Inferential diagnosing engines for grid-based computing systems

A computer readable medium having computer readable code thereon for producing a derived list of suspect root causes for fault events in a grid-based computing system, the medium comprising:

• instructions for establishing a database containing rules describing said grid-based computing system according to causes, evidences, and effects;
• one or more agent scripts each adapted to identify potential causes for particular fault events that may occur in said computing system, each said agent script referencing said rules in said database to analyze metadata produced by said computing system;
• instructions for receiving an indication of a fault event after it occurs in said computing system and displaying said fault to a user;
• and
• instructions enabling said user to initiate an automated diagnostic agent process instance in said computing system according to one of said agent scripts associated with said occurred fault event, said automated diagnostic agent instance process comprising a rules-based engine that establishes an event belief network that applies inferential logic to associate root causes with fault events by performing one or more analyses to construct a derivative list event according to said rules;
• and
• wherein said automated diagnostic agent process instance thereby provides a derived list that contains an identification of probable isolated faults with each probable fault having a probability index assigned thereto.

A grid-based computing system adapted to provide partially automated diagnosis of fault events by producing a derived list of suspect root causes for said fault events, the computing system comprising:

• a memory;
• a processor;
• a persistent data store;
• a communications interface;
• and
• an electronic interconnection mechanism coupling the memory, the processor, the persistent data store, and the communications interface;
• wherein said persistent data store contains a database storing rules describing said grid-based computing system according to causes, evidences, and effects, and said persistent data store further contains one or more agent scripts each adapted to identify potential causes for particular fault events that may occur in said computing system, each said agent script referencing said rules in said database to analyze metadata from said computing system;
• and wherein the memory is encoded with an application that when performed on the processor, provides a diagnostic process for processing information, the diagnostic process operating according to one of said agent scripts and causing the computing system to perform the operations of:
• receiving an indication of a fault event after it occurs in said computing system;
• and
• initiating an automated diagnostic agent process instances in said computing system according to one of said agent scripts associated with said occurred fault event, said automated diagnostic agent instance process comprising a rules-based engine that establishes an event belief network that applies inferential logic to associate root causes with fault events by performing one or more analyses to construct a derivative list event according to said rules;
• and
• wherein said automated diagnostic agent process instance thereby provides a derived list that contains an identification of probable isolated faults with each probable fault having a probability index assigned thereto, said probability index representing a confidence level for deriving a conclusion that the associated fault is a root cause for an investigated fault event.