JP2006053624A - Application operation management method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an application operation management method and an application operation management system capable of easily complying with increase/decrease in the types/configurations of applications and the types of operation systems. <P>SOLUTION: This application operation management system is constructed of an application management part 1 monitoring statuses of a plurality of applications and operating them, application management modules 3 connected to the application management part 1 via a common interface 4 and prepared for the respective applications, and the applications having specific functions and connected to the application management modules 3 via individual interfaces 5 absorbing a differential in the status monitoring method and the operation method between the respective applications. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an application operation management method and system, and more particularly, to a server for monitoring the status of an application and a server and application operation monitoring.

  As a conventional technique, a technique for monitoring software running on computers distributed on a network in real time is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). This method incorporates a monitoring process into the operating system of each computer to monitor software running on computers distributed over the network.

As another technique, there is a technique for detecting whether or not an application program operating on the OS (operating system) of a computer is abnormal and forcibly terminating the application program when the application program is abnormal. (See, for example, Patent Document 2). In addition, in a system including a communication interface for communicating with a plurality of devices, an operating system provided in each of the plurality of devices, and an application corresponding to each operating system, between programs operating on different operating systems There is known a technique provided with inter-OS control software that realizes communication in the Internet (for example, see Patent Document 3). Also known is a system that includes an operation instruction analysis mechanism, a system state management mechanism, a process management mechanism, a process information management mechanism, and the like, and performs processing of timing and abnormal systems at high speed (for example, see Patent Document 4).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-288381 (page 3, page 4, FIG. 1) JP 2003-173274 A (the second page, the third page, FIG. 1) JP 2003-223341 A (page 4, page 5, FIG. 1) JP-A-7-121386 (2nd page, 3rd page, FIG. 1)

  Currently, there is a wide variety of information required for application types and configurations, operating system types, application and server monitoring and operation, and to monitor many different types of applications and servers in the same way as before. As the number of applications and servers increased, many modifications to the monitoring device were necessary.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and can easily cope with increase / decrease in the types and configurations of applications and types of operating systems, and can uniformly perform operation monitoring screens and operations. The object is to provide an operation management method and system.

  (1) The invention described in claim 1 is an application management method managed by an application management unit that monitors and operates a plurality of applications. The application management unit manages application management corresponding to different management target applications. Each of the application management modules and the application management unit exchange information with a commonly defined interface, and the application management module is a method of status monitoring that differs from application to application. And the exchange of information through an individual interface that absorbs differences in operation methods.

  (2) In the invention described in claim 2, when managing an application composed of a plurality of processes, the state and information of each process included in the application are monitored, or an operation state monitoring method unique to the application is used. The application status and information are displayed by the same display method.

  (3) In the invention according to claim 3, a plurality of different host groups can be made the same by using the application management unit as a server management unit, the application management modules as server management modules, and the applications as servers. It is characterized by operation monitoring by the display method and the same operation method.

  (4) The invention according to claim 4 is an application management unit that monitors and operates a plurality of applications, and an application management module that is connected to the application management unit through a common interface and is provided for each application. The application management module is configured by an application having a unique function that is connected by an individual interface that absorbs a difference between a state monitoring method and an operation method that are different for each application. .

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to monitor the operation of a plurality of different application groups with the same display method and the same operation method.
(2) According to the invention described in claim 2, it is possible to display the state and information of the application by the same display method.
(3) According to the invention described in claim 3, a plurality of different host groups can be monitored with the same display method and the same operation method.
(4) According to the invention described in claim 4, operation monitoring can be realized by unified display and screen operation, and it is possible to easily cope with increase / decrease in applications and increase / decrease in servers.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a principle configuration diagram of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an application management unit for managing applications, and 2 is an application. Here, three applications of applications A to C are shown as applications, but the application is not limited to this. Reference numeral 3 denotes each application management module connected between the application management unit 1 and the application 2 and connected to each unique application. 4 is a common interface provided between the application management unit 1 and each application management module 3, and 5 is an individual interface provided between each application management module 3 and the application 2. The operation of the system configured as described above will be described as follows.

  The application management unit 1 has a common interface definition with each application management module 3, and exchanges information with the common interface 4 based on the interface, and the normality and process configuration of each application 2, process resource use status, etc. Can be displayed in a centralized manner. In addition, the application management unit 1 can perform application activation, termination, and other operations.

  Each application management module 3 has a function corresponding to each application 2, and can acquire information of each application 2 and notify the application management unit 1 or execute a command from the application 2. It is.

  Each application 2 may be composed of a plurality of processes, but the process may hang or loop, and may not function as an application. The state cannot be monitored. Therefore, each application 2 includes means for confirming whether the application is functioning. For example, a certain command is executed and the response display confirms that the application is functioning. In applications using middleware (corresponding to a type of protocol used for communication between processes) such as CORBA, the application functions as long as it can answer this CORBA response. A means for confirming this is provided.

  Each application management module 3 notifies the application management unit 1 of the state of the application 2 using the above-described state confirmation means for each application. This state monitoring can be performed periodically or at the command of an operator. In addition, with the same mechanism as described above, each application management module 3 collects resource information and other information used by the application 2 from each application 2 and notifies the application management unit 1 of information about different applications. The same display method can be used in the application management unit 1. Further, when the same mechanism is used, the application management module 3 transmits a command for starting and ending the application 2 from the application management unit 1 to each application management module 3, thereby transmitting each application 2 to each application management module 3. Different start and end commands can be sent for each application 2.

As described above, a plurality of different applications 2 can be managed centrally by the same display method and the same operation method.
Returning again to the description of FIG. The application management unit 1, each application management module 3, and the application 2 can be provided on the same machine or on different machines. The application management unit 1 exchanges information with each application management module 3 and displays various information of each application. Each application 2 has a different state monitoring method and operation method, and may operate on a different operation system or be placed on a different network. Each application management module 3 is provided for each application 2.

  The application management unit 1 and each application management module 3 are provided for each application 2. A common interface 4 is defined between the application management unit 1 and each application management module 3, and all the application management modules 3 and the application management unit 1 exchange information according to the definition.

  Each application 2 has a different management method and operation method, and one application 2 may be composed of a plurality of processes. When monitoring these applications 2, there is a monitoring method for monitoring whether the process is alive or not, but it is impossible to detect a state where the process is not functioning as an application due to a loop or hang of the process. Because of such a problem, the application 2 needs to have a monitoring method unique to the application 2.

  For example, if a command is executed and the response of the application 2 is confirmed by the response, or if the application 2 uses CORBA or the like, it is functioning as an application depending on the response status of CORBA communication. A method of confirming is also conceivable. Such an application management method is difficult to unify because it depends on the mounting method of each application, and monitoring becomes more difficult as the types of applications 2 increase.

  In addition, operations such as information acquisition of application 2, start / stop of application 2, and log collection are similarly different for each application 2, and it is difficult to collect and operate many applications 2 in a unified manner. . In order to solve such a problem, each application management module 3 absorbs a different management method depending on each application 2 and uses the unified information of the common interface 4 defined between the application management units 1. By exchanging information with the application management unit 1, even when the number of applications 2 increases, the application management module 3 for the application 2 can be added to be monitored.

  Since the application management unit 1 exchanges information defined by the common interface 4 from each application management module 3, it is not possible to display the information on a unified screen or to operate the unified screen operation. This can be realized without modifying the application management unit 1.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of server and application operation monitoring. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. This embodiment is an example in which the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is applied to server operation monitoring and application operation monitoring. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an application management unit, and 20 denotes a server A including the application management unit 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes a common interface. Reference numeral 3 denotes an application management module provided for each application. Reference numeral 2 denotes an application connected to the corresponding application management module 3. Application 2 has A to C. And it is connected with the corresponding application management module 3. Reference numeral 30 denotes a server B and a server C including the application management module 3 and the application 2. Server B includes two applications A and B, and server C includes one application C.

  Each application 2 is running on the same or different server 30, and each application management module 3 is implemented for each application 2. These application management modules 3 may be mounted on the server A. Although it is as described above that each application 2 can be monitored for operation in this form, a function for acquiring information from each server 30 by the application management module 3 is implemented at the same time, or each server 30 is operated. If the function is implemented, the operation of each server itself can be monitored.

  Here, an example regarding application operation state monitoring on the server B is shown. In order to monitor the operational state of the application, a common interface is defined as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a common interface for application operation state monitoring. This common interface 4 is expressed as “OK” when the application state is a normal operation state with respect to the item “application operation state”, and expressed as a value “NG” when there is some abnormality in the application state. is there. An example in which two types of applications 2 are monitored using the common interface 4 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of monitoring an application that can confirm an operation state using a Telnet command (a command input from a keyboard). The same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The application A running on the server B holds a command “Check Status” for displaying the operation state of the application. As shown in FIG. 4, the Check Status command displays four types of statuses “In Service”, “Out of Service”, “No Response”, and “Unknown”.

  In Service indicates a normal operation state, Out of Service indicates a stop state, No Response indicates that the device is operating but there is an abnormality that cannot be normally responded in some loop, etc. Indicates a state in which it cannot be determined whether it is operating or stopped. In order for the operator to directly check the operation state of the application A, a Check Status command is executed on the server B, and the operation state of the application A is confirmed by checking the execution result.

  In order to manage the application A by the application management unit 1, the application management module A executes a Check Status command for the application A. The Check Status command is a command installed in the application A. When executing the command, the application A performs various processes internally, but the application management module A analyzes only the result of the command. I can do it.

  When the application management module A analyzes the command result and the command result is In Service, “OK” is specified for the common interface. When the command result is other than In Service, “NG” is specified for the common interface. To the application management unit 1 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The application management unit 1 displays the operation state of the application A as notified based on the common interface 4. As described above, the operation state of the application A can be displayed on the application management unit 1.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the application status and information can be displayed by the same display method. In addition, a plurality of different host groups can be monitored with the same display method and the same operation method. Furthermore, it is possible to monitor the operation of a plurality of application groups with the same display method and the same operation method.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of monitoring an application that performs operation status monitoring in CORBA. The same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The application B running on the server B is an application operating by CORBA communication, and the operator can monitor the operation state of the application B from the CORBA client 3 by CORBA communication.

  As shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that when the status is confirmed by CORBA communication from the CORBA client 3, three types of statuses of “normal”, “abnormal”, and “timeout” can be determined. As with the CORBA client 3, the application management module B is also equipped with a function as a CORBA client, and the application management module B checks the status of the application B by CORBA communication. It is converted into “OK”, and in the case of abnormality or timeout, it is converted into “NG” of the common interface 4 and notified to the application management unit 1. As described above, the operation state of the application B can be displayed on the application management unit 1.

  Next, server monitoring of server B and server C in FIG. 2 will be described. In order to monitor the CPU usage rate of the server, the common interface of FIG. 8 is defined. It is assumed that the server B is Solaris and the server C is Linux. Although the command for displaying the CPU usage rate varies depending on the OS, the application management module A uses the Solaris server command mpsta, and the application management module B uses the Linux server command vmstat.

  If each management module analyzes the result of the command, inserts a numerical value into the common interface and notifies the application management unit 1, the application management unit 1 can recognize each OS without being aware of the OS of the managed server. Server monitoring is possible. Even when server information other than the CPU usage rate is a management target, it is only necessary to define a common interface and add a function for converting individual processing to the common interface in each management module.

  Even if the management target servers B and C are of different operation systems, each application management module 3 absorbs the difference, and exchanges with the application management unit 1 according to the common interface definition. Operation monitoring can be realized by unified display and screen operation, and it is possible to easily cope with increase / decrease of applications and increase / decrease of servers.

  According to the above embodiment, operation monitoring of many different applications and servers can be realized by uniform display and uniform operation, and it is possible to easily cope with increase / decrease of applications and servers.

  As described above, according to the present invention, each application or each server is provided with an individual monitoring module, and each module exchanges information with the monitoring unit in accordance with the common interface definition. Since the management method according to each server is used, it is possible to reliably monitor the status of the application and easily cope with the increase / decrease in the number of applications and servers. By providing the module that absorbs the operation, it is possible for the operator to centrally manage the application or the server with the same screen and the same operation.

It is a principle block diagram of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of a server and application operation monitoring. It is a figure which shows the example of a common interface for application operation state monitoring. It is a figure which shows the result of the Check Status command in the application A. It is a figure which shows the example of monitoring of the application which can confirm the operation state by a Telnet command. It is a figure which shows CORBA communication of a CORBA application. It is a figure which shows the example of application monitoring in CORBA. It is a figure which shows a server CPU utilization common interface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Application management part 2 Application 3 3 Each application management module 4 Common interface 5 Individual interface

Claims (4)

An application management method that is managed by an application management unit that monitors and operates a plurality of applications,
The application management unit includes an application management module corresponding to each different management target application,
Each application management module and application management unit exchange information through a commonly defined interface,
An application operation management method, wherein the application management module exchanges information with an application through an individual interface that absorbs a difference between a state monitoring method and an operation method that are different for each application.   When managing an application that consists of multiple processes, monitor the status and information of each process included in the application, or use the application-specific operation status monitoring method to monitor the status and information of the application. 2. The application operation management method according to claim 1, wherein display is performed by the same display method.   By using the application management unit as a server management unit, the application management modules as server management modules, and the applications as servers, a plurality of different host groups can be monitored by the same display method and the same operation method. The application operation management method according to claim 1. An application manager that monitors and operates multiple applications, and
An application management module connected to the application management unit through a common interface and provided for each application;
The application management module and an application having a specific function connected by an individual interface that absorbs a difference between a state monitoring method and an operation method that are different for each application;
An application operation management system consisting of

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