Porting of information technology structures

• US 20060248501A1
• Filed: 06/13/2006
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Andreev, Dmitry, Vilshansky, Gregory, Greenstein, Paul Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,887 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

A method and system for porting an abstract Information Technology (IT) structure into an IT delivery environment. An abstract IT structure A that is currently within an IT delivery environment X is translated by generating a virtual IT structure V from the abstract IT structure A through specification of an IT delivery environment Y. Delivery binding the virtual IT structure V to the IT delivery environment Y generates a delivery-bound virtual IT structure D. The delivery-bound virtual IT structure D is deployed in the IT delivery environment Y, resulting in a real IT structure instance R capable of operating in the IT delivery environment Y.

Claims

1. A method for porting an abstract Information Technology (IT) structure into an IT delivery environment, said method comprising:

translating an abstract IT structure A that is currently within an IT delivery environment X, said translating generating a virtual IT structure V from the abstract IT structure A through specification of an IT delivery environment Y;

delivery binding the virtual IT structure V to the IT delivery environment Y to generate a delivery-bound virtual IT structure D; and

deploying the delivery-bound virtual IT structure D in the IT delivery environment Y, resulting in a real IT structure instance R capable of operating in the IT delivery environment Y.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, verifying that the real IT structure instance R resulted from said deploying.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, operating the real IT structure instance R in the IT delivery environment Y.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the IT delivery environment Y differs from the IT delivery environment X.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, verifying conformance of the abstract IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X to rules of the IT delivery environment Y.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, adding an IT structure Z1 to the composition of an IT structure Z2, resulting in the IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X, wherein prior to said translating at least one of Z1 and Z2 is an abstract IT structure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the IT delivery environment Y and the IT delivery environment X are essentially a same IT delivery environment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said translating comprises optimizing the virtual IT structure V by using a specified prioritized list of optimization classes and applying each optimization function of an associated optimization class from the specified prioritized list of optimization classes to the virtual IT structure V.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said applying each optimization function comprises applying in turn each optimization function, starting with a lowest and ending with a highest priority of optimization classes comprising each optimization function.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said delivery binding comprises adding the virtual IT structure V to the composition of an IT structure B within the IT delivery environment Y, resulting in the delivery-bound virtual IT structure D.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the IT structure B is a virtual IT structure prior to said adding the virtual IT structure V to the composition of B.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the IT structure B is a real IT structure prior to said adding the virtual IT structure V to the composition of B.

29. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, verifying conformance of the abstract IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X to rules of the IT delivery environment Y.

13. A process for supporting computer infrastructure, said process comprising providing at least one support service for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable code in a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is capable of performing a method for porting an abstract Information Technology (IT) structure into an IT delivery environment, said method comprising:

translating an abstract IT structure A that is currently within an IT delivery environment X, said translating generating a virtual IT structure V from the abstract IT structure A through specification of an IT delivery environment Y;

delivery binding the virtual IT structure V to the IT delivery environment Y to generate a delivery-bound virtual IT structure D; and

deploying the delivery-bound virtual IT structure D in the IT delivery environment Y, resulting in a real IT structure instance R capable of operating in the IT delivery environment Y.

14. The process of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, verifying that the real IT structure instance R resulted from said deploying.

15. The process of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, operating the real IT structure instance R in the IT delivery environment Y.

16. The process of claim 13, wherein Y differs from X.

17. The process of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, verifying conformance of the abstract IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X to rules of the IT delivery environment Y.

18. The process of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, adding an IT structure Z1 to the composition of an IT structure Z2, resulting in the IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X, wherein prior to said translating at least one of Z1 and Z2 is an abstract IT structure.

19. A computer program product, comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code comprising an algorithm adapted to implement a method for porting an abstract Information Technology (IT) structure into an IT delivery environment, said method comprising:

translating an abstract IT structure A that is currently within an IT delivery environment X, said translating generating a virtual IT structure V from the abstract IT structure A through specification of an IT delivery environment Y;

delivery binding the virtual IT structure V to the IT delivery environment Y to generate a delivery-bound virtual IT structure D; and

deploying the delivery-bound virtual IT structure D in the IT delivery environment Y, resulting in a real IT structure instance R capable of operating in the IT delivery environment Y.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, verifying that the real IT structure instance R resulted from said deploying.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, operating the real IT structure instance R in the IT delivery environment Y.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the IT delivery environment Y differs from the IT delivery environment X.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, verifying conformance of the abstract IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X to rules of the IT delivery environment Y.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, adding an IT structure Z1 to the composition of an IT structure Z2, resulting in the IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X, wherein prior to said translating at least one of Z1 and Z2 is an abstract IT structure.

25. A computer system comprising a processor and a computer readable memory unit coupled to the processor, said memory unit containing instructions that when executed by the processor implement a method for porting an abstract Information Technology (IT) structure into an IT delivery environment, said method comprising:

translating an abstract IT structure A that is currently within an IT delivery environment X, said translating generating a virtual IT structure V from the abstract IT structure A through specification of an IT delivery environment Y;

delivery binding the virtual IT structure V to the IT delivery environment Y to generate a delivery-bound virtual IT structure D; and

deploying the delivery-bound virtual IT structure D in the IT delivery environment Y, resulting in a real IT structure instance R capable of operating in the IT delivery environment Y.

26. The computer system of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, verifying that the real IT structure instance R resulted from said deploying.

27. The computer system of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises:

after said deploying, operating the real IT structure instance R in the IT delivery environment Y.

28. The computer system of claim 25, wherein the IT delivery environment Y differs from the IT delivery environment X.

30. The computer system of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises:

prior to said translating, adding an IT structure Z1 to the composition of an IT structure Z2, resulting in the IT structure A in the IT delivery environment X, wherein prior to said translating at least one of Z1 and Z2 is an abstract IT structure.