Automatically enforcing change control in operations performed by operational management products
First Claim
1. A method, in a computing system, for performing automated change control on one or more data processing system resources, comprising:
- receiving, in the computing system, a change operation command specifying an operation for changing a configuration of a resource in a data processing system;
automatically determining, by the computing system, if one of the change operation or the resource is under strict change control;
automatically performing, by the computing system, a request-for-change (RFC) validation check on the change operation command if the change operation or the resource is under strict change control; and
automatically performing, by the computing system, a change operation corresponding to the change operation command to thereby change the configuration of the resource if results of the RFC validation check indicate that the change operation should be permitted, wherein the change operation command includes a RFC identifier for a RFC corresponding to the change operation command, and wherein automatically performing a RFC validation check comprises;
automatically performing a lookup operation in a service management system based on the RFC identifier to identify the RFC in a database of the service management system;
automatically determining if current conditions of resources of the data processing system meet requirements of the RFC, identified in the database by the RFC identifier, for performance of the change operation; and
automatically performing error processing on the change operation command if the RFC validation check on the change operation command fails, wherein the error processing comprises one of;
permitting the change operation to be performed and issuing at least one message to one or more data processing devices of the data processing system indicating the check failure and indicating that the change operation was permitted;
orsubmitting an incident report, identifying a problem encountered, to a user and automatically performing a re-check of the RFC validation in response to the user responding with an input indicating the problem to be resolved.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Mechanisms for enforcing change control in operations performed by operational management products (OMPs) are provided. The mechanisms automate the checking of a request-for-change (RFC) state by an OMP when the OMP is installed in an environment where a change management database (CMDB) has been installed and certain resources or operations have been placed under strict change control. The OMPs of the illustrative embodiments require an RFC identifier to be specified when a change operation of the OMP is invoked. The RFC identifier is used by the OMP to access a service management system so that the OMP may determine if the RFC identifier is valid, IT resources are in the correct state, and the change is scheduled to be performed at the current time. If these checks are passed, then the change operation associated with the RFC is permitted to occur.
19 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method, in a computing system, for performing automated change control on one or more data processing system resources, comprising:
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receiving, in the computing system, a change operation command specifying an operation for changing a configuration of a resource in a data processing system; automatically determining, by the computing system, if one of the change operation or the resource is under strict change control; automatically performing, by the computing system, a request-for-change (RFC) validation check on the change operation command if the change operation or the resource is under strict change control; and automatically performing, by the computing system, a change operation corresponding to the change operation command to thereby change the configuration of the resource if results of the RFC validation check indicate that the change operation should be permitted, wherein the change operation command includes a RFC identifier for a RFC corresponding to the change operation command, and wherein automatically performing a RFC validation check comprises; automatically performing a lookup operation in a service management system based on the RFC identifier to identify the RFC in a database of the service management system; automatically determining if current conditions of resources of the data processing system meet requirements of the RFC, identified in the database by the RFC identifier, for performance of the change operation; and automatically performing error processing on the change operation command if the RFC validation check on the change operation command fails, wherein the error processing comprises one of; permitting the change operation to be performed and issuing at least one message to one or more data processing devices of the data processing system indicating the check failure and indicating that the change operation was permitted;
orsubmitting an incident report, identifying a problem encountered, to a user and automatically performing a re-check of the RFC validation in response to the user responding with an input indicating the problem to be resolved. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer useable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to:
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receive a change operation command specifying an operation for changing a configuration of a resource in a data processing system; automatically determine if one of the change operation or the resource is under strict change control; automatically perform a request-for-change (RFC) validation check on the change operation command if the change operation or the resource is under strict change control; automatically perform a change operation corresponding to the change operation command to thereby change the configuration of the resource if results of the RFC validation check indicate that the change operation should be permitted, wherein the change operation command includes a RFC identifier for a RFC corresponding to the change operation command, and wherein automatically performing a RFC validation check comprises; automatically performing a lookup operation in a service management system based on the RFC identifier to identify the RFC in a database of the service management system; and automatically determining if current conditions of resources of the data processing system meet requirements of the RFC, identified in the database by the RFC identifier, for performance of the change operation; and automatically perform error processing on the change operation command if the RFC validation check on the change operation command fails, wherein the error processing comprises one of; permitting the change operation to be performed and issuing at least one message to one or more data processing devices of the data processing system indicating the check failure and indicating that the change operation was permitted;
orsubmitting an incident report, identifying a problem encountered, to a user and automatically performing a re-check of the RFC validation in response to the user responding with an input indicating the problem to be resolved. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system, comprising:
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a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to; receive a change operation command specifying an operation for changing a configuration of a resource in a data processing system; automatically determine if one of the change operation or the resource is under strict change control; automatically perform a request-for-change (RFC) validation check on the change operation command if the change operation or the resource is under strict change control; automatically perform a change operation corresponding to the change operation command to thereby change the configuration of the resource if results of the RFC validation check indicate that the change operation should be permitted, wherein the change operation command includes a RFC identifier for a RFC corresponding to the change operation command, and wherein automatically performing a RFC validation check comprises; automatically performing a lookup operation in a service management system based on the RFC identifier to identify the RFC in a database of the service management system; and automatically determining if current conditions of resources of the data processing system meet requirements of the RFC, identified in the database by the RFC identifier, for performance of the change operation; and automatically perform error processing on the change operation command if the RFC validation check on the change operation command fails, wherein the error processing comprises one of; permitting the change operation to be performed and issuing at least one message to one or more data processing devices of the data processing system indicating the check failure and indicating that the change operation was permitted;
orsubmitting an incident report, identifying a problem encountered, to a user and automatically performing a re-check of the RFC validation in response to the user responding with an input indicating the problem to be resolved.
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Specification