License management solution for central-management products

• US 10,282,523 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2014
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Kopren, Toran K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huang, Tsan-Yu J
• Application Number:
  US14/519,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20150039378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,659 Days
• Field of Search: 705 59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

A license manager running on a central-management server receives a license request for licensing a managed node as a client of a central-management product running on a central-management server. The license manager proposes a solution involving applying respective licenses for plural distinct central-management products. In response to a unified command, implementing said solution.

Claims

1. A license-management method comprising:

receiving, by a license manager running on a central-management server, a license request for licensing a first node as a client of a first central-management product, the first central-management product running on said central-management server, the request being received from a requestor, the first node being separate from the central-management server;

identifying, by the license manager, at least one prerequisite to licensing the first node as a client of the first central-management product, the prerequisite involving licensing the first node or a second node as a client of a second central-management product;

proposing, by the license manager, a solution involving licensing plural distinct central-management products, the solution including licensing the second central-management product to the first node or the second node; and

in response to acceptance of the solution by the requestor, implementing the solution.

2. The license-management method of claim 1 wherein the second central-management product is separate from the first central-management product or the first node is a virtual server executing on the second node, the second node being a physical server, the solution including licensing the first central-management product.

3. The license-management method of claim 1 wherein the first node is a virtual server, the second node is a physical server, the first central-management product is a workload manager and the second central-management product is the workload manager.

4. The license-management method of claim 1 wherein the second node is a lights-out module hosted by the first node or a physical server on which the first node executes.

5. The license-management method of claim 4 wherein the solution further includes licensing the first central-management product to the first node and to a third node, the first central-management product being a workload manager, the second central-management product being a power manager, the first node being a virtual server, the third node being a physical server hosting the first node, and the second node being a physical server hosting the first and third nodes.

6. A license-management system comprising non-transitory media encoded with code that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to define a license manager and implement a process including:

receiving, by the license manager running on a central-management server, a license request for licensing a first node as a client of a first central-management product, the first central-management product running on said central-management server, the request being received from a requestor, the first node being separate from the central-management server;

identifying, by the license manager, at least one prerequisite to licensing the first node as a client of the first central-management product, the prerequisite involving licensing the first node or a second node as a client of a second central-management product;

proposing, by the license manager, a solution involving licensing plural distinct central-management products, the solution including licensing the second central-management product to the first node or the second node; and

in response to acceptance of the solution by the requestor, implementing the solution.

7. The license-management system of claim 6 wherein the second central-management product is separate from the first central-management product or the first node is a virtual server executing on the second node, the second node being a physical server, the solution including licensing the first central-management product.

8. The license-management system of claim 6 wherein the first node is a virtual server, the second node is a physical server, the first central-management product is a workload manager and the second central-management product is the workload manager.

9. The license-management system of claim 6 wherein the second node is a lights-out module hosted by the first node or a physical server on which the first node executes.

10. The license-management method of claim 9 wherein the solution further includes licensing the first central-management product to the first node and to a third node, the first central-management product being a workload manager, the second central-management product being a power manager, the first node being a virtual server, the third node being a physical server hosting the first node, and the second node being a physical server hosting the first and third nodes.

11. The license-management system of claim 6 further comprising said processor.