SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GENERATING MANAGEMENT AGENT INSTALLATIONS

• US 20110055361A1
• Filed: 08/31/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: DEHAAN, Michael Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,463,885 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for installation of management agents on target machines. In embodiments, a central management server can scan a managed network to identify different types and configurations of target machines. Different types of target machines may require different types of management agent software in order to invoke different types of management services, such as configuration management or performance monitoring services. The necessary types of management agent may depend, for instance, on the operating system and/or applications installed on individual targets. In embodiments, different types or classes of management agents can register or communicate with different types of remote management servers. The management agent(s) on individual targets can thereby initiate and manage the installation of agents or other resources that may be needed to register to the remote network services, without a requirement to install or use specific package management tools for specific products.

Claims

1. A method of installing software to a target machine in a network, comprising:

receiving an identifier for the target machine;

retrieving at least one of a management software component type or an inventory of resources for the target machine from a management database based on the identifier; and

transmitting at least one management agent corresponding to the at least one of the management software component type or inventory of resources to the target machine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one management agent comprises locally installed software on the target machine configured to communicate with a remote management server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the remote management server provides at least one of configuration management services, provisioning services, updating services, or monitoring services.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one management agent is communicated to the target machine independently of any package management update tool associated with at least one of the management software component type or inventory of resources.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the retrieving at least a management software component type further comprises retrieving an inventory of resources present in the target machine.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one management agent comprises a plurality of management agents, at least one management agent corresponding to at least one resource in the retrieved inventory of resources.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of the plurality of management agents is configured to perform a software update process on the target machine.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the software update process comprises a software update process performed without performing an operating system installation process.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the management software component type or inventory of resources comprises a management software component type, and the management software component type is associated with an operating system class.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the remote management server provides at least one of configuration management services, provisioning services, updating services, or monitoring services.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one management agent is communicated to the target machine independently of any package management update tool associated with at least one of the management software component type or inventory of resources.

10. A network management system, comprising:

an interface to a management database storing information related to a set of target machines in a managed network, the information comprising at least an identifier for each target machine and at least one of a management software component type or an inventory of resources for each target machine identifier; and

a management server, communicating with the set of target machines via the interface, the management server being configured to—

receiving an identifier for at least one target machine in the set of target machines,

retrieving at least one of a management software component type or an inventory of resources for the at least one target machine from the management database based on the identifier, and

transmitting at least one management agent corresponding to the at least one of the management software component type or inventory of resources to the at least one target machine.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one management agent comprises locally installed software on the target machine configured to communicate with a remote management server.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the retrieving at least a management software component type further comprises retrieving an inventory of resources present in the target machine.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one management agent comprises a plurality of management agents, at least one management agent corresponding to at least one resource in the retrieved inventory of resources.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one of the plurality of management agents is configured to perform a software update process on the target machine.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the software update process comprises a software update process performed without performing an operating system installation process.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one of the management software component type or inventory of resources comprises a management software component type, and the management software component type is associated with an operating system class.

19. A computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium storing computer readable instructions executable to perform a method of installing software to a target machine in a network, the method comprising:

receiving an identifier for the target machine;

retrieving at least one of a management software component type or an inventory of resources for the target machine from a management database based on the identifier; and

transmitting at least one management agent corresponding to the at least one of the management software component type or inventory of resources to the target machine.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the at least one management agent comprises locally installed software on the target machine configured to communicate with a remote management server.