Abstract:
A computer program product for assisting a service person in managing an enterprise network is described, wherein a browser-based help desk window may be invoked by the service person at any user computer on the enterprise network that is equipped with a web browser. The browser-based help desk window is customizable to each service person, allowing the service person to embed a network visibility link on an application launch toolbar contained in the browser-based help desk window. The service person may then subsequently log into a help desk server from any user computer equipped with a browser, and then launch a browser-based network visibility session upon activation of the embedded network visibility link. The user is permitted to embed the network visibility link onto the application toolbar, and to perform other browser-based help desk window customization tasks, using simple menu selection and drag-and-drop commands.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of computer networks. In particular, the present invention relates to software for managing enterprise networks and for assisting the users thereof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The expense of managing an enterprise network can be staggering. Enterprise networks, as described in Sheldon,  The Encyclopedia of Networking , Osbourne/McGraw-Hill (1998), the contents of which are incorporated by reference into the present application, are generally both local and wide area in scope, and serve to connect the departmental or workgroup networks of an organization into an intracompany network with the potential for allowing computer users in a company to access any data or computing resource. According to one statistic appearing on the World Wide Web site of Network Associates, Inc, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference as of the filing date of the present application, the average five year cost of provisioning and maintaining a networked personal computer is more than $65,000. 
     FIG. 1 shows a diagram of an enterprise network  100  in which one or more service personnel  102   a ,  102   b , etc., provision and maintain the hardware and software therein and assist users with problems as they arise, and which is amenable to a system and method for integrated network management applications in accordance with the preferred embodiments. It is to be understood that the term service personnel as used herein generally refers to any person involved in the provisioning, maintenance, or user assistance associated with the enterprise network  100 , such persons having any of a variety of titles including, but not limited to, system administrator, computer technician, software engineer, network engineer, help desk engineer, help desk clerk, or other titles. 
     Enterprise network  100  comprises a plurality of local area networks  104 ,  106 ,  108 , and  110 . Local area network  104  may correspond, for example, to a finance department of a corporation, while local area network  106  may correspond, for example, to an engineering department. Local area network  108  may correspond, for example, to an off-site marketing department that is coupled to the remainder of the enterprise network  100  through the Internet  112  and gateway devices  114  and  116 , respectively. Finally, local area network  110  is shown in FIG. 1 as corresponding to the system administration department of a corporation, containing equipment and personnel for provisioning, maintaining, and assisting users on the enterprise network  100 . It is to be appreciated that the enterprise network  100  represents only one sample of a virtually unlimited number of configurations of enterprise networks amenable to the preferred embodiments described herein. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, local area network  104  is a token ring network to which is coupled user computers  118  and  120 , local area network  106  is an Ethernet network to which is coupled user computers  122 ,  124 , and  126 , and a file server  127 , and local area network  108  is an Ethernet network to which is coupled user computers  128  and  130 . Local area networks  104  and  106  are coupled to the remainder of the enterprise network through routers  132  and  134 , respectively. 
     Various network management tools have been made available to assist the service personnel  102   a ,  102   b , etc. in provisioning, maintaining, and assisting users in the enterprise network environment. As a first example, help desk tools have become available for assistance in resolving, recording, and tracking user troubles. As a second example, administration tools have become available for assisting in the tracking and management of hardware inventory, software inventory and distribution, software metering, and menuing. Finally, as a third example, network visibility tools have become available for assistance in analyzing, monitoring, and troubleshooting data communications problems. 
     Local area network  110  is an Ethernet network to which is coupled computer systems and other hardware for provisioning, maintaining, and assisting users on the enterprise network  100 . In particular, a help desk server  136 , an administration server  138 , a network visibility server  140 , a network visibility console  142 , and help desk terminals  144  and  146  are coupled to local area network  110 . Network visibility agent computers  148 ,  150 , and  152  are coupled to the local area networks  104 ,  106 , and  108 , respectively, for gathering network visibility data and communicating this data to network visibility server  140 . As indicated supra, the enterprise network  100  represents only one sample of a virtually unlimited number of configurations of enterprise networks, and it is not required that the above network management computer systems be coupled to a single local area network. For example, the help desk server  136  or the administration server  138  could just as well be connected to local area networks  104 ,  106 , or other local area networks (not shown) of the enterprise network  100  without departing from the scope of the preferred embodiments. Furthermore, the network visibility agent computers  148 ,  150 , and  152  may not be required to be separate computers but may rather correspond to applications loaded onto one or more of the user computers, e.g., where the local user is a local system administrator. Thus, there may be a virtually unlimited number of configurations of the enterprise network  100 , help desk devices  136 ,  144 , and  146 , administration server  138 , and network visibility devices  140 ,  142 ,  148 ,  150 , and  152  that are possible and that are amenable to a system and method for integrated network management applications in accordance with the preferred embodiments described infra, provided that there is a requirement for service personnel  102 a and  102 b and for applications for providing assistance in help desk, administration, and network visibility functionalities. 
     An exemplary help desk tool for use by the service personnel  102   a ,  102   b , etc. is McAfee HelpDesk™, currently available from Network Associates, Inc. As described in the McAfee HelpDesk user manual for v. 3.50, Mar. 31, 1998, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, McAfee HelpDesk™ comprises a Help Desk Client for loading onto help desk computers  144  and  146 , a Help Desk Database Administrator for loading onto help desk server  136 , and other optional components for providing help desk functionality. McAfee HelpDesk helps to automate the process of entering caller information, e.g. when the service person enter a caller&#39;s name, for example, all other relevant fields are filled in automatically. Important information about the caller is also displayed automatically. If a caller has open trouble tickets, a pop-up window advising of this is shown at the outset. McAfee HelpDesk is fully integrated with industry standard problem resolution technologies, such as Inference Corporation&#39;s case-based reasoning engine and knowledge-base tools. A White Board feature allows easy management of widespread problems by posting the problem on a white board. When users call with that problem, a click on the white board generates a trouble ticket for that user. There is no need to manually log multiple tickets. When the problem is resolved, all linked trouble tickets are closed automatically. Detailed reports then help the service personnel measure the true impact of the problem. 
     An exemplary administration tool for use by the service personnel  102   a ,  102   b , etc. is McAfee Zero Administration Client (ZAC) Suite™, which is currently available from Network Associates, Inc. As described at the Network Associates World Wide Web Site and in the McAfee ZAC Suite™ user manual for v. 6.21, Jun. 26, 1998, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, McAfee ZAC Suite™ loads onto administration server  138  and provides tools for hardware and software inventory, software distribution, configuration, menuing, and locking down of desktops across the enterprise network, metering of software usage, and generation of reports on these tasks. The ZAC Suite may be run from a dedicated console computer or from another terminal such as help desk terminals  144  or  146  that are logged into the administration server  138 . ZAC Suite also provides Remote Desktop Control functionality that allows viewing, controlling, and communication with user computers  118 - 130  over the enterprise network  100 . 
     An exemplary network visibility tool for use by the service personnel  102   a ,  102   b , etc. is the Distributed Sniffer System® and its associated console application Sniff master® for Windows, currently available from Network Associates, Inc. As described in the associated users manuals for the current versions of Distributed Sniffer System®, Distributed Sniffer Pro®, and Sniff master® for Windows, (hereinafter referred to as network visibility software), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, network visibility software loads onto network visibility server  140  and also comprises remote agents that are loaded onto the network visibility agent computers  148 ,  150 , and  152 . Network visibility software compiles and displays information on network activity from the data-collecting network visibility agents  148 ,  150 , and  152 . Service personnel can access this information through a Windows-based application or other interface. Network visibility software provides flexible access to information from both local and remote client/server networks, providing a central control point from which to manage traffic on distributed networks. Network visibility software assists in explaining possible causes for network problems, collects expert analysis data automatically based on user-specified time intervals and data parameters, learns network configurations continuously, shows breakdown of network protocol activity automatically, displays network errors, frame size, and station statistics for specified stations, enables creation and generation of management reports, consolidates information from remote sites at a central location, points out problems proactively by communicating alarms to a central location, displays multiple windows concurrently allowing the service person to view prioritized alarms, global statistics, traffic statistics, and expert analysis information from one or several servers simultaneously. On the network visibility console  142 , network visibility software consolidates and displays network intelligence from the distributed network visibility agents  148 ,  150 , and  152 , providing a central point of control for the enterprise network  100 . 
     FIG. 2 shows a flowchart related to a problem that may occur in systems according to the prior art when a service person using the help desk software package requires fast and easy access to the network visibility software. At step  204 , the service person opens a help desk ticket using the help desk application software described supra. At step  206 , using troubleshooting techniques, using a prescription by an expert system associated with the help desk software, or using other means, the service person determines whether the problem is related to network visibility (e.g. traffic congestion problem, timeouts, nodes unreachable, or any other problem related to network visibility). If not associated with network visibility, the problem is resolved with assistance from the help desk software, administrative software, or other software as necessary at step  208  and the trouble ticket is closed at step  210 . 
     If the problem is related to network visibility software, it is then determined whether the service person has access to a network visibility console application at their current computer terminal. If the network visibility console application is not available to the service person, the inconvenient task at step  214  must be undertaken, in which the service person must physically locate a computer terminal having a network visibility console application installed, or must install the network visibility console package. Following this step, the network visibility console application is instantiated at step  216 . After these steps are performed, the problem may be resolved at step  218  and the trouble ticket closed at step  220 . 
     The prior art example of FIG. 2 represents an inconvenience to the service person in the event that the network visibility console application is not available at their current computer terminal. This may be the case for several reasons. For example, the service person may have traveled over to the troubled workstation of the end user, which generally will not have the network visibility console application loaded. Even if the service person is at their own terminal, they may not have the network visibility console package loaded on their own terminal for hard disk space reasons, licensing reasons, or other reasons. Moreover, even if the network visibility console package is present, the launching of a separate set of software routines into computer memory at step  216  other than the help desk and/or administration software represents an additional source of delay depending on the capabilities of the current terminal. 
     Other shortcomings with prior art network management software includes need to constantly upgrade the help desk terminals  144  and  146  as new help desk, administration, and/or network visibility console software becomes available. Additionally, the installation of the new help desk, administration, and/or network visibility console software takes up valuable room on the hard drives of these machines. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a computer program product that allows service personnel to seamlessly access and manipulate administration data, help desk data, and network visibility data from any user workstation on an enterprise network without requiring the presence of resident network management software on the user workstation. 
     It would be further desirable to provide a computer program product that allows each service person in an organization to have a customized service desk interface that may be launched at any user workstation on the enterprise network. 
     It would be still further desirable to provide a computer program product that allows for easy customization of the service desk interface by the service person, and that allows for easy linking of new network management applications to the service desk interface as the new network management applications become available for use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a computer program product is provided for assisting a service person in managing an enterprise network, wherein a browser-based help desk window may be invoked by the service person at any user computer on the enterprise network that is equipped with a web browser. The browser-based help desk window is customizable to each service person, allowing the service person to embed a network visibility link on an application launch toolbar contained in the browser-based help desk window. The service person may then subsequently log into a help desk server from any user computer equipped with a browser, and then launch a browser-based network visibility session upon activation of the embedded network visibility link. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the browser-based help desk window comprises a plurality of trouble information fields for entering data related to client trouble calls, along with an application toolbar for displaying application launch buttons. The user is permitted to embed the network visibility link onto the application toolbar using menu selection and drag-and-drop commands. During the customization process, additional application launch buttons associated with other network management applications and/or servers may be embedded into the application toolbar, including an administration software launch button, a remote control launch button, and a knowledge base application launch button. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a diagram of an enterprise network; 
     FIG. 2 shows a trouble resolution flowchart in accordance with the prior art; 
     FIG. 3 shows steps for using a integrated browser-based network management application in accordance with a preferred embodiment; 
     FIG. 4 shows steps for customizing a browser-based network management application interface by embedding a network visibility console application therein in accordance with a preferred embodiment; 
     FIGS. 5-22 show windows corresponding to the steps of FIG. 3; and 
     FIGS. 23-31 show windows corresponding to the step of FIG.  4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 3 shows steps for using a integrated browser-based network management application in accordance with a preferred embodiment, while FIG. 4 shows steps for customizing a browser-based network management application interface by embedding a network visibility console application therein in accordance with a preferred embodiment. In conjunction with the software functionality description provided in the present disclosure, a system in accordance with the preferred embodiments may be programmed using methods known in the art as described, for example, in Homer &amp; Ullman,  Instant IE 4  Dynamic HTML Programmer&#39;s Reference , Wrox Press (1997), Francise et. al.,  Professional Active Server Pages  2.0, Wrox Press (1998), and Zaration,  Microsoft C ++6.0  Programmer&#39;s Guide , Microsoft Press (1998), the contents of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application. Although the specific configurations may vary without departing from the spirit and scope of the preferred embodiments, the host software for providing browser-based help desk windows, as well as for communicating with other servers such as administration server  138  and network visibility server  140  is usually loaded and integrated with the help desk server software on:help desk server  136 . Advantageously, it is not required that help desk terminals  144  and  146  be loaded with specific resident network management software, and are only required to be equipped with a standard web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or better. 
     FIG. 3 shows steps for using a integrated browser-based network management application in accordance with a preferred embodiment. The steps of FIG. 3 are with reference to FIGS. 5-22 which represent browser-based help desk windows at various stages in accordance with a preferred embodiments. At step  302 , the service person instantiates a web browser such as Internet Explorer 4.0, and directs it to a URL (Universal Resource Locator) of the help desk server  136 . FIG. 5 shows a corresponding browser window  500  presented the service person at this stage. Upon entering an appropriate user ID and password, the user is presented with the top level browser-based help desk interface screen  600  shown in FIG.  6 . Upon selecting the Help Desk option, an additional browser-based help desk screen  702  appears, as shown in FIG.  7 . Multiple screens are easily manipulated using the browser features of Internet Explorer 4.0 or better. Browser-based help desk screen  702  comprises a plurality of trouble information fields  704 , the specific contents of which are beyond the scope of the present disclosure but which may be found with respect to the help desk tools described supra such as McAfee HelpDesk™. 
     Browser-based help desk window  702  further comprises an application toolbar  706  upon which are several application launch buttons, including a network visibility launch button (“Distributed Sniffer Pro”)  708 , an administration software application launch button (“ZAC Inventory”)  712 , a knowledge base launch button (ServiceWare Knowledge Base)  712 , a remote control launch button  714 , and an internal help desk knowledge base launch button  716 . Generally speaking, pressing of any of these buttons invokes the respective application from the browser-based help desk window  702 , preferably in the form of an additional browser-based window. 
     At step  304 , the trouble-ticket information is entered in the trouble information fields  704  as necessary. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the browser-based help desk window helps to automate the process of entering caller information, e.g. when the service person enters a caller&#39;s name, for example, all other relevant fields are filled in automatically. Important information about the caller is also displayed automatically. If a caller has open trouble tickets, a pop-up window advising of this is shown at the outset. At step  306 , the type of trouble is determined to the extent required to select which network management application is necessary at that time. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, if it is determined that network visibility information and/or testing is required, at step  308  the service person simply presses the network visibility launch button  708 . This invokes the network visibility console application that may be interacted with as necessary at step  310  (see FIGS. 8-10) for attempted problem resolution. At step  312  it is determined whether such steps have solved the problem; if so the help desk ticket is closed at step  314 , and if not the step  306  is repeated. 
     While it is preferable that the network visibility console application interface be browser-based, it is nevertheless within the scope of the preferred embodiments for this application to be resident on the computer from which it is being invoked. Such a configuration, while not being as convenient as if all applications launched from browser-based help desk interface  702  were themselves browser-based, still allows for the advantages of one-click access to the network visibility console application from within the customized browser-based help desk interface  702 . Such a configuration further provides for a “helpdesk-centric” network management strategy, allowing for seamless access to the various network management applications, including network visibility applications, from a single customized browser window. Such a configuration still provides an advantage that when further applications become available, or when a network visibility application does eventually become browser-based, minimal launch interface changes are required. 
     If it is determined that the problem relates to administration software issues at step  306 , then step  316  is taken for launching the administration software application link  710 . At step  318 , the administration software is used within a browser-based window and problem resolution is attempted. FIGS. 11-17 show browser-based administration session windows corresponding to step  318 . At step  312  it is determined whether such steps have solved the problem; if so the help desk ticket is closed at step  314 , and if not the step  306  is repeated. 
     If it is determined that the problem requires the assistance of an expert system or knowledge base system at step  306 , then step  320  is taken for launching a knowledge base application link by pressing either button  712  (Serviceware knowledge base) or  716  (internal helpdesk knowledge base). At step  322 , the knowledge base software is used within a browser-based window and problem resolution is attempted. FIGS. 18-22 show trouble ticket windows and corresponding browser-based knowledge-based system windows corresponding to step  322 . In particular, FIGS. 18 and 22 show an opened and closed help desk ticket, respectively, that may correspond to a scenario in which a knowledge based would be launched for assistance, and FIGS. 19-21 show browser-based knowledge-based system windows. At step  312  it is determined whether such steps have solved the problem; if so the help desk ticket is closed at step  314 , and if not the step  306  is repeated. 
     Finally, if it is determined that the problem requires a remote control application, then step  324  is taken for launching a remote control application link by pressing remote control launch button  714 . At step  326 , the remote control software is used within a browser-based window and problem resolution is attempted. At step  312  it is determined whether such steps have solved the problem; if so the help desk ticket is closed at step  314 , and if not the step  306  is repeated. 
     FIG. 4 shows steps for customizing a browser-based network management application interface by embedding a network visibility console application therein in accordance with a preferred embodiment. The steps of FIG. 4 are with reference to FIGS. 23-32 which represent browser-based help desk windows at various stages in accordance with a preferred embodiments. At step  402 , the service person logs into the help desk server using a web browser in a manner similar to step  302  of FIG.  3 . At step  404 , the service person selects a Customization button  2302  as shown in FIG. 23, after which a Form Wizard dialog box  2304  appears, allowing the user to elect to create a new form or modify an existing form. In a subsequent window (not shown) the user may enter a name for the custom window if the new form option was chosen. A form designer window then appears, shown as element  2400  in FIG.  24 . In the example of FIG. 24, the user has elected to create a new form and has called it “INVENTOR.” Form designer window  2400  appears as a default help desk ticket form and comprises a graphical menu  2401  for allowing the user to select an Add Field button  2402  for adding a field to the help desk ticket form, an Add Separator button  2404  for adding a separator, an Add Text button  2406  for adding descriptive text to the form, an Add Toolbar button  2406  for adding an embedded application link to the toolbar of the help desk ticket form, and a Save button  2410  for saving the customized form. The toolbar of the default form is shown as element  2412  in FIG.  24 . 
     At step  406 , the service person selects one of the customization task buttons on the graphical menu  2401 , and as a particular example selects Add Toolbar button  2406 . As shown in FIG. 25, an Add Toolbar Buttons dialog box  2502  appears, listing the applications available for embedded linking onto the toolbar  2401 . At step  408 , the service person selects the network visibility link (“Distributed Sniffer Pro”) for adding to the toolbar  2412 . At step  410 , the service person drags a “Drop Me Here” pointer created responsive to step  408  over to the toolbar  2412  (see FIG. 26) and releases the mouse at the desired location of a new network visibility launch button, shown as element  2702  in FIG. 27, the “S” representing the “Sniffer” system. At step  412 , the service person may save the new configuration by pressing the Save button  2410 . At step  414 , the user may return to step  406  for making further customizations of the help desk form, or may close the Form Designer browser window and log out at step  416 . FIGS. 28-30 show steps similar to steps  406 - 410  except that the Add Field button  2402  is selected for adding further trouble information fields to the help desk form. 
     While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, these descriptions are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the present invention. For example, while the enterprise network described supra corresponds to a configuration where the system service personnel work for the same corporation as the end users, the scope of the preferred embodiments is not so limited. Indeed, the enterprise network in accordance with the preferred embodiments extends to configurations where the service personnel do not necessarily work for the same company as the end users, and may, for example, be specialized help desk service companies. In this situation, the enterprise network includes the networks of both the end user company and the help desk company, which are linked via the Internet, a dedicated WAN, or through other connection means. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed software and methods are readily adaptable for broader network management applications.