Asset Map Interface for Centralized IT Relationship Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current products lack a centralized asset management and mapping tool for networked information technology infrastructure, failing to provide health and readiness of assets, asset-to-asset relationships, asset issue tracking, and asset incident and configuration change history with a robust interface, leading to inefficient issue resolution and unsustainable data management.
Innovation Solution
An interface for an automated framework that maps relationships between hardware and software assets using a linking algorithm applied to standardized data from answer files, validated by logging events, and displayed through a web application, enabling data visualization and configuration changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a centralized asset management and mapping tool is implemented, then asset relationship tracking and issue resolution efficiency are improved, but system complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments asset management into distinct functional modules: asset discovery agents that collect data from individual assets, a correlation engine that processes relationships, a configuration management database that stores structured information, and a user interface that displays asset maps. This modular segmentation reduces implementation complexity while maintaining comprehensive asset tracking capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a configuration management database as an intermediary layer between asset discovery agents and the user interface. This database standardizes and structures asset information, acting as a mediator that simplifies data processing and relationship mapping, thereby improving issue resolution efficiency without proportionally increasing system complexity.
2Reliability
If comprehensive asset relationship mapping is implemented, then blast radius analysis and impact assessment are improved, but data management complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The correlation engine is designed as a universal component that handles multiple types of asset relationships (hardware-software dependencies, network connections, data flows) through a single standardized processing framework. This multi-functional approach enables comprehensive blast radius analysis without requiring separate complex systems for each relationship type.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms unstructured asset data into standardized parameters and structured relationships within the configuration management database. By changing the parameter representation of asset information (from raw data to structured relationships), the system enables efficient blast radius calculation and impact assessment while reducing data management complexity.
3Measurement precision
If automated data collection and validation from multiple assets is implemented, then data accuracy and completeness are improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
Asset discovery agents continuously pre-collect and pre-validate asset information in the background, maintaining updated asset data before queries are initiated. This preliminary action ensures data accuracy is already established, reducing the time required for actual asset relationship queries and blast radius analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service mechanisms where asset discovery agents autonomously collect, validate, and structure their own data according to predefined schemas. This self-service approach eliminates manual data verification steps, improving data accuracy while reducing overall processing time through automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprising performing, by at least one processor, operations including: sending a query including an identifier for an asset; receiving a data structure for the asset, wherein the data structure includes a determined relationship between the asset and other hardware and software assets; rendering the data structure into a format for display; and displaying the rendered data structure.