Graphical user interface for displaying alarm security level of groups of elements

The present disclosure relates to information services infrastructure and network management, and more specifically, to a graphical user interface used to display information related to monitored devices. Computer systems may include many devices communicatively coupled to one another via a network. Networking and sharing of devices adds a level of complexity that is not present with a single device, standing alone. Network and system administrators may manage network devices using various software tools, which may include a graphical user interface.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of generating a graphical user interface is disclosed. The method includes monitoring a plurality of elements of a computer system and collecting information related to each element of the plurality of elements. The method also includes creating a first group icon including information related to a first element group, the first element group including a first set of elements of the plurality of elements. The method further includes creating a first set of element icons, each element icon including information related to a particular element of the first set of elements. The method also includes graphically displaying the first group icon, graphically displaying the first set of element icons in response to receiving a signal indicating that a user has selected the first group icon, and graphically displaying a first element-specific frame in response to receiving a signal indicating that the user has selected a particular element icon of the first set of element icons.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium, comprising computer-executable instructions carried on the computer readable medium is disclosed. The instructions carried on the computer readable medium are readable by a processor and, when read and executed, configured to cause the processor to monitor a plurality of elements of a computer system and collect information related to each element of the plurality of elements. The instructions, when read and executed, are further configured to cause the processor to create a first group icon including information related to a first element group, the first element group including a first set of elements of the plurality of elements, and create a first set of element icons, each element icon including information related to a particular element of the first set of elements. The instructions, when read and executed, are still further configured to cause the processor to graphically display the first group icon, graphically display the first set of element icons in response to receiving a signal indicating that a user has selected the first group icon, and graphically display a first element-specific frame in response to receiving a signal indicating that the user has selected a particular element icon of the first set of element icons.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for monitoring a plurality of elements of a computer system is disclosed. The apparatus includes a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory includes instructions operable, when executed by a processor, to cause the processor to monitor a plurality of elements of a computer system, and collect information related to each element of the plurality of elements. The memory further includes instructions operable, when executed by a processor, to cause the processor to create a first group icon including information related to a first element group, the first element group including a first set of elements of the plurality of elements, and create a first set of element icons, each element icon including information related to a particular element of the first set of elements. The memory still further includes instructions operable, when executed by a processor, to cause the processor to graphically display the first group icon, graphically display the first set of element icons in response to receiving a signal indicating that a user has selected the first group icon, and graphically display a first element-specific frame in response to receiving a signal indicating that the user has selected a particular element icon of the first set of element icons.

For a more complete understanding of the configurations of the present disclosure, needs satisfied thereby, and the objects, features, and advantages thereof, reference now is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example computer system including monitored elements and a monitoring node, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example graphical user interface including icons representing groups of elements, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example graphical user interface including icons representing sub-groups, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example graphical user interface including icons representing individual elements, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example graphical user interface including element-specific frames, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example graphical user interface including icons representing elements displayed in a search result set, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method of generating a graphical user interface, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any of a number of patentable classes or context including any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” “component,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized. The computer readable media may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an appropriate optical fiber with a repeater, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET, Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL 2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby and Groovy, or other programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as a service such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable instruction execution apparatus, create a mechanism for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that when executed can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions when stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which when executed, cause a computer to implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable instruction execution apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatuses or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Traditional graphical user interfaces for software tools used by network and system administrators may display data to the user in a hierarchical tree structure. This type of graphical user interface may be difficult to navigate unless the user knows what information she is looking for and where that information is located in the hierarchical tree structure. In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, a graphical user interface may be provided in which status information associated with monitored elements (e.g., monitored nodes, devices, and applications) are displayed in container-like groups. Each top-level group may include individual monitored elements and/or sub-groups. Similarly, each sub-group may include individual monitored elements and/or additional sub-groups. Each element may be represented by an icon that includes information related to the element. Each group and/or sub-group may also be represented by an icon that includes information related to the elements in the group and/or sub-group. A user may access the icons representing elements and/or sub-groups in a particular group by clicking on the icon associated with that group. Similarly, a user may view more detailed information related to a particular element by clicking on the icon associated with that element.

Particular embodiments and their advantages are best understood by reference to FIGS. 1 through 7 , wherein like numbers are used to indicate like and corresponding parts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system 100 , which may include a plurality of elements 115 , a monitoring node 130 , and a network 120 . Each element 115 may include a physical or logical element communicatively coupled to monitoring node 130 via network 120 . For example, each element 115 may include a server (e.g., blade server or rack server), personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device (e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone), network storage device, printer, switch, router, data collection device, virtual machine, or any other suitable device or application. Although example system 100 is shown in FIG. 1 as including a particular number of elements 115 , a system may include more than or fewer than the number of elements 115 illustrated. Similarly, although example system 100 is shown in FIG. 1 as including elements 115 of particular types, a system may include elements 115 of types other than those shown in FIG. 1 .

Network 120 may include a network and/or fabric configured to communicatively couple elements 115 , monitoring node 130 , and/or any element associated with information handling system 100 . Network 120 may be implemented as, or may be a part of, a storage area network (SAN), personal area network (PAN), local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a virtual private network (VPN), an intranet, the Internet or any other appropriate architecture or system configured to facilitate the communication of signals, data and/or messages (generally referred to as data). Network 120 may transmit data using any storage and/or communication protocol, including without limitation, Fibre Channel, Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Internet protocol (IP), other packet-based protocol, small computer system interface (SCSI), Internet SCSI (iSCSI), advanced technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA (SATA), advanced technology attachment packet interface (ATAPI), serial storage architecture (SSA), integrated drive electronics (IDE), and/or any combination thereof. Network 120 and its various components may be implemented using hardware, software, or any combination thereof.

Monitoring node 130 may include a processor 132 , a memory 134 , and a monitoring module 136 . Processor 132 may be communicatively coupled to memory 134 and monitoring module 136 . Processor 132 may include any system, device, or apparatus operable to interpret and/or execute program instructions and/or process data, and may include without limitation a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other digital or analog circuitry configured to interpret and/or execute program instructions and/or process data.

Memory 134 may be configured in part or whole as application memory, system memory, or both. Memory 134 may include any system, device, or apparatus configured to hold and/or house one or more memory modules. Each memory module may include any system, device or apparatus configured to retain program instructions and/or data for a period of time (e.g., computer-readable storage media). For the purposes of this disclosure, computer-readable media may include any instrumentality or aggregation of instrumentalities that may retain data and/or instructions for a period of time. Computer-readable media may include, without limitation, storage media such as a direct access storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive or floppy disk), a sequential access storage device (e.g., a tape disk drive), compact disk, CD-ROM, DVD, random access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), and/or flash memory; as well as communications media such as wires, optical fibers, microwaves, radio waves, and other electromagnetic and/or optical carriers; and/or any combination of the foregoing.

Monitoring module 136 may include computer-program instructions resident in memory 134 (or another computer-readable medium communicatively coupled to monitoring node 130 ) and capable of being executed by processor 132 . Monitoring module 136 may be configured to monitor the status and/or condition of elements 115 and collect information related to characteristics of elements 115 . For example, monitoring module 136 may collect information related to both static characteristics of elements 115 (e.g., element name, IP address domain, operating system type, operating system name and version, etc.) and dynamic characteristics of elements 115 (e.g., the number and severity level of alarms, processor usage and performance, memory usage and performance, etc.). Monitoring module 136 may actively and/or passively monitor elements 115 . For example, monitoring module 136 may actively monitor a particular element 115 by querying element 115 for specific information and/or measuring the time it takes element 115 to respond to queries. Monitoring module 136 may passively monitor a particular element 115 by, for example, accessing and analyzing an error log, or other performance related log maintained by an element 115 .

Monitoring module 136 may also be configured to trigger an alarm if the status and/or condition of a particular element 115 meets or exceeds pre-defined alarm criteria. Alarm criteria may be set by a system administrator based on any monitored characteristic of a particular element. For example, alarm criteria may relate to the response time, performance, status and availability of elements 115 . As another example, alarm criteria may relate to the processor load, processor queue length, and/or available memory of elements 115 . For example, an alarm may be triggered if monitoring module 136 determines that the processor load for a particular element 115 has exceeded a threshold value. Monitoring module 136 may be further configured to designate an alarm severity level for each alarm. The alarm severity level for each alarm may be based on the type of alarm triggered and/or the amount by which the threshold value was exceeded. In some embodiments, monitoring module 136 may be configured to designate an alarm as critical, major, minor, or normal, wherein critical is the highest alarm severity level and normal is the lowest.

For monitoring purposes, elements 115 may be logically grouped based on characteristics of each element 115 . The system administrator, based on organization policies and preferences, may determine how elements 115 will be grouped. In some embodiments, elements 115 may be grouped based on element type (e.g., servers, printers, etc.). In other embodiments, elements 115 may be grouped based on the organization to which each element 115 belongs. For example, elements 115 belonging to a particular business organization or department/division of a business organization may be grouped together. In still other embodiments, groups may be established based on the relationships among elements 115 . For example, elements 115 I- 115 O may be grouped together based on their relationship to one another—wherein elements 115 J- 115 O are communicatively coupled to network 120 via element 115 I. Similarly, elements 115 P- 115 W may be grouped together based on their relationship to one another—wherein elements 115 Q- 115 W are communicatively coupled to network 120 via element 115 P. In another example, elements 115 A, 115 D, 115 E, and 115 L may be grouped based on element type—wherein elements 115 A, 115 D, 115 E, and 115 L are printers. Within the “printers” group, elements 115 A, 115 D, 115 E, and 115 L may be further divided into sub-groups based on element sub-type (e.g., printer model or brand). Although several example groupings have been provided, groups may be established based on any functional, logical, physical, or other characteristic of the elements of an information handling system. Each group may include elements and/or sub-groups.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example graphical user interface generated by monitoring module 136 in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure. Monitoring module 136 may be configured to provide a graphical user interface in which group icons 210 are graphically displayed. Each group icon 210 may represent a logical group of elements 115 . As discussed above, elements 115 may be placed in logical groups for monitoring purposes. For example, group icon 210 A may represent a group including server elements 115 F, 115 P- 115 S, and 115 U- 115 X. The group of servers represented by group icon 210 A may be further divided into sub-groups based on server sub-type. Sub-groups will be discussed in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 3 . As another example, group icon 210 B may represent a group including managed node elements 115 B, 115 C, 115 G, 115 H, 115 J, 115 K, and 115 M- 115 O. As yet another example, group icon 210 C may represent a group including printer elements 115 A, 115 D, 115 E, and 115 L. As still another example, group icon 210 D may represent a group including router and/or switch elements 115 F and 115 T.

Group icons 210 may include information related to elements 115 and/or sub-groups included in each group. For example, group icons 210 may include information related to the group name, number of elements 115 in the group, number of alarms related to those elements 115 , and severity level of the alarms. In one embodiment, group icons 210 may include an indicator 212 of the name of the group represented by group icon 210 . In another embodiment, group icons 210 may include an indicator 214 of the number of elements 115 in the group. For example, in the case of group icon 210 A, indicator 214 A indicates that there are nine (9) elements- 115 F, 115 P- 115 S, and 115 U- 115 X—in the group. In still another embodiment, group icons 210 may include an indicator 216 of the number of alarms related to elements 115 in the group. For example, in the case of group icon 210 A, indicator 216 A indicates that there are twelve (12) alarms related to elements 115 F, 115 P- 115 S, and 115 U- 115 X. At any given time, a given element 115 may experience more than one alarm; thus, the number of alarms related to elements 115 in a particular group may exceed the number of elements 115 in the group. For example, the group represented by group icon 210 A includes nine (9) elements 115 and there are twelve (12) alarms related to those elements.

In yet another embodiment, group icons 210 may indicate the severity level of the alarms related to elements 115 in the group. In some embodiments, group icons 210 may be graphically displayed in a color corresponding to the alarm severity level of the group. For example, group icons 210 A- 210 D, as shown in FIG. 2 , are displayed in four different colors—red, orange, yellow, and green—each of which corresponds to a different alarm severity level—critical, major, minor, and normal. Group icon 210 A, for example, is displayed in the color red, which may indicate that the alarm severity level for the group represented by group icon 210 A is critical. As another example, group icon 210 B is displayed in the color orange, which may indicate that the alarm severity level for the group represented by group icon 210 B is major. As yet another example, group icon 210 C is displayed in the color yellow, which may indicate that the alarm severity level for the group represented by group icon 210 C is minor. As still another example, group icon 210 D is displayed in the color green, which may indicate that the alarm severity level for the group represented by group icon 210 D is normal.

As discussed above with respect to FIG. 1 , monitoring module 136 may be configured to designate an alarm severity level (e.g., critical, major, minor, or normal) for each alarm, which may be based on the type of alarm triggered and/or the amount the threshold value was exceeded. The alarm severity level for each group, however, may be based on the alarm severity level of the most severe alarm experienced by an element 115 in the group. For example, indicator 216 A of group icon 210 A indicates that there are twelve (12) alarms related to elements 115 in the group represented by group icon 210 A. Even if only one of the twelve (12) alarms is a critical alarm, the alarm severity level of the group may be critical. As another example, consider the groups represented by group icons 210 A and 210 B. Indicators 216 A and 216 B indicate that there are twelve (12) alarms related to elements 115 in the group represented by group icon 210 A and twenty-three (23) alarms related to elements 115 in the group represented by group icon 210 B. Even though there are more alarms related to elements 115 in the group represented by group icon 210 B, the alarm severity level of the group represented by group icon 210 A may be higher because the highest alarm severity level for an element in the group represented by group icon 210 A is critical, while the highest alarm severity level for an element in the group represented by group icon 210 B is major.

In some embodiments, monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) may be configured to sort group icons 210 based on characteristics of the groups. For example, the graphical user interface may include a sort menu 310 configured to permit a user to select (e.g., via keyboard, mouse, or other user input device) how group icons 210 are sorted. In some embodiments, group icons 210 may be sorted alphabetically by group name. In other embodiments, group icons 210 may be sorted numerically by alarm count. In still other embodiments, group icons 210 may be sorted numerically by element count. In yet other embodiments, group icons 210 may be sorted based on the alarm severity level of the groups represented by group icons 210 . Consider, for example, groups 210 A- 210 D, which have been sorted based on alarm severity (indicated by the color of group icons 210 A- 210 D).

A user may access more detailed information regarding elements 115 (shown in FIG. 1 ) and/or sub-groups in a particular group by selecting (e.g., via keyboard, mouse, or other user input device) a group icon 210 associated with the particular group. For example, monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) may be configured to receive a signal indicative of the user selecting a particular group icon 210 . In response, monitoring module 136 may graphically display icons representing each element 115 and/or sub-group in the particular group. Sub-group icons are discussed in additional detail in conjunction with FIG. 3 , while element icons are discussed in additional detail in conjunction with FIG. 4 .

Additionally, a user may search for elements 115 (shown in FIG. 1 ) and/or groups of elements 115 having particular characteristics. Using search bar 220 , a user may input search criteria (e.g., via a keyboard or other user input device) related to characteristics of elements 115 . Monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) may be configured to receive a signal indicative of the search criteria and filter elements 115 based on those criteria. Monitoring module 136 may be further configured to graphically display an icon representing each element 115 and/or group with characteristics that satisfy the search criteria. Search bar 220 and the graphical display of search results are discussed in further detail in conjunction with FIG. 6 .

FIG. 3 illustrates an example graphical user interface including sub-group icons 310 . As discussed above, groups of elements may be further divided into sub-groups based on element sub-type (e.g., printer model or brand). For example, group icon 210 A (shown in FIG. 2 ) represents a server group including elements 115 F, 115 P- 115 S, and 115 U- 115 X. The server group represented by group icon 210 A may be divided into two sub-groups based on server sub-type. These sub-groups may be represented by sub-group icons 310 A and 310 B. Consider, for example, that elements 115 F and 115 P are “type-A” servers, while elements 115 Q- 115 S and 115 U- 115 X are “type-B” servers. Elements 115 F and 115 P may be placed in a sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 A, while elements 115 Q- 115 S and 115 U- 115 X may be placed in a sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 B.

As discussed above with respect to FIG. 2 , a user may access more detailed information regarding elements 115 and/or sub-groups in a particular group by selecting (e.g., via keyboard, mouse, or other user input device) a group icon 210 associated with the particular group. For example, monitoring module 136 may be configured to receive a signal indicative of a user selecting group icon 210 and, in response, may graphically display sub-group icons 310 .

Each sub-group icon 310 may include information related to the elements in that sub-group. For example, sub-group icons 310 may include information related to the sub-group name, number of elements 115 in the sub-group, number of alarms related to those elements 115 , and severity level of the alarms. In one embodiment, sub-group icons 310 may include an indicator 212 of the name of the sub-group represented by the icon. In another embodiment, sub-group icons 310 may include an indicator 214 of the number of elements 115 in the sub-group. For example, sub-group icon 310 B includes indicator 214 , which indicates that there are seven (7) elements, 115 Q- 115 S and 115 U- 115 X, in the sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 B. In still another embodiment, sub-group icons 310 may include an indicator 216 of the number of alarms related to elements 115 in the sub-group. For example, sub-group icon 310 B includes indicator 216 , which indicates that there are eight (8) alarms related to elements 115 Q- 115 S and 115 U- 115 X in the sub-group.

In yet another embodiment, sub-group icons 310 may indicate the severity level of the alarms related to elements 115 in the sub-group. In some embodiments, sub-group icons 310 may be graphically displayed in a color corresponding to the alarm severity level of the sub-group. Consider, for example, sub-group icons 310 A and 310 B. Sub-group icon 310 A is displayed in red, which may indicate that the alarm severity level for the sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 A is critical. Sub-group icon 310 B is displayed in orange, which may indicate that the alarm severity level for the sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 B is major. As discussed above with respect to FIG. 2 , the alarm severity level for a group or sub-group may be based on the severity level of the most severe alarm experienced by an element 115 in the group or sub-group. For example, indicator 216 of group icon 310 B indicates that there are eight (8) alarms related to elements 115 Q- 115 S and 115 U- 115 X, which are included in the group represented by group icon 310 B. Even if only one of the eight (8) alarms is a major alarm, the alarm severity level of the sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 B may be major.

Like group icons 210 , sub-group icons 310 may be sorted using sort menu 215 . Sub-group icons 310 may be sorted based on characteristics of the sub-groups, such as name, alarm count, element count, or alarm severity level. As shown in FIG. 3 , sub-group icons 310 have been sorted by alarm severity level. A user may access information related to the elements 115 included in each sub-group by selecting (e.g., via a keyboard, mouse, or other user input device) a particular sub-group icon 310 . For example, monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) may be configured to receive a signal indicative of the user selecting a particular sub-group icon 310 . In response, monitoring module 136 may graphically display icons representing each element 115 in the particular sub-group. Element icons are discussed in additional detail with respect to FIG. 4 .

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example graphical user interface including individual monitored elements. Element icons 410 A- 410 G may represent elements 115 Q- 115 S and 115 U- 115 X of the type-B server sub-group, which may be represented by sub-group icon 310 B (shown in FIG. 3 ). Element icons 410 may include information related to elements 115 represented by the icons. For example, element icons 410 may include the name of element 115 represented by element icon 410 , as well as the number of alarms related to element 115 . In some embodiments, element icons 410 may include an indicator 212 of the name of elements 115 represented by element icons 410 . For example, element icon 410 A includes indicator 212 , which indicates the name of the element 115 Q represented by element icon 410 A. In other embodiments, element icons 410 may include an indicator 216 of the number of alarms related to elements 115 represented by element icons 410 . For example, element icon 410 A includes indicator 216 , which indicates that there are three (3) alarms related to element 115 Q.

In still other embodiments, element icons 410 may indicate the alarm severity level of elements 115 represented by element icons 410 . For example, element icons 410 may be graphically displayed in a color corresponding to the alarm severity level of elements 115 represented by element icons 410 . As discussed above with respect to FIG. 1 , the alarm severity level for each element 115 may be designated based on the most severe alarm related to each element 115 . For example, indicator 216 of element icon 310 A indicates that there are three (3) alarms related to element 115 Q. Even if only one of the three (3) alarms is a critical alarm, the alarm severity level of element 115 Q may still be designated as critical. Element icons 410 A- 410 G, as shown in FIG. 4 , are displayed in colors—orange, yellow, and green—corresponding to the alarm severity—major, minor, and normal—of each element 115 represented by element icons 410 A- 410 G.

Like group icons 210 and sub-group icons 310 , element icons 410 may be sorted using sort menu 215 . Element icons 410 may be sorted based on characteristics of elements 115 represented by element icons 410 , such as element name, alarm count, or alarm severity level. As shown in FIG. 4 , element icons 410 have been sorted by alarm severity level.

A user may access information related to elements 115 represented by element icons 410 by selecting (e.g., via a keyboard, mouse, or other user input device) a particular element icon 410 . For example, monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) may be configured to receive a signal indicative of the user selecting a particular element icon 410 . In response, monitoring module 136 may graphically display element-specific frames, which may include information related to a particular element 115 represented by element icon 410 . Element-specific frames are described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 5 .

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example graphical user interface including element-specific frames 510 , in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates element-specific frames 510 , which include information related to element 115 Q (shown in FIG. 1 ). As discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 4 , a user may access information related to a particular element 115 by selecting (via a keyboard, mouse, or other user input device) a particular element icon 410 . In response, monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) may graphically display element-specific frames 510 including information related to the particular element 115 represented by element icon 410 (shown in FIG. 4 ). For example, a user may access information related to element 115 Q by selecting element specific icon 410 A. In response, monitoring module 136 may graphically display element-specific frames 510 A- 510 E.

Element-specific frames 510 may be generated by monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) based on information collected by monitoring module 136 . As discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 1 , monitoring module 136 may actively and/or passively monitor the status and/or condition of elements 115 and collect information related to each element 115 . In some embodiments, element specific frames 510 may include information related to static characteristics of elements 115 , such as element name, IP address, operating system type, and/or operating system name and version. In other embodiments, element specific frames 510 may include information related to dynamic characteristics of elements 115 , such a number and severity level of alarms, processor usage and performance, and/or memory usage and performance.

For example, element-specific frame 510 A, as shown in FIG. 5 , may include an indicator 512 of an element name of element 115 Q, an indicator 514 of an IP address of element 115 Q, an indicator 516 of an operating system type of element 115 Q, an indicator 518 of an operating system name of the operating system of element 115 Q, an indicator 520 of a version of the operating system of element 115 Q, and an indicator 522 of a MAC address of element 115 Q. As shown in FIG. 5 , element-specific frame 510 A may also include an indicator 524 of the number of alarms related to element 115 Q in each alarm severity level. Indicator 524 may include indicators 526 A- 526 D, each of which includes a graphical indicator indicating the alarm severity level and a numerical indicator indicating a number of alarms at the alarm severity level. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , indicator 526 A includes a red circle, which may indicate a critical alarm severity level, and a numerical indicator, which indicates that there is one (1) critical alarm related to element 115 Q. As another example, indicator 526 B, as shown in FIG. 5 , includes an orange circle, which may indicate a major alarm severity level, and a numerical indicator, which indicates that there are two (2) major alarms related to element 115 Q.

Element-specific frame 510 B, as shown in FIG. 5 , includes information related to processor usage of element 115 Q. Specifically, element-specific frame 510 B illustrates a percentage of the processor capacity of element 115 Q that is being used over a period of time. Element-specific frame 510 C includes information related to processor performance of element 115 Q. Specifically, element-specific frame 510 C illustrates a processor queue length for element 115 Q over a period of time. Similarly, element-specific frames 510 D and 510 E include information related to memory performance and usage of element 115 Q. The information displayed in element-specific frames 510 may be displayed in a chart, table, graph, or any other suitable format. Additionally, although example element-specific frames 510 have been illustrated in FIG. 5 , element-specific frames may include information related to any static and/or dynamic characteristics of elements 115 .

FIG. 6 illustrates an example graphical user interface including element icons graphically displayed as search results. As discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 2 , a user may search for elements 115 (shown in FIG. 1 ) or groups of elements 115 . Using search bar 220 , a user may input search criteria related to characteristics of elements 115 . For example search criteria may relate to element name, element type, a number of alarms per element, alarm severity level, and/or other characteristics of elements 115 . Monitoring module 136 (shown in FIG. 1 ) may be configured to receive a signal indicative of the user-selected search criteria and filter elements 115 based on those criteria. Monitoring module 136 may be further configured to graphically display an element icon 610 representing each element 115 with characteristics that satisfy the search criteria.

For example, monitoring module 136 may receive a signal indicating that, using search bar 220 , a user has initiated a search for elements 115 with at least one alarm with a severity level of major. Monitoring module 136 may filter elements 115 for elements with at least one major alarm and graphically display element icons 610 A- 610 J, each of which represents an element 115 with at least one major alarm.

As another example, monitoring module 136 may receive a signal indicating that, using search bar 220 , a user has initiated a search for elements 115 with more than five (5) alarms. Monitoring module 136 may filter elements 115 for elements with more than five (5) alarms and graphically display an element icon 610 representing each element with more than five (5) alarms.

Like element icons 410 (shown in FIG. 4 ), element icons 610 may include information related to elements 115 represented by element icons 610 . For example, element icons 610 may include the name of element 115 represented by element icon 610 , as well as the number of alarms related to element 115 . In some embodiments, element icons 610 may include an indicator 212 of the name of elements 115 represented by element icons 610 . For example, element icon 610 A includes indicator 212 , which indicates the name of element 115 B represented by element icon 610 A. In other embodiments, element icons 610 may include an indicator 216 of the number of alarms related to elements 115 represented by element icons 610 . For example, element icon 610 A includes indicator 216 , which indicates that there is one (1) alarm related to element 115 B.

Additionally, element icons 610 may indicate the alarm severity level of elements 115 represented by element icons 610 . In some embodiments, element icons 610 may be graphically displayed in a color corresponding to the alarm severity level of elements 115 represented by element icons 610 . As discussed above with respect to FIG. 4 , the alarm severity level for each element 115 may be designated based on the alarm severity level of the most severe alarm related to each element 115 .

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 of generating a graphical user interface in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure. Although FIG. 7 discloses a particular number of steps to be taken with respect to example method 700 , method 700 may be executed with more or fewer steps than those depicted in FIG. 7 . In addition, although FIG. 7 discloses a certain order of steps to be taken with respect to method 700 the steps comprising these methods may be completed in any suitable order. Method 700 may be implemented using the system of FIG. 1 or any other suitable mechanism. In certain embodiments, method 700 may be implemented partially or fully in software embodied in computer-readable storage media.

Program instructions may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processing system that is programmed with the instructions to perform the operations described below. The operations may be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the operations, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components. Method 700 may be provided as a computer program product that may include one or more machine readable media having stored thereon instructions that may be used to program a processing system or other electronic device to perform the methods. The terms “machine readable medium” or “computer readable medium” used herein shall include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one of the methods described herein. The term “machine readable medium” shall accordingly include, but not be limited to, memories such as solid-state memories, optical and magnetic disks. Furthermore, it is common in the art to speak of software, in one form or another (e.g., program, procedure, process, application, module, logic, and so on), as taking an action or causing a result. Such expressions are merely a shorthand way of stating that the execution of the software by a processing system causes the processor to perform an action or produce a result.

In some embodiments, method 700 may begin at step 710 . At step 710 , the monitoring module of the monitoring node may create element-specific frames for each element. As discussed above, element-specific frames may be generated by the monitoring module based on information collected by the monitoring module. Element-specific frames may include information related to static and/or dynamic characteristics of each element, such as element name, IP address, operating system type, operating system name and version, number and severity level of alarms, processor usage and performance, and memory usage and performance, etc.

At step 720 , the monitoring module may create element icons for each element. As discussed above, element icons may include information related to characteristics of the element represented by the icon. For example, an element icon may include an indicator of the element name and the number of alarms related to the element. Additionally, the element icon may indicate the alarm severity level for the element represented by the icon. For example, the element icon may be displayed in a color corresponding to the alarm severity level for the element represented by the icon. As discussed above, the alarm severity level for a particular element may be the alarm severity level of the most severe alarm related to the element.

At step 730 , the monitoring module may group elements based on characteristics of the elements. A system administrator may identify element characteristics based on which the elements may be grouped. As discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 1 , elements may be grouped based on element characteristics, such as element type (e.g., servers, printers, etc.), the business organization and/or department to which an element belongs, and/or the relationships among elements.

At step 740 , the monitoring module may further divide the groups into sub-groups. As discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 3 , groups may include individual elements and/or sub-groups. Sub-groups may be created where a group includes elements that may be further sub-divided based on the characteristic(s) used to establish the group. For example, a group established based on element type may be further divided into sub-groups based on element sub-type. As an example, consider the group of server elements represented by group icon 210 A (shown in FIG. 2 ). The group represented by group icon 210 A may be further divided into two sub-groups based on element sub-type, which may be represented by sub-group icons 310 A and 310 B (shown in FIG. 3 ).

At step 750 , the monitoring module may create icons representing the groups and sub-groups created at steps 730 and 740 , respectively. Group and sub-group icons may include information related to the elements in the group or sub-group. For example, group and sub-group icons may include indicators of the group or sub-group name, as well as the number of elements and/or number of alarms related to the elements in the group or sub-group represented by the icon. Consider, for example, the group represented by group icon 210 A (shown in FIG. 2 ). Indicator 214 A of group icon 210 A indicates the total number of elements in the group represented by group icon 210 A, even if those elements are also included in a sub-group. Similarly, indicator 216 A indicates the total number of alarms related to the elements in the group represented by group icon 210 A, even if the elements are also included in a sub-group.

Additionally, group and sub-group icons may indicate the alarm severity level for the group or sub-group represented by the icon. For example, group and sub-group icons may be displayed in a color corresponding to the most severe alarm experienced by an element in the group. For example, if the most severe alarm experienced by an element in the group is a critical alarm, the group icon may be red. Groups in which the most severe alarm experienced by an element in the group is major, minor, or normal may be orange, yellow, or green, respectively. Consider, for example, the group represented by group icon 210 A (shown in FIG. 2 ), which has been further divided into two sub-groups represented by sub-group icons 310 A and 310 B (shown in FIG. 3 ). If the most severe alarm experienced by an element in the sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 A is a critical alarm, sub-group icon 310 A may be displayed in the color red. If the most severe alarm experienced by an element in the sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 B is a major alarm, sub-group icon 310 B may be displayed in the color orange. Because the sub-group represented by sub-group icon 310 A includes an element with a critical alarm, the alarm severity level for the group represented by group icon 210 A may also be critical and group icon 210 A may be displayed in the color red.

At step 760 , the monitoring node may graphically display icons representing each group. When a user selects a particular group icon (e.g., via a mouse, keyboard, or other user input device), the monitoring node may graphically display icons representing the elements or sub-groups within that group. Similarly, when a user selects a particular sub-group icon, the monitoring node may graphically display icons representing the elements within that sub-group. When a user selects an element icon, the monitoring node may graphically display element-specific frames related to that element.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of any means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any disclosed structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The aspects of the disclosure herein were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.