Method and system for quality assurance subscription service

• US 8,578,337 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2007
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Van Riel, Henri Han, Crenshaw, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Bullock, Jr., Lewis A
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOORAY, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US11/680,576
• Publication Number:
  US 20080209409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,442 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/126
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors

Abstract

Embodiments pertain generally to a method of providing a quality assurance subscription service for a customer. The method includes determining a new software configuration for the customer and instantiating a test virtual machine based on state information of the customer in a secure location. The method also includes executing the new software configuration on the test virtual machine to verify operational stability of the new software configuration.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

registering a plurality of remote client machines, wherein registering comprises;

receiving, at a secure server site through a service portal, client information for the plurality of remote client machines, wherein the client information comprises software requirements and hardware requirements, wherein the software requirements comprise types of software at the plurality of remote client machines and wherein the hardware requirements comprise types and capacity of physical elements at the plurality of remote client machines;

generating, at the secure server site, configuration data in view of the received client information;

registering, at the secure server site, the generated configuration data for the plurality of remote client machines; and

deploying software updates from a vendor to the registered plurality of remote client machines without interrupting activities at the registered plurality of remote client machines, wherein deploying comprises;

receiving, at the secure server site, a new software configuration from the vendor for software at a first client machine in the plurality of remote client machines;

instantiating, at the secure server site, a test virtual machine in view of the registered configuration data of the first client machine;

testing the new software configuration in the test virtual machine by performing one or more quality assurance tests on the new software configuration to determine that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine; and

providing the new software configuration to the first client machine for installation at the first client machine in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the new software configuration comprises a new software application that is not currently installed at the first client machine.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the new software configuration comprises a new version of a currently installed software application at the first client machine.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the new software configuration comprises an update to an existing of software application at the first client machine.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the new software configuration comprises a change in the configuration data of the first client machine.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the client information of the first client machine from at least one instance of a client virtual machine at the first client machine.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying, in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine, a client system that the new software configuration is available for the first client machine.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the first client machine to install the new software configuration comprises pushing the new software configuration to the first client machine.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein:

instantiating the test virtual machine comprises instantiating a plurality of test virtual machines in view of the configuration data of respective ones of the plurality of remote client machines;

testing the new software configuration comprises testing the new software configuration in the plurality of test virtual machines by performing one or more quality assurance tests on the new software configuration to determine that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the plurality of remote client machines; and

providing the new software configuration to the plurality of remote client machines for installation at the plurality of remote client machines in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the plurality of remote client machines.

7. A system comprising:

a secure server site to register a plurality of remote client machines and to deploy software updates from a vendor to the plurality of remote client machines without interrupting activities at the plurality of remote client machines, wherein the secure server site comprises;

an interface to receive, through a service portal, client information for the plurality of remote client machines, wherein the client information comprises software requirements and hardware requirements, wherein the software requirements comprise types of software at the plurality of remote client machines and wherein the hardware requirements comprise types and capacity of physical elements at the plurality of remote client machines;

a processor, coupled to the interface, to;

generate configuration data in view of the received client information;

register the generated configuration data for the plurality of remote client machines;

receive a new software configuration from the vendor for software at a first client machine in the plurality of remote client machines;

instantiate a test virtual machine in view of the registered configuration data of the first client machine;

test the new software configuration in the test virtual machine by performance of one or more quality assurance tests on the new software configuration to determine that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine; and

provide the new software configuration to the first client machine for installation at the first client machine in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the new software configuration comprises a new software application that is not currently installed at the first client machine.

9. The system method of claim 7, wherein the new software configuration comprises a new version of a currently installed software application at the first client machine.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the service portal comprises a web page accessed by a client system associated with the first client machine.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to receive the client information of the first client machine from a technical support person.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is to receive the client information of the first client machine from at least one instance of a client virtual machine at the first client machine.

19. The system of claim 7, wherein the new software configuration comprises an update to an existing software application at the first client machine.

20. The system of claim 7, wherein the new software configuration comprises a change in the configuration data of the first client machine.

21. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is to:

instantiate the test virtual machine by instantiating a plurality of test virtual machines in view of the configuration data of respective ones of the plurality of remote client machines;

test the new software configuration by testing the new software configuration in the plurality of test virtual machines by performance of the one or more quality assurance tests on the new software configuration to determine that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the plurality of remote client machines; and

provide the new software configuration to the plurality of remote client machines for installation at the plurality of remote client machines in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the plurality of remote client machines.

25. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further to notify, in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine, a client system that the new software configuration is available for the first client machine.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon which when executed by a processor perform operations comprising:

registering a plurality of remote client machines, wherein registering comprises;

receiving, at a secure server site through a service portal, client information for the plurality of remote client machines, wherein the client information comprises software requirements and hardware requirements, wherein the software requirements comprise types of software at the plurality of remote client machines and wherein the hardware requirements comprise types and capacity of physical elements at the plurality of remote client machines;

generating, at the secure server site, configuration data in view of the received client information;

registering, at the secure server site, the generated configuration data for the plurality of remote client machines; and

deploying software updates from a vendor to the registered plurality of remote client machines without interrupting activities at the registered plurality of remote client machines, wherein deploying comprises;

receiving, at the secure server site, a new software configuration from the vendor for software at a first client machine in the plurality of remote client machines;

instantiating, at the secure server site, a test virtual machine in view of the registered configuration data of the first client machine;

testing the new software configuration in the test virtual machine by performing one or more quality assurance tests on the new software configuration to determine that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine; and

providing the new software configuration to the first client machine for installation at the first client machine in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the new software configuration comprises a new version of a currently installed software application at the first client machine.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the new software configuration comprises a change in the configuration data of the first client machine.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise notifying, in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the first client machine, a client system that the new software configuration is available for the first client machine.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein enabling the first client machine to install the new software configuration comprises pushing the new software configuration to the first client machine.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein:

instantiating the test virtual machine comprises instantiating a plurality of test virtual machines in view of the configuration data of respective ones of the plurality of remote client machines;

testing the new software configuration comprises testing the new software configuration in the plurality of test virtual machines by performing one or more quality assurance tests on the new software configuration to determine that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the plurality of remote client machines; and

providing the new software configuration to the plurality of remote client machines for installation at the plurality of remote client machines in view of the determination that the new software configuration functions properly with the registered configuration data of the plurality of remote client machines.