A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates generally to the field of enterprise computing. More particularly, this invention relates to log configuration and online deployment services.
Logging is employed within virtually all data networks. “Logging” refers generally to recording network-related and/or application-related information in response to one or more predefined network/application events. For example, when an end-user opens a TCP connection to a server, or unsuccessfully attempts to gain access to network resources (e.g., by attempting to log in to a particular server), this information is typically recorded as an entry within a log file. Similarly, if a variable within an application rises above a specified threshold value, a log entry indicating the value and the date and time that the threshold value was exceeded may be stored within a log file. Logging techniques may be employed to record any specified network/application event. Network administrators may then review the log files to identify security issues and/or troubleshoot network problems.
Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) is a tool commonly used in software development today for developing enterprise applications. Generally, J2EE reduces the costs and complexity associated with developing multi-tier enterprise services. Another advantage of J2EE is that it can be relatively rapidly deployed and enhanced as the need arises. J2EE is currently used in many large-scale application development projects for these reasons.
As application development projects grow larger, logging becomes increasingly more important and complicated. Logging can be a very useful debugging tool to isolate problems, for example, by tracking each stage of the application being evaluated. Typically, logging is configured via a logging configuration file. The logging configuration file typically shared by multiple components being deployed. As enterprise applications increase in size and scope, the logging configuration file becomes more complicated and difficult to manage, resulting in a lack of scalability when deploying large numbers of application components.
Methods and apparatuses for configuring logging of a deployment of an enterprise component are described herein. In one embodiment, in response to a request for deploying an enterprise component, a logging configuration process extracts logging configuration information from a logging configuration file associated with the enterprise component and configures logging for the respective enterprise component being deployed. Thereafter, the deployment information of the enterprise component is logged based on the extracted logging configuration information when the enterprise component is deployed. Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.
Methods and apparatuses for configuring logging of a deployment of an enterprise component are described. According to one aspect of the invention, each of the enterprise components being deployed is associated with a configuration file. The configuration file may be designed exclusively for the respective enterprise component being deployed and used to configure the logging of the respective enterprise component. In one embodiment, the configuration file may be written as a metadata file, such as, for example, an XML (extensible mark-up language) file.
In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide a more thorough explanation of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.
Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), erasable programmable ROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable ROMs (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus.
The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein.
A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes read only memory (“ROM”); random access memory (“RAM”); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.); etc.
Some of the configuration files may be created specifically for a specific deployable component. In one embodiment, the configuration files may be written in as metadata files, such as for example, XML or HTML files. In one embodiment, some or all of the deployable components may be packaged with at least one configuration file for configuring the logging and/or tracing when the respective component is deployed.
In an embodiment of the invention, a log controller 104 may receive messages from executing application (e.g., applications 101). The log controller may be defined as a Java class having two subclasses or modules such as “category” to generate log messages and “location” to generate trace messages. Tracing involves the reconstruction of the control flow of an executing application, which may be used during program development and testing or problem detection, in productive systems (i.e., as an alternative to debugging). Tracing may be switched off during normal operation. Moreover, trace messages may be emitted to locations, which describe delimited code areas such as packages or classes.
Logging may be used to record normal or exceptional events that occur during program execution and this may be switched on during normal operation. The log messages may be emitted to categories, which describe distinguished problem areas such as database problems or security auditing. In an embodiment of the invention, log messages are also visible in a trace.
In an embodiment of the invention, logs typically are addressed to an administrator of a running system while traces typically are addressed to a developer and/or support organization. Thus, the developer may decide whether a message is a log message or trace message.
The logging system 100 further includes a log (also referred to as a destination) 106 coupled to each of the log controllers 104. The log 106 may represent the destination to which the message received by the respective log controller should be sent (or otherwise published). The log 106 is coupled to a formatter 108, which determines the format of the message to be published.
In one embodiment of the invention, a message passed through the logging system 100 may include a log record or potion thereof. The log record may be a structure that holds at best a portion of a message and data corresponding thereto. The log record may include severity information regarding the message, for example, to indicate the importance (severity) of the message. A severity threshold may be set and only a message with an assigned severity that is more severe than this threshold may be recorded and/or published.
According to one embodiment, the logging system 100 optionally includes one or more filters 103 and 105 for the log controllers 104 and log 106 respectively, to further screen out the messages.
In one embodiment, each controller 200 is an instance of a defined “controller” class (e.g., a Java class) which includes two sub-classes, a “tracing” sub-class and a “logging” sub-class (described in detail below), which provide features specific to tracing and logging operations, respectively. In an object-oriented environment such as Java, the tracing controller 202 illustrated in
The controller class provides methods for associating log/trace output destinations with specific controllers 200 and for controlling the actual writing of log/trace messages. When a method is called, the writing of the log/trace message to a log/trace file 220, console 221 or other output destination 214 depends on the severity level associated with the message, the severity settings 205, 206 of the relevant controller(s) 200, and the filtering configuration of one or more optional filters 212 and 216. For example, in one embodiment, messages having a severity level greater than or equal to the effective severity of the relevant controller 200 are candidates for output and are forwarded to the output destinations 214 attached to the controller 200 (i.e., assuming that the messages are not filtered by one of the filters 212, 216).
Before (or after) evaluating the trace/log message based on severity, filters 212 associated with the controller 200 may filter the messages based on predefined filtering criteria. By way of example, if a particular controller 200 is capable of writing to both a file and a console, a filter 212 may be assigned to filter messages directed to the file, thereby limiting output to the console only. Thus, using filters, a finer granularity of log controller 200 output may be defined, using variables other than merely severity. As illustrated in
One embodiment of the invention is implemented in an object-oriented programming environment such as Java (e.g., within a J2EE platform/engine). In this embodiment, each of the modules illustrated in
In one embodiment, the enterprise engine 301 includes, but is not limited to, a logging module 307 and a repository 308 for temporarily storing the log configuration. In one embodiment, the repository 308 may be implemented as a part of a system memory of the enterprise engine 301. The logging module 307 may include one or more processes executed by an operating system within the enterprise engine 301. The logging module 307 may be a part of logging system implemented within the enterprise engine 301, such as, for example, exemplary logging systems shown in
According to one embodiment, the configuration files 309-311 may be created and edited using a variety of editors, such as, for example, a text editor or a word processor, etc. Alternatively, the configuration files 309-311 may be created and edited via an integrated development environment (IDE), such as, for example, the exemplary IDE shown in
The operating system may be a Windows operating system from Microsoft Corporation or a MacOS operating system from Apple Computer. Alternatively, the operating system may be a Unix, a Linux, or an embedded operating system from a variety of vendors. The enterprise engine 301 may be implemented within a data processing system, such as, for example, exemplary system 1200 of
According to one embodiment, each of the configuration files is specifically packaged with the respective enterprise component. For example, configuration file 309 may be packaged with enterprise component 302. The enterprise components 302-304 may be a variety of deployable enterprise components, such as, for example, enterprise applications, libraries, resources, and/or services. In Java development, for example, a configuration file for an enterprise application may be packaged with the corresponding *.ear file for the respective enterprise application, while a configuration file for a Web application may be packaged with the corresponding *.war file for the respective Web application, etc. In one embodiment, the configuration file may be written as a metadata file, such as, for example, an XML file or a HTML (hypertext mark-up language) file, etc. An example of a configuration file written in XML is shown in
According to one embodiment, upon receiving a request for deploying an enterprise component, which may be issued by a deployment module (not shown), the logging module 307 retrieves the configuration file from the respective enterprise component being deployed. For example, when the enterprise engine 301 receives a request for deploying enterprise component 302, logging module 107 retrieves configuration file 309 associated with and specifically designed for the enterprise component 302 from a deployable file. For example, if component 302 is an enterprise application, the configuration file 309 and its component file 302 may be packaged within a *.ear file.
Once the configuration file is retrieved, the logging module 307 extracts the logging configuration from the configuration file by parsing the configuration file according to certain predetermined formats and/or policies. Thereafter, the logging module processes the extracted logging configuration information and stores the processed configuration information in the repository 308 and/or database 306. In addition, a copy of the corresponding configuration file may also be permanently stored in database 306 for later use. Once logging has been configured, the system then may perform logging for the specific component during the deployment of the respective component according to the logging configuration of the respective component.
Furthermore, the enterprise engine 301 may include an administration API 315 to allow an administrator to configure the logging at run time after the initial configurations. The administrator 305 may then modify the logging configuration and update the corresponding configuration file stored in the database 306. In addition to the administration API 305, the exemplary enterprise engine 301 may also include a log viewer 312 to allow a user to view the logged information. The log viewer 312 may be integrated within the administration API 315, such as, for example, log viewer 1000 shown in
Once the enterprise component being deployed is recognized, a log configuration service 402 is invoked. In one embodiment, the log configuration service 402 provides, but not limited to, the following functionality:
Once the log configuration service 402 is invoked, at block 405, a configuration file associated with the enterprise component, such as configurations files 309-311 of
In addition, the processed logging configuration information may be stored in a location of the system memory, such as, for example, the repository 308 of
Although the above processes have been illustrated in view of the Java enterprise computing environment, it will be appreciated that the above described techniques may also be applied to other enterprise computing environment, particularly, the object oriented programming environment, such as, for example, C# or Visual Basic of the .NET frameworks from Microsoft.
Referring to
In response to the request, at block 502, a configuration file associated with the enterprise component being deployed is retrieved, for example, by a log configuration service (e.g., log configuration service 402 of
At block 503, the logging and/or tracing configuration is extracted from the configuration file associated with the enterprise component being deployed. For example, information related to the settings of log formatters, log destinations, and/or log controllers may be extracted from the configuration file. At block 504, the logging and/or tracing of the enterprise component are configured according to the extracted configuration information. When the enterprise component is deployed, at block 505, logging and/or tracing are performed based on the configuration set up based on the configuration file associated with the deployed enterprise component. Other operations may be performed within the scope of embodiments of the invention.
The configuration files described above may be written according to the exemplary log configuration structure 600 in a variety of formats. In one embodiment, the configuration file may be written as a metadata file, such as, for example, an XML or HTML format. The exemplary configuration structure 600 may be used by an enterprise computing engine, such as, for example, a Java J2EE engine or a .NET framework engine.
In one embodiment, log formatter section 601 may be processed by a formatter component of the logging module (e.g., logging module 307 of
Alternatively, according to another embodiment, the exemplary GUI 800 may be included within a development tool for developing enterprise applications. For example, GUI 800 may be a part of an integrated development environment (IDE) for developing Java enterprise applications (e.g., J2EE compatible applications), or alternatively, the exemplary GUI 800 may be part of other enterprise IDE, such as, for example, the .NET framework IDE.
Referring to
In one embodiment, when one of the packages is selected (e.g., selected package 818), another window having one or more pages may be used to display information associated with the selected package. The one or more pages may be selected via one or more page selectors 802. In one embodiment, the one or more page selector 802 includes a page selector 803 to select a page for configuring a logging configuration file.
According to one embodiment, when page selector 803 is activated, the corresponding page 819 for configuring a logging file is displayed. The page 819 may also include one or more page selectors for configuring specific sections or pages of the logging configuration file. For example, page 819 may include a log formatter page selector 806 to configure log formatter section of the configuration file (e.g., formatter section 601 of
In the example shown in
For the purposes of illustrations, when log controller 812 is selected or activated, the properties associated with the selected log controller 812 are displayed in window 813. In one embodiment, the properties displayed may include, but not limited to, effective severity 816 and relative severity 817, etc. Other information such as those shown in
Once the logging has been configured at the GUI 800, in one embodiment, the information may be saved to a configuration file associated with the respective package (e.g. package 818), where the configuration file may be stored in the same directory as the package (e.g. the same directory of package 818). Subsequently, most of the files in that directory, including the configuration file, may be packaged into a release file, such as, error *.war files. That is, each of the packages listed in window 804 may include a configuration file specifically designed to configure the logging for the respective component.
The exemplary GUI 800 is illustrated for illustrations purposes only. The functionality and the layout of the GUI may vary while still complying with the underlying principles of the invention. For example, the tool bar 801 and/or the page selectors 802 may be implemented at different locations of the GUI, such as, for example, at the bottom of the GUI (e.g., near the status bar). The number of the buttons or controls associated with the tool bar 801 and the page selectors 802 may also vary. The buttons, the fields, the page selectors, and/or other controls may be activated using a variety of different techniques. For example, those buttons, icons, controls, and page selectors may be activated through one or more keys from a keyboard and/or a pointing device (e.g., a mouse). Alternatively, the functionality of these buttons, controls, and/or fields may be activated or deactivated via a pull-down menu or a pop-up menu. It will be appreciated that these elements may also be activated via other methods apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art, such as, for example, a voice interactive command, a stylus, or a command received over a network, such as a VPN (virtual private network), etc.
Although the above logging configurations are performed via an IDE as discussed above, the logging configurations may also be performed via other APIs, particularly, at runtime.
For the purposes of illustrations, when logging configuration 904 is selected or activated, the properties associated with item 904 may be displayed in window 903. In one embodiment, the logging configuration 904 may include locations, categories, log destinations, and log formatters as shown at field 905. The log controllers of each location may be configured. When the location page is selected (via a corresponding page selector), according to one embodiment, window 906 is used to display a list of the locations where the corresponding log controllers may be configured.
When location 907 is selected, one or more properties of location 908 may be displayed and/or configured in window 908. For example, a user or an administrator may configure the severity 909 of the logging, one or more filters in filter window 910 that may be added or removed using buttons 911, and one or more destinations in destination window 912 that may be added or removed using buttons 913. Other configurations are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
The exemplary GUI 900 is illustrated for illustrations purposes only. The functionality and the layout of the GUI may vary. For example, the tool bar 901 and/or the page selectors 903 may be implemented at different locations of the GUI, such as, for example, at the bottom of the GUI (e.g., near the status bar). The number of the buttons or controls associated with the tool bar 901 and the page selectors 905 may vary. The buttons, the fields, the page selectors, and/or other controls may be activated via a variety of manners. For example, those buttons, icons, controls, and page selectors may be activated through one or more keys from a keyboard and/or a pointing device (e.g., a mouse). Alternatively, the functionality of these buttons, controls, and/or fields may be activated or deactivated via a pull-down menu or a pop-up menu. It will be appreciated that they can also be activated via other methods apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art, such as, for example, a voice interactive command, a stylus, or a command received over a network, such as a VPN (virtual private network), etc.
In one embodiment, the log records may also be viewed using the exemplary GUIs 800 and 900. Alternatively, a log viewing GUI may be used to view the log records.
In one embodiment, exemplary GUI 1000 includes, but is not limited to, a service selection area 1002, which permits a user to select from a list of services such as, for example, a “log viewer” to view logged information in accordance with the techniques set forth herein.
After selecting the log viewer option in 1002, the user functions defined separately may be provided with an interface 1004, which permits the user to elect between different tabs. The tabs include a control descriptor tab 1006 to manage the descriptors for the logging, a properties tab 1008 to view and change properties associated with the log viewer, and a runtime tab 1010 to illustrate logged data for a given application, machine, and/or a task listed in the window. The logging data regarding the selected runtime items may then be viewed in a data window 1018 of the GUI 1000. This data may include the identity of the thread, source, severity, message, message identity, date, time, location, and the like (such as illustrated in portion 1018). Other components or options apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art may be included.
The log viewer illustrated in
Note that while
As shown in
The bus 1202 interconnects these various components together and also interconnects these components 1203, 1207, 1205, and 1206 to a display controller and display device 1208, as well as to input/output (I/O) devices 1210, which may be mice, keyboards, modems, network interfaces, printers, and other devices which are well-known in the art. Typically, the input/output devices 1210 are coupled to the system through input/output controllers 1209.
The volatile RAM 1205 is typically implemented as dynamic RAM (DRAM) which requires power continuously in order to refresh or maintain the data in the memory. The non-volatile memory 1206 is typically a magnetic hard drive, a magnetic optical drive, an optical drive, or a DVD RAM or other type of memory system which maintains data even after power is removed from the system. Typically the non-volatile memory will also be a random access memory, although this is not required. While
According to one embodiment, in response to a request for deploying an enterprise component, a log configuration service (e.g., log configuration service 402) may be executed from the memory 1205 to cause processor 1203 to perform logging and tracing configurations illustrated by one or more processes set forth above. Other operations may be performed as well.
Thus, methods and apparatuses for configuring logging of a deployment of an enterprise component have been described. In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.
In one embodiment, the usage of at least portions of the elements used in an XML configuration file is explained in detail as follows:
It will be appreciated that other formats or sections may be defined within the scope of the embodiments of the invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/749,005, filed Dec. 30, 2003 now abandoned and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/749,615, filed Dec. 30, 2003, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10749005 | Dec 2003 | US |
Child | 10836851 | US | |
Parent | 10749615 | Dec 2003 | US |
Child | 10749005 | US |