SIMPLIFYING AUTOMATED SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE OF DATA CENTERS

• US 20120005520A1
• Filed: 06/30/2010
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Ashraff, Mohammed H., Gopalswamy, Sriram
• Granted Patent: US 8,438,418 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/4.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2028 eliminating a faulty processor or activating a spare
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2038 with a single idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management

Abstract

An aspect of the present invention simplifies software maintenance of nodes in a data center. In one embodiment, a management system receives data specifying a set of commands to be executed on a node in the data center, and then forms a maintenance script by programmatically incorporating instructions for executing the set of commands on the node and to perform a set of management actions. The management system then executes the maintenance script to cause execution of the set of commands on the nodes, thereby performing maintenance of the node. A user/administrator of the data center needs to specify only the commands, thereby simplifying the software maintenance of data centers. According to another aspect, the maintenance scripts (formed by incorporating the commands provided by a user) are executed as part of a disaster recovery process in the data center.

Claims

1. A method of performing software maintenance of nodes in a data center, said method comprising:

storing a corresponding set of component scripts for each of a plurality of nodes in said data center, wherein each component script upon execution on the corresponding node causes a corresponding maintenance task to be performed on the node;

enabling a user to specify a sequence of component scripts to be executed on a first node of said plurality of nodes, said sequence of component scripts being contained in the corresponding set of component scripts for said first node;

forming a maintenance script containing instructions which when executed on a management system cause said management system to remotely execute said sequence of component scripts on said first node; and

executing said maintenance script on said management system to cause said sequence of component scripts to be executed on said first node, thereby performing maintenance of said first node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said sequence of component scripts are stored on said first node and each component script is identified by a corresponding identifier,

wherein said user specifies the identifier of each of said sequence of component scripts as a corresponding command to be remotely executed on said first node.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

storing said maintenance script in a non-volatile memory;

receiving an indication of declaration of a disaster;

in response to receiving said indication, retrieving said maintenance script from said non-volatile memory and executing the retrieved maintenance script.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said retrieving and said executing are performed by a second system different from said management system.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said forming further programmatically incorporates additional set of instructions which when executed cause logging and error handling in relation to execution of said command.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said enabling comprises:

providing, to said user, a first user interface for specifying workflows for performing corresponding maintenance tasks on said plurality of nodes; and

receiving, from said user using said first user interface, a first workflow for performing a first maintenance task on said first node, wherein said first workflow specifies said sequence of component scripts.

7. A machine readable medium storing one or more sequences of instructions for causing a management system to perform software maintenance of nodes in a data center, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said management system causes said management system to perform the actions of:

receiving a data specifying a set of commands to be executed on a plurality of nodes contained in said data center, said plurality of nodes comprising a first node;

forming a first maintenance script by programmatically incorporating instructions for executing a first set of management actions on said management system and said set of commands on said first node;

executing said first maintenance script to cause execution of said first set of management actions on said management system and said set of commands to be remotely executed on said first node, thereby performing maintenance of said first node.

8. The machine readable medium of claim 7, wherein said data does not specify said first set of management actions.

9. The machine readable medium of claim 8, wherein each of said set of commands specifies the identifier of a corresponding one of a set of component scripts, wherein each component script upon execution on the corresponding node causes a corresponding maintenance task to be performed on said first node,

wherein said executing said first maintenance script causes a set of component scripts to be executed on said first node, thereby performing corresponding maintenance tasks on said first node.

10. The machine readable medium of claim 9, wherein the maintenance task is one of installing, uninstalling, starting, stopping, checking the status, and configuring a software component in said first node.

11. The machine readable medium of claim 8, wherein said plurality of nodes comprises a primary set of nodes and a standby set of nodes, wherein said primary set of nodes operate together to provide a set of services to users during normal operation, wherein said standby set of nodes are to be used if a disaster occurs at said primary set of nodes,

wherein execution of said set of commands on said plurality of nodes in response to said disaster occurring at said primary set of nodes causes said standby set of nodes to operate together to provide said set of services to said users.

12. A data center comprising:

a plurality of nodes, wherein said plurality of nodes comprises a primary set of nodes and a standby set of nodes, wherein said primary set of nodes operate together to provide a set of services to users during normal operation and said standby set of nodes are to be used if a disaster occurs at said primary set of nodes; and

a management system operable to;

receive a set of commands to be executed on said plurality of nodes;

form a set of maintenance scripts containing instructions which when executed causes remote execution of said set of commands on said plurality of nodes;

receive an indication of declaration of a disaster at said primary set of nodes; and

in response to receiving said indication, execute said set of maintenance scripts to cause said standby set of nodes to operate together to provide said set of services to said users.

13. The data center of claim 12, wherein to receive said set of commands, said management system is operable to:

store a corresponding set of component scripts for each of said plurality of nodes, wherein each component script upon execution on the corresponding node causes a corresponding maintenance task to be performed on the node, each component script being identified by a corresponding identifier; and

enable a user to specify the identifiers of a sequence of component scripts as corresponding commands to be remotely executed on said plurality of nodes.

14. The data center of claim 13, wherein said corresponding set of component scripts are stored on the corresponding one of said plurality of nodes

15. The data center of claim 12, wherein said management system to form said set of maintenance scripts, is operable to programmatically incorporate additional set of instructions which when executed cause logging and error handling in relation to execution of said commands.

16. The data center of claim 15, wherein to enable said user to specify said commands, said management system is operable to:

provide, to said user, a first user interface for specifying workflows for performing corresponding maintenance tasks on said plurality of nodes; and

receive, from said user using said first user interface, a workflow for performing a maintenance task, wherein first workflow specifies the identifiers of said sequence of component scripts.

17. The data center of claim 16, wherein the maintenance task is one of installing, uninstalling, starting, stopping, checking the status, and configuring a software component in said plurality of nodes.

18. The data center of claim 13, wherein said management system is further operable to store said set of maintenance scripts in a scripts repository, said data center further comprising:

a second system operable to;

receive said indication of declaration of said disaster;

in response to receiving said indication, retrieve said set of maintenance scripts from said scripts repository; and

execute said set of maintenance scripts to cause said standby set of nodes to operate together to provide said set of services to said users.

19. The data center of claim 18, wherein said second system is different from said management system.