Virtual Log File Aggregating Physical Logs for Distributed Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large distributed computing systems, managing and analyzing vast volumes of event logs is challenging due to their size and complexity, making it difficult for system administrators to identify relevant information for operational anomaly detection, security breaches, and system maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A virtual-log-file system that assembles a virtual log file from physical log files, applying filters and processing to generate virtual log file entries, allowing users to navigate and visualize the contents with features like infinite scrolling and anchor selection for quick navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If event logs are collected and stored in large volumes in distributed computing systems, then the data-storage capacity and computational bandwidth increase, but the difficulty of identifying relevant information and managing the logs increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large volume of event logs into multiple individual log files, each containing a portion of the total log data. This segmentation allows the system to manage and process logs in smaller, more manageable units while maintaining the ability to access and analyze the complete set of logs through the virtual log file interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual log file as an intermediary layer between the physical log files and the user interface. This virtual log file provides a unified view of multiple physical log files without requiring users to manually navigate through numerous individual files, thereby simplifying information identification while preserving access to the complete log volume.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple physical log files are used to store event messages, then the data-storage capacity increases, but the complexity of managing and accessing these files increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple physical log files into a single virtual log file that presents a unified interface to users. This merging approach allows the system to utilize the storage capacity of multiple physical files while simplifying access management through a single virtual file interface, effectively combining the benefits of both multiple files and single-file simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the multiple physical log files in the form of a virtual log file. This virtual copy replicates the content and structure of the physical files without requiring users to directly manage the underlying physical file system, thereby reducing management complexity while preserving data integrity and access capabilities.
3Ease of operation
If the virtual log file aggregates entries from multiple physical log files, then the ease of navigation and analysis improves, but the processing overhead and time to assemble the virtual log file increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and organizing log data into physical log files with standardized formats and structures before they are aggregated into the virtual log file. This preliminary organization reduces the processing time required during virtual log file assembly and improves navigation efficiency by ensuring data is ready for quick access and analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
The current document is directed to a virtual-log-file system that provides a browser-like display interface to users, enabling users to view the contents of log files. The virtual-log-file system assembles a virtual log file from the contents of one or more physical log files, applying filters and other processing to physical-log-file entries in order to generate the virtual-log-file entries logically contained within the virtual log file. The virtual-log-file system allows users to navigate, by scrolling, through the entries of the virtual log file, with additional virtual-log-file entries obtained from physical log files by the virtual-log-file system to support logical infinite scrolling in either direction. In addition, the virtual-log-file system provides for user selection of particular virtual-log-file entries as anchors that represent positions within the sequence of virtual-file-log entries, allowing a user to mark the anchor entries to facilitate visual recognition and to quickly navigate back to anchor entries after scrolling away from the anchor entries.