Service aggregation using graduated service levels in a cloud network

• US 10,268,522 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2009
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Ferris, James Michael, Riveros, Gerry Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Macilwinen, John M
• Application Number:
  US12/628,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20110131306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,431 Days
• Field of Search: 709223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5061 Partitioning or combining of resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/72 using reservation actions during connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for service aggregation using graduated service levels in a cloud network. In embodiments, a service aggregation platform can encode a service delivery profile to manage the delivery of support services to both vendors, such as independent software vendors (ISVs), and their users in a cloud-based network or networks. Vendors may choose to host their technical support and related services in the service aggregation platform, and define a graduated set of levels of service to which their customers, subscribers, and/or other users may be registered or entitled Users of virtual machines hosted in the one or more cloud can receive technical support, help desk, updating, and/or other support directly from the service aggregation platform, or indirectly through the vendor. The aggregation platform can serve as a trusted portal for delivery of software certification, dependency testing, issue resolution, and/or other degrees or types of support.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a service aggregation server executed by a processor, a first request from a first independent software vendors (ISV) for a first type of support service, wherein the first ISV is associated with a first cloud network for a first software application provisioned through the first cloud network and a second cloud network, the first cloud network providing a plurality of software applications from a plurality of independent software vendors (ISVs), wherein the first request comprises a first resource requirement, wherein the service aggregation server maintains a vendor service profile for each of the plurality of ISVs, as well as a user-level service profile for their respective end-users, the vendor service profile defining a set of support services to which each particular ISV of the plurality of ISVs is entitled from or via the service aggregation server and the user-level service profile defining service entitlements for the end-users of the respective software application across the first cloud network and the second cloud network;

comparing, by the service aggregation server, the first request for the first type of support service to a service entitlement for the first ISV recorded in a first vendor service profile associated with the first ISV, wherein the first vendor service profile specifies a first service delivery profile with one or more service entitlements for the first ISV and a second service delivery profile with one or more service entitlements for one or more end-users of the first software application, the one or more service entitlements for the one or more end-users being defined by the first ISV for the first software application and encompassing at least one service variable by which the one or more end-users can access support services for the first software application initiated, provided, or hosted by the first ISV; and

;

providing, by the service aggregation server, to the first ISV, the first type of the support service, specified in the first vendor service profile, wherein the providing the first type of the support service comprises at least one of provisioning a first set of one or more virtual machines or configuring the first set of one or more virtual machines, according to the first resource requirement, to deliver the first type of the support service to the first ISV;

receiving, by the service aggregation server, a second request from a first end-user of the first software application in the first cloud for a second type of support service, wherein the second request comprises a second resource requirement;

comparing, by the service aggregation server, the second request for the second type of support service to a service entitlement for the first end-user recorded in the second service delivery profile for the one or more end-users, wherein the user-level service profile specifies a plurality of graduated support service levels defined by the first ISV; and

providing, by the service aggregation server, to the first end-user, the second type of the support service, specified in one of the plurality of graduated support service levels, wherein the second type of the support service is different from the first type of the support service, wherein the providing the second type of the support service comprises at least one of provisioning a second set of one or more virtual machines or configuring the second set of one or more virtual machines, according to the second resource requirement, to deliver the second type of the support service to the first end-user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first end-user is at least one user-level virtual machine hosted in the first cloud network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second type of support service comprises at least one of a security service, a storage service, or a technical support resolution service.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request for the first type of support service comprises an escalation request to process a previously requested support service received via a user-level virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first cloud network and the second cloud network are part of a plurality of cloud networks, and wherein the first ISV is registered in each of the plurality of cloud networks.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first ISV is hosted via a vendor server in the Internet.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first ISV is hosted via a virtual machine hosted in the first cloud network or the second cloud network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first type of support service comprises at least one of a software certification service or a dependency detection service.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a response to the first request for the first type of support service or a response to the second request for the second type of support service are generated via a service aggregation platform hosted via the service aggregation server in the Internet.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein a response to the first request for the first type of support service or a response to the second request for the second type of support service are generated via a service aggregation platform hosted via the service aggregation server in a virtual machine hosted in the first cloud network or the second cloud network.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating, by the processor, a status of the first request in view of an update in the service entitlement recorded in the user-level service profile associated with the first end-user.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the service aggregation server, a third request for the second type of support service from a second end-user of the software application associated with the second cloud network, wherein the second cloud network comprises at least one of different underlying hardware resources or different compatibility issues than the first cloud network, wherein the third request comprises a third resource requirement;

comparing, by the service aggregation server, the third request to a service entitlement for the second end-user recorded in the user-level service profile; and

providing, by the service aggregation server, a third type of the support service in view of the comparison of the second request to the service entitlement, wherein the providing the third type of the support service comprises at least one of provisioning a third set of one or more virtual machines or configuring the third set of one or more virtual machines, according to the third resource requirement, to deliver the third type of the support service.

13. A system, comprising:

a memory to store instructions of a service aggregation server, the service aggregation server to maintain a vendor service profile for each of a plurality of vendors of software applications, as well as a user-level service profile for their respective end-users, the vendor service profile defining a set of support services to which each particular vendor of the plurality of vendors is entitled from or via the service aggregation server and the user-level service profile defining service entitlements for the end-users of their respective software application across multiple cloud environments;

a processor, operatively coupled to the memory, to execute the instructions of the service aggregation server to;

receive a first request for a support service from a requesting entity associated with a first cloud network, wherein the requesting entity is a first end-user of a software application associated with a vendor and provisioned through the first cloud network, wherein the request comprises a first resource requirement;

compare the request for the support service to a service entitlement for the requesting entity recorded in a first user-level service profile associated with the first end-user, wherein the first user-level service profile specifies the service entitlement for the first end-user, the service entitlement being defined by the vendor for the software application and encompassing at least one service variable by which the first end-user can access the support services for the software application initiated, provided, or hosted by the vendor;

provide, to the first end-user, a first type of the support service, specified in the service entitlement, in view of the comparison of the first request to the service entitlement recorded in the first user-level service profile, wherein the service aggregation server, to provide the first type of the support service, is to at least one of provision a first set of one or more virtual machines or configure the first set of one or more virtual machines, according to the first resource requirement, to deliver the first type of the support service;

receive a second request for the support service from a second requesting entity associated with the first cloud network, wherein the second request comprises a second resource requirement, wherein the second request is an escalation request to process the first request previously requested by the first end-user;

compare the second request to a service entitlement for the second requesting entity recorded in a vendor service profile associated with the vendor of the software application, wherein the vendor service profile specifies a plurality of graduated support service levels for the one or more end-users of the software application; and

provide a second type of the support service, specified in the plurality of graduated support service levels, in view of the comparison of the second request to the service entitlement recorded in the vendor service profile, wherein the service aggregation server, to provide the second type of the support service, is to at least one of provision a second set of one or more virtual machines or configure the second set of one or more virtual machines, according to the second resource requirement, to deliver the second type of the support service.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the requesting entity comprises a user-level virtual machine hosted in the first cloud network, and wherein the second requesting entity comprises at least one of a vendor server or a virtual machine hosted in the first cloud network.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor is further to update a status of the first request in view of an update in the service entitlement recorded in the user-level service profile associated with the first end-user.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor is further to:

receive a third request for a third type of support service from a second end-user of the software application associated with a second cloud network, wherein the second cloud network comprises at least one of different underlying hardware resources or different compatibility issues than the first cloud network, wherein the third request comprises a third resource requirement;

compare the third request to a service entitlement for the second end-user recorded in the user-level service profile; and

provide a third type of the support service in view of the comparison of the second request to the service entitlement, wherein, to provide the third type of the support service, is further to at least one of provision a third set of one or more virtual machines or configure the third set of one or more virtual machines, according to the third resource requirement, to deliver the third type of the support service.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the first type of the support service comprises one of a security service, a storage service, or a technical support resolution service.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first cloud network is part of a plurality of cloud networks, and the vendor is registered to each of the plurality of cloud networks.

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

maintain, by the processor, a vendor service profile for each of a plurality of vendors of software applications, as well as a user-level service profile for their respective end-users, the vendor service profile defining a set of support services to which each particular vendor of the plurality of vendors is entitled from or via the processor and the user-level service profile defining service entitlements for the end-users of their respective software application across multiple cloud environments;

receive, by the processor, a first request for a first type of support service from a requesting entity associated with a first cloud network, wherein the requesting entity is a first end-user of a software application associated with a vendor and provisioned through the first cloud network, wherein the first request comprises a first resource requirement;

compare, by the processor, the first request for the first type of support service to a service entitlement for the requesting entity recorded in a user-level service profile associated with the first end-user, wherein the user-level service profile specifies the service entitlement for the first end-user, the service entitlement being defined by vendor for the software application and encompassing at least one service variable by which the first end-user can access the support services for the software application initiated, provided, or hosted by the vendor;

provide, by the processor, to the first end-user, the first type of the support service, specified in the service entitlement, in view of the comparison of the first request to the service entitlement recorded in the user-level service profile, wherein the processor, to provide the first type of the support service, is to at least one of provision a first set of one or more virtual machines or configure the first set of one or more virtual machines, according to the first resource requirement, to deliver the first type of the support service;

receive a second request for a second type of support service from a second requesting entity associated with the first cloud network, wherein the second request comprises a second resource requirement, wherein the second request is an escalation request to process the first request previously requested by the first end-user;

compare the second request to a service entitlement for the second requesting entity recorded in a vendor service profile associated with the vendor, wherein the vendor service profile specifies a plurality of graduated support service levels; and

provide the second type of the support service, specified in the plurality of graduated support service levels, in view of the comparison of the second request to the service entitlement recorded in the vendor service profile, wherein the processor, to provide the second type of the support service, is to at least one of provision a second set of one or more virtual machines or configure the second set of one or more virtual machines, according to the second resource requirement, to deliver the second type of the support service.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the vendor is hosted via a vendor server in a public network.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the processor further to:

receive a third request for a third type of support service from a second end-user of the software application associated with a second cloud network, wherein the second cloud network comprises at least one of different underlying hardware resources or different compatibility issues than the first cloud network, wherein the third request comprises a third resource requirement;

compare the third request to a service entitlement for the second end-user recorded in the user-level service profile; and

provide a third type of the support service in view of the comparison of the second request to the service entitlement, wherein, to provide the third type of the support service, is further to at least one of provision a third set of one or more virtual machines or configure the third set of one or more virtual machines, according to the third resource requirement, to deliver the third type of the support service.