Device and service discovery across multiple network types

• US 10,454,775 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2018
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• 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 H
• Application Number:
  US16/151,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20190190786A1
• Time in Patent Office: 384 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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;

initiate a discovery scan of first and second server devices, wherein the first and second server devices are not in the managed network;

receive first and second respective sets of configuration and operational information from the first and second respective server devices for first and second respective services provided to the managed network, wherein the first and second services are offered by different entities and have different configurations;

store the first and second respective sets of configuration and operational information for the first and second respective services in the database; and

provide a graphical user interface representing data corresponding to the first and second services.

2. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the computing system is configured to receive, via the graphical user interface, an input modifying the data.

3. The computer network discovery system of claim 2, wherein modifying the data comprises defining relationships between the first the service and the second service.

4. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the first set of configuration and operational information is stored in a first set of tables in the database, wherein the second set of configuration and operational information is stored in a second set of tables in the database, and wherein the first set of tables and the second set of tables have tables in common that store parts of both the first set of configuration and operational information and the second set of configuration and operational information.

5. The computer network discovery system of claim 4, wherein each of the tables in common is a parent table to a respective pair of tables, wherein each respective pair of tables comprises:

a first table storing configuration and operational information specific to the first service; and

a second table storing configuration and operational information specific to the second service.

6. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the first service includes one or more virtual machines, applications, web sites, or additional databases, or a combination thereof, leased to the managed network.

7. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein the first service is 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 service is available in multiple physical data centers in different geographic locations.

8. The computer network discovery system of claim 7, wherein the second service is 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 service is available in multiple physical data centers in different geographic locations.

9. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein initiating the discovery scan of the first and second server devices comprises transmitting a representation of 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.

10. The computer network discovery system of claim 1, wherein initiating the discovery scan of the first and second server devices comprises logging on to the first server device using account credentials related to the managed network, and wherein the first configuration and operational information for the first service is obtained by way of application programming interfaces.

11. A method comprising:

initiating, by a computing device of a managed network, a discovery scan of first and second server devices, wherein the first and second server devices are not in the managed network;

receiving, by the computing device, first and second respective sets of configuration and operational information from the first and second respective server devices for first and second respective services provided to the managed network, wherein the first and second services are offered by different entities and have different configurations;

storing, by the computing device, the first and second respective sets of configuration and operational information for the first and second respective services in a database disposed within a remote network management platform; and

providing, to a client device, a graphical user interface representing data corresponding to the first and second services.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first set of configuration and operational information is stored in a first set of tables in the database, wherein the second set of configuration and operational information is stored in a second set of tables in the database, and wherein the first set of tables and the second set of tables have tables in common that store parts of both the first set of configuration and operational information and the second set of configuration and operational information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the tables in common include entries for processor, memory, storage, or networking resources respectively available to the first and second respective services.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the tables in common is a parent table to a respective pair of tables, wherein each respective pair of tables comprises:

a first table storing configuration and operational information specific to the first service; and

a second table storing configuration and operational information specific to the second service.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first service includes one or more virtual machines, applications, web sites, or additional databases, or a combination thereof, leased to the managed network.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the first service is 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 service is available in multiple physical data centers in different geographic locations.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein initiating the discovery scan of the first and second server devices comprises transmitting a representation of 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.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein initiating the discovery scan of the first and second server devices comprises logging on to the first server device using account credentials related to the managed network, and wherein the first configuration and operational information for the first service is obtained by way of application programming interfaces.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the graphical user interface allows the data to be modified, and wherein modifying the data involves defining relationships between the first service and the second service.

20. 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:

initiating a discovery scan of first and second server devices, wherein the first and second server devices are not in the managed network;

receiving first and second respective sets of configuration and operational information from the first and second respective server devices for first and second respective services provided to the managed network, wherein the first and second services are offered by different entities and have different configurations;

storing the first and second respective sets of configuration and operational information for the first and second respective services in a database; and

providing a graphical user interface representing data corresponding to the first and second services.