Rules-based deployment of computing components

• US 20060179431A1
• Filed: 03/19/2004
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Devanathan, Sriram Nmi, Moore, Jeffrey Allen, Ziebell, Jonathan Virgil, Steel, Charles Eugene, Harrison, Robert Mathews
• Application Number:
  US10/549,205
• Publication Number:
  US 20060179431A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

A system and method deploys components such as computer programs on one or more of computing devices such as servers in a server farm. A deployment system communicates with the computing devices over a computer network. As a result, a data set is received for each computing device and the data set contains information indicative of characteristics of the computing devices. Computer-executable instructions capable of comparing characteristics of the at least one computing device to a set of predefined characteristic constraints are executed to determine whether the computing device meets predefined installation rules. Installation proceeds if the characteristics meet the predefined characteristic constraints.

Claims

1. A method for deploying computing components, comprising:

receiving over a network a first data set from a first computing device, said first data set indicative of characteristics of the at least one computing device;

comparing characteristics of the at least one computing device to a set of predefined characteristic constraints; and

transmitting a component to said at least one computing device for installation if said characteristics meet the predefined characteristic constraints.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 comprising:

receiving over a network at least a second data set indicative of characteristics of at least a second computing device;

comparing characteristics of the at least a second computing device to the set of predefined characteristics constraints; and

transmitting a component to the at least a second computing device for installation if said characteristics meet the predefined characteristic constraints.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the characteristic constraint comprises at least one of:

minimum disk space on a drive, minimum memory, minimum number of processors, application not already installed, a conflicting application is not installed, a required application is already installed.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data set is received in a markup language.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein the markup language is XML.

6. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein the act of comparing comprises performing an XPATH query on the data set to retrieve a predetermined characteristic and comparing the retrieved value of the constraint to a value set by a user.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting an agent to the first computing device to generate the first data set.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 comprising issuing a remote procedure call to begin installation of the component.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the component comprises an application program.

10. The method as recited in claim 1 comprising compressing the component before the act of transmitting.

11. The method as recited in claim 10 comprising appending a decompression program with the component.

12. A system for deploying computing components, comprising:

a communication device for receiving a first data set of characteristics of at least one computing device;

a processor in communication with a memory device comprising computer-executable instructions capable of comparing characteristics of the at least one computing device to a set of predefined characteristic constraints, and

a communication device for transmitting a component to said at least one computing device for installation if said characteristics meet the predefined characteristic constraints.

13. The system as recited in claim 12 comprising:

a communication device for receiving at least a second data set from the discovery agent indicative of characteristics of at least a second computing device;

a processor in communication with a memory device comprising computer-executable instructions capable of comparing characteristics of the at least a second computing device to the set of predefined characteristics constraints; and

a communication device for transmitting a component to the at least a second computing device for installation id said characteristics meet the predefined characteristic constraints.

14. The system as recited in claim 13 wherein the characteristic constraint comprises at least one of:

minimum disk space on a drive, minimum memory, minimum number of processors, application not already installed, a conflicting application is not installed, a required application is already installed.

15. The system as recited in claim 12 wherein the data set is received in a markup language.

16. The system as recited in claim 15 wherein the markup language is XML.

17. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein the computer-readable instructions capable of comparing comprise computer readable instructions for performing an XPATH query on the data set to retrieve a predetermined characteristic and comparing the retrieved value of the constraint to a value set by a user.

18. The system as recited in claim 12 further comprising a memory device coupled to the processor comprising computer-readable instructions capable of issuing a remote procedure call to begin installation of the component.

19. The system as recited in claim 12 wherein the component comprises an application program.

20. The system as recited in claim 12 comprising a memory device coupled to the processor comprising computer-readable instructions capable of compressing the component before the act of transmitting.

21. The system as recited in claim 20 comprising computer-readable code appended to the component bearing instructions for decompressing the component.