Server configuration using profile templates

• US 6,950,931 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2002
• Issued: 09/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wedlake, Martine B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, VINCENT HUY
• Application Number:
  US10/063,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20030225867A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management

Abstract

The configuration of servers using profile templates is disclosed. A profile template for configuring one or more servers is loaded. The profile template includes abstracted server configuration parameters and server configuration rules, and can be abstracted from parent profile templates. The parameters are for abstractly configuring a server type of which the servers are, whereas the rules specify how values of the parameters translate to direct server values for directly configuring the servers, based on attributes of the servers. A user is requested to modify preset of the parameters, and/or enter missing values of the parameters. Finally, a configuration for each server is generated as the values of the parameters, and the server configuration rules.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

loading a profile template for configuring one or more servers, the profile template including abstracted server configuration parameters for abstractly configuring a server type of which the one or more servers are, and server configuration rules specifying how values of the abstracted configuration parameters translate to direct server values for directly configuring the one or more servers based on attributes of the one or more servers;

requesting a user to at least one of modify preset values of the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters and enter missing values of the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters; and

, generating a configuration for each of the one or more servers as the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters and the server configuration rules;

wherein loading the profile template comprises loading one or more parent profile templates from which the profile template inherits one or more of the abstracted server configuration parameters and one or more of the server configuration rules of the profile template.

2. The method of claim 1, further initially comprising constructing the profile template.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein constructing the profile template comprises determining one or more of the abstracted server configuration parameters and one or more of the server configuration rules of the profile template.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein constructing the profile template comprises selecting one or more parent profile templates from which the profile template inherits one or more of the abstracted server configuration parameters and one or more of the server configuration rules of the profile template.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the configuration for each of the one or more servers comprises generating the configuration as the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters, the server configuration rules, and one or more static direct server values of the direct server values that remain constant regardless of the attributes of the one or more servers.

6. A computer implemented method comprising:

loading a configuration including values of abstracted configuration parameters for abstractly configuring a server type of which a server is, and server configuration rules specifying how the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters translate to direct server values for directly configuring the server based on attributes of the server;

applying the server configuration rules to the values of the abstracted configuration parameters based on the attributes of the server to generate the direct server values for directly configuring the server; and

, configuring the server based on the direct server values generated;

wherein loading a configuration including loading values of abstracted configuration parameters from one or more parent profile templates from which the profile template inherits one or more of the abstracted server configuration parameters and one or more of the server configuration rules of the profile template.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein loading the configuration comprises loading the configuration including the values of the abstracted configuration parameters, the server configuration rules, and one or more static direct server values of the direct server values that remain constant regardless of the attributes of the server.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein configuring the server based on the direct server values generated comprises configuring the server based on the direct server values generated and the one or more static direct server values of the direct server values loaded.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the method is performed by the server during one of booting, a hardware fault, and a resource reconfiguration.

10. A computer system comprising:

a configuration server storing configurations including values of abstracted configuration parameters and server configuration rules specifying how the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters translate to direct server values for direct server configuration'"'"', and, one or more servers, each server correspondingly loading a configuration from the configuration server, applying the server configuration rules to the values of the abstracted configuration parameters based on attributes of the server to yield the direct server values, and configuring itself based on the direct server values;

wherein the profile template inherits one or more of the abstracted server configuration parameters and one or more of the server configuration rules of the profile template from one or more parent profile templates, the configuration server storing the profile template and the one or more parent profile templates.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a configuration client by which a user generates the configurations from a profile template, the profile including the abstracted configuration parameters and the server configuration rules, the user at least one of modifying preset values of the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters and entering missing values of the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the configuration correspondingly loaded by each server includes one or more static direct server values of the direct server values that remain constant regardless of the attributes of the server.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein each server configures itself based on the direct server values including the one or more static direct server values.

14. An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium; and

,

means in the storage medium for loading a configuration including values of abstracted configuration parameters and server configuration rules specifying how the values of the abstracted server configuration parameters translate to direct server values based on server attributes, for applying the server configuration rules to the values of the abstracted configuration parameters based on the server attributes to generate the direct server values, and for configuring a server based on the direct server values generated;

wherein loading a configuration including loading values of abstracted configuration parameters from one or more parent profile templates from which the profile template inherits one or more of the abstracted server configuration parameters and one or more of the server configuration rules of the profile template.

15. The article of claim 14, wherein the means loads the configuration including the values of the abstracted configuration parameters, the server configuration rules, and one or more static direct server values of the direct server values that remain constant regardless of the server attributes.

16. The article of claim 15, wherein the means configures the server based on the direct server values generated and the one or more static direct server values of the direct server values loaded.