Configurable Smart Navigation for IT Infrastructure Graphs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current IT infrastructure management tools lack the ability to efficiently and intuitively retrieve and render relevant parts of the IT infrastructure stored in Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs), making it difficult for users to navigate and maintain service models, especially when dealing with complex systems like SIEBEL or SAP implementations, due to their inflexibility and requirement for extensive knowledge of low-level technical details.
Innovation Solution
A facility for graphically defining layouts or templates at design-time, associated with specific item types and conditions, which allows users to query related items in the CMDB, enabling administrators to create and maintain service models more efficiently by allowing non-administrative users to explore and expand graphical views based on pre-defined matching patterns and layouts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If current IT infrastructure management tools are used to retrieve and render CMDB data, then the system provides basic graphical display capabilities, but the tools lack flexibility and require extensive knowledge of low-level technical details, making navigation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining multiple layout templates (e.g., physical layout, logical layout, service model layout) and matching patterns at design-time. These templates are stored in a registry and automatically matched to user-selected CIs at runtime, eliminating the need for users to manually configure complex queries or understand low-level CMDB structures. The system proactively prepares navigation options based on anticipated user needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces layout templates as an intermediary layer between the user and the CMDB data structure. Instead of directly querying complex CMDB relationships, users interact with simplified layout templates that automatically translate into appropriate queries. The matching pattern acts as a mediator that selects the appropriate template based on the selected CI type, hiding the underlying complexity from users.
2Adaptability or versatility
If users explore graphical views by selecting items to expand, then the system can show related items, but the process creates clutter and requires extensive knowledge of CMDB structures and technical details
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the layout selection adaptive and context-dependent. When a user selects a CI, the system dynamically determines which layout templates match the selected item type using matching patterns. The system can present multiple matching layouts for the user to choose from, or automatically select the most appropriate one based on user role or context, allowing the interface to adapt to different exploration needs without increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the exploration process into distinct, pre-defined layout types (physical layout, logical layout, service model layout). Each layout type represents a specific aspect of the CI relationships and can be independently selected and configured. This segmentation allows users to explore different dimensions of the IT infrastructure without being overwhelmed by all possible relationships at once, reducing clutter by showing only relevant items for the selected layout type.
3Loss of information
If the system provides comprehensive retrieval options for all related items, then complete information is available, but the interface becomes cluttered and difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different layout templates that show different subsets of related items based on the specific exploration context. Instead of always showing all possible related items, the system offers specialized layouts (e.g., physical layout showing hardware relationships, logical layout showing software dependencies, service model layout showing service relationships). Each layout type optimizes the display for a specific informational need, maintaining completeness by offering multiple specialized views rather than one cluttered comprehensive view.
Data Source
AI summary
A system allows pre-defining CI scope definitions for use by users of a CMDB system. The pre-defined CI scope definitions may be used to expand a starting CI in a graph displaying a portion of the CMDB according to the types of CIs and relationships between CIs defined in the scope definition. The scope definition is converted into one or more CMDB queries that are restricted to a chain of CIs related to the starting CI. The system restricts the visibility of scope definitions to only those applicable to the starting CI.