Metering software infrastructure in a cloud computing environment

• US 8,769,083 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2009
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• 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: Ferris, James Michael, Riveros, Gerry Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Kyung H
• Application Number:
  US12/551,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20110055378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,765 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 709/224, 705/34, 717/177, 707/803, 707/802, 707/770
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3419 by assessing time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/4557 Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1432 Metric aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1485 Tariff-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 : Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 : specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 : for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 : Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 : Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 : Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information

Abstract

A metering tool can monitor the software resources of the cloud to meter the software utilization of the cloud. The metering tool can cooperate and communicate with a cloud management system to determine the software resources utilized by processes instantiated in the cloud and to track the duration of the utilization. The metering tool can store the tracked utilization in a record.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a processing device executing a virtual machine monitor module on a cloud management system that monitors virtual machines in a cloud, a first duration of hardware resources on which a virtual machine is instantiated in the cloud, the hardware resources comprising at least one or more of a processor, a memory, a network hardware, or a bandwidth;

recording the first duration on a first record of hardware usage;

determining, by the processing device directly from the virtual machine on the cloud, a second duration that a particular software resource is utilized by a user on the virtual machine, software resources comprising an operating system and application software;

receiving an identifier of each particular software resource from a cloud management system of the cloud;

recording the second duration on a second record of software usage; and

calculating, by the processing device, a usage of the cloud by the user in view of the first and second durations.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the first duration and second duration to a requester.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first duration comprises:

receiving a start time and a termination time of the virtual machine; and

calculating the first duration from the start time and the termination time of the virtual machine.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first duration comprises:

monitoring at least one computing system supporting the virtual machine for a start time and a termination time of the virtual machine; and

calculating the first duration from the start time and the termination time of the virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the second duration comprises:

receiving a start time and a termination time of the particular software resource; and

calculating the second duration from the start time and the termination time of the particular software resource.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the second duration comprises:

monitoring at least one computing system supporting the virtual machine for a start time and a termination time of the particular software resource; and

calculating the second duration from the start time and the termination time of the particular software resource.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring at least one computing system supporting the virtual machine to identify execution of the particular software resource.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying the virtual machine instantiated in a cloud; and

determining the particular software resource utilized by the virtual machine instantiated in the cloud.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the data indicative of the first duration in association with data indicative of an identity of a user that requested instantiation of the virtual machine.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing, in association with the data indicative of the identity of the virtual machine, data indicative of a type of the software resource.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing is performed by a metering tool that stores utilization of the software resources in a software record configured as a table.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the storing is performed by a metering tool that stores utilization of the software resources in a software record configured as a table.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

determining, by the processing device executing a virtual machine monitor module on a cloud management system that monitors virtual machines in a cloud, a first duration of hardware resources on which a virtual machine is instantiated in the cloud, the hardware resources comprising at least one or more of a processor, a memory, a network hardware, or a bandwidth;

recording the first duration on a first record of hardware usage;

determining, by the processing device directly from the virtual machine on the cloud, a second duration that a particular software resource is utilized by a user on the virtual machine, software resources comprising an operating system and application software;

receiving an identifier of each particular software resource from a cloud management system of the cloud;

recording the second duration on a second record of software usage; and

calculating, by the processing device, a usage of the cloud by the user in view of the first and second durations.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the operations further comprising providing the first duration and second duration to a requester.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein determining the first duration comprises:

receiving a start time and a termination time of the virtual machine; and

calculating the first duration from the start time and the termination time of the virtual machine.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein determining the first duration comprises:

monitoring at least one computing system supporting the virtual machine for a start time and a termination time of the virtual machine; and

calculating the first duration from the start time and the termination time of the virtual machine.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein determining the second duration comprises:

receiving a start time and a termination time of the particular software resource; and

calculating the second duration from the start time and the termination time of the particular software resource.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein determining the second duration comprises:

monitoring at least one computing system supporting the virtual machine for a start time and a termination time of the particular software resource; and

calculating the second duration from the start time and the termination time of the particular software resource.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the operations further comprising monitoring at least one computing system supporting the virtual machine to identify execution of the particular software resource.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the operations further comprising:

identifying the virtual machine instantiated in a cloud; and

determining the particular software resource utilized by the virtual machine instantiated in the cloud.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the operations further comprising storing the data indicative of the first duration in association with data indicative of an identity of a user that requested instantiation of the virtual machine.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the operations further comprising storing, in association with the data indicative of the identity of the virtual machine, data indicative of a type of the software resource.