Mechanism to Display Graphical IT Infrastructure Using Configurable Smart Navigation
AssigneeBMC Software, Inc.
InventorsWesley Gere, Olivier Pignault
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system allows pre-defining CI scope definitions for use by users of a CMDB system. The pre-defined CI scope definitions may be used to expand a starting CI in a graph displaying a portion of the CMDB according to the types of CIs and relationships between CIs defined in the scope definition. The scope definition is converted into one or more CMDB queries that are restricted to a chain of CIs related to the starting CI. The system restricts the visibility of scope definitions to only those applicable to the starting CI.
Claims20
A method for use with a configuration management database (CMDB) containing configuration items (CIs) that represent elements of an information technology (IT) infrastructure, comprising:
- providing a graphical scope definition builder for generating CI scope definitions;
- identifying a CI scope definition to a user of the CMDB applicable to a user-selected starting node representing a first element of the IT infrastructure;
- and
- expanding a CI graph at the starting node responsive to a user selection of the CI scope definition to show CIs representing elements of the IT infrastructure that have a relationship to the first element defined by the CI scope definition.
A system for use with a configuration management database (CMDB) containing configuration items (CIs) that represent elements of an information technology (IT) infrastructure, comprising:
- a graphical user interface, configured to display a first graph of CIs responsive to requests from a user;
- a query engine, communicatively coupled to the graphical user interface and configured to generate a second graph of CIs responsive to a request from the user to expand the first graph of CIs at a selected CI of the first graph according to a predefined CI scope of a plurality of predefined CI scopes;
- a query definition manager, communicatively coupled to the query engine and configured to generate a query definition responsive to a request to retrieve a query definition from the query engine;
- a scope definition manager, communicatively coupled to the graphical user interface and the query definition manager and configured to:
- identify to the graphical user interface a first scope associated with the selected CI of the plurality of predefined CI scopes, responsive to a request from the user to expand the first graph of CIs at the selected CI;
- and
- identify a query to the query engine corresponding to the first scope responsive to a request from the query engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.