Systems and methods for updating software appliances

• US 8,606,765 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2007
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Boggs, Joseph, Faus, Norman Lee, Huff, David, Kearney, Bryan
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, UYEN T
• Application Number:
  US11/948,992
• Publication Number:
  US 20090144718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,202 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/695
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/219 Managing data history or versioning querying versioned data G06F16/2474; querying temporal data G06F16/2477
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for updating software appliances. A client can host a software appliance, such a Linux™ software appliance, which a user wishes to update to a newer version. Instead of performing an in-place update by installing a new version that deletes the configuration state and/or user data of the existing version of the appliance, an export module takes an image of an initial appliance installation and then registers further changes to the configuration state and/or user data over time. When the user chooses to update the software appliance, the new version can be downloaded to execute an installation. The export module aggregates all changes to the original installation image as well as user data, and delivers the complete current configuration state and/or complete current user data to the new version of the appliance to instantiate the new version.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

instantiating, by a processor of a client device, a first version of a software appliance;

receiving, from a user of the software appliance, user-inputted data that is used by the first version of the software appliance during operation;

capturing an image of the first version of the software appliance comprising an initial configuration state;

aggregating one or more changes to the initial configuration state to produce a current configuration state of the first version of the software appliance;

registering, by the processor of the client device, the current configuration state and the user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance;

instantiating, by the processor of the client device, a second version of the software appliance; and

exporting, by the processor of the client device, the current configuration state and the user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance to the second version of the software appliance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein registering comprises registering the initial configuration state and initial user-inputted data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein registering comprises registering the one or more changes to the initial configuration state and one or more changes to the initial user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein exporting comprises aggregating the one or more changes to the initial configuration state and the one or more changes to the user-inputted data to export the current configuration state and current set of user-inputted data to the second version of the software appliance.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein exporting comprises invoking a schema tool to conform the user-inputted data to a schema of the second version of the software appliance.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the schema tool pre-fills data values in the user-inputted data to conform to the schema of the second version of the software appliance.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the schema tool presents a dialog to the user to select data values to insert in the user-inputted data to conform to the schema of the second version of the software appliance.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second version of the software appliance is downloaded over a network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first version of the software appliance is archived or deleted after instantiation and configuration of the second version of the software appliance.

10. A system, comprising:

a memory comprising instructions;

a processor, operably connected to the memory, the processor configured to execute the instructions comprising;

receiving, from a user of the software appliance, user-inputted data that is used by a first version of the software appliance during operation,

capturing an image of the first version of the software appliance comprising an initial configuration state;

aggregating one or more changes to the initial configuration state to produce a current configuration state of the first version of the software appliance;

registering the current configuration state and the user-inputted data of the first version of software appliance, and

exporting the complete current configuration state and the user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance to a second version of the software appliance upon instantiation of the second version of the software appliance.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the registering comprises registering the initial configuration state and initial user-inputted data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the registering comprises registering the one or more changes to the initial configuration state and one or more changes to the initial user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the exporting comprises aggregating the one or more changes to the initial configuration state and the one or more changes to the user-inputted data to export the current configuration state and current set of user-inputted data to the second version of the software appliance.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the exporting comprises invoking a schema tool to conform the user-inputted data to a schema of the second version of the software appliance.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the schema tool pre-fills data values in the user-inputted data to conform to the schema of the second version of the software appliance.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the schema tool presents a dialog to the user-inputted to select data values to insert in the user-inputted data to conform to the schema of the second version of the software appliance.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the second version of the software appliance is downloaded over a network.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the first version of the software appliance is archived or deleted after instantiation and configuration of the second version of the software appliance.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium being readable to execute a method comprising:

instantiating, by a processor of a client device, a first version of a software appliance;

receiving, from a user of the software appliance, user-inputted data that is used by the first version of the software appliance during operation;

capturing an image of the first version of the software appliance comprising an initial configuration state;

aggregating one or more changes to the initial configuration state to produce a current configuration state of the first version of the software appliance;

registering, by the processor of the client device, the current configuration state and the user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance;

instantiating, by the processor of the client device, a second version of the software appliance; and

exporting, by the processor of the client device, the current configuration state and the user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance to the second version of the software appliance.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the registering comprises registering the initial configuration state and initial user-inputted data.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein registering comprises registering the one or more changes to the initial configuration state and the one or more changes to the initial user-inputted data of the first version of the software appliance.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein exporting comprises aggregating the one or more changes to the initial configuration state and one or more changes to the user-inputted data to export the current configuration state and a current set of user-inputted data to the second version of the software appliance.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein exporting comprises invoking a schema tool to conform the user-inputted data to a schema of the second version of the software appliance.