CONTROLLABLE WORKFLOW IN SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION AUTOMATION

• US 20180081710A1
• Filed: 02/28/2017
• Published: 03/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Shi, Chenghao, Poonen, Santosh, Zhang, Qiang, Yu, Shengming
• Granted Patent: US 10,430,232 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/485 Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution G06F9/4881 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0661 by reconfiguring faulty entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0873 Checking configuration conflicts between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

A distributed topology system may include a distributed topology engine configured to run on a server device and define a topology consisting of one or more building blocks. Each building block may represent one or more tasks pertaining to an application. The system may also include a distributed topology application configured to run on a client device and automatically execute one or more of the building blocks. A distributed topology database may be used to store the topology. A pause/resume module may be configured to pause at least one task responsive to a pause request. The pause/resume module may also be configured to resume a previously paused task.

Claims

1. A distributed topology system, comprising:

a distributed topology engine (DTE) configured to run on a server device and define a topology comprising a plurality of building blocks, each building block representing at least one task pertaining to an application;

a distributed topology application configured to run on a client device and automatically execute at least one of the plurality of building blocks;

a distributed topology database configured to store the topology; and

a pause/resume module configured to pause the at least one task responsive to a pause request.

2. The distributed topology system of claim 1, wherein the pause/resume module is configured to pause the at least one task prior to execution.

3. The distributed topology system of claim 1, wherein the pause/resume module is configured to pause the at least one task after execution.

4. The distributed topology system of claim 1, wherein the pause/resume module is further configured to resume the at least one task prior to execution.

5. The distributed topology system of claim 1, wherein the pause/resume module is further configured to provide a notification to a user regarding the pause as the at least one task is paused.

6. The distributed topology system of claim 1, wherein the pause/resume module is further configured to provide a workflow visualization that includes a status pertaining to the at least one task.

7. The distributed topology system of claim 1, wherein the DTE is further configured to control an automated software configuration workflow.

8. The distributed topology system of claim 7, wherein the pause request is responsive to a detected failure in the automated software configuration workflow.

9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

defining a topology by selecting a plurality of building blocks, each building block representing at least one task pertaining to an application;

executing the topology on at least one host by executing the plurality of building blocks on the at least one host;

storing the topology in a database;

receiving a pause request; and

pausing the at least one task responsive to the pause request.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the pausing occurs prior to execution of the at least one task.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the pausing occurs after execution of the at least one task.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising resuming the at least one task prior to execution.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising providing a notification to a user regarding the pause as the at least one task is paused.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising providing a workflow visualization that includes a status pertaining to the at least one task.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

defining a topology by selecting a plurality of building blocks, each building block representing at least one task pertaining to an application;

certifying at least one of the plurality of building blocks;

executing the topology on at least one host by executing the plurality of building blocks on at least one host; and

pausing the at least one task responsive to a pause request.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the pausing occurs prior to execution of the at least one task.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the pausing occurs after execution of the at least one task.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, the method further comprising resuming the at least one task prior to execution.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, the method further comprising providing a notification to a user regarding the pause as the at least one task is paused.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, the method further comprising providing a workflow visualization that includes a status pertaining to the at least one task.