Application Templates and Upgrade Framework for a Multi-Tenant Identity Cloud Service

• US 20190102162A1
• Filed: 08/31/2018
• Published: 04/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: PITRE, Ashutosh, LI, Zheang, COLE, Gary P.
• Granted Patent: US 10,705,823 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5048 Automatic or semi-automatic definitions, e.g. definition templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5096 wherein the managed service relates to distributed or central networked applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A system manages tenant application updates in a multi-tenant cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) system by defining one or more application templates; creating one or more applications for one or more tenants of the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system using the one or more application templates; applying a change to at least one of the one or more application templates; determining whether the one or more applications need to be updated in an automatic mode, a semi-automatic mode, or a manual mode, to incorporate the change; and updating at least one of the one or more applications in an applicable one of the automatic mode, the semi-automatic mode, or the manual mode, based on the outcome of the determining.

Claims

1. A method for managing tenant application updates in a multi-tenant cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) system, the method comprising:

defining one or more application templates;

creating one or more applications for one or more tenants of the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system using the one or more application templates;

applying a change to at least one of the one or more application templates;

determining whether the one or more applications need to be updated in an automatic mode, a semi-automatic mode, or a manual mode, to incorporate the change; and

updating at least one of the one or more applications in an applicable one of the automatic mode, the semi-automatic mode, or the manual mode, based on the outcome of the determining.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each tenant application created in the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system is based on exactly one application template provided by the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each application template includes default values that are copied to each tenant application that is created based on that application template.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, when an application template is updated, each tenant application that is based on the application template is also updated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the updating comprises upgrading an application from a first application template to a second application template when the first application template and the second application template represent different versions of the same service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic mode is used when there is no need for administrator intervention for (1) applying changes of an application template to each application that is based on the application template and (2) enabling the changed behavior.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the semi-automatic mode is used when there is no need for administrator intervention for applying changes of an application template to each application that is based on the application template but there is a need for administrator intervention for enabling the changed behavior.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the updating comprises setting a flag in each application that is updated in the semi-automatic mode, wherein the flag causes an administration console to display an indication that updated behavior can be enabled for each application that is updated in the semi-automatic mode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the manual mode is used when there is a need for administrator intervention for (1) applying changes of an application template to each application that is based on the application template and (2) enabling the changed behavior.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the updating comprises setting a flag in each application that needs to be updated in the manual mode, wherein the flag causes an administration console to display an indication that updates are available for each application that needs to be updated in the manual mode.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the change comprises an upgrade form a first release of a service to a second release of the service, wherein the second release is incompatible with the first release.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein each application template comprises metadata to generate default values for tenant applications that are created based on that application template.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more applications implement IAM functionality provided by components of the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the components comprise one or more microservices.

15. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to manage tenant application updates in a multi-tenant cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) system, the managing comprising:

defining one or more application templates;

creating one or more applications for one or more tenants of the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system using the one or more application templates;

applying a change to at least one of the one or more application templates;

determining whether the one or more applications need to be updated in an automatic mode, a semi-automatic mode, or a manual mode, to incorporate the change; and

updating at least one of the one or more applications in an applicable one of the automatic mode, the semi-automatic mode, or the manual mode, based on the outcome of the determining.

16. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to manage tenant application updates in a multi-tenant cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) system, the managing comprising;

defining one or more application templates;

creating one or more applications for one or more tenants of the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system using the one or more application templates;

applying a change to at least one of the one or more application templates;

determining whether the one or more applications need to be updated in an automatic mode, a semi-automatic mode, or a manual mode, to incorporate the change; and

updating at least one of the one or more applications in an applicable one of the automatic mode, the semi-automatic mode, or the manual mode, based on the outcome of the determining.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein each tenant application created in the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system is based on exactly one application template provided by the multi-tenant cloud-based IAM system.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein each application template includes default values that are copied to each tenant application that is created based on that application template.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein, when an application template is updated, each tenant application that is based on the application template is also updated.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the updating comprises upgrading an application from a first application template to a second application template when the first application template and the second application template represent different versions of the same service.