Device and service discovery across multiple network types

• US 10,044,566 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2017
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Inventors: Grisco, Gregory, Francis, Steve, Bylahalli, Shridhar
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phuoc
• Application Number:
  US15/847,464
• Time in Patent Office: 231 Days
• Field of Search: 709220, 709221, 709223, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2282 Tablespace storage structures; Management thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0866 Checking the configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/122 of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5064 Customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/20 the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata

Abstract

A computer network discovery system may involve a computing system and a database disposed within a remote network management platform, and a proxy server application disposed within an enterprise network. The computing system may be configured to: transmit first instructions causing the proxy server application to obtain configuration and operational information for virtual machines; store the configuration and operational information for the virtual machines in a first set of tables of the database; transmit second instructions causing the server device to obtain configuration and operational information for services; and store the configuration and operational information for the services in a second set of tables of the database, where the first set and the second set of tables have tables in common that store at least part of the configuration and operational information for the virtual machines and the services.

Claims

1. A computer network discovery system comprising:

a database disposed within a remote network management platform; and

a computing system disposed within the remote network management platform, wherein the remote network management platform manages a managed network, and wherein the computing system is configured to;

transmit first instructions to a first server device, wherein transmitting the first instructions to the first server device comprises logging on to the first server device using account credentials related to the managed network, wherein reception of the first instructions cause the first server device to obtain first configuration and operational information for a first plurality of services leased to the managed network, wherein the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services are obtained by way of application programming interfaces, wherein the first server device is not in the managed network or the remote network management platform,

receive, from the first server device, the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services,

store the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services in a first set of tables of the database,

transmit second instructions to a second server device, wherein reception of the second instructions cause the second server device to obtain second configuration and operational information for a second plurality of services leased to the managed network, wherein the second server device is not in the managed network or the remote network management platform, and wherein the first plurality of services and the second plurality of services are offered by different entities and have different configurations,

receive, from the second server device, the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services, and

store the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services in a second set of tables of the database, wherein the first set of tables and the second set of tables have tables in common that store parts of both the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services and the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services.

2. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the tables in common include entries for processor, memory, storage, or networking resources respectively available to the first plurality of services and the second plurality of services.

3. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein each of the tables in common is a parent table to a respective pair of tables, wherein each respective pair of tables includes a first table storing the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services, and wherein each respective pair of tables includes a second table storing configuration and operational information specific to the second plurality of services.

4. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of services includes one or more virtual machines, applications, web sites, or databases leased to the managed network.

5. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of services are operated by a first party that is neither an operator of the managed network nor an operator of the remote network management platform, and wherein the first plurality of services are available in multiple physical data centers in different geographic locations.

6. The computer network discovery system of claim 5, wherein the second plurality of services are operated by a second party that is neither an operator of the managed network nor an operator of the remote network management platform, and wherein the second plurality of services are also available in multiple physical data centers in different geographic locations.

7. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein transmitting the first instructions to the first server device comprises transmitting a representation of the first instructions to a proxy server application disposed within the managed network, and wherein reception of the representation of the first instructions causes the proxy server application to transmit the first instructions to the first server device.

8. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the computing system is further configured to:

provide, to a client device, a graphical user interface representing data in the first set of tables and the second set of tables, wherein the graphical user interface allows the data to be modified.

9. The computer network discovery system of claim 8, wherein modifying the data involves defining relationships and dependencies between the first the plurality of services and the second plurality of services.

10. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a computing device of a remote network management platform, first instructions to a first server device, wherein transmitting the first instructions to the first server device comprises logging on to the first server device using account credentials related to the managed network, wherein the remote network management platform manages a managed network, wherein reception of the first instructions cause the first server device to obtain first configuration and operational information for a first plurality of services leased to the managed network, wherein the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services are obtained by way of application programming interfaces, and wherein the first server device is not in the managed network or the remote network management platform;

receiving, by the computing device and from the first server device, the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services;

storing, by the computing device, the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services in a first set of tables of a database that is disposed within the remote network management platform;

transmitting, by the computing device, second instructions to a second server device, wherein reception of the second instructions cause the second server device to obtain second configuration and operational information for a second plurality of services leased to the managed network, wherein the second server device is not in the managed network or the remote network management platform, and wherein the first plurality of services and the second plurality of services are offered by different entities and have different configurations;

receiving, by the computing device and from the second server device, the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services; and

storing, by the computing device, the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services in a second set of tables of the database, wherein the first set of tables and the second set of tables have tables in common that store parts of both the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services and the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the tables in common include entries for processor, memory, storage, or networking resources respectively available to the first plurality of services and the second plurality of services.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the tables in common is a parent table to a respective pair of tables, wherein each respective pair of tables includes a first table storing the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services, and wherein each respective pair of tables includes a second table storing configuration and operational information specific to the second plurality of services.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first plurality of services includes one or more virtual machines, applications, web sites, or databases leased to the managed network.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first plurality of services are operated by a first party that is neither an operator of the managed network nor an operator of the remote network management platform, and wherein the first plurality of services are available in multiple physical data centers in different geographic locations.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the first instructions to the first server device comprises transmitting a representation of the first instructions to a proxy server application disposed within the managed network, and wherein reception of the representation of the first instructions causes the proxy server application to transmit the first instructions to the first server device.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing, to a client device, a graphical user interface representing data in the first set of tables and the second set of tables, wherein the graphical user interface allows the data to be modified.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein modifying the data involves defining relationships and dependencies between the first the plurality of services and the second plurality of services.

18. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer-readable medium, having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by a computing device of a remote network management platform that manages a managed network, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

transmitting first instructions to a first server device, wherein transmitting the first instructions to the first server device comprises logging on to the first server device using account credentials related to the managed network, wherein the remote network management platform manages a managed network, wherein reception of the first instructions cause the first server device to obtain first configuration and operational information for a first plurality of services leased to the managed network, wherein the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services are obtained by way of application programming interfaces, and wherein the first server device is not in the managed network or the remote network management platform;

receiving, from the first server device, the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services;

storing the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services in a first set of tables of a database that is disposed within the remote network management platform;

transmitting second instructions to a second server device, wherein reception of the second instructions cause the second server device to obtain second configuration and operational information for a second plurality of services leased to the managed network, wherein the second server device is not in the managed network or the remote network management platform, and wherein the first plurality of services and the second plurality of services are offered by different entities and have different configurations;

receiving, from the second server device, the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services; and

storing the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services in a second set of tables of the database, wherein the first set of tables and the second set of tables have tables in common that store parts of both the first configuration and operational information for the first plurality of services and the second configuration and operational information for the second plurality of services.