Patent ID: 8626894

Claim:
A method for graphically representing events at runtime in an event management system, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: receiving a plurality of events including a first event defining a state of a networked device and a second event defining a state of another networked device; storing the plurality of events in an event database; responsive to receiving the first event and the second event, (1) identifying an action to take by interrogating, by a correlation engine, a correlation rules database, and (2) identifying an event relation between the first event, the second event and a projected event, wherein the step of identifying the event relation includes (i) interrogating, by the correlation engine using the first event and the second event, an event relation database having a plurality of records each defining at least one event, and (ii) receiving, by the correlation engine, a return data set including an identification of the event relation between the first event, the second event and the projected event; responsive to receiving the return data set, identifying another event relation between the projected event and another projected event, wherein the step of identifying the another event relation between the projected event and the another projected event includes (i) interrogating, by the correlation engine, the event relation database using the projected event received in the return data set, and (ii) receiving, by the correlation engine, a second return data set including the another projected event; retrieving, from the event database, property data associated with the first event, the second event, and the projected event; sending, by the correlation engine to an event console, the property data, the return data set and the second return data set; and generating a runtime visualization output by the event console that includes a graphical representation of the first event, the second event, the projected event, the another projected event, the property data, and the event relation, wherein the step of generating the runtime visualization output includes graphically outputting a graph having a first node representative of the first event, a second node representative of the second event, a third node representative of the projected event, and a fourth node representation of the another projected event.