Anomaly Detection for IT Configuration Parameters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Complexity in modern IT systems with numerous configuration parameters makes it difficult to detect and resolve issues promptly, leading to potential system failures and economic damage, as existing tools struggle to efficiently analyze and prioritize configuration parameter changes.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that employs an agent application to collect and analyze configuration parameters, applying anomaly routines such as data type, relative difference, benchmark, delta, consistency, and policy violation checks to identify and prioritize potential issues, with aggregated scores helping administrators pinpoint problematic parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple servers and databases are installed to service numerous computers, then the computational needs of the company are met, but the complexity of the IT system increases and becomes difficult to control and manage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex IT system into individual configuration parameters that can be independently monitored and analyzed. Each configuration parameter is treated as a separate entity with its own anomaly detection routines, allowing the system to manage complexity by breaking down the overall system into manageable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary analysis system that sits between the configuration parameters and the administrator. This intermediary automatically collects, analyzes, and prioritizes configuration parameter changes, reducing the direct burden on administrators to manage complex IT systems manually.
2Reliability
If configuration parameters are manually monitored and analyzed, then system administrators can detect issues, but the time required to analyze hundreds or thousands of configuration items increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service through automated anomaly detection routines that automatically analyze configuration parameters without human intervention. The system collects configuration data, applies detection routines, identifies anomalies, and prioritizes issues automatically, eliminating the need for manual analysis of each configuration item.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual analysis process with an automated computational system. Instead of administrators manually reviewing configuration parameters, the system uses computer-based anomaly detection routines to automatically identify and prioritize issues, dramatically reducing analysis time.
3Productivity
If configuration changes are deployed to improve performance, then system efficiency increases, but the risk of introducing bugs and system failures also increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor configuration parameters and provide information about anomalies and potential issues. This feedback loop allows the system to detect problems introduced by configuration changes and alert administrators before they cause system failures, maintaining both performance improvements and system reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by detecting and flagging potential anomalies in configuration parameters before they can cause system failures. The anomaly detection routines identify suspicious changes in advance, allowing administrators to take corrective action before the configuration changes lead to bugs or system failures.
4Loss of information
If existing monitoring products collect and store all configuration items in a database, then complete configuration tracking is achieved, but the ability to efficiently detect and prioritize the source of problems decreases due to the volume of data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different types of anomaly detection routines tailored to specific configuration parameter types and anomaly patterns. Instead of applying a uniform analysis approach to all configuration data, the system uses specialized detection routines for different local contexts, improving the efficiency and accuracy of problem detection in specific areas of the configuration space.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for analyzing and prioritizing configuration parameters in an information technology system, including collecting configuration parameters from computer stations connected in a network implementing the information technology system, storing the collected configuration parameters in a database, analyzing the configuration parameters by a set of anomaly routines, wherein each anomaly routine checks for a specific type of anomaly and provides a score representing a level of conformity of the value of the configuration parameters to the anomaly, aggregating the anomaly scores; and outputting a list of configuration parameters with an aggregated anomaly score.