# US 10,121,268 B2 · Displaying information technology conditions with heat maps

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- Number: US 10,121,268 B2
- Document ID: US10121268B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/649,191
- Filed: 2012-12-04
- Published: 2015-10-29
- Granted: 2018-11-06
- Earliest claimed: 2012-12-04
- Assignees: Entit Software LLC
- Applicants: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
- Inventors: Klaus Baumecker
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10121268B2

## CPC

- G06T 11/26: Drawing of charts or graphs
- G06F 3/048: Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
- G06F 9/30: Arrangements for executing machine instructions, e.g. instruction decode (for executing microinstructions G06F9/22)
- G06F 11/327: {Alarm or error message display}
- G06F 17/00: Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions (information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00)
- G06Q 30/02: Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
- G06T 3/00: Geometric image transformations in the plane of the image
- G06T 11/10: Texturing; Colouring; Generation of textures or colours (retouching, inpainting or scratch removal G06T5/77)
- G06T 11/60: Creating or editing images; Combining images with text
- H04L 41/22: comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
- H04L 43/045: for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

Displaying information technology conditions with heat maps includes determining a severity value of current issues for each configuration item in an information technology system; generating a graph of the configuration items that visually depicts topological relationships between the configuration items, the graph having a heat map overlay; and assigning pixel colors for each configuration item in the heat map overlay according to their severity value.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer program product for displaying information technology conditions with heat maps, comprising:
a tangible computer readable storage medium, said tangible computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code embodied therewith, said computer readable program code comprising program instructions that, when executed, causes a processor to:
determine a severity value of current issues for each configuration item of a plurality of configuration items of an information technology system, wherein the current issues are associated with a plurality of different issue types;
generate a graph of said plurality of said configuration items that visually depicts topological relationships between said plurality of configuration items, said graph comprising a heat map overlay;
assign pixel colors for each configuration item in said heat map overlay according to their severity value, wherein a region of said heat map overlay comprises a first pixel color of the pixel colors associated with a relatively higher severity value;
display a second pixel color associated with a relatively lower severity value in said heat map overlay; and
surround the region with the second pixel color to highlight the first pixel color.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising computer readable program code to, when executed, cause said processor to cause a topological area of said information technology system to appear as a hot spot when a cluster of topologically proximate configuration items have a high severity value.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein said pixel colors are selected from a color spectrum where a first color on a first end of said color spectrum represents a high severity value and a second color on a second end of said color spectrum represents a low severity value.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising computer readable program code to, when executed, cause said processor to assign said pixel colors in real time.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein said topological relationships are physical topological relationships.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein said topological relationships are logical topological relationships.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising computer readable program code to, when executed, cause said processor to display heat map changes over time.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein said severity value is based on response times, error rates, failures rates, or combinations thereof.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the topological relationships comprise a bus topology.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the bus topology comprises a ring topology, a star topology, an extended star topology, a hierarchical topology or a mesh topology.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the topology comprises a three dimensional topology depicting in a three dimensional space relationships of the configuration items relative to each other.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the program code comprises instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive user input representing selection of physical topological relationship between said plurality of configuration items and logical topological relationships between said plurality of configuration items; and
display the physical topological relationships in the graph or display the logical topological relationships in the graph based on the user input.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the program code comprises instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to form a halo in said heat map overlay around the region using the second color.

### Claim 14

A system for displaying information technology conditions with heat maps, comprising:
a monitoring engine to identify current issues of configuration items of an information technology system, wherein the current issues are associated with a plurality of different issue types;
a graphing engine to generate a graph of said configuration items in their topological relationships; and
a heat map engine to:
overlay a heat map overlay on said graph;
locate a corresponding position of said configuration items in said heat map overlay;
assign severity pixel colors for each configuration item of said configuration items with said current issues in said heat map overlay according to a severity value, wherein a region of said heat map overlay comprises a first pixel color of the severity pixel colors associated with a relatively higher severity value;
display a second pixel color associated with a relatively lower severity value in said heat map overlay;
surround the region with the second pixel color to highlight the first pixel color; and
assign a third pixel color for each configuration item of said configuration items without said current issues in said heat map overlay.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein said heat map engine assigns said severity pixel colors and said third pixel color or colors in real time.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The system of claim 12, wherein said plurality of configuration items comprise hardware items of the information technology system.

### Claim 17

A method for displaying information technology conditions with heat maps, comprising:
determining a severity value of current issues for each configuration item of a plurality of configuration items of an information technology system, wherein the current issues are associated with a plurality of different issue types;
generating a graph of said plurality of configuration items that visually depicts topological relationships between said plurality of configuration items;
overlaying a heat map overlay on said graph;
locating corresponding positions of said plurality of configuration items in said heat map overlay;
assigning pixel colors for each configuration item of the plurality of configuration items in said heat map overlay according to said severity value associated with each configuration item wherein a region of said heat map overlay comprises a first pixel color of the pixel colors associated with a relatively higher severity value;
displaying a second pixel color associated with a relatively lower severity value in said heat map overlay; and
surrounding the region with the second pixel color to highlight the first pixel color.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein assigning pixel colors for each configuration item in said heat map overlay includes assigning said pixel colors in real time.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein generating the graph comprises generating the graph based on a logical topology selection or a physical topology selection by a user.