Systems and methods for enhanced monitoring of a distributed computing system

Abstract

The present approach relates to querying a configuration item (CI). The CI may be associated with a monitoring agent. In accordance with this approach, a check request is sent to a management, instrumentation, and discovery (MID) server. The check request may be sent to the monitoring agent. Additionally, a check result may be received from the monitoring agent. The check result may have data associated with the CI and the check request.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory, accessible by the processor, the memory storing instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a data payload from a monitoring agent within a network, wherein the data payload comprises data associated with one or more computing resources in the network; 
 storing the data payload in a database as one or more respective records associated with the one or more computing resources; 
 transmitting one or more check requests to the monitoring agent, wherein the monitoring agent is configured to perform the one or more check requests against the one or more computing resources; and 
 receiving one or more check results from the monitoring agent, wherein the one or more check results comprise additional data associated with the one or more check results, or the one or more computing resources, or both. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more check requests comprise a discovery request, a metrics collection request, or an event management request, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise determining the one or more check requests based on respective types of the one or more computing resources in the data payload. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise updating the one or more respective records based on the one or more check results. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise:
 receiving an indication of an association between the monitoring agent and the one or more computing resources in the network; and   storing respective records associating the monitoring agent with the one or more computing resources in the memory.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise:
 before transmitting the one or more check requests to the monitoring agent:   identifying a record associated with the monitoring agent in the memory; and   determining that the monitoring agent is associated with the one or more computing resources based on the record.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise transmitting a discovery request to the monitoring agent before receiving the data payload from the monitoring agent. 
     
     
         8 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, via one or more processors configured to host a configuration service, an input indicative of an instruction to perform a query against a configuration item (CI) in a network;   transmitting, via the one or more processors, a check request to a monitoring agent associated with the CI based on the received input;   receiving, via the one or more processors, a check result from the monitoring agent, wherein the check result comprises data associated with the CI and the check request; and   transmitting, via the one or more processors, a representation of the data associated with the CI and the check request to a display device.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising:
 receiving, by a device in the network, the check request from the one or more processors; and   transmitting, by the device, the check request to the monitoring agent.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising:
 receiving, by a device in the network, the check result from the monitoring agent; and   transmitting, by the device, the check result to the one or more processors.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising determining, via the one or more processors, that the monitoring agent is associated with the CI based on the query, the CI, or both. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising:
 receiving, via the one or more processors, a record associating the monitoring agent with the CI from a memory accessible by the one or more processors; and   transmitting, via the one or more processors, the check result to the monitoring agent based on the record.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the check request comprises a discovery process, metrics collection, event management, or a combination thereof 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the check result comprises an indication that an entry point associated with the CI is active. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the check result comprises one or more of a name of the entry point, respective names of additional entry points, or respective identifiers of additional CIs that may communicate with the entry point or the CI. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory, computer-readable medium, comprising instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 receiving an indication of a monitoring agent executing on a client device associated with one or more configuration items (CIs);   transmitting a check request to the monitoring agent based on the received indication, wherein the check request is associated with a CI of the one or more CIs, and wherein the monitoring agent is configured to perform the check request against the CI;   receiving a check result from the monitoring agent, wherein the check result comprises data associated with the CI, the check request, or both; and   storing the check result in a database.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein one or more records associated with the one or more CIs are stored in the database, and wherein storing the check result in the database comprises updating the one or more records associated with the CIs based on check result. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the check result comprises a discovery payload, and wherein the operations comprise transmitting an additional check request to the monitoring agent based on the discovery payload. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the check request is transmitted to the monitoring agent based on the received indication and a monitoring policy associated with the CI. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the monitoring policy comprises a check frequency, and wherein the check request and one or more additional check requests are transmitted to the monitoring agent based on the check frequency.