Enabling user control over automated provisioning environment

• US 20060056618A1
• Filed: 09/16/2004
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ramachandran, Puthukode G., Aggarwal, Vijay Kumar, Ullmann, Lorin Evan, Whitfield, John Patrick, Lawton, Craig M., Peters, Christopher Andrew, Bachmann, David Werner, Hardoon, Uzi, Pekowski, Raymond P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,484,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0883 Semiautomatic configuration, e.g. proposals from system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76

Abstract

Enabling automated provisioning on a data processing network includes providing the network with access to an automated provisioning controller. The controller enables a user to specify resource allocation priorities and uses the user-specified priorities, in conjunction with a resource stabilization policy, to resolve conflicting resource requests. The resource allocation priorities include priorities for demand-based resource requests and maintenance-based resource requests. The stabilization policy includes a policy for constraining allocation of a resource based on forecasted demand and a policy for constraining allocation of a resource based on a scheduled maintenance task.

Claims

1. A data processing network, comprising:

processing resources allocated to a first application;

processing resources allocated to a second application;

a pool of available resources;

provisioning means for altering the allocation of resources responsive to a resource request; and

interface means enabling a user to specify allocation priorities that guide the provisioning means responsive to two or more resource requests creating a resource request conflict.

2. The network of claim 1, wherein the interface means enable the user to specify a priority for a demand-based resource request.

3. The network of claim 2, wherein the interface means enable the user to specify a priority for a forecasted demand-based resource request and for a reactive demand-based resource request.

4. The network of claim 2, wherein the interface means enable the user to evaluate demand-based resource requests in view of existing service level agreements.

5. The network of claim 2, wherein the interface means enable the user to specify a priority for a maintenance-based resource request.

6. The network of claim 2, wherein the interface means enable the user to a specify a priority for a reservation-based resource request.

7. The network of claim 1, wherein the interface means guide the provisioning means based, in part, upon a stabilization policy corresponding to the network.

8. The network of claim 7, wherein the stabilization policy restrains allocation of a resource scheduled for a maintenance task within a specified duration.

9. The network of claim 7, wherein the stabilization policy has access to historical loading information and wherein the stabilization policy prevents allocation of a resource within a specified duration of a forecasted surge in loading, wherein the expected surge is derived from the historical demand.

10. The network of claim 7, wherein the stabilization policy prevents allocation of a resource within a specified duration of detecting a failed resource on a node.

11. A computer program product, comprising:

computer code means for provisioning resources within the network responsive to a resource request; and

computer code means for enabling a user to specify priorities for resolving a resource request conflict caused by multiple pending resource requests; and

computer code means for accessing the user specified priorities to resolve a resource request conflict and select a resource request from the multiple pending resource requests.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the code means for enabling the the user to specify priorities include code means for enabling the user to specify a priority level for a demand-based resource request.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the enabling code means include code means enabling the user to specify a priority level for achieving service level agreement conditions.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the enabling code means include code means enabling the user to specify a priority for a maintenance-based resource request.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the enabling code means include code means for resolving conflicts based, in part, upon a resource stabilization policy of the network.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the stabilization policy prevents allocation of a resource scheduled for a maintenance task within a specified duration.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the stabilization policy has access to historical loading information and wherein the stabilization policy prevents deallocation of a resource within a specified duration of a forecasted surge in loading, wherein the expected surge is derived from the historical demand.

18. A service for enabling automated provisioning on a data processing network, comprising providing the network with access to an automated provisioning controller, the controller being configured to enable a user to specify resource allocation priorities and further configured to use the user-specified priorities, in conjunction with a resource stabilization policy constraining resource allocation in a specified manner, to resolve conflicting resource requests.

19. The service of claim 18, wherein the resource allocation priorities include priorities for demand-based resource requests and maintenance-based resource requests.

20. The service of claim 19, wherein the stabilization policy includes a policy for constraining allocation of a resource based on forecasted demand and a policy for constraining allocation of a resource based on a scheduled maintenance task.