Automated Monitoring Configuration via Environmental Probes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current monitoring processes for computing environments are subjective and inefficient, often leading to inaccurate or missed critical issues due to lack of insight into upstream and downstream effects, and failure to utilize historical performance data for optimal monitoring configurations.

Innovation Solution

Deploying probes to scan through various layers of the computing environment to identify monitoring requirements, determine necessary monitors, and configure them based on historical performance data, ensuring objective and optimal monitoring settings.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If manual monitoring configuration process is used, then monitoring team can define parameters based on their knowledge, but the process is cumbersome, inefficient, and highly subjective leading to inconsistent monitoring

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemonitoring configuration processVSAvoidmonitoring consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The monitoring system automatically configures itself by deploying probes to scan the computing environment, identify components and their relationships, and determine appropriate monitors and thresholds without human intervention. This self-service approach eliminates the manual configuration process while ensuring consistent, objective monitoring across all components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary automated monitoring configuration system that acts as a mediator between the monitoring team and the computing environment. This intermediary uses probes to gather environmental data and automatically translates it into monitoring configurations, removing the subjectivity and inconsistency of manual configuration while maintaining ease of deployment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If monitoring parameters are subjectively chosen by monitoring team, then configuration can be done quickly, but critical issues may go undetected or false positives result

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemonitoring configuration speedVSAvoidissue detection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary scanning of the computing environment using probes before configuring monitors. This preliminary action identifies all components, their relationships, and performance characteristics in advance, enabling the system to pre-determine appropriate monitors and thresholds that are both rapid to deploy and highly reliable for detecting critical issues.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the automated configuration system continuously monitors environmental performance data and uses this feedback to refine and adjust monitoring parameters. This ensures that monitors are not only quickly configured but also maintain high reliability by adapting to actual system behavior and reducing false positives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of manufacture

If monitoring configuration does not utilize historical performance data, then setup is simpler, but optimal monitoring settings cannot be determined

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemonitoring setup simplicityVSAvoidmonitoring configuration optimality

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary data collection during the configuration phase by deploying probes to scan and gather historical performance data from the computing environment. This preliminary action occurs before final monitor configuration, maintaining setup simplicity while ensuring that optimal monitoring settings are determined based on actual historical performance characteristics of the environment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10999180B2System for defining and implementing performance monitoring requirements for applications and hosted computing environment infrastructure

Publication Date: 2021.05.04 BANK OF AMERICA CORP

AI summary

Object automated determination of monitors associated with a component (i.e., application/software, middleware, hardware or the like) that has yet to be implemented within a computing environment infrastructure. Such a determination of the monitors relies on deploying one or more probes that scan through various, if not all, layers of the computing environment infrastructure, such as the hardware, the network, storage, operating systems, virtual layer, middleware, database, application layer, and/or the application to identify possible monitoring requirements. In this regard, the probes scan the environment to determine downstream services that effect the component and the upstream services effected by the component and the set-up/configurations associated with those services. Once the services and corresponding configurations have been identified, the appropriate monitors can be determined. In addition, automated determination of the monitoring configurations associated with the monitors based at least historical behavior/performance of the same or similar components in the computing environment.