# US 11,907,246 B2 · Methods, systems, and computer readable mediums for performing a free-form query > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,907,246 B2 - Document ID: US11907246B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/038,408 - Filed: 2018-07-18 - Published: 2018-12-06 - Granted: 2024-02-20 - Earliest claimed: 2014-12-23 - Assignees: EMC IP Holding Company LLC - Applicants: Emc IP Holding Company LLC - Inventors: Rajesh Nandyalam; Geoffrey David Bourne; Joseph K. Malek - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11907246B2 ## CPC - G06F 16/258: {Data format conversion from or to a database} - G06F 16/8358: {Query translation} - G06F 16/9535: Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract Methods, systems, and computer readable mediums for performing a free-form query are disclosed. According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for performing a free-form query includes receiving free-form information for requesting information about a computing system, converting the free-form information into at least one compatible query for querying at least one data set, querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system, and providing the information about the computing system. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for performing a free-form query, the method comprising: at a query engine implemented using a hardware-based processor: receiving, from an operator, free-form information for requesting information about a computing system comprising a converged infrastructure system (CIS) managed by the operator; converting the free-form information into at least one compatible query for querying at least one data set, wherein converting the free-form information includes generating, using a grammar parser, a parsing tree representing the free-form information, wherein the parsing tree is independent of a first data management system and a second data management system, and generating, using the parsing tree, the at least one compatible query that is understandable by at least the first data management system managing the at least one data set, wherein generating the at least one compatible query includes performing, using the parsing tree, a query analysis for identifying additional information to obtain for generating the at least one compatible query and requesting and receiving, via a graphical user interface, the additional information, wherein the at least one compatible query includes a query for querying a management information base (MIB) or a query for querying a JavaScript object notation (JSON) object; querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system, wherein querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system includes generating a second query using the at least one compatible query or results from querying the at least one data set, wherein the at least one compatible query or the results indicate a CIS element of the CIS and querying, using the second query, a graph related data structure for identifying adjacent data elements associated with a first data element comprising data about the CIS element, wherein one adjacent data element to the first data element is based on information obtained from the first data management system and a different adjacent data element to the first data element is based on information obtained from the second data management system; and providing the information about the computing system. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the free-form information includes a natural language or semi-natural language query. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein converting the free-form information includes generating, using the parsing tree, at least one compatible query that is understandable by the second data management system. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system includes utilizing the graph related data structure for obtaining contextually relevant information associated with the information about the computing system. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4 wherein the contextually relevant information includes at least one member selected from a group consisting of statistics based on the information about the computing system, a maximum of a set of values, a minimum of a set of values, an average of a set of values, an aggregation of a set of values, a derived value using information from one or more sources, and information stored in at least one adjacent element to an element storing the information about the computing system in the graph related data structure. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4 wherein the at least one data set and the graph related data structure are associated with one or more data management systems. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the information about the computing system includes information about at least one member selected from a group consisting of a computing platform, a computing device, a virtual machine, a hypervisor, a compute component, a network component, a storage component, software, an operating system, firmware, hardware, a physical resource, and a virtual resource. ### Claim 8 A system for performing a free-form query, the system comprising: a hardware-based processor; and a query engine implemented using the hardware-based processor, wherein the query engine is configured to receive, from an operator, free-form information for requesting information about a computing system comprising a converged infrastructure system (CIS) managed by the operator, to convert the free-form information into at least one compatible query for querying at least one data set, wherein converting the free-form information includes generating, using a grammar parser, a parsing tree representing the free-form information, wherein the parsing tree is independent of a first data management system and a second data management system, and generating, using the parsing tree, the at least one compatible query that is understandable by at least the first data management system managing the at least one data set, wherein generating the at least one compatible query includes performing, using the parsing tree, a query analysis for identifying additional information to obtain for generating the at least one compatible query and requesting and receiving, via a graphical user interface, the additional information, wherein the at least one compatible query includes a query for querying a management information base (MIB) or a query for querying a JavaScript object notation (JSON) object, to query, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system, wherein querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system includes generating a second query using the at least one compatible query or results from querying the at least one data set, wherein the at least one compatible query or the results indicate a CIS element of the CIS and querying, using the second query, a graph related data structure for identifying adjacent data elements associated with a first data element comprising data about the CIS element, wherein one adjacent data element to the first data element is based on information obtained from the first data management system and a different adjacent data element to the first data element is based on information obtained from a second data management system, and to provide the information about the computing system. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8 wherein the free-form information includes a natural language or semi-natural language query. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8 wherein the query engine is configured to generate, using the parsing tree, at least one compatible query that is understandable by the second data management system. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8 wherein the query engine is configured to utilize a graph related data structure for obtaining at the graph related data structure for obtaining contextually relevant information associated with the information about the computing system. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11 wherein the contextually relevant information includes at least one member selected from a group consisting of statistics based on the information about the computing system, a maximum of a set of values, a minimum of a set of values, an average of a set of values, an aggregation of a set of values, a derived value using information from one or more sources, and information stored in at least one adjacent element to an element storing the information about the computing system in the graph related data structure. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11 wherein the at least one data set and the graph related data structure are associated with one or more data management systems. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The system of claim 8 wherein the information about the computing system includes information about at least one member selected from a group consisting of a computing platform, a computing device, a virtual machine, a hypervisor, a compute component, a network component, a storage component, software, an operating system, firmware, hardware, a physical resource, and a virtual resource. ### Claim 15 A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions which, when executed by a processor of a computer, cause the computer to perform steps comprising: at a query engine implemented using a hardware-based processor: receiving, from an operator, free-form information for requesting information about a computing system comprising a converged infrastructure system (CIS) managed by the operator; converting the free-form information into at least one compatible query for querying at least one data set, wherein converting the free-form information includes generating, using a grammar parser, a parsing tree representing the free-form information, wherein the parsing tree is independent of a first data management system and a second data management system, and generating, using the parsing tree, the at least one compatible query that is understandable by at least the first data management system managing the at least one data set, wherein generating the at least one compatible query includes performing, using the parsing tree, a query analysis for identifying additional information to obtain for generating the at least one compatible query and requesting and receiving, via a graphical user interface, the additional information, wherein the at least one compatible query includes a query for querying a management information base (MIB) or a query for querying a JavaScript object notation (JSON) object; querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system, wherein querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system includes generating a second query using the at least one compatible query or results from querying the at least one data set, wherein the at least one compatible query or the results indicate a CIS element of the CIS and querying, using the second query, a graph related data structure for identifying adjacent data elements associated with a first data element comprising data about the CIS element, wherein one adjacent data element to the first data element is based on information obtained from the first data management system and a different adjacent data element to the first data element is based on information obtained from a second data management system; and providing the information about the computing system. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein the free-form information includes a natural language or semi-natural language query. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein converting the free-form information includes generating, using the parsing tree, at least one compatible query that is understandable by the second data management system. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein querying, using the at least one compatible query, the at least one data set for the information about the computing system includes utilizing the graph related data structure for obtaining the graph related data structure for obtaining contextually relevant information associated with the information about the computing system. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18 wherein the contextually relevant information includes at least one member selected from a group consisting of statistics based on the information about the computing system, a maximum of a set of values, a minimum of a set of values, an average of a set of values, an aggregation of a set of values, a derived value using information from one or more sources, and information stored in at least one adjacent element to an element storing the information about the computing system in the graph related data structure. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18 wherein the at least one data set and the graph related data structure are associated with one or more data management systems.