TECHNIQUES FOR WORKLOAD DISCOVERY AND ORGANIZATION

• US 20130326063A1
• Filed: 05/31/2012
• Published: 12/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Burch, Lloyd Leon, Brown, Jeremy Ray, Sabin, Jason Allen
• Application Number:
  US13/485,287
• Publication Number:
  US 20130326063A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1036 Load balancing of requests to servers for services different from user content provisioning, e.g. load balancing across domain name servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Techniques for workload discovery and organization are presented. A workload when initiated on a network self-inspects the network for other workloads processing as a collection over the network. Shared communication information is used by the workload to dynamically join the collection. A network address for the initiated workload is then added to a shared Domain Name System (DNS) database being maintained for the network and the collection.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and processed by one or more processors configured to perform the method, comprising:

receiving a network address for network communications within a network;

using a network protocol to identify resources available on the network; and

dynamically joining a collection of workloads, via the network communications with one or more of the resources.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the network address for a new workload that is initiated in a particular processing environment of the network as the method.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes obtaining the network address as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) address assigned by a router of the network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes obtaining the network address as a static Internet Protocol (IP) address.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein using further includes attempting multiple different network protocols before identifying the resources.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein using further includes processing an Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) protocol, a Windows Discovery Service protocol, or a multicasting protocol as the network protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein using further includes acquiring a configuration file having shared communication data for the one or more resources.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein acquiring further includes obtaining authentication data from the configuration file to authenticate to the collection.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein acquiring further includes obtaining encryption data from the configuration file for encrypting and decrypting the network communications.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically joining further includes creating the collection when the collection does not exists within the network.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising, adding the network address to a shared Domain Name System (DNS) database used within the network by the collection.

12. A method implemented in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and processed by one or more processors configured to perform the method, comprising:

assigning a network address to a workload being initiated within a network;

detecting the workload dynamically joining a collection of other workloads processing within the network; and

adding the network address for the workload to a shared Domain Name System (DNS) database being managed for the collection.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising, processing the method as a router, a gateway, or a proxy device within the network.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising, authenticating the workload for access to a shared communication file managed for the collection.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein detecting further includes establishing a communication session between the workload and the collection.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein adding further includes using the shared DNS database to resolve references to the workload and the other workloads of the collection within the network.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein adding further includes identifying the workload with a first processing environment of the network and the other workloads with a second processing environment of the network, the first and second processing environments disparate and different from one another.

18. A system, comprising:

a first processing device having a workload implemented and residing as instructions within a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that processes on the first processing device; and

a proxy device;

wherein the workload is initiated on the first processing device and is configured to identify a collection of other workloads that is processing and communicating over a network, the proxy device configured to add the workload to the collection and to facilitate the workload in dynamically joining the collection for communications.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the proxy device is configured to assign a network address to the workload when initiated on the processing device.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the proxy device is configured to add the network address to a Domain Name System (DNS) database being maintained on the network for the collection.