Deployment of configuration information

• US 20040010429A1
• Filed: 07/12/2002
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shukla, Dharma, Ramanathan, Anand C., Pipkin, Mario, Vedula, Nagender, Baltazar, Valentino C., Chiluvuri, Muralidhara Varma
• Granted Patent: US 7,797,403 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0866 Checking the configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• 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
• 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 methods providing the automated configuration management and configuration information communication/deployment for a business process server computing application operating in a distributed computing environment is provided. In an illustrative implementation, a configuration management and configuration information communication/deployment tool operating in a distributed computing environment allows cooperating parties cooperating to operate a business process server computing application to more easily and efficiently update the configuration information of one or components of the business process server computing application responsive to changes in business practice changes between the cooperating parties. In the contemplated implementation, packages are requested by the cooperating parties using the configuration tool. The packages contain information indicative of desired business practice changes and the information required to reconfigure the business application to accommodate such changes. The tool allows for closed loop and real-time testing of the configuration changes.

Claims

1. A system providing configuration management and configuration information communication/deployment for a business process server computing application operating among a plurality of cooperating parties comprising:

a configuration management and configuration information communication/deployment tool, said configuration management and configuration information communication/deployment tool providing configuration management and deployment information to configure said business process server computing application to be responsive to changes in function and operation as dictated by one or more of said plurality of cooperating parties; and

a communications network, said communications network capable of communicating said configuration information to said plurality of cooperating parties.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said business process server computing application operates in distributed computing environment.

3. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein said distributed computing environment comprises computer networks having client computers and server computers cooperating through communication networks.

4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein said configuration management and configuration information communication/deployment tool operates on the same server that executes said business process server computing application.

5. The system as recited in claim 4, wherein said configuration management and configuration information/deployment tool is a computing application.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said communications network comprises any of a local area network, a wireless local area network, a wide area network, a wireless wide area network, an intranet, a wireless intranet, an extranet, a wireless extranet, a peer-to-peer network, a wireless peer-to-peer network, the Internet, and the wireless Internet.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said change in function and operation of said business process server computing application arises from a change in one ore more business practices between said plurality of cooperating parties.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a service bureau, said service bureau overseeing the operation of said business process server computing application among said plurality of cooperating parties.

9. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said cooperating parties are commerce partners cooperating to provide products and/or services to each other.

10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein said configuration information comprises data representative of the business relationships between said commerce partners.

18. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said configuration management engine comprises a computing application.

19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein said computing application operates in a distributed computing environment that is distributed among the business partners.

11. A method to configure the exchange of required information between business partners operating disparate business processing environments having disparate communication requirements comprising the steps of:

initiating communication between said business partners through a first communication path, the first communication path used to acknowledge the relationship between the business partners;

establishing a second communication path to exchange and standardize business crucial and associated technical information in accordance with the relationship definitions as defined by the business partners; and

testing the second communication path to ensure that the business information and/or technical information is being communicated properly.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising generating a transaction request for processing by the business partners.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising upon the unsuccessful testing of the second communication path, analyzing the second communication path to identify communication path problems.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising rectifying the identified problems.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising satisfying the generated transaction request by the business partners.

16. A computer readable medium, having computer readable instructions to instruct a computer to perform the method as recited in claim 11.

17. A system to automatically provide configuration information required for the communication of business information between business partners operating a business process server computing application comprising:

a configuration management engine, said configuration management engine operating between the business partners providing configuration information required for the communication of business information; and

a communication network, said communication network cooperating with said configuration management engine to communicate information between the business partners.

20. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein said business information is data representative of the business relationship between the business partners.

21. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein said business information is data representative of the technical configuration information required to establish electronic communications between the business partners.

22. The system as recited in claim 21, wherein said business partners are e-commerce enterprises.

23. The system as recited in claim 17, further comprising a service bureau, the service bureau being in communication with the business process server computing application and with the configuration management engine using the communications network.

24. The system as recited in claim 23, wherein said service bureau manages the exchange of configuration information as provided by the configuration management engine between the business partners.