Advanced tools for unified communication data management and analysis

Abstract

The present disclosure includes descriptions of various aspects of unified communication (UC) systems, including UC management and analysis systems and related tools and techniques. Described systems, tools, and techniques are adapted for enhanced UC data capture, analysis, and reporting; enhanced UC monitoring services; and a user survey service that can be used for conducting user surveys related to UC services. Embodiments disclosed herein include a process for determining location-based quality metrics; a process for calculating weighted availability in a computer system (e.g., a UC system); a process for generating a set of test rules based on automatic inspection of a UC topology; a process for setting a response priority for a rule failure based on classification of the failure; and process for executing a survey instance for users of a UC system based on presence information.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 computing one or more aggregate metrics for calls associated with a location, wherein the location is associated with one or more geographic markers;   determining an aggregate call score for the location based on the one or more aggregate metrics; and   based on the aggregate call score for the location, sending a notification to one or more users associated with the one or more geographic markers.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more geographic markers include an IP address. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more geographic markers include a network identifier. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more aggregate metrics comprise an average packet loss metric. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more aggregate metrics comprise an average latency metric. 
     
     
         6 . In a computer system comprising a server configured to execute a monitoring service, a method comprising, by the monitoring service:
 testing a plurality of workloads within a computer system, wherein the testing of each workload is performed according to a corresponding test rule; and   performing a calculation of weighted availability values for the workloads based on user impact ratings for the corresponding test rules.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising performing a calculation of an aggregate service availability value for the computing system based on the weighted availability values for the workloads of the computing system. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the calculation of the weighted availability values for the workloads is further based on business impact ratings for the corresponding test rules. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the calculation of the weighted availability values for the workloads comprises a calculation of a weighted impact score based on the user impact ratings and business impact ratings for the corresponding test rules. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the computing system comprises a unified communication system. 
     
     
         11 . In a computer system comprising a server configured to execute a monitoring service, a method comprising, by the monitoring service:
 performing an automatic inspection of a unified communication topology;   determining a set of usage scenarios based on the automatic inspection; and   generating a set of test rules configured to test a plurality of workloads corresponding to the set of usage scenarios.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising testing the plurality of workloads according to the corresponding test rules. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the corresponding test rules are associated with user impact ratings. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the corresponding test rules are associated with business impact ratings. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the unified communication topology comprises at least one unified communication system server, and wherein the set of test rules comprises one or more of: an audio conference test rule and a dial-in conference test rule. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the set of test rules comprises an outbound call test rule and an inbound call test rule. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the set of test rules comprises a peer-to-peer audio call test rule. 
     
     
         18 . In a computer system comprising a server configured to execute a user survey service, a method comprising, by the user survey service:
 identifying a set of survey candidates for a survey instance of a user survey, wherein the survey candidates are users of a unified communication system; and   executing the survey instance, wherein executing the survey instance comprises:   establishing a connection with the unified communication system;   receiving presence information of the survey candidates; and   processing the survey instance for the survey candidates based on the presence information of the survey candidates.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein identifying the set of survey candidates comprises:
 applying user filters to a list of users of the unified communication system to obtain a filtered population; and   adding users from the filtered population to the set of survey candidates.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein adding users from the filtered population to the set of survey candidates comprises:
 determining a sample size for the set of survey candidates; and   adding users from the filtered population at least until the sample size is reached.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the sample size varies based on an adjustable confidence level. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the sample size varies based on an adjustable expected response rate.