1. A method for identifying a plurality of patterns of events from within event log file data, comprising: receiving a query comprising a plurality of patterns, each of the patterns comprising a plurality of events; determining one or more key events from the plurality of patterns of events; locating the one or more key events within a database of stored event log file data; generating an event stream comprising the key events and all other events of the event log file data occurring within a predetermined time span from the time of the located one or more events; and searching for each of the plurality of patterns of the received query from within the event stream, wherein the predetermined time span is equal to twice the length of a longest pattern associated with the one or more key events.