System and method providing automatic policy enforcement in a multi-computer service application

• US 20050021697A1
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aamer Hydrie, Bassam Tabbara, Galen C. Hunt, Mark D Van Antwerp, Robert Welland, Steven P. Levi
• Inventors: Tabbara, Bassam, Hunt, Galen C., Van Antwerp, Mark D., Welland, Robert V., Hydrie, Aamer, Levi, Steven P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,096,258 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5066 Algorithms for mapping a plurality of inter-dependent sub-tasks onto a plurality of physical CPUs mappping at compile time, see G06F8/451

Abstract

Systems and methods to enforce policy in a multi-computer service application are described. In one aspect, a scale-independent logical model of an application is generated. The application is for implementation in a distributed computing system. The scale-independent logical model includes multiple components representing logical functions of the application and intercommunication protocols. The model components are converted into one or more instances representative of physical resources used to implement the logical functions. The instances specify information such as communication ports on the physical resources and communication paths that link the physical resources.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

forming a scale-independent logical model of an application to be implemented by a distributed computer system, the scale-independent logical model having multiple components representing logical functions of the application and intercommunication protocols; and

converting the model components into one or more instances representative of physical resources used to implement the logical functions, the instances specifying communication ports on the physical resources and communication paths that link the physical resources.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the scale-independent logical model defines a set of model extensions comprising one or more of a store, an event source, an event sink, and an event path.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the scale-independent logical model are represented by a blueprint specifying hardware or software model components of the multiple components.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the application is an Internet data center application.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the physical resources comprise communication ports configurable during run-time to specify different logical data connections, the logical data connections being specified by the scale-independent logical model.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the physical resources comprise communication ports configurable to specify different logical data connections during instantiation of logical representations of the communication ports.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the model components comprise at least a subset of a port, a module, and a wire.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving notification(s) from one or more resources of the physical resources, the notification(s) being received on first communication ports; and

responsive to receiving the notification(s), routing responses to the notification(s), the responses being routed to one or more different resources of the physical resources, the one or more other resources being on second communication ports.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising managing operation of the application during runtime as a function of policy.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a change in operation of a resource associated with the instances; and

responsive to detecting the change, instantiating a new resource specified by the scale-independent logical model.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising representing respective ones of the model components in a design tool as user interface elements, the user interface elements being presented such that a user can arrange respective ones of the graphical elements to generate the scale-independent model.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the user interface elements are based on a schema, the schema specifying valid functional operations with respect to the user interface elements.

13. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, in view of a policy component of the multiple components, a change in operation of a resource associated with the instances;

responsive to detecting the change, evaluating the change in view of a policy; and

responsive to evaluating the change, dynamically implementing parameter(s) of the application, the parameter(s) indicating removal of a resource of the physical resources.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein dynamically implementing further comprises communicating a request to one or more resources of the physical resources, the request being communicated according to logical data connection(s).

15. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for automatic policy enforcement, the computer-executable instructions for:

forming a scale-independent logical model of an application to be implemented by a distributed computer system, the scale-independent logical model having multiple components representing logical functions of the application and intercommunication protocols; and

converting the model components into one or more instances representative of physical resources used to implement the logical functions, the instances specifying communication ports on the physical resources and communication paths that link the physical resources.

16. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the scale-independent logical model defines a set of model extensions comprising one or more of a store, an event source, an event sink, and an event path.

17. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the application is an Internet data center application.

18. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the physical resources comprise communication ports configurable to specify different logical data connections during runtime or during instantiation of logical representations of the communication ports.

19. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the model components comprise at least a subset of a port, a module, and a wire.

20. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, further comprising computer-executable instructions for:

receiving notification(s) from one or more resources of the physical resources, the notification(s) being received on first communication ports; and

responsive to receiving the notification(s), routing responses to the notification(s), the responses being routed to one or more different resources of the physical resources, the one or more other resources being on second communication ports.

21. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, further comprising computer-executable instructions for managing operation of the application during runtime as a function of policy.

22. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, further comprising computer-executable instructions for:

detecting a change in operation of a resource associated with the instances; and

responsive to detecting the change, instantiating a new resource specified by the scale-independent logical model.

23. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, further comprising computer-executable instructions for representing respective ones of the model components in a design tool as user interface elements, the user interface elements being presented such that a user can arrange respective ones of the graphical elements to generate the scale-independent model.

24. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, further comprising computer-executable instructions for:

detecting, in view of a policy component of the multiple components, a change in operation of a resource associated with the instances;

responsive to detecting the change, evaluating the change in view of a policy; and

responsive to evaluating the change, dynamically implementing parameter(s) of the application, the parameter(s) indicating deployment, removal, or configuration of a resource of the physical resources.

25. A computing device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising computer-program instructions executable by the processor for;

forming a scale-independent logical model of an application to be implemented by a distributed computer system, the scale-independent logical model having multiple components representing logical functions of the application and intercommunication protocols, the logical functions comprising automatic policy enforcement independent of human intervention; and

converting the model components into one or more instances representative of physical resources used to implement the logical functions, the instances specifying communication ports on the physical resources and communication paths that link the physical resources.

26. A computing device as recited in claim 25, wherein the scale-independent logical model defines a set of model extensions comprising one or more of a store, an event source, an event sink, and an event path.

27. A computing device as recited in claim 25, wherein the application is an Internet data center application.

28. A computing device as recited in claim 25, wherein the computer-program instructions further comprise instructions for configuring communication port(s) associated with one or more of the physical resources to specify different logical data connections during runtime or during instantiation of logical representations of the communication ports.

29. A computing device as recited in claim 25, wherein the model components comprise at least a subset of a port, a module, and a wire.

30. A computing device as recited in claim 25, further comprising computer-program instructions executable by the processor for:

receiving notification(s) from one or more resources of the physical resources, the notification(s) being received on first communication ports; and

responsive to receiving the notification(s), routing responses to the notification(s), the responses being routed to one or more different resources of the physical resources, the one or more other resources being on second communication ports.

31. A computing device as recited in claim 25, further comprising computer-program instructions executable by the processor for:

detecting a change in operation of a resource associated with the instances; and

responsive to detecting the change, instantiating a new resource specified by the scale-independent logical model.

32. A computing device as recited in claim 25, further comprising computer-program instructions executable by the processor for representing respective ones of the model components in a design tool as user interface elements, the user interface elements being presented such that a user can arrange respective ones of the graphical elements to generate the scale-independent model.

33. A computing device as recited in claim 25, further comprising computer-program instructions executable by the processor for:

detecting, in view of a policy component of the multiple components, a change in operation of a resource associated with the instances;

responsive to detecting the change, evaluating the change in view of a policy; and

responsive to evaluating the change, dynamically implementing parameter(s) of the application, the parameter(s) indicating deployment, removal, or configuration of a resource of the physical resources.

34. A computing device comprising:

forming means to form a scale-independent logical model of an application to be implemented by a distributed computer system, the scale-independent logical model having multiple components representing logical functions of the application and intercommunication protocols; and

converting means to convert the model components into one or more instances representative of physical resources used to implement the logical functions, the instances specifying communication ports on the physical resources and communication paths that link the physical resources.