Patent ID: 8738583

Claim:
A data processing method comprising: receiving a plurality of event messages from internetworking devices, each of the event messages including a sequential identifier identifying a time at which a device generated and sent the event message; storing the event messages in a working table in a data storage unit; when a number of the event messages exceeds a specified threshold number of messages, determining a particular range of sequential identifiers of the event messages stored in the working table, renaming the working table as a rollover table, and creating a new working table to receive a plurality of subsequent event messages; wherein the particular range of sequential identifiers indicates a minimum value and a maximum value determined from the sequential identifiers; wherein the minimum value corresponds to a first event message timestamp associated with a first event message stored in the rollover table; wherein the maximum value corresponds to a last event message timestamp associated with a last event message stored in the rollover table; repeating the preceding receiving, storing, and creating as additional event messages are received and for additional rollover tables each storing the specified threshold number of messages; storing a reference, to a particular rollover table, in a management table, a wherein the reference identifies the particular range of sequential identifiers included in the rollover table; generating summary data that summarizes at least a subset of the event messages included in the rollover tables according to one or more criteria; storing, in a summary table, the summarized data in association with the reference to the rollover tables; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.