System and method for batch tuning intelligent devices

• US 7,774,435 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2002
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Ryan, Fintan
• Primary Examiner(s): BOUTAH, ALINA A
• Application Number:
  US10/077,520
• Publication Number:
  US 20030023707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,098 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/201, 709217-221, 709/248, 718/101
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

System and method for batch-tuning multiple software components of an intelligent device. An intelligent device may include tunable components each associated with a tunable configuration file. A batch tuner may be used to generate batch configuration documents from the configuration files. The batch tuner may also be used to generate configuration files from a batch configuration document. In one embodiment, the batch configuration document and the configuration files are markup language documents. In one embodiment, an XML document type definition (DTD) may be used as the method of information exchange. In one embodiment, the batch tuner may use an API (e.g. DOM or SAX API) to access the batch configuration document and configuration files. In one embodiment, each component may be associated with an executable module conforming to the API, and the batch tuner may call the module for the component to generate the configuration file.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

using a computer to perform;

accessing a plurality of configuration files on an intelligent device, wherein the intelligent device is an individual electronic device, wherein each of the plurality of configuration files includes configuration information for a respective one of a plurality of software components included on the intelligent device and executable by a processor on the intelligent device, and wherein each of the plurality of software components is a different executable entity; and

generating a batch configuration document from the accessed plurality of configuration files, wherein the batch configuration document includes the configuration information for the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device;

wherein, after said generating, the batch configuration document is accessible for use in configuring the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device whose configuration files were used in said generating the batch configuration document.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said accessing the plurality of configuration files and said generating the batch configuration document are performed by executing a script on the intelligent device, wherein the script includes one or more executable instructions for selecting the plurality of configuration files to be accessed and one or more executable instructions for performing said generating the batch configuration document.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising, prior to said accessing the plurality of configuration files on the intelligent device, using the computer to perform configuring the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device, wherein said configuring the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device sets the configuration information in the plurality of configuration files on the intelligent device.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising using the computer to perform transferring the batch configuration document generated from the plurality of configuration files on the intelligent device to another intelligent device for use in configuring one or more software components of the other intelligent device.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the batch configuration document further includes configuration information for one or more software components of one or more other intelligent devices.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said generating the batch configuration document comprises generating a Document Object Model (DOM) tree from each of the accessed configuration files, wherein the configuration information incorporated in the batch configuration document is accessed from the DOM trees generated from the plurality of configuration files.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising using the computer to perform configuring one or more of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device using the batch configuration document, wherein said configuring comprises applying configuration information from the batch configuration document for each of the one or more of the plurality of software components to a respective configuration file on the intelligent device for each of the one or more of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein said configuring the one or more of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device further comprises initializing each of the one or more of the plurality of software components, wherein initializing each of the one or more of the plurality of software components comprises initializing the software component using the configuration information from the respective one of the one or more configuration files on the intelligent device to which configuration information from the batch configuration document was applied.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more software application programs.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more system software components.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more software drivers for hardware components.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of configuration files includes operating system configuration information for the intelligent device.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML).

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the batch configuration document and the plurality of configuration files conform to an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Document Type Definition (DTD).

16. A method, comprising:

using a computer to perform;

accessing a batch configuration document, wherein the batch configuration document comprises configuration information for each of a plurality of software components included on an intelligent device and executable by a processor on the intelligent device, wherein the intelligent device is an individual electronic device, and wherein each of the plurality of software components is a different executable entity; and

applying configuration information from the batch configuration document for each of one or more of the plurality of software components to a respective configuration file on the intelligent device for each of the one or more of the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device to configure each of the one or more of the plurality of software components.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said applying the configuration information from the batch configuration document for each of one or more of the plurality of software components to a respective configuration file on the intelligent device comprises replacing one or more current parameter values in the respective configuration file with new parameter values from the batch configuration document.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said accessing and said applying are performed by executing a script on the intelligent device, wherein the script includes one or more executable instructions for accessing the batch configuration document and one or more executable instructions for selecting the respective configuration files to be configured.

19. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said accessing the batch configuration document comprises generating a Document Object Model (DOM) tree from the batch configuration document, wherein the DOM tree includes the configuration information for the respective configuration files for each of the one or more of the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein said applying the configuration information to the respective configuration files comprises accessing the configuration information from the DOM tree generated from the batch configuration document.

21. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said accessing the batch configuration document comprises generating a Document Object Model (DOM) tree for each of the respective configuration files from the configuration information in the batch configuration document, wherein each of the generated DOM trees comprises the configuration information for its respective configuration file.

22. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein, said applying the configuration information comprises:

for each of the one or more of the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device;

calling a module associated with the component;

passing a DOM tree generated from the respective configuration for the component to the called module, wherein the respective configuration file is associated with the component, and wherein the DOM tree includes configuration information for the component; and

the called module applying the configuration information from the DOM tree to the respective configuration file associated with the component.

23. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more software application programs.

24. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more system software components.

25. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more software drivers for hardware components.

26. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein at least one of the one or more configuration files includes operating system configuration information for the intelligent device.

27. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document.

28. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML).

29. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the batch configuration document and the respective configuration files conform to an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Document Type Definition (DTD).

30. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising using the computer to perform rebooting the intelligent device after said applying the configuration information from the batch configuration document to the respective configuration files, wherein said rebooting applies the configuration information from the respective configuration files to the one or more of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device for which they include configuration information.

31. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising using the computer to perform initializing one or more of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device after said applying the configuration information from the batch configuration document to the respective configuration files, wherein, in said initializing, each of the one or more of the plurality of software components is initialized using the configuration information from the respective configuration file comprising configuration information for the component.

32. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising, prior to said accessing, using the computer to perform generating the batch configuration document on an intelligent device other than the intelligent device on which the batch document is to be accessed by said accessing.

33. A method comprising:

using a computer to perform;

generating a batch configuration document on a first intelligent device from a plurality of configuration files accessed on the first intelligent device, wherein the first intelligent device is an individual electronic device, wherein each of the plurality of configuration files includes configuration information for a respective one of one or more software components included on the first intelligent device and executable by a processor on the first intelligent device, wherein each of the plurality of software components is a different executable entity, and wherein the batch configuration document includes the configuration information from the plurality of configuration files; and

configuring one or more software components of a second intelligent device using the batch configuration document generated on the first intelligent device.

34. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein said configuring comprises applying configuration information from the batch configuration document generated on the first intelligent device to one or more configuration files on the second device, wherein each of the one or more configuration files on the second intelligent device comprises configuration information for a respective one of the one or more software components of the second intelligent device.

35. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document.

36. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and wherein the batch configuration document and the plurality of configuration files conform to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD).

37. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein the one or more software components include one or more of:

a software application program, a system software component, or a software driver for a hardware component.

38. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein at least one of the plurality of configuration files on the first intelligent device includes operating system configuration information for the first intelligent device, wherein the batch configuration document includes the operating system configuration information of the first intelligent device, and wherein said configuring the one or more software components of the second intelligent device comprises configuring an operating system of the second intelligent device using the operating system configuration information of the first intelligent device included in the batch configuration document.

39. The method as recited in claim 33, further comprising using the computer to perform rebooting the second intelligent device after said configuring, wherein said rebooting applies the configuration information from the batch configuration document generated on the first intelligent device to the one or more software components of the second intelligent device.

40. The method as recited in claim 33, further comprising:

using the computer to perform

storing the generated batch configuration document on a server, wherein the server is coupled to the second intelligent device via a network; and

downloading the stored batch configuration document to the second intelligent device;

wherein said configuring the one or more software components of the second intelligent device uses the downloaded batch configuration document.

41. A method comprising:

using a computer to perform;

accessing one or more configuration files on each of a plurality of intelligent devices, wherein each of the intelligent devices is an individual electronic device, wherein each of the one or more configuration files on each of the plurality of intelligent devices includes configuration information for a respective one of one or more software components included on the intelligent device and executable by a processor on the intelligent device, and wherein each of the plurality of software components is a different executable entity; and

generating a batch configuration document from the one or more accessed configuration files on each of the plurality of intelligent devices, wherein the batch configuration document includes the configuration information for the one or more software components included on each of the plurality of intelligent devices;

wherein, after said generating, the batch configuration document is accessible for use in configuring the plurality of intelligent devices whose configuration files were used in said generating the batch configuration document.

42. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein the batch configuration document is further accessible for use in configuring one or more intelligent devices other than the plurality of intelligent devices whose configuration files were used in said generating the batch configuration document.

43. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein said configuring the plurality of intelligent devices comprises applying the configuration information from the batch configuration document to the respective configuration files for each of the one or more software components included on each of the plurality of intelligent devices.

44. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein the one or more software components included on each of the plurality of intelligent devices includes at least one of:

a software application program, a system software component, or a software driver for a hardware component.

45. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein at least one of the configuration files of at least one of the plurality of intelligent devices includes operating system configuration information for the intelligent device.

46. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document.

47. The method as recited in claim 46, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and wherein the batch configuration document and each of the one or more configuration files on each of the plurality of intelligent devices conform to an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Document Type Definition (DTD).

48. An intelligent device, comprising:

a processor;

a plurality of software components, each of which is a different executable entity executable on the processor of the intelligent device;

a plurality of configuration files, wherein each of the plurality of configuration files is associated with a respective one of the plurality of software components, and wherein each of the plurality of configuration files includes configuration information for its associated component; and

a memory operable to store program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to;

open each of the plurality of configuration files to access the configuration information for the respective software component associated with the configuration file; and

generate a batch configuration document from the configuration information accessed from each of the plurality of configuration files;

wherein the batch configuration document includes the configuration information from each of the plurality of configuration files; and

wherein, after said generating, the batch configuration document is accessible for use in configuring the plurality of software components in the intelligent device;

wherein the intelligent devices is an individual electronic device.

49. The intelligent device as recited in claim 48, wherein the batch configuration document is further transferable to another intelligent device comprising one or more software components similar to software components comprised in the plurality of software components of the intelligent device for use in configuring the other intelligent device.

50. The intelligent device as recited in claim 48, wherein, in said generating the batch configuration document, the program instructions are further executable by the processor to generate a Document Object Model (DOM) tree from each of the plurality of configuration files, wherein the configuration information included in the configuration document is accessed from the DOM trees generated from the plurality of configuration files.

51. The intelligent device as recited in claim 48, wherein, in said configuring the plurality of software components of the intelligent device, the program instructions are further executable by the processor to apply the configuration information from the batch configuration document to the respective configuration file associated with each of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device.

52. The intelligent device as recited in claim 48, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more of:

a software application program, a system software component, or a software driver for a hardware component.

53. The intelligent device as recited in claim 48, wherein the intelligent device further comprises an operating system for the intelligent device, and wherein at least one of the plurality of configuration files includes operating system configuration information for the intelligent device.

54. The intelligent device as recited in claim 48, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document.

55. The intelligent device as recited in claim 54, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and wherein the batch configuration document and the plurality of configuration files conform to an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Document Type Definition (DTD).

56. An intelligent device, comprising:

a processor;

a plurality of software components, each of which is a different executable entity executable on the processor of the intelligent device;

a plurality of configuration files, wherein each of the plurality of configuration files is associated with a respective one of the plurality of software components, and wherein each of the plurality of configuration files includes configuration information for its associated software component; and

a memory operable to store program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to;

open a batch configuration document, wherein the batch configuration document comprises configuration information for the plurality of software components of the intelligent device; and

apply configuration information from the batch configuration document to each of the plurality of configuration files on the intelligent device to configure the respective plurality of software components of the intelligent device;

wherein the intelligent devices is an individual electronic device.

57. The intelligent device as recited in claim 56, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to:

generate a Document Object Model (DOM) tree from the batch configuration document, wherein the DOM tree includes the configuration information for the plurality of configuration files; and

wherein, in said applying the configuration information to each of the plurality of configuration files, the program instructions are further executable by the processor to access the configuration information from the DOM tree generated from the batch configuration document.

58. The intelligent device as recited in claim 56, wherein, in said accessing the batch configuration document, the program instructions are further executable by the processor to:

generate a respective Document Object Model (DOM) tree for each of the plurality of configuration files from the configuration information in the batch configuration document, wherein each of the generated DOM trees comprises the configuration information for its associated configuration file;

wherein the intelligent device further comprises a plurality of executable modules each associated with one of the plurality of software components, wherein each of the plurality of executable modules is operable to apply configuration information from one of the DOM trees to the respective one of the plurality of configuration files associated with the software component that is associated with the executable module.

59. The intelligent device as recited in claim 58, wherein, in said applying the configuration information to the plurality of configuration files, the program instructions are further executable by the processor to:

for each of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device;

call one of the plurality of executable modules, wherein the called module is associated with the software component; and

pass a DOM tree generated from one of the plurality of configuration files to the called module, wherein the configuration file is associated with the software component, and wherein the DOM tree includes configuration information for the software component; and

wherein the called module is operable to apply the configuration information from the DOM tree to the configuration file associated with the software component.

60. The intelligent device as recited in claim 56, wherein the plurality of software components includes one or more of:

a software application program, a system software component, or a software driver for a hardware component.

61. The intelligent device as recited in claim 56, wherein the intelligent device further comprises an operating system for the intelligent device, and wherein at least one of the plurality of configuration files includes operating system configuration information for the intelligent device.

62. The intelligent device as recited in claim 56, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document.

63. The intelligent device as recited in claim 62, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and wherein the batch configuration document and the one or more configuration files conform to an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Document Type Definition (DTD).

64. The intelligent device as recited in claim 56, wherein to configure the respective plurality of software components of the intelligent device, the intelligent device is operable to reboot after said applying the configuration information, wherein said rebooting applies the configuration information that was applied to the plurality of configuration files to the plurality of software components of the intelligent device.

65. The intelligent device as recited in claim 56, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to initialize each of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device, wherein said initializing uses the configuration information from the respective configuration files associated with each of the software components.

66. A tangible, computer-accessible storage medium storing program instructions that when executed on one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform:

accessing a plurality of configuration files on an intelligent device, wherein the intelligent device is an individual electronic device, wherein each of the plurality of configuration files includes configuration information for a respective one of a plurality of software components included on the intelligent device and executable by a processor on the intelligent device, and wherein each of the plurality of software components is a different executable entity; and

generating a batch configuration document from the accessed plurality of configuration files, wherein the batch configuration document includes the configuration information for the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device;

wherein, after said generating, the batch configuration document is accessible for use in configuring the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device whose configuration files were used in said generating the batch configuration document.

67. The tangible, computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 66, wherein, in said generating the batch configuration document, executing the program instructions further causes the one or more computers to perform generating a Document Object Model (DOM) tree from each of the plurality of accessed configuration files, wherein the configuration information incorporated in the configuration document is accessed from the DOM trees generated from the plurality of configuration files.

68. The tangible, computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 66, wherein executing the program instructions further causes the one or more computers to perform:

configuring one or more of the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device using the batch configuration document;

wherein, in said configuring, executing the program instructions further causes the one or more computers to perform applying the configuration information from the batch configuration document to one or more of the plurality of configuration files, wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of configuration files is associated with a respective one of the one or more of the plurality of software components of the intelligent device.

69. The tangible, computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 66, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and wherein the batch configuration document and the one or more configuration files conform to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD).

70. A tangible, computer-accessible storage medium storing program instructions that when executed on one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform:

accessing a batch configuration document, wherein the batch configuration document comprises configuration information for each of a plurality of software components included on an intelligent device and executable by a processor on the intelligent device, and wherein each of the plurality of software components is a different executable entity; and

applying configuration information from the batch configuration document for each of one or more of the plurality of software components to a respective configuration file on the intelligent device, for each of the one or more of the plurality of software components included on the intelligent device to configure each of the one or more of the plurality of software components.

71. The tangible, computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 70, wherein, in said accessing the batch configuration document, executing the program instructions further causes the one or more computers to perform:

generating a Document Object Model (DOM) tree from the batch configuration document, wherein the DOM tree includes the configuration information for the plurality of configuration files;

wherein, in said applying the configuration information to the one or more configuration files, executing the program instructions further causes the one or more computers to perform accessing the configuration information from the DOM tree generated from the batch configuration document.

72. The tangible, computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 70, wherein the batch configuration document is a markup language document, wherein the markup language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and wherein the batch configuration document and the one or more configuration files conform to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD).