Data management interface with configurable plugins that determines whether to monitor for configuration data

• US 7,856,517 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2007
• Issued: 12/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Schneider, James P., Karandikar, Anirudha Subhash
• Primary Examiner(s): PEYTON, TAMMARA R
• Application Number:
  US11/805,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20080295074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 710/33, 710/38, 710/62, 710/36, 707/1, 707/10, 707/103, 707/102, 709220-222
• US Class Current: 710/62
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

A method and apparatus for managing data. A data management interface that delegates data operations to one or more plugins is configured, each plugin being associated with a distinct data operation. A new plugin is identified. The data management interface is reconfigured to enable the new plugin, the reconfiguring being transparent to at least one application requesting a data operation.

Claims

1. A method, implemented by a computing system programmed to perform the following, comprising:

loading a configurer and a plugin manager by a processing device;

configuring a data management interface that delegates data operations to one or more plugins based on current configuration data by the configurer and the plugin manager, each plugin being associated with a distinct data operation;

determining whether to monitor for new configuration data by the processing device;

if it is determined not to monitor for new configuration data, terminating the configurer and the plugin manager; and

if it is determined to monitor for new configuration data, performing the following;

monitoring for new configuration data by the configurer, the new configuration data pertaining to a new plugin, wherein the monitoring includes checking a configuration manager for the new configuration data;

identifying the new configuration data that pertains to the new plugin by the configurer;

retrieving the new configuration data from the configuration manager by the configurer; and

upon retrieving the new configuration data, automatically creating a new plugin class for the new plugin using the new configuration data and reconfiguring the data management interface using the new configuration data to enable the new plugin to be loaded from the new plugin class, the reconfiguring being transparent to at least one application requesting a data operation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the new plugin performs at least one of storing data to, retrieving data from, and deleting data on a new data storage device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the new plugin is operable to process data having distinct properties.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

loading the new plugin from the new plugin class by the plugin manager.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more plugins are objects of one or more plugin classes, each of the plugin classes having methods for performing the data operations.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

formatting the new configuration data to a data structure usable by a plugin manager to load the new plugin.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data management interface is an interface between storage devices and applications.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

applying loading criteria such that plugins that fail to meet the loading criteria are not loaded.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing plugin specific initialization for the new plugin, the plugin specific initialization including at least one of creating a database connection, generating a helper class and loading another plugin.

10. A machine-accessible medium including instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising:

loading a configurer and a plugin manager;

configuring a data management interface that delegates data operations to one or more plugins based on current configuration data by the configurer and the plugin manager, each plugin being associated with a distinct data operation;

determining whether to monitor for new configuration data;

if it is determined not to monitor for new configuration data, terminating the configurer and the plugin manager; and

if it is determined to monitor for new configuration data, performing the following;

monitoring for new configuration data by the configurer, the new configuration data pertaining to a new plugin, wherein the monitoring includes checking a configuration manager for the new configuration data;

identifying the new configuration data that pertains to the new plugin by the configurer;

retrieving the new configuration data from the configuration manager by the configurer; and

upon retrieving the new configuration data, automatically creating a new plugin class for the new plugin using the new configuration data and reconfiguring the data management interface using the new configuration data to enable the new plugin to be loaded from the new plugin class, the reconfiguring being transparent to at least one application requesting a data operation.

11. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10, wherein the new plugin performs at least one of storing data to, retrieving data from, and deleting data on a new data storage device.

12. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10, wherein the new plugin is operable to process data having distinct properties.

13. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10, the method further comprising:

loading the new plugin from the new plugin class by the plugin manager.

14. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10, wherein the one or more plugins are objects of one or more plugin classes, each of the plugin classes having methods for performing the data operations.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, the method further comprising:

formatting the new configuration data to a data structure usable by a plugin manager to load the new plugin.

16. A system, comprising:

a data management interface networked to one or more data storage devices and to an application, the data management interface to delegate data operations to a new plugin;

a configuration manager to provide new configuration data pertaining to the new plugin;

a configurer to check the configuration manager for the new configuration data, to retrieve the new configuration data from the configuration manager when it becomes available, and to notify a plugin manager that the new configuration data is available; and

the plugin manager to receive the new configuration data, to create a new plugin class for the new plugin using the new configuration data, to automatically reconfigure the data management interface using the new configuration data to enable the new plugin to be loaded from the new plugin class, the reconfiguring being transparent to at least one application that requests the data operation, and to load the new plugin from the new plugin class, wherein loading the new plugin includes performing plugin specific initialization for the new plugin, the plugin specific initialization including at least one of creating a database connection, generating a helper class and loading another plugin.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

a data storage device, wherein the new plugin to perform at least one of storing data to, retrieving data from, and deleting data on the data storage device.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the new plugin is operable to process data having distinct properties.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the new plugin is an object of the new plugin class, the new plugin class having methods for performing the data operations.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the configurer to format the new configuration data to a data structure usable by the plugin manager to load the new plugin.