Correlated Error Log Administration in Redundant Node Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for debugging communications failures in computer systems are inefficient due to the manual parsing and correlation of disparate error logs, which lack timestamps and often require manual arrangement, making it time-consuming and inexact to identify distinct failures.
Innovation Solution
A system controller and redundant node controllers use unique identifiers for error logs, detecting communications failures and generating corresponding error logs, which are then correlated using a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) to facilitate automated logging and debugging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual parsing and arrangement of error logs is used, then error logs can be analyzed, but the process is time-consuming and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically collecting, timestamping, and correlating error logs from multiple devices before analysis is needed. The correlation process is pre-computed and stored, so when debugging is required, the work is already done, eliminating manual parsing and arrangement time
Solution Approach 2:
A centralized server acts as an intermediary between multiple devices and the system administrator. This server automatically collects error logs from various devices, correlates them using timestamps and device identifiers, and presents the correlated data to administrators, eliminating the need for manual log gathering and correlation
2Loss of information
If error logs from multiple devices are collected, then comprehensive failure information is obtained, but correlating logs to specific failures becomes complex and inexact
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters of error logs by adding standardized timestamps and device identifiers to each log entry. These standardized parameters enable automatic correlation algorithms to group logs from multiple devices that correspond to the same failure event, transforming uncorrelated raw data into structured, analyzable information without manual intervention
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized server serves as an intermediary that receives error logs from multiple devices, applies correlation algorithms based on timestamps and device identifiers, and outputs correlated failure information. This intermediary handles the complexity of multi-device log correlation, presenting simplified results to administrators
3Ease of manufacture
If error logs lack timestamps, then logging is simpler, but arranging logs in chronological order becomes manual and imprecise
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by automatically adding precise timestamps to error logs at the moment they are generated on each device. This preliminary timestamping eliminates the need for manual chronological arrangement later, as the temporal information is already embedded in the log data itself
Data Source
AI summary
Administering correlated error logs in a computer system having a system controller and one or more redundant node controllers including providing by the system controller to a redundant node controller a unique identifier for error logs; detecting by the system controller a communications failure between the system controller and the redundant node controller; in response to detecting the communications failure, generating by the system controller a system controller error log for the communications failure including the unique identifier; detecting by the redundant node controller the communications failure between the system controller and the redundant node controller; and in response to detecting the communications failure, generating by the redundant node controller a redundant node controller error log for the communications failure including the unique identifier.