METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CLOUD COMPUTING MANAGEMENT

• US 20110131335A1
• Filed: 05/10/2010
• Published: 06/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rackspace US Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cloudkick, Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Spaltro, Dan Di, Welliver, Logan, Polvi, Alex
• Granted Patent: US 9,501,329 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability

Abstract

Disclosed is a management service that enables a user to establish, monitor, and control cloud computing sessions offered via third-party service providers. In some instances, the management service establishes a market space that allows a user to establish a customized cloud computing session based on computing resources offered by third-party service providers. In some instances, the management service instantiates monitoring mechanisms within the virtual servers of the cloud computing sessions to be able to monitor, assess, and provide reports and alerts pertaining to performance metrics of the various virtual servers. In some instances, the management service also allows a user to remotely transfer services from a first cloud computing session to a second cloud computing session.

Claims

1. A method for providing a customized cloud computing session, the method comprising:

providing, by a management server, a plurality of options to enable a user to define a desired configuration of a cloud computing session, the plurality of options corresponding to resources associated with one or more third-party service providers;

receiving, by the management server, an input selection from the user corresponding to the user'"'"'s selection of one or more parameters from the plurality of options, wherein the input selection is indicative of the user'"'"'s desired configuration; and

establishing, by the management server, a customized cloud computing session according to the desired configuration, wherein the customized cloud computing session is established using selected resources of the one or more third-party service providers as indicated by the one or more parameters of the input selection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of options includes one or more of:

a choice of one or more target third-party service providers;

a choice of redundancy;

a choice of storage capacity;

a choice of duration of the customized cloud computing session;

a choice of layout of one or more servers associated with the cloud computing session;

a choice of a geographic location of one or more physical servers operated by the one or more third-party service providers;

a choice of a computing capacity of servers instantiated in the customized cloud computing session;

or

a choice of one or more value-add services offered by the management server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of establishing the customized cloud computing session further comprises:

providing, by the management server, a plurality of session-options that match the user'"'"'s input selection, each of the plurality of session-options corresponding to a particular configuration of a cloud computing session;

receiving, by the management server, a session-selection from the user corresponding to the user'"'"'s selection of one of the plurality of session-options, wherein the session-selection is indicative of the user'"'"'s desired configuration; and

establishing, by the management server, a customized cloud computing session according to the desired configuration.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a given session-option of the plurality of session-options includes configuration information pertinent to the given session-option, the configuration information including one or more of:

an indication of a service-provider;

an indication of a cost of the given session-option;

an indication of a duration of the given session-option;

an indication of a redundancy availability associated with the given session-option;

an indication of a number of servers available for instantiation in the given session-option;

or

an indication of an amount of storage available in association with the given session-option.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing session, the method further comprises:

monitoring, by the management server, a performance metric associated with the customized cloud computing session.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the performance metric includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing session;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a number of process threads running on the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a processor in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the management server uses the performance metric to provide the user one or more of the following:

a performance report of the customized cloud computing session;

or

an alert relating to an issue associated with the customized cloud computing session.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the management server establishes an instrumentation bootstrap in every virtual server instantiated within the customized cloud computing session.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon request from the user, transferring, by the management server, one or more virtual servers included in the customized cloud computing session to a second cloud computing session.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second cloud computing session is one of:

a new cloud computing session with no virtual servers;

or

a preexisting cloud computing session that includes one or more preexisting virtual servers.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the transferring step further comprises:

suspending one or more process threads associated with each of the one or more virtual servers of the customized cloud computing session;

retrieving configuration parameters associated with the customized cloud computing session; and

activating the one or more process threads and the configuration parameters in the second cloud computing session.

12. A method for providing a marketplace for establishing a customized cloud computing session, the method comprising:

offering, by a management server, a centralized marketplace to allow a user to select from a plurality of options associated with establishing a customized cloud computing session, wherein the plurality of options correspond to resources offered by one or more third-party service providers for establishing the customized cloud computing session;

receiving, by the management server, an input selection indicative of one or more options selected by the user from the plurality of options;

providing, by the management server, one or more session-options, each session-option indicative of a particular cloud computing session that matches the user'"'"'s input selection; and

establishing, by the management server, the customized cloud computing session using resources of the one or more third-party service providers as indicated by the user'"'"'s selection of one of the session-options.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of options includes one or more of:

a choice of one or more target third-party service providers;

a choice of redundancy;

a choice of storage capacity;

a choice of duration of the customized cloud computing session;

a choice of layout of one or more servers associated with the cloud computing session;

a choice of a geographic location of one or more physical servers operated by the one or more third-party service providers;

a choice of a computing capacity of servers instantiated in the customized cloud computing session;

or

a choice of one or more value-add services offered by the management server.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein a given session-option of the one or more session-options includes configuration information pertinent to the given session-option, the configuration information including one or more of:

an indication of a service-provider;

an indication of a cost of the given session-option;

an indication of a duration of the given session-option;

an indication of a redundancy availability associated with the given session-option;

an indication of a number of servers available for instantiation in the given session-option;

or

an indication of an amount of storage available in association with the given session-option.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, a bidding option to enable the user to specify a desired cost for establishing the customized cloud computing session.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, one or more bidding-matches in response to the user'"'"'s specification of the desired cost, each of the one or more bidding-matches indicative of a particular cloud computing session that substantially matches the desired cost criterion.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

if the management server is unable to identify a particular computing session that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user, providing, by the management server, an indication of availability of a new computing session that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user when the new computing session becomes available at a later time.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, a premium service associated with the customized cloud computing session.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the premium service includes one or more of:

an option to receive periodic performance reports;

an option to receive alerts in response to specified criteria;

an option to establish redundant storage for data;

or

an option to transfer one or more virtual servers from the customized cloud computing session to a different cloud computing session.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing session, the method further comprises:

monitoring, by the management server, a performance metric associated with the customized cloud computing session.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the performance metric includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing session;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a number of process threads running on the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a processor in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

22. A method of operating a cloud computing session, the method comprising:

controlling, using a management server, access to a first cloud computing session, wherein the first cloud computing session includes one or more virtual servers, and wherein the first cloud computing session operates based on computing resources of a first third-party service provider;

receiving, by the management server, a request to transfer the one or more virtual servers from the first cloud computing session to a second cloud computing session; and

in response to the request, porting, by the management server, each of the one or more virtual servers of the first cloud computing session to the second cloud computing session.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the porting step further comprises:

suspending one or more process operations of each of the one or more virtual servers of the first cloud computing session;

retrieving storage data and configuration data associated with the one or more virtual servers;

instantiating new process operations in one or more new virtual servers in the second cloud computing session, wherein the new process operations are based on the suspended one or more process operations of the first cloud computing session; and

transferring the storage data and the configuration data to be stored in association with the one or more new virtual servers of the second cloud computing session.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the management server operates as a temporary buffer for the storage and configuration data before being copied to the second cloud computing session.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the suspended process operations are terminated subsequent to the instantiation of the new process operations in the second cloud computing session.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the management server translates the configuration data associated with the first computing session to be adapted for use with the second computing session based on a setup of the second computing session.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the management server compresses and encodes the storage data and/or the configuration data prior to transferring to the second cloud computing session.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the management server decompresses and decodes the storage data and/or the configuration data subsequent to transferring such data to the second cloud computing session.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the second cloud computing session operates based on computing resources of the first third-party service provider.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the second cloud computing session operates based on computing resources of a second third-party service provider.

31. A system for providing a customized cloud computing session, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing code which, when executed by the processor, causes the network storage server to perform a process, including;

providing a plurality of options to enable a user to define a desired configuration of a cloud computing session, the plurality of options corresponding to resources associated with one or more third-party service providers;

receiving an input selection from the user corresponding to the user'"'"'s selection of one or more parameters from the plurality of options, wherein the input selection is indicative of the user'"'"'s desired configuration; and

establishing a customized cloud computing session according to the desired configuration, wherein the customized cloud computing session is established using selected resources of the one or more third-party service providers as indicated by the one or more parameters of the input selection.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the plurality of options includes one or more of:

a choice of one or more target third-party service providers;

a choice of redundancy;

a choice of storage capacity;

a choice of duration of the customized cloud computing session;

a choice of layout of one or more servers associated with the cloud computing session;

a choice of a geographic location of one or more physical servers operated by the one or more third-party service providers;

a choice of a computing capacity of servers instantiated in the customized cloud computing session;

or

a choice of one or more value-add services offered by the management server.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the step of establishing the customized cloud computing session of the process further comprises:

providing a plurality of session-options that match the user'"'"'s input selection, each of the plurality of session-options corresponding to a particular configuration of a cloud computing session;

receiving a session-selection from the user corresponding to the user'"'"'s selection of one of the plurality of session-options, wherein the session-selection is indicative of the user'"'"'s desired configuration; and

establishing a customized cloud computing session according to the desired configuration.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein a given session-option of the plurality of session-options includes configuration information pertinent to the given session-option, the configuration information including one or more of:

an indication of a service-provider;

an indication of a cost of the given session-option;

an indication of a duration of the given session-option;

an indication of a redundancy availability associated with the given session-option;

an indication of a number of servers available for instantiation in the given session-option;

or

an indication of an amount of storage available in association with the given session-option.

35. The system of claim 31, wherein subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing session, the process further comprises:

monitoring a performance metric associated with the customized cloud computing session.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the performance metric includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing session;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a number of process threads running on the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a processor in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein the performance metric is used to provide the user one or more of the following:

a performance report of the customized cloud computing session;

or

an alert relating to an issue associated with the customized cloud computing session.

38. The system of claim 31, wherein the process further comprises:

upon request from the user, transferring one or more virtual servers included in the customized cloud computing session to a second cloud computing session.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the second cloud computing session is one of:

a new cloud computing session with no virtual servers;

or

a preexisting cloud computing session that includes one or more preexisting virtual servers.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein the transferring step of the process further comprises:

suspending one or more process threads associated with each of the one or more virtual servers of the customized cloud computing session;

retrieving configuration parameters associated with the customized cloud computing session; and

activating the one or more process threads and the configuration parameters in the second cloud computing session.

41. A system for providing a customized cloud computing session, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing code which, when executed by the processor, causes the network storage server to perform a process, including;

offering a centralized marketplace to allow a user to select from a plurality of options associated with establishing a customized cloud computing session, wherein the plurality of options correspond to resources offered by one or more third-party service providers for establishing the customized cloud computing session;

receiving an input selection indicative of one or more options selected by the user from the plurality of options;

providing one or more session-options, each session-option indicative of a particular cloud computing session that matches the user'"'"'s input selection; and

establishing the customized cloud computing session using resources of the one or more third-party service providers as indicated by the user'"'"'s selection of one of the session-options.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the process further comprises:

providing a bidding option to enable the user to specify a desired cost for establishing the customized cloud computing session.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the process further comprises:

providing one or more bidding-matches in response to the user'"'"'s specification of the desired cost, each of the one or more bidding-matches indicative of a particular cloud computing session that substantially matches the desired cost criterion.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein the process further comprises:

if the system is unable to identify a particular computing session that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user, providing an indication of availability of a new computing session that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user when the new computing session becomes available at a later time.

45. The system of claim 41, wherein the process further comprises:

providing a premium service associated with the customized cloud computing session.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the premium service includes one or more of:

an option to receive periodic performance reports;

an option to receive alerts in response to specified criteria;

or

an option to transfer one or more virtual servers from the customized cloud computing session to a different cloud computing session.

47. The system of claim 41, wherein subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing session, the process further comprises:

monitoring a performance metric associated with the customized cloud computing session.

48. The system of claim 41, wherein the performance metric includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing session;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a number of process threads running on the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a processor in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

49. A management system for operating a cloud computing session, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing code which, when executed by the processor, causes the network storage server to perform a process, including;

controlling access to a first cloud computing session, wherein the first cloud computing session includes one or more virtual servers, and wherein the first cloud computing session operates based on computing resources of a first third-party service provider;

receiving a request to transfer the one or more virtual servers from the first cloud computing session to a second cloud computing session; and

in response to the request, porting each of the one or more virtual servers of the first cloud computing session to the second cloud computing session.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the porting step of the process further comprises:

suspending one or more process operations of each of the one or more virtual servers of the first cloud computing session;

retrieving storage data and configuration data associated with the one or more virtual servers;

instantiating new process operations in one or more new virtual servers in the second cloud computing session, wherein the new process operations are based on the suspended one or more process operations of the first cloud computing session; and

transferring the storage data and the configuration data to be stored in association with the one or more new virtual servers of the second cloud computing session.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein the system operates as a temporary buffer for the storage and configuration data before being copied to the second cloud computing session.

52. The system of claim 50, wherein the suspended process operations are terminated subsequent to the instantiation of the new process operations in the second cloud computing session.

53. The system of claim 50, wherein the system translates the configuration data associated with the first computing session to be adapted for use with the second computing session based on a setup of the second computing session.

54. The system of claim 50, wherein the system compresses and encodes the storage data and/or the configuration data prior to transferring to the second cloud computing session.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the system decompresses and decodes the storage data and/or the configuration data subsequent to transferring such data to the second cloud computing session.

56. The system of claim 50, wherein the second cloud computing session operates based on computing resources of the first third-party service provider.

57. The system of claim 50, wherein the second cloud computing session operates based on computing resources of a second third-party service provider.