Hierarchical Entity Discovery in Managed Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enterprise management systems face challenges in managing and representing the state and status of numerous components and their relationships, as the list of managed components grows and changes constantly, making it difficult to discover, manage, and update these elements effectively.
Innovation Solution
A management system that uses agents on servers to generate discovery data based on defined rules, with a management server transmitting these rules and receiving data, and a user interface enabling the definition and presentation of discovery data, allowing for the management of entities at a service or group level rather than a computer-by-computer level.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the list of managed components grows and changes constantly, then the system can manage more enterprise elements, but it becomes increasingly difficult to manage and represent the state and status of each component
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the management system into multiple hierarchical levels: enterprise level, site level, and computer level. Each level manages specific types of components and relationships, breaking down the overwhelming complexity of managing all components individually. The discovery rules are also segmented into different types (computer discovery rules, entity discovery rules, relationship discovery rules) that operate at different levels of the hierarchy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimensional approach by managing components at multiple hierarchical levels rather than a single flat level. The system transitions from managing components individually to managing them in grouped hierarchies (enterprise > site > computer), adding organizational dimensions that reduce complexity. This dimensional change allows the system to handle growing numbers of components without proportionally increasing management difficulty.
2Ease of operation
If the system manages components individually at a computer-by-computer level, then detailed control is achieved, but the complexity of managing and representing relationships increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments relationship management into distinct relationship types (parent-child, member-of, connected-to, etc.) and assigns them to specific discovery rules. Each relationship type is managed independently through dedicated discovery rules, making the complex web of relationships more manageable and easier to represent without overwhelming the system operator.
3Loss of information
If discovery rules are executed to gather data about entities, then comprehensive discovery data is obtained, but the processing and representation of this data becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments discovery data processing by creating separate processing paths for different data types: computer discovery data, entity discovery data, and relationship discovery data. Each type is processed and represented according to its specific characteristics, reducing the overall complexity compared to processing all discovery data uniformly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the representation of discovery data by organizing it in multiple hierarchical dimensions. Instead of flat data structures, the system uses hierarchical representations that reflect the enterprise-site-computer hierarchy and entity relationships, making the data more manageable and easier to process at appropriate levels of abstraction.
Data Source
AI summary
Discovery, maintenance, and representation of entities in a managed system environment are described. Apparatus described herein includes one or more agents that run on respective serves that are managed within a management system, and that generate discovery data in response to a discovery rule. The apparatus also includes a management server that is adapted to transmit the discovery rules for execution by the agent, and to receive the discovery data from the agent. Methods described herein include defining the rules for discovering data about an entity on the server, and receiving the discovery data in response to the rule being executed in an environment in which the entity is deployed. Several types of user interfaces for presenting the discovery data are also disclosed.