Generic method for resource monitoring configuration in provisioning systems

• US 7,493,418 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2003
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Greff, Andrew Julius, Childress, Rhonda L., Kalantar, Michael Husayn, King, David George, Fong, Liana Liyow, Burton, Toby L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr.; William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anwari; Maceeh
• Application Number:
  US10/739,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20050138164A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,888 Days
• Field of Search: 709223-226
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0883 Semiautomatic configuration, e.g. proposals from system

Abstract

A generic mechanism and model are provided to capture and store configuration profiles for resource monitors such that monitors can be flexibly deployed, configured, modified, and removed using appropriate sets of parameters and values. As an integral part of resource provisioning, this generic mechanism will require only a generic set of workflows and a generic data model to provision monitors. The provisioning system of the present invention captures and stores response parameters and values from monitors created during initial deployment such that these parameters can be used for later modification and removal of these monitors.

Claims

1. A method for provisioning resource monitors, the method comprising:

providing at least one monitor specification, wherein a monitor specification includes a definition of parameters for a resource monitor, wherein the monitor specification includes both a deployment profile specification for deploying the resource monitor and a response profile specification for modifying and removing the resource monitor, wherein the deployment profile specification defines a list of parameters that must be defined to deploy each instance of the resource monitor and wherein the response profile specification defines parameters that are returned by deploying the resource monitor;

providing at least one resource specification, wherein a resource specification includes a definition of parameters that must be defined for each instance of a resource, wherein the resource is the resource to be monitored, and wherein the resource specification identifies a type of resource monitor to use for monitoring the resource that complies with the resource monitor;

associating the at least one monitor specification with the at least one resource specification to form at least one resource monitor instance configuration profile, wherein at least one instance of the resource monitor is assigned to at least one instance of the resource;

storing the at least one resource monitor instance configuration profile;

retrieving a resource monitor instance configuration profile for an instance of a given resource monitor assigned to an instance of a given resource;

receiving a selection of the given resource monitor to be provisioned for the instance of the given resource, wherein a monitor configuration profile is defined for the selection of the given resource monitor in association with the resource monitor instance configuration profile;

receiving at least one value for a parameter for the given resource monitor, wherein the monitor configuration profile includes the at least one value for a parameter;

storing the monitor configuration profile for the given resource monitor in association with the instance of the given resource; and

deploying the given resource monitor in accordance with the monitor configuration profile.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein deploying the given resource monitor further comprises:

storing response parameters and values in the response profile specification.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

de-provisioning the given resource monitor using the response parameters and values in the response profile specification.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving at least one value for a parameter for the given resource monitor includes presenting an interface to define parameters for the given resource monitor based on a monitor specification for the given resource monitor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein deploying the given resource monitor further comprises:

determining whether manual intervention is required for the given resource monitor based on a value of a parameter in the monitor configuration profile; and

responsive to manual intervention being required for the given resource monitor, interacting with an administrator to receive at least one value for a parameter.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein deploying the given resource monitor further comprises:

capturing output parameters and values of a monitor deployment and storing them to the response profile specification.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the given resource is a resource of a type selected from the group consisting of server hardware, network hardware, storage hardware, operating system software, database middleware software, application software, and monitoring software.