KR20030068546A - Method and apparatus for displaying 3-d state indicators - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of providing a state of an object selected by a user on a three-dimensional graphic display is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request to select a characteristic of an object for display. The method also includes displaying at least one characteristic that can be displayed on the object. Receives the selected property and determines the selected property value for the object. The method also includes generating a status indicator based on the selected property value. Status indicators are displayed in relation to the object. In a preferred embodiment, the type of status indicator is automatically determined by the system. Also disclosed is an apparatus for implementing the method.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING 3-D STATE INDICATORS

<Related application>

This application claims priority based on US Provisional Application No. 60 / 241,052, filed October 17, 2000. In addition, the present application filed on September 7, 2001 "Network Management System Using Virtual Reality Technologies to Display and Simulate Navigation to Network Computers". Continuation-In-Part, pending US application Ser. No. 09 / 949,101. The present application filed on April 26, 2000, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Predictively and Graphically Administering a Networked Computer System in a Time Dimension". United States Application No. 09 / 558,897 filed under the name and "Method and Apparatus for Maintaining Data Integrity Across Distributed Computer Systems, filed April 26, 2000. US Application No. 09 / 559,237, entitled ")." Each of the aforementioned applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. A U.S. application entitled "Method and Apparatus for Displaying 3D State Indicators" filed with the same application is also incorporated herein by reference.

In known systems management applications, visualizing the content, configuration, and status of a managed system is usually in some form, ranging from item lists to icons, 2-D diagrams, 3-D views arranged in some meaningful way. Based on the display form. Each type of object may be displayed using some kind of icon, but the object's identifier and / or state is primarily in text form. While there are variations in this approach, such as fully textual displays and displays that use no text at all, what is common to all such systems is a core display that shows managed and related objects.

Using 3-D visualizations to represent objects conveys more realistic managed objects and their composition. However, a problem with such techniques is that system management applications show only 3-D images of the basic techniques of objects such as their type and interconnectivity. Another problem is that a typical system management application only shows the fixed characteristics of the managed object.

To show the general state of a managed object, which may include characteristic values such as state, load, error rate, completeness, and useful capacity, known systems generally employ some form of visualization technique suitable for the corresponding method of writing. . For example, to show a mandatory health indicator that is defined from the object's state, from NORMAL to CRITICAL and has a value such as UNKNOWN, it is common to use color, where green represents NORMAL, and red represents CRITICAL. , Gray or black may represent UNKNOWN.

In a real world display, it is not practical to present all the information about the managed object in such a core 3-D display. Some applications have attempted to do so by displaying textual information on a 3-D plane, but such displays are anti-aliased in real time due to the limited resolution of current equipment and in current systems. ) It is harder to read than simple 2-D text because it does not have enough computing power for text or other graphics elements. If much of this information is desired, it is believed that using a 2-D visualization model is excellent. The advantage of 3-D views seems to be best obtained by using 3-D metaphors.

Some systems typically produce 3-D bar charts on one plane in a regular grid. However, this has many problems. In particular, the bars do not appear to represent objects in the real world interconnected via network links, but rather appear to be on a theoretical plane as a whole. In addition, such general charting systems are based on collected statistics rather than real-time monitoring measurements from management systems.

In a practical way, in order to show other very important and detailed information about the managed object, it provides a mechanism for "drilling down" to provide more detailed information about the object from the information store using a conventional user interface. Searching for information is cliché. For example, in network and system management systems, it is common to represent states in the core display, but provide performance and load indicators in other displays that may arise from the core display.

Unfortunately, these configurations have some disadvantages. If additional information occurs in the secondary display, the secondary display deviates from the standard navigation conventions of the core 3-D display. In such a situation, to view secondary data for various managed objects, it is necessary to first navigate to them, then generate secondary displays, navigate to other objects, and generate their secondary displays. Using such an interface is not only annoying but also impedes the user's ability to compare the characteristics of multiple objects at once.

In addition, this type of fixed configuration is not suitable for all users. For example, many users are primarily concerned with status and consider load secondarily, but the person managing the load balancing across the network may be more interested in the temporary load display.

Some system management applications provide for customizing the display in two areas. In a typical display, the information displayed with the icon may be selected from the characteristics of the object, which icon shows various information in the form of text, color or otherwise. Alternatively, one can move the mouse cursor over the symbols in the display to label and redisplay the various properties to create a configurable reticule. Since such customization is mainly done specifically for various objects, various information about servers and routers is displayed, for example. However, this type of configuration is usually static and requires the user to enter some kind of configuration utility. Known systems provide a real time configuration of the display.

The present invention is in the field of systems and products for managing and analyzing complex and heterogeneous networked computer systems and other systems that can be monitored by computer technology. In particular, the present invention relates to systems and products that enable user selection and presentation of properties of objects in three-dimensional graphical displays.

1 shows a system according to a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention.

2 illustrates a display representing a networked computer system or complex business operation in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present system.

3 shows an additional information display added to the display section of FIG. 2 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention system.

4 shows an additional information display and user interface added to the display section of FIG. 2 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present system.

5 illustrates an additional information display section of FIG. 3 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present system.

6 shows a flowchart of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present system.

According to the disclosed system, a first method for providing a state of an object in a three-dimensional graphical display is disclosed. The method includes determining a property value associated with the object. The method further includes determining a status indicator associated with the characteristic. Status indicators representing properties associated with the object are generated and displayed in association with the object associated with the object.

According to the disclosed system, a second method is disclosed for providing a state of an object selected by a user in a three-dimensional graphical display. The method includes receiving a request to select a characteristic for display of the object and displaying at least one characteristic of the object that can be displayed. The method further includes receiving a selection of a characteristic. The selected property value of the object is determined and a status indicator is generated based on the selected property value. Status indicators are displayed in relation to the object.

The objects, features and advantages of the methods and systems disclosed herein will be readily apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Several components that make up a preferred embodiment of the network analysis system disclosed herein are shown in FIG. 1. The system includes one or more visualization workstations 101, an object store 102, one or more management applications 103, and one or more managers 104 for each such management application. Visualization workstation 101 primarily interacts with object store 102. The visualization workstation 101 requests information from the object store 102, passes commands to the object store 102, and obtains event notifications such as state changes or object additions from the object store 102. Object store 102, on the other hand, obtains this information from various management subsystems 103, which are supplied by manager 104 on the managed system. An important design motivation of the present system is that the visualization workstation 101 preferably interacts with the object store 102 in normal operation. This minimizes network traffic, optimizes the rendering performance of the workstation, and minimizes the interconnection between visualization workstation 101 and the multiple management subsystems and managers present in the actual network.

Preferably, the management system is based on a particular type of repository, preferably object repository 102, which holds details of the network structure. This can include memory conditions, load, and network and system performance. Such repositories may or may not be permanent and may be implemented by manual processing or automatic retrieval utilities.

According to a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the management system utilizes a 3-D model 204 of the real object and is positioned at a suitable position with respect to the 3-D section of the 3-D surface. A display 202 of managed objects interconnected with at least one line 206 representing a network link in which optimal links are shown in dashed and dashed lines. The state of each object 204 is represented by a chopping light 212 representing the state from green to yellow, orange and red. The state of the network link 206 may be indicated by coloring the link itself.

In FIG. 3, a more detailed view of the display 202 of FIG. 2 is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present system, the system creates an additional object 302, such as a vertical bar, adjacent to each representation 204 of the "real-world" object. . The present system uses these additional objects 302 to represent in real time quantitative or qualitative measures of the managed object.

As shown in FIG. 4, an alternative preferred embodiment includes an indicator section 302 that displays other indicators in the core display 202. In this or other alternative embodiments of the system disclosed herein, the indicator section 302 may include colors, animation effects, icon selections, text, bars, lines or pie charts, etc. around the managed object. . Managed object 204 has a set of characteristics on numbers, letters, and categories. Current system management applications use certain indicators to surf some constant feature set in the core display, but other features must be generated through distinct requests and then visualized using the technology determined in the application.

To overcome this problem, a preferred embodiment of the system disclosed in the present invention is an interface 304, preferably a feature, that allows a user to select desired features to monitor in an indicator section using certain indicators. Provide an optional control panel. In other embodiments, the user may select the type of indicator to be used from the menu of indicators, such as, for example, bar graphs, indicator lights, and pie charts.

The user may place the cursor 306 over the box 308 and then interact with the interface 304 or any similar configuration or device within the interface 304 by a point-and-click operation. After clicking on the box 308, the area selected by the user is correlated to a predetermined characteristic represented by X _n to X _{n + m} (310; n and m are integers). In use, X _n to X _{n + m} are textual representations of the available properties. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the system disclosed herein, the indicator 310 is the actual text name of the selected characteristic. Preferably, all features are visualized in a standard manner after being explicitly requested, so that a secondary display order is unnecessary.

In a preferred embodiment, after the user interacts with the control panel 304, the user stops the flow of operations and displays the user from the displayed information without requiring complicated settings in the dialog box, confirmation dialog, or pressing the OK button. There is an immediate effect on the display 202 for the indicator section 302 to move away.

Also, the property selection control panel 304 preferably operates as an indicator indicating what information is currently displayed. In a preferred embodiment, individual indicators for the various types of information are used through the bars 312, preferably the yellow-orange-red range represents status and the blue shades represent the load. In this way, the wise user can look at the control panel 304 on the display 202 and immediately tell what information is currently displayed. In a preferred embodiment, the control panel 304 represents the current indicator identified by name, such as color or animation effects, as well as corresponding properties. Providing both a textual description of the characteristic and a corresponding visual display to the control panel 304 is helpful for novice users who know the meaning of the various visual displays employed in the system.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, to indicate the real-time percentage load of the computer system, the additional object 302a may be a solid bar 304 that reaches a corresponding percentage within the empty transparent bar. In some ways, this is similar to a conventional bar chart with a percentage scale 306 on the x-axis above the bar 304, but a 3-D display of real objects placed in a way that represents the actual composition of these managed objects. 202 is combined.

According to a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention, the indicator 302 is translucent. This prevents the visualization 302 from becoming unreadable due to the number of objects 204 and their quantitative indicators 302 such as the bar 304. This effect is the same as the effect of "colored water" reaching a certain level in a "glass aquarium tank." The colored areas representing the actual traffic load and performance are colored very evenly and semi-transparently enough to represent the distinction between this quantitative measurement and the real object, and enough to prevent the quantitative measurement from interfering with other object viewing. The empty part of the tank, which represents the capacity of the currently unused system, is almost entirely transparent and is considered opaque enough to give the impression of the glass tank.

In addition, in another preferred embodiment of the system, the system utilizes other advanced visualization techniques, such as reflections at the "glass surface" and "edge of the glass tank", such as managed object 204 and quantitative indicator 302. ) Increase perceived realism in the liver and reduce visual clutter.

In FIG. 6, a preferred method 600 is shown. The method begins at step 602 and then at step 604 receives a request for selection of object properties to display. This request is preferably initiated by the user indicating that the user wishes to customize the display, for example by double clicking on the object or right clicking on the object and selecting a menu.

In step 606, the property selection control panel is displayed. The control panel includes at least one property that can be selected for display. In step 608, a feature selection from this control panel is received. In step 610, the selected property value for the object is determined. This determination is preferably made in real time with reference to the data contained in the object store 102. In step 612, a status indicator is generated based on the value determined for the selected characteristic, and in 614, the status indicator is displayed.

Thus, while the above description and illustrated embodiments are easy to understand the system of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that variations and modifications of the embodiments are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

A method for providing a state of an object in a three-dimensional graphical display, Determining a property value associated with the object, Determining a status indicator associated with the property, Generating a status indicator indicative of the property associated with the object, and Displaying the status indicator in relation to the object How to include. The method of claim 1, Wherein said status indicator has a translucent quality. The method of claim 1, Wherein said status indicator has reflective quality. The method of claim 1, The status indicator is depicted as a bar. The method of claim 4, wherein At least one dimension of said bar represents said characteristic value. The method of claim 1, Wherein said status indicator is depicted as a quantitative indicator. The method of claim 6, Wherein said quantitative indicator is a gauge. A method for providing a state of an object selected by a user on a three-dimensional graphic display, Receiving a request for selection of an object property for display, Displaying at least one property that can be displayed for the object, Receiving a property selection, Determining the selected characteristic value for the object, Generating a status indicator based on the selected characteristic value, and Displaying the status indicator in relation to the object How to include. The method of claim 1, The generating step includes automatically determining the shape of the status indicator. The method of claim 8, Receiving a selection from a user to determine the shape of the status indicator How to include more. The method of claim 8, The form of the status indicator is a bar graph. An apparatus for providing a state of an object in a three-dimensional graphic display, Processor, and A memory coupled to the processor and storing a program for controlling an operation of the processor Wherein the processor is configured by the program in the memory Determine the property values associated with the object, Determine a status indicator associated with the property, Create a status indicator representing the property associated with the object, And display the status indicator in association with the object. An apparatus for providing a state of an object selected by a user on a three-dimensional graphic display, Processor, and A memory coupled to the processor and storing a program for controlling an operation of the processor Wherein the processor is configured by the program in the memory Receive a request to select an object property for display, Display at least one property that can be displayed for the object, Receive property selections, Determine the selected property value for the object, Generate a status indicator based on the selected characteristic value, And display the status indicator in association with the object.