SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING SOFTWARE PACKAGE UPDATES USING COMMUNICATION PIPES

• US 20110214116A1
• Filed: 02/26/2010
• Published: 09/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Vidal, Seth Kelby
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,295 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for managing software package updates using communication pipes. According to aspects, one or more client machines can initiate package update activity, for instance a software package update using a package manager. In aspects, instead of accessing a package repository directly via the update manager or utility, the package manager can be configured to communicate with a set of communication pipes, such as inter-process communication (IPC) sockets, pipes, or other resources. The user can thereby invoke a pipeable update process, perform enhanced update activity, and share the results with various programs or threads. For example, the user can set the update process to generate a report of prospective or available update activity, without actually implementing the updates. Error codes during these and other types of diagnostic processing can be generated and logged for debugging purposes.

Claims

1. A method of managing software package updates, comprising:

identifying at least one source of a set of software package updates;

configuring a set of communication pipes from the at least one source to associate the set of software package updates with at least one client machine;

accessing a set of options for generating update activity on the at least one client machine based on the set of software package updates; and

initiating the update activity on the at least one client machine via the set of communication pipes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one source comprises an update repository.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of communication pipes comprises an authorization layer to authorize the update activity on the at least one client machine.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the client machine comprises at least one of a physical machine and a virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of options comprises a report-only option to generate a report of results of update activity while performing the update activity in a test mode.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of options comprises a dry-run option to generate a report of results of prospective update activity without performing the update activity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of options comprises a logging option to log update activity.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the logging option comprises an error reporting log to record errors during the update activity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the error reporting log comprises a set of error codes.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of options comprises a set of selections to select at least one of installing a software package update, updating a software package update, and removing a software package update.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the update activity comprises downloading a software package update for installation on the at least one client machine via the set of communication pipes.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of communication pipes comprises a set of inter-process communication (IPC) pipes.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one client machine comprises a plurality of client machines.

14. A client system for managing software package updates, comprising:

a set of communication pipes communicating with at least one source of a set of software package updates; and

a processor, configured to communicate with the at least one source of the set of software package updates via the set of communication pipes, and to-

associate the set of software package updates with the client machine,

access a set of options for generating update activity on the client machine based on the set of software package updates, and

initiate the update activity on the client machine via the set of communication pipes.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one source comprises an update repository.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the set of communication pipes comprises an authorization layer to authorize the update activity on the at least one client machine.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the client machine comprises at least one of a physical machine and a virtual machine.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the set of options comprises a report-only option to generate a report of results of update activity while performing the update activity in a test mode.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the set of options comprises a dry-run option to generate a report of results of prospective update activity without performing the update activity.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the set of options comprises a logging option to log update activity.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the logging option comprises an error reporting log to record errors during the update activity.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the error reporting log comprises a set of error codes.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the set of options comprises a set of selections to select at least one of installing a software package update, updating a software package update, and removing a software package update.

24. The system of claim 14, wherein the update activity comprises downloading a software package update for installation on the at least one client machine via the set of communication pipes.

25. The system of claim 14, wherein the set of communication pipes comprises a set of inter-process communication (IPC) pipes.

26. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one client machine comprises a plurality of client machines.