Discovery Payload Comparison for CMDB Debugging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current discovery systems in computer networks lack a simple and unified way to examine and manage discovery information, making it difficult to determine the root cause of incomplete or inaccurate information stored in configuration management databases (CMDBs).
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves capturing, reviewing, and comparing discovery information through an initial discovery payload, which is processed into an input payload using scripts and an identification and reconciliation engine (IRE), allowing for the creation of an output payload that logs actions taken on configuration items and relationships, facilitating the determination of updates to the CMDB and aiding in debugging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If discovery information is processed through multiple transformation steps (initial payload to input payload to output payload), then the ability to update CMDB is improved, but the complexity of examining and debugging discovery information worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and storing the initial discovery payload before any transformations occur. This allows examiners to view the raw discovery information at its source state, before scripts and IRE processes modify it. The capability to examine this preliminary state resolves the contradiction by providing visibility into the original data without requiring users to work through the complex transformation pipeline.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of discovery information at different stages of processing (initial payload, input payload, output payload). These copies are stored and made accessible for examination. By copying the data at each stage rather than requiring users to trace through transformations, the system maintains CMDB update reliability while eliminating the complexity of debugging discovery information flow.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If discovery failures occur and need to be debugged, then identifying root cause is necessary, but current tools make this process unduly burdensome
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by providing examiners with direct access to discovery payloads at all processing stages through a user interface. When a discovery failure occurs, users can immediately examine the initial payload, input payload, and output payload to trace where the error originated. This feedback mechanism eliminates the time-consuming process of rerunning discovery and manually analyzing logs, directly addressing both the difficulty and time associated with root cause identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-capturing and storing discovery payloads before failures occur. These payloads are retained and made accessible for later examination, allowing users to analyze failure causes without needing to reproduce the failure conditions or rerun the entire discovery process. This dramatically reduces both the difficulty and time required for debugging.
3Ease of operation
If users want to examine discovery information at different processing stages, then understanding discovery process is improved, but the lack of unified interface makes this difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies universality by providing a single user interface that serves multiple functions: examining initial payloads, viewing input payloads, reviewing output payloads, and comparing them across processing stages. This unified interface eliminates the need for separate tools or complex navigation to access different payload types, directly improving ease of operation without adding interface complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the examination capabilities for different payload types into a single unified interface. Instead of requiring separate access points for initial payloads, input payloads, and output payloads, the interface combines all these functions, allowing users to examine and compare discovery information at any processing stage through one consistent access point. This resolves the contradiction by improving ease of operation while maintaining simple interface design.
Data Source
AI summary
Persistent storage may contain an input discovery payload that contains entries representing configuration items and relationships therebetween, wherein the configuration items contain attributes defining devices, components, or applications on a network. One or more processors may be configured to: provide, for display, a graphical user interface containing a representation of the input discovery payload and a button; provide the input discovery payload to an identification and reconciliation engine (IRE) software application; receive, from the IRE software application, an output discovery payload that includes a log generated from execution of the IRE software application on the input discovery payload, wherein the log indicates, for the configuration items and the relationships in the input discovery payload, how a configuration management database (CMDB) would be updated by the IRE software application; and provide, for display, a further graphical user interface containing a further representation of the output discovery payload.