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LogPoint was initially architected (March 2006) to snap-shot WMI data on a windows network,
and to compile a repository for asset management purposes. However, its flexible design has
enabled it to be used to capture other information including router output, certificate data,
software lists, SQL Database information, web-logs, etc. - In fact if a device can expose some
form of information, then LogPoint can pick it up, analyse it and present it to the end-user in a
readable fashion. It has now been extended further to include monitoring, messaging and
scheduling.
How does it work? - “Meta-data / Reflection Methodology”
The term ‘Meta-data / Reflection Methodology’ is used to describe the process by which
LogPoint retrieves information. It bundles up a set of meta-data items that describe both how to
retrieve the information (the question) and how to send the resultant information back to the
client (a business object).
The process flow is as follows: we have a client (this could be the website, a windows service
or a SQL Server batch Job), the client wants a question answered, and so it creates a metadata
package about that question.
The question may be something as simple as ‘get me all the logical disk drive information for
the windows servers on my network whose names begin with ABC’, or ‘get me a list of the
devices whose MAC addresses show as attached to a particular CISCO router’ or ‘is the
website www.abc.com up and running’.
The meta-data package is then passed to a middle layer (this could be part of the client
application or it could be a remote-agent on a remote network). The middle layer loads the
various components by reflection. The module that performs the actual work is described to the
middle layer via a common interface definition, and so the middle layer knows exactly how to
get the module to work. The results are loaded into the business object and then passed back
to the client. |
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