System and method for configurable software provisioning

• US 20030195921A1
• Filed: 03/19/2002
• Published: 10/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Hanson, Michael Robert, Mayer, Alain Jules, Schroepfer, Michael Todd, Becker, Brian Eric
• Granted Patent: US 7,171,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for the automated provisioning of software applications onto one or more computers. The provisioning system uses a model of the application, which describes the application in terms of its software features and the actions to manipulate the application. The model preferably describes this information in a general way, such that it is independent of any environmental characteristics associated with the computers. The provisioning system also receives as input a set of references to selected ones of the computers onto which the application is to be provisioned.

Claims

1. A method, performable by a first computer, for provisioning an application to a second computer, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at said first computer, a model for said application, said model including at least one variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said provisioning;

computing, at said first computer, a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic; and

generating, at said first computer, based on said model and said value thus computed, a sequence of instructions, executable by said second computer, for provisioning said application.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising the step of providing said sequence of instructions and said application to said second computer via a communications network interconnecting said first computer and said second computer.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said second computer;

a characteristic of an operating system of said second computer;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said second computer;

a user selected characteristic.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said variable has a corresponding tag, said step of computing said value comprising the steps of:

retrieving said environmental characteristic in accordance with said tag;

generating said value based on said environmental characteristic; and

instantiating said variable with said value.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

6. A method, performable by a first computer, for configuring an application on a second computer, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at said first computer, a model for said application, said model including at least one variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said configuration;

computing, at said first computer, a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic; and

generating, at said first computer and based on said model and said value thus computed, configuration data for configuring said application on said second computer.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein said step of generating comprises the step of generating a configuration file containing said configuration data, said method further comprising the step of providing said configuration file to said second computer via a communications network interconnecting said first computer and said second computer.

8. A method in accordance with claim 6, further comprising the step of generating a sequence of instructions for configuring said second computer based on said configuration data.

9. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said second computer;

a characteristic of an operating system of said second computer;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said second computer;

a user selected characteristic.

10. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein said variable has a corresponding tag, said step of computing said value comprising the steps of:

retrieving said environmental characteristic in accordance with said tag;

generating said value based on said environmental characteristic; and

instantiating said variable with said value.

11. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

12. A method for provisioning an application to a target server machine connected to a master server via a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at said master server, a parameterized application model of said application;

receiving, at said master server, parameterized application configuration information associated with said application;

receiving, at said master server, an environmental characteristic corresponding to at least one variable in either of said parameterized application model or said parameterized application configuration information;

creating, at said master server, a data model for said application based on said parameterized application model, said parameterized application configuration information, and said environmental characteristic;

creating, at said master server, a set of instructions based on said data model and executable by said target server machine; and

providing said set of instructions from said master server to said target server machine via said communications network.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising the step of storing said parameterized application model, said parameterized application configuration information, and said environmental characteristic in a database associated with said master server.

14. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said parameterized application model comprises an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application; and

a reference to an action for installing said application.

15. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said parameterized application configuration information comprises an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

16. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said step of receiving said environmental characteristic comprises the steps of:

receiving, at said master server, a server machine model of said target server machine; and

parsing said server machine model to obtain said environmental characteristic.

17. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said step of receiving said environmental characteristic comprises the step of interrogating said target server machine for said environmental characteristic.

18. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said step of receiving said environmental characteristic comprises the step of receiving said environmental characteristic from a user via a graphical user interface.

19. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said step of receiving said environmental characteristic comprises the steps of:

receiving, at said master server, variable setting information associated with at least one variable in said parameterized application model; and

parsing said variable setting information to obtain said environmental characteristic.

20. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising the steps of

retrieving a second parameterized application model of a second application from a database associated with said master server, said second parameterized application model previously used for provisioning said second application to said target server machine;

and

retrieving a plurality of values associated with said previous provisioning, wherein said data model is further based on said plurality of values.

21. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising the step of converting said parameterized application configuration information into a configuration file for configuring said application.

22. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said set of instructions are executable by an agent program running on said target server machine.

23. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said target server machine;

a characteristic of an operating system of said target server machine;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said target server machine;

a user selected characteristic.

24. A method for provisioning an application onto a plurality of target server machines connected to a master server via a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at said master server, a model of said application, said model containing a variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said plurality of target server machines;

computing, at said master server, a corresponding value for said variable for each of said plurality of target server machines;

generating, at said master server, corresponding configuration data for each of said plurality of target server machines based on said corresponding value;

creating, at said master server, a corresponding sequence of instructions for each of said plurality of target server machines in accordance with said corresponding configuration data; and

executing, at each of said plurality of target server machines, said corresponding sequence of instructions to provision said application onto said target server machine.

25. A method in accordance with claim 24, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said target server machine;

a characteristic of an operating system of said target server machine;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said target server machine;

a user selected characteristic.

26. A method in accordance with claim 24, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

27. A method in accordance with claim 24, wherein said application includes a configuration file, said step of generating comprising the step of generating, from said configuration file, a plurality of configuration files corresponding to said plurality of target server machines based on said corresponding configuration data for each of said plurality of target server machines.

28. A method in accordance with claim 27, wherein said sequence of instructions includes instructions for providing a corresponding one of said plurality of configuration files to each of said plurality of target server machines.

29. A method, performable by a first computer, for reconfiguring an application provisioned on a second computer, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at said first computer, a model for said application, said model including at least one variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said reconfiguration;

retrieving, from a database associated with said first computer, a first set of configuration data corresponding to a previous configuration of said application on said second computer;

computing, at said first computer, a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic;

generating, at said first computer and based on said model and said value thus computed, a second set of configuration data;

computing, at said first computer, a difference between said first and second sets of configuration data; and

generating a sequence of instructions for reconfiguring said application based on said difference.

30. A method in accordance with claim 29, wherein said first set of configuration data corresponds to a most recent configuration of said application prior to said reconfiguration.

31. A method in accordance with claim 29, wherein said step of generating comprises the step of generating a configuration file containing said configuration data, said method further comprising the step of replacing a previous configuration file on said second computer with said configuration file thus generated.

32. A method in accordance with claim 29, wherein said variable has a corresponding tag, said step of computing said value comprising the steps of:

retrieving said environmental characteristic in accordance with said tag;

generating said value based on said environmental characteristic; and

instantiating said variable with said value.

33. A method in accordance with claim 29, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

34. A computer-readable medium having instructions recorded therein, said instructions executable by a first computer to provision an application onto a second computer, said instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving a model for said application, said model including at least one variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said provisioning;

instructions for computing a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic; and

instructions for generating, based on said model and said value thus computed, a sequence of instructions executable by said second computer for provisioning said application.

35. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 34, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said second computer;

a characteristic of an operating system of said second computer;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said second computer;

a user selected characteristic.

36. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 34, wherein said variable has a corresponding tag, said instructions further comprising:

instructions for retrieving said environmental characteristic in accordance with said tag;

instructions for generating said value based on said environmental characteristic; and

instructions for instantiating said variable with said value.

37. A computer-readable medium having instructions recorded therein, said instructions executable by a first computer to configure an application onto a second computer, said instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving a model for said application, said model including at least one variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said configuration;

instructions for computing a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic; and

instructions for generating, based on said model and said value thus computed, configuration data for configuring said application on said second computer.

38. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 37, wherein said instructions further comprise instructions for generating a sequence of instructions for configuring said second computer based on said configuration data.

39. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 37, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said second computer;

a characteristic of an operating system of said second computer;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said second computer;

a user selected characteristic.

40. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 37, wherein said variable has a corresponding tag, said instructions further comprising:

instructions for retrieving said environmental characteristic in accordance with said tag;

instructions for generating said value based on said environmental characteristic; and

instructions for instantiating said variable with said value.

41. A computer-readable medium having instructions recorded therein, said instructions executable by a master server for provisioning an application to a target server machine connected to said master server via a communications network, said instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving a parameterized application model of said application;

instructions for receiving parameterized application configuration information associated with said application;

instructions for receiving an environmental characteristic corresponding to at least one variable in said parameterized application model;

instructions for creating a data model for said application based on said parameterized application model, said parameterized application configuration information, and said environmental characteristic;

instructions for creating a set of instructions based on said data model and executable by said target server machine; and

instructions for providing said set of instructions from said master server to said target server machine via said communications network.

42. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 41, wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for parsing a server machine model of said target server machine to obtain said environmental characteristic;

instructions for interrogating said target server machine for said environmental characteristic;

instructions for receiving said environmental characteristic from a user via a graphical user interface; and

instructions for parsing variable setting information associated with at least one variable in said parameterized application model to obtain said environmental characteristic.

43. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 41, wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for retrieving a second parameterized application model of a second application from a database associated with said master server, said second parameterized application model previously used for provisioning said second application to said target server machine; and

instructions for retrieving a plurality of values associated with said previous provisioning, wherein said data model is further based on said plurality of values.

44. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 41, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said target server machine;

a characteristic of an operating system of said target server machine;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said target server machine;

a user selected characteristic.

45. A computer-readable medium having instructions recorded therein, said instructions executable by a master server for provisioning an application onto a plurality of target server machines connected to said master server via a communications network, said instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving a model of said application, said model containing a variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said plurality of target server machines;

instructions for computing a corresponding value for said variable for each of said plurality of target server machines;

instructions for generating corresponding configuration data for each of said plurality of target server machines based on said corresponding value;

instructions for creating a corresponding sequence of instructions for each of said plurality of target server machines in accordance with said corresponding configuration data; and

instructions for causing said corresponding sequence of instructions to be executed at each of said plurality of target server machines.

46. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 45, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said target server machine;

a characteristic of an operating system of said target server machine;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said target server machine;

a user selected characteristic.

47. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 45, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

48. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 45, wherein said application includes a configuration file, said instructions further comprising:

instructions for generating, from said configuration file, a plurality of configuration files corresponding to said plurality of target server machines based on said corresponding configuration data for each of said plurality of target server machines; and

instructions for providing a corresponding one of said plurality of configuration files to each of said plurality of target server machines.

49. A computer-readable medium having instructions recorded therein, said instructions executable by a first computer to reconfigure an application provisioned on a second computer, said instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving a model for said application, said model including at least one variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said reconfiguration;

instructions for retrieving, from a database associated with said first computer, a first set of configuration data corresponding to a previous configuration of said application on said second computer;

instructions for computing a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic;

instructions for generating, based on said model and said value thus computed, a second set of configuration data;

instructions for computing a difference between said first and second sets of configuration data; and

instructions for generating a sequence of instructions for reconfiguring said application based on said difference.

50. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 49, wherein said first set of configuration data corresponds to a most recent configuration of said application prior to said reconfiguration.

51. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 49, wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for generating a configuration file containing said configuration data; and

instructions for replacing a previous configuration file on said second computer with said configuration file thus generated.

52. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 49, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

53. An application provisioning system for provisioning an application to a target server machine, comprising:

a master server, connected to said target server machine via a communications network, said master server including;

a plan executor for receiving a parameterized application model of said application, parameterized application configuration information associated with said application, and an environmental characteristic corresponding to at least one variable in either of said parameterized application model or said parameterized application configuration information; and

a configuration generator for computing a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic, said plan executor creating a data model for said application, and creating a set of instructions based on said data model and executable by said target server machine;

wherein said data model is based on said parameterized application model, said parameterized application configuration information, and said value; and

wherein said master server is adapted for providing said set of instructions to said target server machine via said communications network.

54. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said master server comprises a database for storing said parameterized application model, said parameterized application configuration information, and said environmental characteristic.

55. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said parameterized application model comprises an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application; and

a reference to an action for installing said application.

56. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said parameterized application configuration information comprises an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

57. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said master server further comprises:

a server database for storing a server machine model of said target server machine; and

a server machine model parser for parsing said server machine model to obtain said environmental characteristic.

58. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said master server interrogates said target server machine for said environmental characteristic.

59. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said master server receives said environmental characteristic from a user via a graphical user interface.

60. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said master server comprises:

a variable settings database for storing variable setting information associated with at least one variable in said parameterized application model; and

a variable settings parser for parsing said variable setting information to obtain said environmental characteristic.

61. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said plan executor is adapted to retrieve:

a second parameterized application model of a second application from a database associated with said master server, said second parameterized application model previously used for provisioning said second application to said target server machine, and

a plurality of values associated with said previous provisioning, and wherein said data model is further based on said plurality of values.

62. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said master server converts said parameterized configuration information into a configuration file for configuring said application.

63. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, further comprising an agent program, operable on said target server machine and adapted for executing said set of instructions.

64. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 53, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said target server machine;

a characteristic of an operating system of said target server machine;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said target server machine;

a user selected characteristic.

65. An application provisioning system for provisioning an application onto a plurality of target server machines, comprising:

a master server, connected to said plurality of target server machines via a communications network, said master server including;

a plan executor for receiving a model of said application, said model containing a variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said plurality of target server machines; and

a configuration generator for computing a corresponding value for said variable for each of said plurality of target server machines, said plan executor generating corresponding configuration data for each of said plurality of target server machines based on said value, and creating a corresponding sequence of instructions for each of said plurality of target server machines in accordance with said corresponding configuration data; and

a plurality of agent programs for executing, at each corresponding one of said plurality of target server machines, said corresponding sequence of instructions to provision said application onto said target server machine.

66. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 65, wherein said environmental characteristic is selected from the group consisting of:

a characteristic of said target server machine;

a characteristic of an operating system of said target server machine;

a characteristic of a second application that is provisioned on said target server machine;

a user selected characteristic.

67. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 65, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.

68. An application provisioning system in accordance with claim 65, wherein said application includes a configuration file, said master server generating a plurality of configuration files corresponding to said plurality of target server machines based on said corresponding configuration data for each of said plurality of target server machines,

wherein said corresponding sequence of instructions includes instructions for providing a corresponding one of said plurality of configuration files to each of said plurality of target server machines.

69. An application reconfiguration system for reconfiguring an application provisioned on a target server machine, comprising:

a master server, connected to said target server machine via a communications network, said master server including;

a reconfiguration executor for receiving a model for said application, said model including at least one variable for describing an environmental characteristic associated with said reconfiguration, and retrieving, from a database associated with said first computer, a first set of configuration data corresponding to a previous configuration of said application on said second computer; and

a configuration generator for computing a value for said at least one variable in accordance with said environmental characteristic, and generating a second set of configuration data based on said model and said value thus computed;

said reconfiguration executor computing a difference between said first and second sets of configuration data and generating a sequence of instructions for reconfiguring said application based on said difference.

70. An application reconfiguration system in accordance with claim 69, wherein said first set of configuration data corresponds to a most recent configuration of said application prior to said reconfiguration.

71. An application reconfiguration system in accordance with claim 69, wherein said configuration generator generates a configuration file containing said configuration data, said master server replacing a previous configuration file on said second computer with said configuration file thus generated.

72. A method in accordance with claim 69, wherein said model includes an element selected from the group consisting of:

a reference to a file of said application;

a reference to an action for installing said application;

a reference to configuration data for said application; and

a reference to a configuration file for said application.