Abstract:
What is disclosed is network management software which displays a widget for tracking a particular characteristic of a network. The widget title bar contains a first and second indicator. The first indicator represents the severity of the most severe alert for the particular characteristic being tracked by the widget. The second indicator is a numerical value of the characteristic that caused the alert.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to network device management and more particularly to displaying network indicators in a window title bar. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Network management software provides network administrators a way of tracking the various characteristics of network devices, such as switches, routers, and the like, in a data communication network. Examples of these characteristics are the CPU utilization, memory utilization, unused ports, and number of events on devices in a network. Network management software, such as Brocade Network Advisor by Brocade Communication Systems, Inc., generally has a graphic user interface (GUI) that allows a network administrator to monitor numerous types of network characteristics in a single display. Each characteristic may be monitored in its own individual window called a widget. However, because there are so many types of network characteristics to monitor it is often necessary for the network administrator to minimize some of the widgets. When minimized, none of the network information being tracked by a particular widget may be seen in the GUI by an administrator. Instead, only the widget&#39;s title bar is displayed, which simply tells a network administrator which type of characteristic is being tracked by the widget. If, for example, the minimized widget monitors the memory utilization of devices in the network, and a monitored network device suddenly reaches its maximum memory utilization, a network administrator has no way of knowing that situations exists. Therefore, a method and system is needed to alert a network administrator. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Network management software displays a widget for tracking a particular characteristic of a network. The widget title bar contains a first and second indicator. The first indicator represents the severity of the most severe alert for the particular characteristic being tracked by the widget, such as by a color code. The second indicator is a numerical value for the characteristic that caused the alert. 
         [0006]    This technique can be used on any telecommunication network. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0007]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of apparatus and methods consistent with the present invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain advantages and principles consistent with the invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) as may be incorporated together with the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of an Ethernet Switch that may be incorporated together with the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating Fibre Channel (FC) storage area network (SAN) fabrics interconnected via a wide area network (WAN) as may be incorporated together with the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of a Fibre Channel Switch that may be incorporated together with the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a management station connected to a communications network for operating in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a screenshot of an example graphical user interface (GUI) illustrating aspects according to the prior art. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 7   a,    7   b,  and  7   c  are screenshots of an example of a GUI according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , an Ethernet network  100  is shown wherein a LAN  102  is interconnected to a remote campus  130  via WAN  104 . The campus core  106  includes a plurality of interconnected core switches  108 . The core switches  108  are connected to a data center (not shown). A router no is connected to the core switches and the WAN  104 . The core switches  108  are connected to switches  114  and  116  of an aggregation campus  112 . The aggregation campus switches  114  and  116  are connected to switches  120  of large network  118  and provide data communication services to the large network&#39;s telephone  122 , computer  124 , and wireless access  126  devices. The aggregation network switches  114  and  116  may also be connected to additional campuses (not shown) in order to provide additional data communication services. The LAN  102  is connected to the WAN  104  via router  110 . The WAN  104  is comprised of a plurality of interconnected Ethernet switches  128  and other networking devices (not shown). WAN  104  is connected to remote campus  130  via a router  132 . Router  132  provides data communication services to computers  134  and telephone devices  136 . It is understood that this is an exemplary network and numerous other network topologies can be monitored according to the present invention. 
         [0016]    In an embodiment of the present invention a management station  138  is connected to router no of the campus core  106 . As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, the management station  138  allows a network administrator to monitor the data traffic, port utilization, and various other networking characteristics of each switching device in the Ethernet network  100 . 
         [0017]    Turning next to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram of an Ethernet switch or router  200  that may be utilized in Ethernet network  100  is shown. The Ethernet switch  200  comprises a switch software environment  202  and switch hardware environment  204 . The software environment  202  includes a diagnostics and statistics module  203  to allow management software access to the various statistical counters in the switch  200 , such as receive and transmit rate counters for each port  226 ,  228 ,  230 ,  232 . The switch hardware environment  204  has a processor complex  206  that consists of processors as defined. The processor complex  206  is connected to a switch fabric  208 , which provides the basic switching operations for the switch  200 . The switch fabric  208  is connected to a plurality of packet processors  210 ,  212 ,  214 ,  216 . Each packet processor  210 ,  212 ,  214 ,  216  has its own respective policy routing table  218 ,  220 ,  22 ,  224  to provide conventional packet analysis and routing. Each packet processor  210 ,  212 ,  214 ,  216  is connected to its own respective port or ports  226 ,  228 ,  230 ,  232 . When the Ethernet switch  200  is implemented in a network such as network  100 , the data value of each port  226 ,  228 ,  230 , and  230  may be monitored and analyzed using management software on a management station, such as management station  136 . Again, it is understood that this is an exemplary Ethernet switch architecture and numerous other architectures can be used according to the present invention. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  illustrates a SAN network  300  utilizing the Fibre Channel (FC) protocol. As shown, a plurality of FC SAN fabrics  302   a  and  302   b  are interconnected via WAN  304 . The SAN fabrics  302   a  and  302   b  are comprised of a plurality of FC switches  306   a  and  306   b,  respectively. SAN fabric  302   a  is connected to a plurality of storage devices  308   a.  Likewise, SAN fabric  302   b  is connected to a plurality of storage devices  308   b.  Each SAN fabric  302   a  and  302   b  connect their respective storage devices  308   a  and  308   b  to application servers  310   a  and  310   b,  which are in turn connected to computers  312   a  and  312   b.  This configuration allows for computer  312   a  to access storage devices  308   b  and for computer  312   b  to access storage devices  308   a.  As above, this is an exemplary FC SAN architecture and numerous other FC architectures can be managed according to the present invention. 
         [0019]    In an embodiment of the present invention a management station  314  is connected to Ethernet LAN  301   a,  which is connected directly to SAN network  302   a  and indirectly to Ethernet LAN  301   b  via WAN  304 . Ethernet LANs  301   a  and  301   b  are connected to the Ethernet management ports of the switches  306   a  and  306   b  to provide a management network for the switches  306   a  and  306   b.  As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, the management station  314  allows a network administrator to monitor the data traffic, port utilization, and various other networking characteristics using network management software, such that any data congestion may be alleviated. 
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of a FC switch  400  that may be utilized in accordance with the SAN network  300 . A control processor  402  is connected to a switch ASIC  404 . The switch ASIC  404  is connected to media interfaces  406  which are connected to ports  408 . Generally the control processor  402  configures the switch ASIC  404  and handles higher level switch operations, such as the name server, the redirection requests, and the like. The switch ASIC  404  handles the general high speed inline or in-band operations, such as switching, routing and frame translation. The control processor  402  is connected to flash memory  410  to hold the software, to RAM  412  for working memory and to an Ethernet PHY  414  used for management connection and serial interface  416  for out-of-band management. 
         [0021]    The switch ASIC  402  has four basic modules, port groups  418 , a frame data storage system  420 , a control subsystem  422  and a system interface  424 . The port groups  418  perform the lowest level of packet transmission and reception, and include a statistical counter module  426  to allow management software to access the various statistical counters of the switch  400 , such as receive and transmit rate counters for each port. Generally, frames are received from a media interface  406  and provided to the frame data storage system  420 . Further, frames are received from the frame data storage system  420  and provided to the media interface  406  for transmission out a port  408 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 5  illustrates a block diagram of a management station  500 , similar to management stations  138  and  314 , that may be utilized in accordance with the present invention. As shown, the management station  500  is comprised of a central processing unit (CPU)  502 , random access memory (RAM)  504 , network interface card (NIC)  506 , system interconnect  508 , storage component  510 , input component  512 , and output component  518  which are all interconnected via the system interconnect  508 . The input component  512  may be connected to an input device such as a keyboard  514  and mouse  516 . The output component  518  is connected to a display device  520 , such as an LCD monitor. Storage component  510  stores software  522 , which typically includes an operating system  524  and network management software  526 . The NIC  506  allows the management station  500  to communicate with a network. As understood by those skilled in the art, network management software is typically designed to allow a network administrator to quickly and efficiently monitor and manage a large network via a user interface, often a graphical user interface (GUI). The network management software  526  could be, for example, Brocade Network Advisor by Brocade Communication Systems, Inc. Once booted, the management station  500  loads the operating system  524  from the storage  510  into the RAM  504 . From the operating system  524  a user may run the network management software  526 , which is then also loaded into the RAM  504 . The interface of the network management software  526  is then displayed on the display  520  via the output component  518 . The network management software  526  allows a user to monitor numerous network characteristics, such as the number events on the network, number of unused ports of network devices, memory utilization of network devices, bandwidth utilization of network devices, and CPU utilization of network devices. It is understood that this is an exemplary computer system architecture and numerous other computer architectures can be used according to the present invention. 
         [0023]      FIG. 6  illustrates an example of the graphic user interface (GUI)  600  of network management software  526  in partial accordance with the prior art. As shown, widgets  602 ,  604 ,  606  all track particular characteristics  608 ,  610 ,  612  of a data communication network. As understood by those having skill in the art, network management software accumulates the particular characteristics of a network by either: (1) polling switches via application programming interface (API), command line interface (CLI) or simple network management protocol (SNMP); or (2) receiving warnings from switches on the network via API or SNMP. The network management software then displays the particular characteristics being tracked in a window, such as a widget, for the network administrator. Widget  602  tracks the number of events  608  in the network. Widget  604  tracks the top product memory utilization  610  of devices, such as routers and switches, in the network. Widget  606  tracks the top products with unused ports  612  in the network. Widget  606  is shown expanded or maximized, as indicated by upward pointing chevron symbol  622 , in embodiments according to the present invention, and displays the number of unused ports  616  for each device  614  in the network. Widgets  602  and  604  are minimized, as indicated by downward pointing chevron symbols  618 ,  622  in embodiments according to the present invention. In embodiments according to the present invention, when a chevron symbol that indicates a widget is minimized is clicked by a user, the widget expands or maximizes as shown by widget  606 . Conversely, when a chevron symbol that indicates a widget is maximized is clicked by a user, the widget minimizes as shown by widgets  602  and  604 . Illustrating the prior art, minimized widgets  602  and  604  only display the widget title bar, which contains only the name of the specific characteristic  608 ,  610  tracked by widgets  602  and  604 . Consequently, a network administrator has no way of knowing the number of events  608  on the network based on widget  602  or the top product memory utilization  610  based on widget  604  because both widgets  602  and  604  are minimized. Likewise, when widget  606  is minimized an administrator will no longer be able to see the number of unused ports  616  for any device  614  on the network using the widget. Therefore, there remains a need for a solution that allows a network administrator to monitor a network characteristic tracked by a widget, even when the widget is minimized. 
         [0024]      FIG. 7A  illustrates an example of the GUI  700  of management software  526  in accordance with the present invention. As shown, there are three widgets  702 ,  704 ,  706 . Widgets  702 ,  704 ,  706  track a particular characteristic  708 ,  710 ,  712  of a data communication network. Widget  702  tracks the number of events  708  in the network. Widget  704  tracks the top product memory utilization  710  in the network. Widget  706  tracks the top products with unused ports  712  in the network. Widgets  702  and  704  are minimized, as indicated by downward pointing chevron symbols  736 ,  738 , while widget  706  is fully expanded, as indicated by upward pointing chevron symbol  740 . The expanded view of widget  706  displays the number of ports not in use  716  for each device  714  in the network with the devices sorted by decreasing number of unused ports. 
         [0025]    The title bars of widgets  702 ,  704 , 706  all contain the name of the specific characteristic being tracked by each widget, such as “Events”  708 , “Top Product Memory Utilization”  710 , and “Top Products with Unused Ports”  712 , as done in the example of  FIG. 6 . The title bar for each widget  702 ,  704 ,  706  further includes a color coded indicator  718 ,  720 ,  722  that indicates the severity level of the most severe alert triggered by the specific characteristic  708 ,  712 ,  710  being monitored by the widget. The color of the color coded indicators  718 ,  720 ,  722  tracks the severity level. For example, for the most severe alerts the color may be red. As the severity decreases the color may change to orange then yellow and then green, for example. The title bar for each widget  702 ,  704 ,  706  also includes a count indicator  724 ,  726 ,  728  representative of the value of specific characteristic causing the alert. The color coded indicators  718 ,  720 ,  722  and count indicators  724 ,  726 ,  728  allow an administrator to monitor network characteristics even when widgets  702 ,  704 ,  706  are minimized. 
         [0026]    For example, widget  706  has a color coded indicator  722  with a red color, which indicates a high severity alert related to the number of unused ports on the network. The count indicator  728  represents the number of ports not in use  716  on device  714 , which is the device having the highest number of unused ports. Consequently, even when widget  706  is minimized as shown in  FIGS. 7B and 7C , an administrator will be able to identify the most severe alarm relating to the number of unused ports based on color coded indicator  722  and the count indicator  728 . This allows an administrator to minimize multiple widgets, such as widgets  702 ,  704 ,  706 , and still monitor specific characteristics of the network. 
         [0027]    Turning to  FIG. 7B , the same GUI  700  of network management software  526  is shown except that widget  706  has been minimized, as indicated by downward pointing chevron symbol  740 , and widget  704  has been maximized, as indicated by upward pointing chevron symbol  738 , to show memory utilization of the devices in decreasing order. Consequently, specific details relating to the memory utilization  732  of each device  730  on the network are now shown by widget  704 , while only the title bar of widget  706  is now shown. Widget  704  has a color coded indicator  720  with a yellow color, indicating a low level alert. The count indicator  726  represents the memory utilization  732  of a single device  730  in the network having the highest memory utilization. Consequently, even when widget  704  is minimized as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7C , an administrator will be able to identify the highest alarm level relating to the memory utilization of products on the network based on color coded indicator  720  and the count indicator  726 . 
         [0028]    Turning to  FIG. 7C , the same GUI  700  from  FIG. 7B  is shown except that widget  704  has been minimized, as indicated by downward pointing chevron symbol  738 , and widget  702  has been maximized, as indicated by upward pointing chevron symbol  736 , to show errors, warning and general information messages. Consequently, specific details relating to the number of events  708  on the network are now shown by widget  702 , while only the title bar of widget  704  is now shown. Widget  702  has a color coded indicator  718  with an orange color, indicating a more severe alert level but not the highest level. The count indicator  724  corresponds to the number of errors  734  in the network. Consequently, even when widget  702  is minimized as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , an administrator will be able to identify the most severe alarm relating to the number of events on a network based on color coded indicator  718  and the count indicator  724 . 
         [0029]    It is understood that the present invention is not limited to using color coded indicators, but instead any object sufficient to indicate the severity of an alarm may be used. For example, differently shaped objects could be used, such as an octagonal stop sign, a triangular warning sign and a round acceptable sign. 
         [0030]    The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.”