Active intervention in service-to-device mapping for smart items

• US 20070233881A1
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Spiess, Patrik, Haller, Stephan, Nochta, Zoltan, Sa de Souza, Luciana
• Granted Patent: US 8,522,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Systems and methods allow service-to-device mapping by which services are mapped onto best-suited smart items selected from a plurality of smart items of a sensor network. As part of the mapping, and/or subsequent thereto, a deployment of the service(s) onto the smart items is initiated. However, in some cases, the deployment may fail, or may only partially succeed. In such cases, one or more conditions of the deployment may be altered to obtain a modified, allowable deployment condition, so that the deployment may then proceed. As a result, users may achieve a desired result in a fast, convenient, and reliable manner, even when executing the deployment remotely or automatically.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

initiating a deployment of a service onto a device of a sensor network on which a plurality of services are deployed;

determining that a deployment condition associated with the deployment does not meet an allowable deployment condition for the deployment;

altering the deployment condition to obtain a modified deployment condition; and

deploying the service onto the device, based on the modified deployment condition.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein initiating the deployment of the service onto the device of the sensor network comprises:

initiating the deployment based on a mapping of the service to the device, the mapping based on service metadata associated with the service and on device metadata associated with the device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining that the deployment condition associated with the deployment does not meet the allowable deployment condition for the deployment, comprises:

determining at least a partial failure of the deployment.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein determining that the deployment condition associated with the deployment does not meet the allowable deployment condition for the deployment, comprises:

determining that the deployment condition is associated with a service requirement associated with the service and a device constraint associated with the device; and

determining that the service requirement is not met by the device constraint.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining that the deployment condition associated with the deployment does not meet the allowable deployment condition for the deployment, comprises:

determining that the deployment condition does not satisfy a deployment constraint associated with the sensor network.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition, comprises:

determining that the deployment condition is associated with a service requirement associated with the service and a device constraint associated with the device; and

reducing the service requirement, relative to the device constraint.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein reducing the service requirement, relative to the device constraint, comprises:

selecting the service requirement from among a plurality of service requirements that are associated with the service, based on a priority assigned to each of the plurality of service requirements.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition, comprises:

altering a network configuration associated with the sensor network to obtain the modified deployment condition.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition, comprises:

re-locating a service component from the device to another device of the sensor network.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition, comprises:

removing a deployed service component from the sensor network.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition, comprises:

altering a deployment constraint associated with the sensor network.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein deploying the service onto the device, based on the modified deployment condition, comprises:

injecting the service onto the device; and

activating the service.

13. A system comprising:

a system monitor operable to monitor a plurality of devices of a sensor network, and operable to determine device metadata associated with at least one of the plurality of devices; and

a service mapper operable to initiate a deployment of a service onto the at least one device, based on the device metadata and on service metadata associated with the service, and operable to alter a deployment condition associated with the deployment to obtain a modified deployment condition, based on a determination that the deployment condition does not meet an allowable deployment condition.

14. The system of claim 13 comprising:

a service repository that is operable to store a plurality of services, including the service, each service including an associated service executable and associated service metadata.

15. The system of claim 13 comprising:

requirement reduction logic that is operable to alter the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition including reducing a service requirement of the service metadata within a pre-defined range.

16. The system of claim 13 comprising:

network reconfiguration logic that is operable to alter the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition including re-locating at least one deployed service from the at least one device to at least one other device.

17. The system of claim 13 comprising:

component removal logic that is operable to alter the deployment condition to obtain the modified deployment condition including removing at least one deployed service from the sensor network.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the service mapper is operable to execute a partial deployment of the service in response to the determination that the deployment condition does not meet the allowable deployment condition

19. A service mapper for a sensor network, the service mapper comprising:

a mapping system that is operable to initiate a deployment of a service onto at least one device of the sensor network, based on a deployment condition, the mapping system being further operable to determine that the deployment condition does not meet an allowable deployment condition; and

one or more of requirement reduction logic, network reconfiguration logic, or component removal logic that is operable to provide the mapping system with criteria for altering the deployment condition to obtain a modified deployment condition that satisfies the allowable deployment condition.

20. The service mapper of claim 19 wherein the mapping system is operable to execute one or more of the requirement reduction logic, the network reconfiguration logic, and the component removal logic in a pre-defined order until the modified deployment condition is obtained.