Method and apparatus for applying policies

• US 20060080667A1
• Filed: 11/30/2005
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Novik, Lev, Sanghvi, Ashvinkumar J., Kagalwala, Raxit A., Hance, Howard M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,441,024 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/310
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A policy handling system creates multiple policies and associates each of the multiple policies with at least one target node in an enterprise. The system then applies each of the multiple policies to the appropriate target node. The multiple policies can be event-handling policies. Each policy can be associated with a group of target nodes in which the group of target nodes share a common relationship. Domain controllers receive the multiple policies and apply the policies to the appropriate target nodes. A meta-policy is used to control the application of the multiple policies to the proper target nodes.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a configuration tool to create policies and assign policies to a plurality of target nodes;

a first policy provider coupled to the configuration tool to distribute policies to the plurality of target nodes, wherein the policies distributed to the plurality of target nodes contain information known to the target nodes; and

a second policy provider coupled to the plurality of target nodes to maintain policy information related to the at least one target node.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the configuration tool is further to create a meta-policy, wherein the meta-policy controls the application of policies to target nodes.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 further including a domain controller coupled to the first policy provider and coupled to the plurality of target nodes, wherein the domain controller controls the application of policies to the at least one target node.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 further including a simulation engine to simulate the results of applying a particular policy to at least one target node prior to actual application of the particular policy to the target node.