Information technology process workflow for data centers

• US 7,900,206 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2004
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Veritas Technologies, LLC (Whitehouse Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Operating Corporation (Gen Digital Inc.)
• Inventors: Dalal, Kaushal R., Joshi, Darshan B., Senicka, James A., Davis, Roger H. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen; Li B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kawsar; Abdullah Al
• Application Number:
  US10/815,126
• Time in Patent Office: 2,526 Days
• Field of Search: 718 1-108, 709/223, 709/224, 709/226, 709/230, 709/231, 714/2, 714/47, 714/48, 714/49, 714/4, 714/1
• US Class Current: 718/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2007 using redundant communication media
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/203 using migration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2035 without idle spare hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2046 where the redundant components share persistent storage G06F11/2043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3433 for load management allocation of a server based on load conditions G06F9/505; load rebalancing G06F9/5083; redistributing the load in a network by a load balancer H04L67/1029
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/505 Clust
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5061 Partitioning or combining of resources

Abstract

A method, system, computer system, and computer program product that use application requirements, business priorities, and compatibility and dependency among applications to allocate resources among those applications in a clustering environment. A workload policy engine is aware of the resources available within each cluster, as well as the capacities of those resources. Multiple instances of the workload policy engine can be run in different clusters. The workload policy engine can be used in conjunction with disaster recovery products as well as with provisioning software so that new machines can be provisioned in and out of a cluster dynamically, such as in a blade environment. Furthermore, the workload policy engine can be used in conjunction with dynamic repartitioning capabilities provided by different hardware platforms for large computer systems, as well as with performance monitoring software.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining whether a resource in a first cluster can be allocated to provide a first quantity of the resource to a first application, wherein

the first cluster comprises

a plurality of nodes, and

the determining whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated comprises

detecting whether one or more applications, other than the first application, executing on one of the nodes are compatible with the first application, and

detecting whether the one of the nodes can provide the first quantity of the resource;

if the resource in the first cluster cannot be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, determining whether the first cluster can be reconfigured to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, wherein

the determining whether the first cluster can be reconfigured comprises

comparing a priority of at least one of the one or more applications to a priority of the first application; and

if the first cluster can be reconfigured, enabling the first cluster to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application by reconfiguring the first cluster; and

if the first cluster cannot be reconfigured, restarting the first application in a second cluster having a sufficient amount of the resource to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

selecting the first application to be allocated the first quantity of the resource from a plurality of applications in accordance with a business priority for the first application, wherein the reconfiguring the first cluster comprises

partitioning the resource within the first cluster.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the reconfiguring the first cluster comprises:

adding a second quantity of the resource to the first cluster.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

monitoring performance of a plurality of applications running in the first cluster; and

if performance of one application of the plurality of applications fails to satisfy a criterion,

requesting to allocate a second quantity of the resource for the one application to enable the performance of the one application to satisfy the criterion.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the determining whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application is performed in response to failure of the first application.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the comparing comprises determining whether each of the one or more applications can be run at the same time as the first application and on the same node as the first application, and

the determining whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application is performed in response to starting the first application.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the determining whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application is performed in response to identifying a problem with performance of the first application.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the determining whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application is performed in response to determining that the first application is not in conformance with a policy.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first cluster comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein:

at least one node among the plurality of nodes is a multiprocessor node, and

the reconfiguring comprises partitioning the multiprocessor node into multiple nodes.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the first cluster can be reconfigured comprises:

comparing a remaining capacity of a candidate server in the first cluster to a load of the first application.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the first cluster can be reconfigured comprises:

comparing a remaining capacity of a candidate server in the first cluster to a load of an application that is incompatible with the first application.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the first cluster can be reconfigured comprises:

comparing a remaining capacity of a candidate server in the first cluster to a revised increased load of the first application.

13. A system comprising:

a processor;

an interconnect coupled to the processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor via the interconnect, the computer-readable storage medium further comprising computer-readable code, wherein when executed by the processor, the computer-readable code is configured for

determining whether a resource in a first cluster can be allocated to provide a first quantity of the resource to a first application, wherein

the first cluster comprises

a plurality of nodes, and

the determining whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated comprises

detecting whether one or more applications, other than the first application, executing on one of the nodes are compatible with the first application, and

detecting whether the one of the nodes can provide the first quantity of the resource;

determining whether the first cluster can be reconfigured to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, if the resource in the first cluster cannot be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, wherein

the determining whether the first cluster can be reconfigured comprises

comparing a priority of at least one of the one or more applications to a priority of the first application;

enabling the first cluster to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application by reconfiguring the first cluster, if the first cluster can be reconfigured; and

restarting the first application in a second cluster having a sufficient amount of the resource to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, if the first cluster cannot be reconfigured.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable code is further configured for:

selecting the first application to be allocated the first quantity of the resource from a plurality of applications in accordance with a business priority for the first application.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable code is further configured for:

partitioning the resource within the first cluster.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable code is further configured for:

monitoring performance of a plurality of applications running in the first cluster; and

requesting to allocate a second quantity of the resource for one application of the plurality of applications if the one application fails to satisfy a criterion to enable the performance of the one application to satisfy the criterion.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the first cluster comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein:

at least one node among the plurality of nodes is a multiprocessor node, and

the reconfiguring comprises partitioning the multiprocessor node into multiple nodes.

18. A system comprising:

a first determining module configured to determine whether a resource in a first cluster can be allocated to provide a first quantity of the resource to a first application, wherein

the first cluster comprises

a plurality of nodes, and

the determining module is configured to determine whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated by

detecting whether one or more applications, other than the first application, executing on one of the nodes are compatible with the first application, and

detecting whether the one of the nodes can provide the first quantity of the resource;

a second determining module configured to determine whether the first cluster can be reconfigured to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, if the resource in the first cluster cannot be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, wherein

the second determining module is configured to determine whether the first cluster can be reconfigured comprises

comparing a priority of at least one of the one or more applications to a priority of the first application;

an enabling module configured to enable the first cluster to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application by reconfiguring the first cluster, if the first cluster can be reconfigured;

a restarting module configured to restart the first application in a second cluster having a sufficient amount of the resource to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, if the first cluster cannot be reconfigured; and

communications hardware configured to enable communication between the first and second clusters.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a selecting module configured to select the first application to be allocated the first quantity of the resource from a plurality of applications in accordance with a business priority for the first application.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

an adding module configured to add a second quantity of the resource to the first cluster.

21. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a partitioning module configured to partition the resource within the first cluster.

22. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

a monitoring module configured to monitor performance of a plurality of applications running in the first cluster; and

a requesting module configured to request to allocate a second quantity of the resource for one application to enable the performance of the one application to satisfy a criterion.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the first cluster comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein:

at least one node among the plurality of nodes is a multiprocessor node, and

the reconfiguring comprises partitioning the multiprocessor node into multiple nodes.

24. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

determining instructions configured to determine whether a resource in a first cluster can be allocated to provide a first quantity of the resource to a first application, wherein

the first cluster comprises

a plurality of nodes, and

the determining instructions configured to determine whether the resource in the first cluster can be allocated comprises

detecting instructions configured to detect whether one or more applications, other than the first application, executing on one of the nodes are compatible with the first application, and

detecting instructions configured to detect whether the one of the nodes can provide the first quantity of the resource;

determining instructions configured to determine whether the first cluster can be reconfigured to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, if the resource in the first cluster cannot be allocated to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, wherein

the determining instructions configured to determine whether the first cluster can be reconfigured are further configured to compare a priority of at least one of the one or more applications to a priority of the first application;

enabling instructions configured to enable the first cluster to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application by reconfiguring the first cluster, if the first cluster can be reconfigured; and

restarting instructions configured to restart the first application in a second cluster having a sufficient amount of the resource to provide the first quantity of the resource to the first application, if the first cluster cannot be reconfigured.

25. A computer-readable storage medium of claim 24 further comprising:

selecting instructions configured to select the first application to be allocated the first quantity of the resource from a plurality of applications in accordance with a business priority for the first application.

26. A computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 further comprising:

adding instructions configured to add a second quantity of the resource to the first cluster.

27. A computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 further comprising:

partitioning instructions configured to partition the resource within the first cluster.

28. A computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 further comprising:

monitoring instructions configured to monitor performance of a plurality of applications running in the first cluster; and

requesting instructions configured to request to allocate a second quantity of the resource for one application to enable the performance of the one application to satisfy a criterion.

29. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the first cluster comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein:

at least one node among the plurality of nodes is a multiprocessor node, and

the reconfiguring comprises partitioning the multiprocessor node into multiple nodes.