Method and system for managing resources for multi-service jobs based on location

• US 7,283,990 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2004
• Issued: 10/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Goetz, Frank M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Truong; Cam Y T
• Application Number:
  US10/899,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20060026008A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• Field of Search: 707 2- 3, 707/10, 705 26- 27
• US Class Current: 718/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system and method generate and select an optimal job plan in response to a user'"'"'s job request. The system may be implemented with an orchestrator that includes a user interface, a job plan generation manager, a job plan selector, and a job plan manager. The user interface communicates with a requesting user to receive a job request, user location and preference data, and provide a user with job plan status data. The job plan generator generates the permutations of job plans for implementing the requested job. The job plan selector computes the job plan scores for each of the generated job plans and selects the one that corresponds to the best score for some criterion. Data regarding the selected job plan may be provided to the user interface for communication to the user. The job plan manager supervises the service sites in accordance with the selected job plan and provides status information to the user interface for communication to the user.

Claims

1. A method for assisting users in an exploitation of service sites on a computer network by selecting a job plan for implementing a user'"'"'s job request for services accessible through the computer network includes:

generating a job request that includes user location data executing on a network device coupled to the computer network;

sending the job request to an orchestrator supervisory program executing on a computer coupled to the computer network, the orchestrator supervisory program managing service sites on the computer network to perform the job request;

generating with the orchestrator supervisory program a plurality of job plans to implement the job request, each job plan in the plurality of job plans identifying the service sites accessible through the computer network for implementing the job request;

assigning a distance to each service of a service site identified in the job plan, the distance being assigned by the orchestrator supervisory program with reference to the user location data received with the job request;

computing with the orchestrator supervisory program a job score for each job plan in the plurality of job plans, each job score being computed with reference to the distance assigned for each service in each job plan, wherein each said job plan in the plurality of job plans has services, each said service having the assigned distance;

ranking the job plans in the plurality of job plans with reference to the computed job scores;

selecting a job plan in the ranked job plans corresponding with a best ranked job score for responding to a user;

managing with the orchestrator supervisory program the service sites identified in the selected job plan to implement the job request in accordance with the selected job plan;

generating with the orchestrator supervisory program status information regarding implementation of the job request with the selected job plan by the service sites identified in the selected job plan; and

providing the generated status information as job status data from the orchestrator supervisory program to a network device that communicated the job request being implemented.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the assignment of a distance to a service further comprises:

communicating with the network device that generated the job request to obtain user preference data that identifies location data for a job request other than a user'"'"'s location; and

assigning a distance to a service in a job plan with reference to the location data identified by the preference data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the job plan generation includes:

receiving system service configuration data from a directory service; and

identifying a service site in accordance with the system service configuration data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the job plan generation includes:

obtaining with the orchestrator supervisory program configuration data from the service sites accessible through the computer network;

storing the configuration data obtained from the service sites in local memory accessible by the orchestrator supervisory program; and

accessing the local memory for configuration data to identify service sites for implementing a job request.

5. The method of claim 4 the job score computation includes:

weighting the distance assigned to each service in a generated job plan; and

computing a job plan score for each generated job plan with reference to the weighted distance.

6. The method of claim 5, the job plan ranking being performed with reference to the shortest distance assigned to a service site for finishing the job plan that is identified in the selected job plan.

7. A system for assisting users in an exploitation of service sites on a computer network by selecting a job plan for implementing a user'"'"'s job request for services accessible through the computer network comprising:

an orchestrator supervisory program that executes on a computer as a server communicating on the computer network, the orchestrator supervisory program further comprising;

a user interface for communicating with a network device to receive a job request having user location data over the computer network;

a job plan generator for generating a plurality of job plans for implementing the job request received from the network device, each generated job plan identifying at least one service site in the service sites that provide a service to implement the job request, and for assigning each service in a job plan a distance with reference to the user location data in the job request;

a job plan selector for computing a job plan score for each generated job plan in the generated plurality of job plans, the job plan score being computed with reference to the distance assigned each service accessible through the service sites identified in a job plan, for ranking the generated job plans in the plurality of job plans with reference to the computed job scores; and

for selecting a job plan from the ranked job plans, the selected job plan having a best score that corresponds to a criterion for responding to a user, wherein each said job plan in the plurality of the ranked job plans has services, each service having the assigned distance; and

a job plan manager for managing with the orchestrator supervisory program the service sites identified in the selected job plan to implement the job request in accordance with the selected job plan, for generating with the orchestrator supervisory program status information regarding the implementation of the job request with the selected job plan by the service sites identified in the selected job plan, and for providing the generated status information as job status data from the orchestrator supervisory program to the network device that communicated the job request being implemented.

8. The system of claim 7, the computer on which the orchestrator supervisory program executes being a network controller coupled to the computer network.

9. The system of claim 7, the computer on which the orchestrator supervisory program executes being a server coupled to the computer network.

10. The system of claim 7, the user interface communicating with the network device to receive user preference data.

11. The system of claim 7, the user interface communicating the selected job plan to the network device that generated the job request for the job plan being implemented.

12. A system for assisting users in an exploitation of service sites on a computer network by selecting a job plan for implementing a user'"'"'s job request for services accessible through the computer network comprising:

at least one network device coupled to the computer network;

a plurality of service sites coupled to the computer network, each service site providing a service for implementing the job plan;

an orchestrator supervisory program that executes on a computer communicating on the computer network, the orchestrator supervisory program further comprising;

a user interface for communicating with the at least one network device to receive a job request having user location data;

a job plan generator for generating a plurality of job plans for implementing the job request received from the network device, each generated job plan identifying at least one service site of the service sites that provide a service to implement the job request, for obtaining user location data from the job request, and for assigning each service in a job plan a distance with reference to the user location data in the job request;

a job plan selector for computing a job plan score for each generated job plan in the generated plurality of job plans, the job plan score being computed with reference to the distance assigned each service accessible through the service sites identified in a job plan, for ranking the generated job plans in the plurality of job plans with reference to the computed job scores, and for selecting a job plan from the ranked job plans, the selected job plan having a best score that corresponds to a criterion for responding to a user, wherein each said job plan in the plurality of job plans has services and each said service has the distance assigned to the service; and

a job plan manager for managing with the orchestrator supervisory program the service sites identified in the selected job plan to implement the job request in accordance with the selected job plan, for generating with the orchestrator supervisory program status information regarding the implementation of the job request with the selected job plan by the service sites identified in the selected job plan, and for providing the status information generated by the orchestrator supervisory program to the network device that communicated the job request being implemented, wherein the user interface, the job plan generator, the job plan selector, and the job plan manager are one of modules and data objects of the orchestrator supervisory program.