Systems and methods for generating management agent installations

• US 8,463,885 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2009
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: DeHaan, Michael Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Kyung H
• Application Number:
  US12/551,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20110055361A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 709/221, 709/222, 714/4.11, 714/E11.073
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for installation of management agents on target machines. In embodiments, a central management server can scan a managed network to identify different types and configurations of target machines. Different types of target machines may require different types of management agent software in order to invoke different types of management services, such as configuration management or performance monitoring services. The necessary types of management agent may depend, for instance, on the operating system and/or applications installed on individual targets. In embodiments, different types or classes of management agents can register or communicate with different types of remote management servers. The management agent(s) on individual targets can thereby initiate and manage the installation of agents or other resources that may be needed to register to the remote network services, without a requirement to install or use specific package management tools for specific products.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

invoking, by a server, a registration tool to interrogate individual target machines to develop an inventory of resources for each of the individual target machines, wherein the registration tool generates at least one of a link, an association, a channel, or a connection to a set of management agents to permit target machines to download the management agents;

determining, by the server, a first type of management software component that is associated with one or more performance monitoring services and that is compatible with a particular configuration of a first target machine;

transmitting to a first target machine, by the server, a performance monitoring agent that corresponds to the first type of management software component and is to monitor performance of the first target machine via a connection to a first remote management server;

determining, by the server, a second type of management software component that is associated with one or more configuration management services and that is compatible with a particular configuration of a second target machine, wherein the second type of management software component differs from the first type of management software component; and

transmitting to a second target machine, by the server, a configuration management agent that corresponds to the second type of management software component and is to manage the configuration of the second target machine via a connection to a second remote management server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

installing the performance monitoring agent on the first target machine; and

installing the configuration management agent on the second target machine.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance monitoring agent and the configuration management agent are transmitted to the first target machine and the second target machine, respectively, independently of any package management update tool associated with the first type of management software component or the second type of management software component.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining an inventory of resources at the first target machine.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing a software update process on the first target machine.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the software update process is performed without performing an operating system installation process.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first type of management software component and the second type of management software component are compatible with different operating system classes.

8. A system comprising:

a memory to store a first management agent and a second management agent; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, to;

invoke a registration tool to interrogate individual target machines to develop an inventory of resources for each of the individual target machines, wherein the registration tool generates at least one of a link, an association, a channel, or a connection to a set of management agents to permit target machines to download the management agents;

determine a first type of management software component that is associated with one or more performance monitoring services and that is compatible with a particular configuration of a first target machine;

transmit to a first target machine a performance monitoring agent that corresponds to the first type of management software component and is to monitor performance of the first target machine via a connection to a first remote management server;

determine a second type of management software component that is associated with one or more configuration management services and that is compatible with a particular configuration of a second target machine, wherein the first type of management software component differs from the second type of management software component; and

transmit to a second target machine a configuration management agent that corresponds to the second type of management software component and is to manage the configuration of the second target machine via a connection to a second remote management server.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further to:

install the performance monitoring agent on the first target machine; and

install the configuration management agent on the second target machine.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the performance monitoring agent and the configuration management agent are transmitted to the first target machine and the second target machine, respectively, independently of any package management update tool associated with the first type of management software component or the second type of management software component.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further to maintain an inventory of resources at the first target machine.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further to perform a software update process on the first target machine.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the software update process is performed without performing an operating system installation process.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the first type of management software component and the second type of management software component are each associated with a different operating system class.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a server, cause the server to perform operations comprising:

invoking, by a server, a registration tool to interrogate individual target machines to develop an inventory of resources for each of the individual target machines, wherein the registration tool generates at least one of a link, an association, a channel, or a connection to a set of management agents to permit target machines to download the management agents;

determining, by the server, a first type of management software component that is associated with one or more performance monitoring services and that is compatible with a particular configuration of a first target machine;

transmitting to a first target machine, by the server, a performance monitoring agent that corresponds to the first type of management software component and is to monitor performance of the first target machine via a connection to a first remote management server;

determining, by the server, a second type of management software component that is associated with one or more configuration management services and that is compatible with a particular configuration of a second target machine, wherein the second type of management software component differs from the first type of management software component; and

transmitting to a second target machine, by the server, a configuration management agent that corresponds to the second type of management software component and is to manage the configuration of the second target machine via a connection to a second remote management server.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

installing the performance monitoring agent on the first target machine; and

installing the configuration management agent on the second target machine.