Patent ID: 7636708

Claim:
A system for gathering and aggregating operational metrics for server computers configured to act as a single logical entity, the system comprising: a plurality of server computers configured to act as a single logical entity, the single logical entity configured to serve data in response to requests from client computers, each of the plurality of server computers being configured to receive a request for an operational metric for the single logical entity as a whole and to provide the operational metric for the single logical entity as a whole in response to the request, the plurality of server computers including: a first server computer including at least one processor, system memory and a first interface, the first server computer being configured to: receive, via the first interface, a first request for a first operational health metric for the single logical entity as a whole; build a first query based on parameters of the first request received via the first interface; query each of the plurality of server computers that are configured to act as a single logical entity based on the first query; aggregate results of the first query to create the requested first operational health metric for the single logical entity as a whole; and aggregate the first operational health metric into at least one of a single result state based on a first set of predefined rules; and a second server computer including at least one processor, system memory and a second interface, the second server computer being configured to: receive, via the second interface, a second request for a second operational health metric for the single logical entity as a whole; build a second query based on parameters of the second request received via the second interface; query each of the plurality of server computers that are configured to act as a single logical entity based on the second query; and aggregate results of the second query to create the requested second operational health metric for the single logical entity as a whole; and aggregate the second operational health metric into at least one of a single result state based on a second set of predefined rules.