Method and apparatus for identifying a failure mechanism for a component in a computer system

A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for identifying a failure mechanism for a component, the method comprising:

• constructing a library of failure signatures from a set of components, wherein each failure signature in the library characterizes a known failure mechanism associated with a component in the set of components, and the failure signature is stored at a high-resolution;
• receiving a telemetry signal which is measured from a component under surveillance, wherein the telemetry signal is measured at a low-resolution;
• determining if there is an anomaly in the telemetry signal, and if so:
• performing pattern-matching operations between the telemetry signal and failure signatures in the library;
• and
• if a match is found, identifying the failure mechanism for the component under surveillance based on the matching failure signature,
• wherein the pattern-matching operations recall the high-resolution failure signature based on the low-resolution telemetry signal.

An apparatus that identifies a failure mechanism for a component, comprising:

• a construction mechanism configured to construct a library of failure signatures from a set of components, wherein each failure signature in the library characterizes a known failure mechanism associated with a component in the set of components, and the failure signature is stored at a high-resolution;
• a receiving mechanism configured to receive a telemetry signal which is measured from a component under surveillance, wherein the telemetry signal is measured at a low-resolution;
• a determination mechanism configured to determine if there is an anomaly in the telemetry signal,
• wherein the determination mechanism is further configured to:
• perform pattern-matching operations between the telemetry signal and failure signatures in the library;
• and
• if a match is found, to identify a failure mechanism for the component under surveillance based on the matching failure signature,
• wherein the pattern-matching operations recall the high-resolution failure signature based on the low-resolution telemetry signal.