MULTI-SCENERIO SOFTWARE DEPLOYMENT

• US 20090320019A1
• Filed: 06/24/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Loewengruber, Joseph, Lhota, Colleen D., Ellington, Bryan M., Statham, Perry L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,584,119 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/177
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

A method for multi-scenario software deployment includes creating a software deployment plan that includes at least one task granulated into independently executable sub-tasks; and saving the software deployment plan on a computer readable medium. A computer program product for multi-scenario software deployment includes computer usable program code configured as a software deployment program which runs on a controlling computing device; the software deployment program being configured to: query a user for deployment parameters corresponding to software to be deployed to a target computing device(s); and create a plan for deploying software to a target computing device(s) which can be performed automatically and includes tasks that can be independently performed by separate people. The tasks deploying the software to the target computing device(s) are then performed according to the deployment parameters.

Claims

1. A method for multi-scenario software deployment, comprising:

creating a persistent software deployment plan, said persistent software deployment plan comprising at least one task granulated into sub-tasks, said sub-tasks being configured to be performed independently; and

saving said persistent software deployment plan.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing said sub-tasks according to said persistent software deployment plan.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

defining a sequence for executing said sub-tasks; and

executing said sub-tasks in an order specified by said sequence.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising grouping said sub-tasks according to different machines for which each sub-task is to be performed.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein execution of said persistent software deployment plan saved on a said computer readable medium requires no additional user input.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising separating installation operations and configuration operations into different sub-tasks, such that no sub-task includes both an installation and configuration operation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said granulating said tasks into said sub-tasks comprises granulating said tasks such that said sub-tasks do not cross organizational roles.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

grouping said sub-tasks by corresponding organizational roles; and

distributing each group of sub-tasks to a person having the corresponding organizational role for that group of sub-tasks.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising defining a sequence for executing said sub-tasks among said different organizational roles.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising accepting modifications to said software deployment plan by personnel in said organizational roles.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising executing said groups of sub-tasks independently, wherein at least one person having an organizational role independently executes a group of sub-tasks for that organizational role.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said persistent software deployment plan is executable and modifiable by a single person from an orchestrating device.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a deployment program to inventory a target computer system and evaluate conditions for including tasks within said persistent software deployment plan.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said using said deployment program to inventory a target computer system comprises interrogating said target computer system for existing instances of software and leveraging any said existing instances of software to eliminate unneeded corresponding sub-tasks.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising consolidating duplicate tasks and sub-tasks.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said persistent software deployment plan is configured to be retrieved from said computer readable medium and executed at a later date.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising reporting an execution status of said sub-tasks to a user.

18. The method of claim 2, wherein said executing said persistent software deployment plan is configured to allow stopping, undoing of, and re-execution of said sub-tasks.

19. A system, comprising:

at least one target computing system; and

a software deployment program;

wherein said software deployment program is configured to;

query a user for deployment parameters corresponding to software to be deployed on said at least one target computing system;

interrogate said at least one target computing system for existing instances of software;

determine tasks to be performed to configure software according to said deployment parameters;

said tasks being independently executable;

divide said tasks into logical segments;

generate a human-readable and human-modifiable software deployment plan, said software deployment plan comprising a sequenced set of said logical segments;

executing at least a portion of said software deployment plan on said at least one target computing system.

20. A computer program product for multi-scenario software deployment comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code configured as a software deployment program;

said software deployment program running on a controlling computing device;

wherein said software deployment program is configured to;

query a user for deployment parameters corresponding to software to be deployed on at least one target computing device; and

create a software deployment plan for said at least one target computing device;

wherein said software deployment plan is executed automatically, said software deployment plan comprising a plurality of tasks that are independently executable by separate people, said tasks being configured to deploy said software to said at least one target computing device according to said deployment parameters.