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`Case 6:20-cv-00156—ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 1 of 12
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`EXHIBIT D
`EXHIBIT D
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`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 2 of 12
`Case 62°‘CV'00156'ADA Do‘mlllill11111111111111111111111|111111111111111||||||||
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`USOU795821582
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Herbeck et a].
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,958,215 BZ
`Jun. 7, 2011
`
`[54) SYSTEM MANAGEMENT USING REAL TIME
`COLLABORATION
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: David Gerard Herheek. Rochester. MN
`(US): Snsette Marie Townsend.
`Rochester. MN (US)
`
`[73) Assignee:
`
`International Business Machines
`Corporation. Annonk. NY (US)
`
`( "‘ ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer. the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C‘. 154(b) by 2104 days.
`
`(21) App1.No.: 107365.298
`
`[22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Feb. 12, 2003
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 200470158629!“
`
`Aug. 12. 2004
`
`[65)
`
`(51)
`
`Int. ('1.
`G06)” 15/173
`[1.3. CI.
`
`(52)
`
`(2006.01)
`7097223: 7091224: 7097226: 7091227:
`379726501: 379726502
`[58) Field ofClassilieation Search
`7097222.
`7097224. 206. 219. 223: 379726501. 26502
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56}
`
`References Cited
`
`11.8. PA’l'liN’l‘ DOCUMI'ZNTS
`5.563.805 A *
`10-1996 Arbucideetal.
`5.815.554 A *
`9-1998 Burgess et a1.
`6.064.304 A “‘
`5-2000 Arrowsmith e131.
`6.128.646 A *
`10-2000 Milosiavsky
`6.223.165 Bl *
`4:"2001 Laufi‘er
`6.327.677 Bl *
`12-"2001 Gar}; et a1.
`
`709-"204
`.. 379590.01
`709-"224
`.. 709-"206
`70531
`709-5224
`
`6.430.602 Bl
`7099206
`8:"2002 Kayet al.
`6.449.344 Bl
`379188.17
`9-2002 Goldfingeretal
`705:"1
`132003 Stephanotl
`......
`6.513.013 131*
`3707270
`332003 Shtivelman
`6.535.492 132*
`709-224
`10-2003 Glasserelal.
`6.631.412 Bl *
`700’13‘3
`6.640.153 32* 1032003 Kwnk
`709223
`6.829.585 Bl "'
`1232004 Grewai et a].
`
`709-‘224
`6.832.341 Bl “
`12-2004 Vijayan .......
`
`7095219
`6.868.074 31*
`332005 Hanson
`709-"222
`432006 0'Toolc..lr.
`7.024.548 31*
`
`709-228
`7-"2006 Benjamin el' al.
`7.072.966 Bl "‘
`70751041
`7.120.647 B2 *
`10.-'2006 Venkatesh ct a].
`.. 379526502
`7.139.390 132 *
`ll."'2006 Brown ct al.
`
`.. 379-26501
`2002.-"0006l91 Al *
`172002 W’ciss ..........
`
`2003-0031309 Al "“
`232003 Rtlpe el :11.
`.. 379326102
`200450005048 Al ’1'
`1-2004 Agusta ..................... 379-'265.12
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Rainy M Osman
`Primmjt‘ Entertainer
`(74) Artur-Meta Agent. or Firm
`Grant A. Johnson
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`The present invention provides a method of improving the
`response lime to [T problems and ensuring that some will
`respond to a problem. In one embodiment. a management
`system uses a monitoring system to detect problem condi—
`tions with a managed device. When such an event occurs. the
`managed device sends a message containing a description of
`the alert to an intelligent agent. in response. the intelligent
`agent selects an administrator who is both qualified and avail-
`able to respond to the alert. and then sends an instant message
`containing the description of the alert to the selected admin-
`istrator. The administrator may accept responsibility for the
`alert by sending an instant mes sage acknowledgement back to
`the intelligent agent. 11 the intelligent agent does not receive
`an acknowledgement. it automatically finds another admin-
`istrator to respond to the alert.
`
`17 Claims. 5 Drawing Sheets
`
`ill
`lnltlelln event nreoesslng
`server
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Inlet for
`Ismaimnt I
`
`
`
`
`
` finer
`list
`IT [I
`essima
`‘1; mllflm
`
`
`
`II no (25510118
`
`1 S
`
`et
`
`I S
`
`” estate
`
`55399 to IT nmresslertal
`
`5 1
`
`Smut
`
`[III M
`Moment.
`”mulls? Professional
`
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 3 of 12
`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 3 of 12
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`US. Patent
`
`Jun. 7,2011
`
`Sheet 1 of5
`
`US 7,958,215 32
`
`IOHC
`
`110D
`
`IOHD
`. FIG.IA
`
`100
`
`106
`
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`04
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`130b
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`1303
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`

`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 4 of 12
`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 4 of 12
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`US. Patent
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`Jun. 7,2011
`
`Sheet 2 of5
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`US 7,958,215 132
`
`e
`9
`u.
`
`a
`
`02
`9
`u.
`
`E
`
`o
`0'
`E
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`130
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`140
`
`DNH
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`

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`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 5 of 12
`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 5 of 12
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`US. Patent
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`Jun. 7,2011
`
`Sheet 3 of5
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`US 7,958,215 132
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`210
`
`230
`
`240
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`
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`
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`Transmit event code
`to management server
`
`FIG. 2
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`

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`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 6 of 12
`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 6 of 12
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`US. Patent
`
`Jun. 7,2011
`
`Sheet 4 of5
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`US 7,958,215 32
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`310
`
`Initialize event processing
`server
`
`
`? 33D
`Rec:g!!lll||!lllll
`
`event message
`
`335
`
`Generate list of qualified
`IT professionals
`
`340
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`Send message to IT professional
`
`
`
`IT professional
`Get next
`1n list for this type of event
`
`Is
`IT professional
`available
`
`350
`
`355
`
`370
`
`Log event as handled by
`respondlng IT professional
`
`FIG. 3
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 7 of 12
`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 7 of 12
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`US. Patent
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`Jun. 7,2011
`
`Sheets ofS
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`US 7,958,215 132
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 8 of 12
`Case 6:20-cv-00156-ADA Document 1-4 Filed 02/28/20 Page 8 of 12
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`US T958215 BZ
`
`1
`SYSTEM MANAGEMENT USING REAL TIME
`COLLABORATION
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`The present invention relates to a method. system. and
`article of manufacture for managing inlomration technology
`(“1’1”) devices. and in particular. to management methods and
`systems rising real-time collaboration and instant messaging
`technology.
`
`1U
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`'lhe latter lralfof the twentieth century has been witness to
`a phenomenon known as the information revolution. While
`the information revolution is a historical development
`broader in scope than any one event or machine. the decreas-
`ing cost of information technology has undoubtedly been
`revolutionary. These decreases. in turn. have driven produc-
`tivity increases in a snowballing effect as product designs.
`manufacturing processes. resource scheduling. administra-
`tive chores. and many other factors, are made more efficient.
`As a result of these benefits. information technology now
`plays a critical role in virtually every organization.
`Many organizations have discovered that the total cost of
`processing information is not limited to the cost of the hard-
`ware and software used to perform the tasks. lt also includes
`the cost of human resources devoted to install and maintain
`the IT systems and. perhaps more significantly. the lost pro—
`ductivity costs incurred when IT systems fail. As IT systems
`and their applications have become mission-critical, many
`organizations now employ teeuns of skilled IT administrators
`to manage their IT resources. One problem that these organi-
`zations encounter, however, is that it is prohibitively expen-
`sive to assign an administrator to monitor every piece of
`critical equipment 24 hours a day. 365 days a year.
`One partial solution to this problem is to have the IT sys-
`tents send out an email to an administrator should a problem
`arise. The administrator who receives the email can then
`
`3U
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`35
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`diagnose and resolve the problem. One problem with this
`solution. however. is that that there cart be significant delay
`between the time the administrator receives the email and the
`
`4t:
`
`time they actually read it. particularly when the triggering
`condition occurs at night or during holidays. Moreover. even
`alter the administrator reads the email. they may still need to
`travel to the problem site before they can fix the problem. For
`many mission-critical applications. even a few minutes of
`downtime can cause millions ofdollars worth of losses.
`
`Another problem with conventional notification systems is
`that they do not ensure that the proper administrator received
`the alert and is going to take action to solve the problem.
`Another problem with conventional systems is that they fre
`quently send the emergency emails to an administrator who is
`at home or on another service call. even though there are
`other. available administrators who can respond to the prob-
`lem as elfectively. Yet another problem with entail solutions is
`that
`they only provide asynchronous communications.
`Accordingly. there is no real—time feedback possible to the
`system from the administrator indicating the administrator‘s
`ability to do anything about the problem.
`Without a means to improve the response to IT problems.
`the promise of the information technology revolution may
`never be Fully achieved.
`
`45
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`50
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`55
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`6t;
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`2
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`respond to a problem. Accordingly. one aspect of the present
`invention is a method of responding to a problem condition.
`One embodiment of this method comprises detecting a first
`available candidate to respond to a problem condition. and
`assigning responsibility for the problem condition to the first
`available candidate. In some embodiments. assigning respon-
`sibility for the problem condition comprises sending a real
`time message to the first available candidate. This method
`may further comprise waiting for a response li'om the first
`available candidate. and il'the response is not received within
`a selected period of time. assigning responsibility for the
`problem condition to a second available candidate.
`Another aspect of the present invention is a method of
`managing an information technology device. one embodi-
`ment ofwhich comprises receiving an alert from a managed
`information technology device. selecting a candidate quali-
`lied to respond to the event. and determining if the candidate
`is available to respond to the event. These embodiments may
`further comprise sending an instant message to the candidate
`containing information about
`the alert and receiving an
`instant message from the candidate indicating acceptance of
`responsibility for the alert.
`Another aspect of the present invention is a method for
`assigning responsibility for responding to a fault condition in
`an information technology device. One embodiment of this
`method comprises receiving an alert from a monitored infor-
`mation technology device. the alert describing an event in the
`monitored information technology device: detecting an avail-
`able administrator qualified to respond to the event: sending a
`first instant message to the available administrator. the instant
`message referencing the alert and requesting an acknowl-
`edgement: receiving a second instant message from the avail-
`able administrator. the second instant message containing the
`acknowledgement
`li'om the administrator; and assigning
`responsibility for the event to the available administrator.
`Other aspects of the present invention include a manage-
`ment system and a computer program product. One embodi—
`ment of the management system comprises an agent that
`detects a condition in a managed device and communicates
`the condition to a event processing server: a event processing
`server that selects an available administrator to respond to the
`condition and communicates the condition to a client device
`associated with the available administrator; and a client
`device that communicates the condition to the available
`
`administrator. One embodiment of the computer program
`product comprises a program which. when executed by a
`processor. perfomrs a method of responding to a problem
`condition and a signal bearing media bearing the program.
`The method performed by the program comprises detecting a
`first available candidate to respond to a problem condition
`and assigning responsibility for the problem condition to the
`first available candidate.
`The present invention offers numerous advantages over
`conventional management methods
`and systems. For
`example. embodiments of the present invention can selec-
`tively send problem alerts those administrators who are at or
`near their client device. which ensures that the administrators
`will
`receive the alert
`immediately. Embodiments of the
`present invention can also selectively send the alerts to those
`administrators who are qualified to respond to the problem.
`These and other features. aspects. and advantages will
`become better understood with reference to the following
`description. appended claims. and accompanying drawings.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The present invention provides a method of improving the
`response time to [‘1‘ problems and ensuring that some will
`
`So the manner in which the above recited features of the
`
`present invention are attained and can be understood in detail.
`
`

`

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`a more particular description ot'the invention may be had by
`reference to the embodiments thereof that are illustrated in
`
`the appended drawings.
`FIG. 1A depicts an IT management system embodiment in
`accordance with the present invention.
`FIG.
`113 depicts a data structure for an administrator
`record.
`
`:5
`
`In operation. the management system 100 uses the moni—
`toring system 112 to detect problem conditions with the [‘1'
`device 102. such as low system availability. high response
`time. high CI’U andtor DASD utilization. unusual system
`events. system error messages and the like. When such an
`event occurs. the IT device 102 sends a mmmunication, such
`as an instant message. containing a description of the alert to
`the intelligent agent 116. In response. the intelligent agent
`116 selects an administrator who is both qualified and avail-
`able to respond to the alert. and then sends an instant message
`containing the description of the alert to the selected admin-
`istrator. The administrator may accept responsibility for the
`alert by sending an instant mes sage acknowledgement back to
`the intelligent agent 116. If the intelligent agent 116 does not
`receive the acknowledgement within a few minutes. it auto-
`matically finds another administrator to respond to the alert.
`FIG. 2 depicts the operation of the monitoring system 1 12
`in more detail. At block 210. each monitoring system 112
`aiidfor device 102 is assigned a unique device identifier 160
`' and loaded with a list ofalcrt identifiercodes 162 for the types
`ofproblems for which it is designed to monitor. For example.
`ifthe IT device 102 is a server computer. alert code A001 may
`indicate that the CPU load is greater than a particular value.
`alert code A002 may indicate that one of the computer's
`cooling fans has failed. etc .
`.
`.
`. At block 220. the monitoring
`system{s) 112 monitors the IT device(s} 102 until one detects
`an event. When a particular monitoring system 1 12 detects an
`event. it determines (at block 230) the appropriate alert code
`162' iron) the list ot'codes 162. Next. at block 240. the moni—
`toring system 112 transmits the device identifier 160 and the
`alert code 162' to the intelligent agent 116 using the instant
`messaging client 1100. or other suitable communication pro-
`tocol, and then continues to monitor the IT device 102.
`FIG. 3 depicts the operation of the intelligent agent 116 in
`more detail. At block 310. the administrator records 120 are
`initialized with the names. electronic addresses. and locations
`ot'eacli ot'the organization” 5 IT administrators. together with
`the alert identifier codes 162 for which the administrator is
`
`FIG. 1C depicts a data structure for a device record.
`FIG. 1D depicts a data structure for an alert record.
`FIG. 2 depicts the operation ot‘an intelligent agent embodi-
`ment.
`
`FIG. 3 depicts the operation of an event processing server
`embodiment.
`
`FIG. 4 depicts a computer system suitable for use with the
`embodiments in FIGS. 1-3.
`
`[1 is to be noted that these drawings illustrate only typical
`einbodiineitts of this invention and are therefore not to he
`
`considered limiting of its scope. for the invention may admit
`to other equally ettectivc embodiments.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`FIG. 1A shows a one embodiment of an [’1‘ management
`system 100. This system 100 comprises a plurality of moni-
`tored IT devices 102 [for clarity. only one shown) connected
`to a plurality ofclient devices 1046-1041: (for clarity. only one
`shown in detail) and a server computer 106 by an appropriate
`communications medium 108. Each monitored 1T device 102
`contains an instant messaging client application 1 It} (“instant
`messaging client“) and at least one monitoring agent andfor
`sensor 1 12 (“monitoring system") that monitors the IT device
`102 for events and triggers indicating a problem or fault
`condition. liach client device 104 is assigned to one of the
`organization” 5 IT administrators and contains an instant mes—
`saging client 11017—1an with online awareness capabilities.
`The server computer 106 contains an intelligent message
`server application 116 (“intelligent agent“) capable of pro-
`cessing alerts. instant messages. and availability awareness
`information from the monitored devices 102 and the instant
`
`messaging clients 110: and a database application 118 that
`manages a database containing a plurality of administrator
`records 120. a plurality ot'device records 130. and a plurality
`of alert records 140.
`As best shown in FIG. 113. each administrator record 120
`
`contains an administrator identifier field 122 containing an
`electronic identifier. such as an email address. of one of the
`organization’s IT administrators: a nickname field 124 con-
`taining tlte administrator‘s first andfor last name: a physical
`location field 126 containing the IT professional‘s physical
`location (e.g.. a site name or global positioning system coor-
`dinates). and a knowledgeable subject matter field 128 con-
`taining codes indicating the types of problems to which the
`administrator is qualified to respond. As best shown iit FIG.
`1C. each device record 130 contains a unique device identifier
`field 132 containing the electronic identity of a monitored
`device 102, and a physical location field 134 containing the
`physical location oi'the monitored device 102 . As best shown
`in F 1G. 11), each alert record 140 incltides an alert identifier
`142. a device identilier 144 containing the device identifier
`132 belonging to the device 102 that
`issued the alert. a
`responding administrator field 146 containing the electronic
`identifier 122 associated with the administrator who
`
`responded to the alert. a subject matter code 148 for storing a
`code indicating the type of problem that generated the alert.
`and an alert description field 149 for storing any comments
`front the administrator who responded to the alert.
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`6t;
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`qualified to respond. In some embodiments. the “administra-
`tors“ may include mix ofhumatt IT professionals and intel-
`ligent agents (not shown} capable of responding to various
`alert codes 162. such as a load—balancing agent that automati—
`cally directs trafiic away from an overwhelmed device 102 in
`response to an alert indicating high CPU use. Also at block
`310. the device records 130 are initialized with the names.
`electronic addresses. and locations of each monitored [‘1'
`device 102. The intelligent agent 116 then waits until
`it
`receives an alert from one ol‘ the monitored devices 102.
`When the intelligent agent 116 receives an alert from a
`monitored device 102. it searches for an administrator who is
`both qualified and available to resolve the event that triggered
`the alert. More specifically. the intelligent agent 116 gener-
`ates a list of qualified administrators at block 335 by first
`extracting the alert code 162' from the alert message. then
`searching the administrator records 120 for an administrator
`having the same code 162 in their knowledgeable subject
`matter field 128. Next. at blocks 340—350, the intelligent agent
`116 selects the first administrator in the list and detennines if
`that administrator is near their client device 104 so that they
`will receive the alert message. One suitable way is to use
`online awareness techniques. such as those used by Lotus
`Sameti me client and the Lotus Sametime Server application.
`available from International Business Machines of Armonk.
`N.Y._. or those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6.449.344. which is
`herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
`lfll‘te administrator is flagged as available (at block 350).
`the intelligent agent 116 sends {at block 355) the device
`
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`identifier 160. a description of the alert generated from the
`alert code 162'. and a request to accept responsibility for the
`alert
`to the selected administrator.
`If the administrator
`
`acknowledges receipt of the message and acceptance of
`responsibility for the alert (at block 360). the intelligent agent
`116 logs (at block 370) the professional’s electronic address
`into the responding administrator field 146. the identifier 160
`for the device 102 into the device identifier field 144. and the
`code 162' for the alert into the alert identifier field 149. If the
`
`administrator is not available or does not accept the task. the
`event processing server repeats blocks 340-370 with the next
`administrator in the list. and process repeats until an admin-
`istrator accepts responsibility for the alert.
`Some embodiments may sort the list generated at block
`335 to optimize the order in which they send requests to the
`qualified administrators. 'l‘hese embodiments may be desir-
`able because they can assign responsibility to the particular
`administrator who is best able to respond to the alert. For
`example. the intelligent agent 116 may use the administra-
`tor’s physical location 126 and the device’s physical location
`134 to select the administrator who is located closest to the
`device 102 or who will be closest to the device 102 after
`completing their current task. 'lhese embodiments may be
`particularly desirable when used with pervasive andfor
`mobile clients 104a capable of detecting its location in near
`real-time. such as a cellular telephone equipped with a global
`positioning system (“UPS") receiver 199. because the man-
`agement system 100 can track the location of the administra—
`tor as they move through the organization‘s facilities. Other
`embodiments further optimize assignments by using the alert
`records 140 to assign the alert to the administrator who
`recently solved a similar problem or who last worked on the
`device 102 that sent the alert.
`
`Another optimization used by some embodiments is to
`select the administrators based on the extent to which they are
`available. In these embodiments. the instant messaging client
`11% will allow the administrator to enter an ‘availability’
`score between 1 and 5. where ‘ l ‘ indicates that
`they can
`respond to any problem: ‘ 3‘ indicates that they are responding
`to another problem. but can be interrupted ifa mission-critical
`device 102 fails: and ‘5’
`indicates that
`they are already
`responding to a mission—critical failure. This instant messag—
`ing client 110!) will then transmit this availability score to the
`intelligent agent 116 as an on-line awareness state. The intel-
`ligent agent 116 will use this availability score. the alert code
`from the monitoring system I 12. and the device identifier 132
`to prioritize assignments so that critical alerts are resolved
`quickly. Those skilled in the art will an will appreciate that
`other optimizations. and various combinations of these optiw
`mizations, are also within the scope of the present invention.
`Referring again to FIG. 1. the instant messaging clients 110
`can be any type of communication device or application
`capable of facilitating instant messaging among multiple
`computer users attached to the communications medium 108.
`The intelligent agent 116. similarly. can be any system
`capable of working with the database application 118 to send
`instant messages to the appropriate administrators. Instant
`messaging may be implemented in various ways. but in gen—
`eral. it supports the sending and receiving 0 finstant messages
`to and from other users. Instant messages, in turn. are mes-
`sages which appear on the computer display ofthe recipient
`tnore or less instantly alier being sent. subject only to trans-
`mission delays. processing delays. and the like. as opposed to
`more traditional e—mail and pager messages, which typically
`are logged until the recipient wishes to view them or the
`device is powered on and connected to the network. ()nlinc
`awareness is the ability of the instant messaging system to
`
`1U
`
`know your status. such as being available. away from desk.
`and the like. Suitable instant messaging clients 110. messag-
`ing servers. and database applications 118 are the Lotus
`Sametime Connect client. the Lotus Sametime Server appli-
`cation. and the IBM DBZ database. all of which are available
`front International Business Machines ofArmonk. NY.
`In addition. although the embodiment in FIGS. lA—IB has
`been described with reference to querying the database appli-
`cation 118. those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
`intelligent agent 116 may use real-time conununication to
`acquire all or part of this information. For example= the intel-
`ligent agent 116 in some embodiments may poll a particular
`client device 1043’: to determine its location. rather query the
`database application 118. These embodiments may be desir—
`able because they may require less storage tor the database
`application 1 18 and may reduce the network tralfic associated
`with maintaining current database records.
`The communication medium 108 can be any device or
`system that allows the IT device 102. the client devices 104.
`' and the intelligent agent 116 to communicate with each other.
`Suitable communication mediums include, but are not limited
`to. the Internet. intranets. cellular transmission networks. net-
`works using the [lilili 802.1 1 specification. and various cont-
`binations thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that
`many different network protocols can be used to implement
`the communication medium 108. The Transmission Control
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`Protocoli’lntemct Protocol (“'l‘CPr’ IP") is an example of a
`suitable network protocol for Intemet communication.
`The embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1—3
`uses a client-server network architecture. ‘l‘hese embodi-
`
`ments are desirable because the instant meSsaging clients 110
`can utilize the service of the intelligent agent 1 16 without the
`devices 102. 104. 106 requiring knowledge of the working
`details about the other. l-Iowever. those skilled in the art will
`appreciate that other network architectures are within the
`scope of the present invention. Examples of other network
`architectures include. without limitation. peer-to-peer archi-
`tectures and three-tier architectures.
`
`The identifier fields 122. 132 may contain any infonnation
`capable of identifying resources on the communication
`medium 108. The alert identifier 142. similarly. may contain
`any information capable of identifying individual alerts. For
`embodiments using the Internet. the identifier fields 122. 132
`may contain an electronic mail address associated with the
`administrator and the device.
`respectively. These mail
`addresses
`are
`typically
`in
`the
`fomi
`user_name@ntail_server_name, where mail_server_nante
`speci fies the name 0 fa mail server for the user. and user_naine
`is the name ofthe user or device known to the intelligent agent
`server 116. For embodiments utilizing pervasive andfor
`mobile client devices 104:: and cellular telephony networks.
`the identifier fields 122, 132 may contain the telephone num-
`ber associated with the pervasive andlor mobile client device
`104n. Suitable information for
`the alert
`identifier 142
`
`includes alphanumeric serial number or senderftimestamp
`information.
`
`The monitoring systems 112 can be any device. system. or
`computer program capable of detecting problem conditions
`in the monitored device 102. Suitable monitors 112 inelttde.
`
`without limitation. a simple sensor that generates an alert
`when a variable exceeds a set point. and a complex monitor-
`ing program that uses artificial intelligence techniques to
`anticipate problems before they cause a catastrophic failure.
`Furthennore. although the monitoring system 112 has been
`generally described as communicating with the intelligent
`agent 116 via the instant message client 1100. those skilled in
`the art will appreciate that other communication protocols are
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`within the scope of the present invention. Suitable protocols
`include. without limitation. the Simple Network Miutage-
`ment Protocol (“SN MP"). These embodiments may be desir-
`able because they would not need to include a message client
`1 l 0.
`FIG. 4 depicts a computer 400 embodiment suitable for use
`as one of the client devices 104 or as the server comptiter 106.
`This computer 400 embodiment comprises a processor 410
`connected to a main memory 420. a mass storage interface
`430. one or more 110 interfaces 440. and a network interface
`450 via a system bus 460. The mass storage interface 430
`coiutects one or more mass storage devices. such as a direct
`access storage device (“DASH“) 457, to the system bus 460.
`The inputloutput (“DO”) interface 440 connects one or more
`inputt’output devices. such as a keyboard 46'? or cathode ray
`tube display 469. to the system bus 460. The network inter-
`face 450 connects the computer 400 to the other devices 102.
`104. 106 {not shown) overthe connnunication medium 108.
`The main memory 420 contains one or more application
`programs. such as an operating system 475. the instant mes-
`saging client 110. andfor the intelligent agent 116.
`The processor 410 in this embodiment may be any device
`capable of executing the program instructions stored in the
`main memories 420; and may be constructed from one or
`more microprocessors anda’or integrated circuits. Further-
`more. although the computer system 400 is shown to contain
`only a single processor 410 and a single system bus 460. those
`skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may
`be practiced using a computer system that has multiple pro-
`eessors 410 andfor multiple buses 460. [n addition. the inter-
`faces 430. 440. 450 may each include their own separate. fully
`programmed microprocessors that are used to off-load com-
`pute-intensive processing from the main processor. 410.
`Mien the computer 400 starts up. the processor 410 ini-
`tially executes the program instructions that make tip the
`operating system 475. which is a sophisticated program that
`manages the resources of computer system 400. including:
`the processors 410: the main memory 420; the mass storage
`interface 430: the HO interfaces 440: the network interface
`450: and the system buses 460. Administrators may enter
`commands for the operating. system 475 using appropriate
`It’O devices. such as the keyboard 467 or mouse (not shown].
`connected to the It'O interfaces 440.
`
`The computer system 400 in this embodiment utilizes well-
`known virtual addressing mechanisms that allow its programs
`to behave as if they ltave access to a large. single storage entity
`instead of access to multiple. smaller storage entities such as
`main memories 420 and the DASI) device 457. Therefore.
`while the operating system 475. the instant messaging client
`11%. the intelligent agent 116 and their associated data are
`shown to reside in main memory 420. those skilled in the art
`will recognize that these items are not necessarily all com-
`pletely contained in main memory 420 at the same time. and
`tnay also reside in the virtual memory of other computer
`systems {not shown) coupled to the computer system 400.
`One suitable server computer 400 is an eServer iSeriesiE‘
`computer running the OSMOOIE- multitasking operating sys—
`tem. both of which are produced by International Business
`Machines Corporation ofArmonk. NY. Another suitable cli-
`ent computer 400 is an IBM 'I‘hinkpad-il'ii- computer running
`the LinuxTM operating system. both of which are also avail-
`able from International Business Machines ofArmonk. NY.
`However. those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
`mechanisms and apparatus of the present invention apply
`equally to any computer system 400 and operating system
`475. regardless of whether the computer system 400 is a
`complicated multi-user computing apparatus; a single-user
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`fit;
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`workstation: a pervasive device. such as a cellular telephone
`or personal digital assistant (“FDA"); or an embedded control
`system.
`Although the present invention has been described in detail
`with reference to certain exa