Symbiotic interrupt/polling approach for monitoring physical sensors

1. A method for monitoring a system with a plurality of physical sensors, comprising

polling the plurality of physical sensors in a given sequence at a given rate, wherein each physical sensor monitors a specific physical parameter of the system;

providing a plurality of measurements to a monitoring system, wherein each measurement originates from one of the plurality of physical sensors;

if a given physical sensor detects a parameter that is not within a pre-determined operating range, receiving an interrupt from the physical sensor; and

in response to receiving the interrupt, raising an alarm;

determining if multiple interrupt signals are received within a given time period; and

if so, analyzing the multiple interrupt signals to determine if there is a common cause for the multiple interrupt signals.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising analyzing the plurality of measurements to generate alarms and diagnostics related to the plurality of measurements.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein analyzing the plurality of measurements involves:

examining a time history of measurements from each sensor in the plurality of physical sensors;

determining if the time history of measurements for any sensor indicates a trend toward a failure; and

if so, raising an alarm.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein analyzing the plurality of measurements involves:

correlating a time history of measurements from each sensor with the time history of measurements from other sensors;

determining if the correlations indicate a trend toward a failure; and

if so, raising an alarm.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein sensors within the plurality of physical sensors are configured to measure temperature, current, and voltage.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the system is an enterprise computer server.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

responding to a polling signal from a given physical sensor with a current measurement of a monitored parameter; and

if the monitored parameter is not within a given range, generating an interrupt from the physical given sensor.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for monitoring a system with a plurality of physical sensors, the method comprising

polling the plurality of physical sensors in a given sequence at a given rate, wherein each physical sensor monitors a specific physical parameter of the system;

providing a plurality of measurements to a monitoring system, wherein each measurement originates from one of the plurality of physical sensors;

if a given physical sensor detects a parameter that is not within a pre-determined operating range, receiving an interrupt from the physical sensor; and

in response to receiving the interrupt, raising an alarm;

determining if multiple interrupt signals are received within a given time period; and

if so, analyzing the multiple interrupt signals to determine if there is a common cause for the multiple interrupt signals.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , the method further comprising analyzing the plurality of measurements to generate alarms and diagnostics related to the plurality of measurements.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein analyzing the plurality of measurements involves:

examining a time history of measurements from each sensor in the plurality of physical sensors;

determining if the time history of measurements for any sensor indicates a trend toward a failure; and

if so, raising an alarm.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein analyzing the plurality of measurements involves:

correlating a time history of measurements from each sensor with the time history of measurements from other sensors;

determining if the correlations indicate a trend toward a failure; and

if so, raising an alarm.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein sensors within the plurality of physical sensors are configured to measure temperature, current, and voltage.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the system is an enterprise computer server.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , the method further comprising:

responding to a polling signal from a given physical sensor with a current measurement of a monitored parameter; and

if the monitored parameter is not within a given range, generating an interrupt from the physical given sensor.

15. An apparatus for monitoring a system with a plurality of physical sensors, comprising

a polling mechanism configured to poll the plurality of physical sensors in a given sequence at a given rate, wherein each physical sensor monitors a specific physical parameter of the system;

a responding mechanism configured to provide a plurality of measurements to a monitoring system, wherein each measurement originates from one of the plurality of physical sensors;

a receiving mechanism configured to receive an interrupt from a sensor associated with the parameter that is not within a pre-determined operating range; and

an alarm mechanism configured to raise an alarm in response to receiving the interrupt;

a determining mechanism configured to determine if multiple interrupt signals are received within a given time period; and

an analyzing mechanism configured to analyze the multiple interrupt signals to determine if there is a common cause for the multiple interrupt signals.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising an analyzing mechanism configured to analyze the plurality of measurements to generate alarms and diagnostics related to the plurality of measurements.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising:

an examining mechanism configured to examine a time history of measurements from each sensor in the plurality of physical sensors; and

a determining mechanism configured to determine if the time history of measurements for any sensor indicates a trend toward a failure;

wherein the alarm mechanism is further configured to raise an alarm if the time history of measurements for any sensor indicates the trend toward a failure.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising:

a correlating mechanism configured to correlate a time history of measurements from each sensor with the time history of measurements from other sensors; and

a determining mechanism configured to determine if the correlations indicate a trend toward a failure;

wherein the alarm mechanism is further configured to raise an alarm if the correlations indicate the trend toward a failure.