Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.P.

John C Adams

James R Greuel

Apparatus and methods facilitate customizable and extensible performance monitoring of a computer network. One method accepts a composite score definition in terms of N system variables, wherein N&#x2267;2; determines N raw data values, each raw data value corresponding to one of the N system variables; computes the composite score in accordance with the definition using the N raw data values as inputs; and outputs the composite score. The composite score definition is preferably in the form of a markup language, such as XML. The composite score definition preferably comprises, for each of the N system variables, a mapping and a weight. Preferably the composite score is displayed in at least one graphic form, such as a dial gauge, a bar indicator or a number, on a hypertext page. The hypertext page preferably contains one or more links to hypertext pages containing information regarding the scores and/or raw data values from which the composite score is derived. Another method accepts a mapping by which a raw data value associated with a corresponding system variable is mapped to a score, determines a raw data value corresponding to the system variable, converts the raw data value to a score in accordance with the mapping; and produces an output based on the score. One apparatus comprises a composite score definition, a data collector, a calculation logic and an output. The data collector collects a raw data value corresponding to one of the N system variables. The calculation logic is connected to the data collector and calculates the composite score in accordance with the definition using the N raw data values as inputs. The composite score is conveyed by way of the output. Preferably, the data collector comprises a database in which at least some of the raw data values are stored and a communication module by which at least some of the raw data values are transported, preferably according to the SNMP and/or the ICMP protocols. Another apparatus comprises a mapping, a data collector, a converter and an output. A raw data value associated with a corresponding system variable is mapped to a score, according to the mapping.

Method and apparatus for customizably calculating and displaying health of a computer network

Computer readable media and methods are associated with a software development tool that is useful when authoring programs that generate documents, such as markup language documents. In one respect, the invention is a computer readable medium on which is embedded computer software. The software comprises a base class, an inline class and a container class. The base class defines a parent-child relationship by which a child object is stored within the storage space of its parent object. The inline class is an extension of the base class, wherein a member of the inline class is permitted to be a child object but prohibited from being a parent object. The container class is an extension of the base class, wherein a member of the container class is permitted to be a child object and/or a parent object. A well-formed document can be modeled in software using members of the inline and/or container classes. In another respect, the invention is a method of using the a set of classes to develop a document-producing program. The set of classes comprises the base class, inline class and container class. In yet another respect, the invention is a document-producing program produced by the preceding method.

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Westminster, CO, United States of America

John C Adams