Status Message Mapping in IT Infrastructure Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network management systems struggle to effectively map status messages from monitored objects to service elements, particularly for uninstrumented applications and high-level services, leading to incomplete status determination and inefficient management processes.
Innovation Solution
A method that directs status messages to higher-level service elements, ascertains whether they pertain to lower-level elements, and propagates them downwardly based on edge and node conditions, eliminating the need for service-element identifiers and enabling efficient mapping across multiple service elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If status messages are directed only to higher-level service elements without downward propagation, then the mapping process is simplified, but status determination for lower-level service elements becomes incomplete
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the service element hierarchy into higher-level and lower-level service elements, allowing status messages to be selectively propagated downward only when relevant conditions are met. This segmentation enables the system to maintain simplicity for unrelated elements while ensuring complete status information for affected elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic condition checking (edge conditions and node conditions) that determines whether downward propagation should occur. The system adapts its behavior based on the specific status message and service element relationships, propagating only when conditions indicate relevance, thus balancing simplicity and completeness.
2Ease of operation
If service-element identifiers are required for mapping status messages, then message routing is straightforward, but the system complexity increases and scalability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces condition checking mechanisms (edge conditions on links and node conditions on service elements) as intermediaries that mediate between status messages and service elements. These conditions act as filters and routers without requiring explicit service-element identifiers in the messages themselves, reducing system complexity while maintaining routing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal mapping mechanism that works across the entire service element hierarchy without requiring identifier-specific routing logic. The condition-based propagation system handles multiple service elements and message types uniformly, improving scalability and reducing complexity.
3Loss of information
If all status messages are propagated to all service elements, then complete status coverage is achieved, but processing efficiency and scalability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by checking conditions specifically at relevant edges and nodes in the service element hierarchy. Instead of universal propagation, the system evaluates and propagates status messages only to locations where conditions indicate relevance, optimizing processing efficiency while maintaining necessary status coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by propagating status messages only to the extent necessary - specifically to service elements where edge conditions and node conditions are satisfied. This avoids the excessive action of propagating to all service elements, thereby maintaining processing efficiency and scalability.
4Reliability
If the service model structure is made rigid with fixed hierarchies, then status message mapping is deterministic, but adaptability to evolving service structures is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic condition checking that allows the mapping behavior to adapt to different service model configurations. The edge conditions and node conditions can be defined to reflect evolving service relationships, providing determinism within a given configuration while enabling adaptability as configurations change.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter-based conditions (edge conditions and node conditions) that can be modified to reflect changes in the service model structure. This allows the system to maintain deterministic mapping behavior while adapting to evolving service structures by changing the condition parameters rather than the fundamental mapping mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of mapping status messages of monitored objects to service elements in an IT-infrastructure-management system is provided. The service elements and their dependencies being represented by an element graph having directed links between service elements, thereby defining higher-level and lower-level service elements. The method includes directing a status message to at least one higher-level service element; ascertaining, at the higher-level service element, whether the status message pertains to a lower-level service element connected with the higher-level service element; downwardly propagating of the status message to said lower-level service element in response to a positive outcome in the action of ascertaining.