of the certain computer;

calculating, for each of all combinations of two setting change items extracted from the generated configuration change information, a co-occurrence probability indicating a value of a probability of changing a setting change item among the two setting change items when another setting change item among the two setting change items is changed;

extracting a second setting change item of which a co-occurrence probability when the first setting change item is changed is equal to or larger than a first threshold, from the plurality of configuration change information items, when information of a first setting change item is received from any of the plurality of computers; and

outputting the extracted second setting change item.

11. A verification supporting device coupled to a system including a plurality of computers and is configured to support a change in a setting of software to be executed by any of the plurality of computers, the verification supporting device comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

generate, every time a setting change of a certain computer among the plurality of computers is executed, a configuration change information item that includes a setting change item changed by the certain computer and one or more setting change items changed by one or more computers which are different from the certain computer in response to the setting change of the certain computer;

calculate, for each of all combinations of two setting change items extracted from the generated configuration change information, a co-occurrence probability indicating a value of a probability of changing a setting change item among the two setting change items when another setting change item among the two setting change items is changed;

extract a second setting change item of which a co-occurrence probability when the first setting change item is changed is equal to or larger than a first threshold, from the plurality of configuration change information, when information of a first setting change item is received from any of the plurality of computers; and

output the extracted second setting change item.