Non-disruptively changing a computing environment

• US 8,868,441 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2007
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wrp IP Management, LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bobak, Mythili K., McConnell, Tim A., Swanson, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pats, Justin M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Goldberg, Ivan R
• Application Number:
  US11/965,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20090171732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,489 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/7.27, 705/7.26, 705/7.37, 717/104, 717/105
• US Class Current: 705/7.27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1402 Saving, restoring, recovering or retrying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA

Abstract

A change to a goal specified for an IT environment is to be made. Responsive to the changed goal, the IT environment is changed. This change is performed non-disruptively. Further, during the change, management to the existing goal is continued.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of managing changes within an Information Technology (IT) environment, said method comprising:

obtaining, by a processor, a change in a goal for an overall business application of the IT environment, the business application comprising a plurality of resources and one or more relationships between resources which provide the function of the business application, and the goal being a management goal associated with the plurality of resources used to support the business application, the management goal comprising one of an availability goal, a performance goal or other management goal for the business application, wherein the goal is to be changed to provide a new goal while continuing to enforce an existing goal;

generating, by the processor, a delta workflow to reflect one or more changes to the IT environment to enable achievement of the new goal, the delta workflow providing a programmatic difference between a current prepare workflow for the existing goal and a new prepare workflow for the new goal, the generating comprising;

traversing a list of operations for the new prepare workflow, wherein each operation is associated with a resource, and for an operation in the list of operations, determining whether the operation is in the current prepare workflow;

based on the operation not being in the current prepare workflow, checking whether the operation in the new prepare workflow supports a non-disruptive change, wherein the operation supports a non-disruptive change when the operation can be performed without impact to an existing state, and

based on the operation supporting a non-disruptive change, adding the operation to the delta workflow;

based on the operation being a disruptive change, the operation is not added to the delta workflow;

based on the operation being in the current prepare workflow, checking whether one or more of values and parameters for the operation in the new prepare workflow match the one or more values and parameters for the operation in the current prepare workflow;

based on the checking indicating a mismatch, determining whether the operation of the new prepare workflow is more stringent in being prepared to meet the new goal than the operation in the current prepare workflow is in being prepared to meet the new goal, and

 

based on determining the operation of the new prepare workflow is more stringent for being prepared to meet the new goal, adding the operation of the new prepare workflow to the delta workflow, and

 

based on determining the operation of the new prepare workflow is not more stringent in being prepared to meet the new goal, indicating that execution of the delta workflow results in being more prepared to meet the new goal; and

executing the delta workflow to facilitate achievement of the new goal.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the new prepare workflow is to be modified; and

based on determining the new prepare workflow is to be modified, modifying the new prepare workflow.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising dividing operations in the delta workflow into a set of operations to be executed in advance of activating a policy to meet the new goal and a set of operations to be executed based on activating the policy.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the goal comprises a quantifiable goal for the plurality of resources of the business application, the quantifiable goal being apportioned among the plurality of resources of the business application.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the business application is represented by a Recovery Segment, and wherein the goal is associated with the Recovery Segment and is used in managing the business application.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising subsequent to executing the delta workflow, assessing whether the delta workflow completed successfully, and based on completing successfully providing an option of making the new goal a current existing goal.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein based on the delta workflow completing unsuccessfully, initiating an undo process to undo changes of the delta workflow.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising evaluating achievability of the new goal.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining an ordering of operations and any dependent operations in the delta workflow.

10. A computer program product of managing changes within an Information Technology (IT) environment, said computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

obtaining, by a processor, a change in a goal for an overall business application of the IT environment, the business application comprising a plurality of resources and one or more relationships between resources which provide the function of the business application, and the goal being a management goal associated with the plurality of resources used to support the business application, the management goal comprising one of an availability goal, a performance goal or other management goal for the business application, wherein the goal is to be changed to provide a new goal while continuing to enforce an existing goal;

generating, by the processor, a delta workflow to reflect one or more changes to the IT environment to enable achievement of the new goal, the delta workflow providing a programmatic difference between a current prepare workflow for the existing goal and a new prepare workflow for the new goal, the generating comprising;

traversing a list of operations for the new prepare workflow, wherein each operation is associated with a resource, and for an operation in the list of operations, determining whether the operation is in the current prepare workflow;

based on the operation not being in the current prepare workflow, checking whether the operation in the new prepare workflow supports a non-disruptive change, wherein the operation supports a non-disruptive change when the operation can be performed without impact to an existing state, and

based on the operation supporting a non-disruptive change, adding the operation to the delta workflow;

based on the operation being a disruptive change, the operation is not added to the delta workflow;

based on the operation being in the current prepare workflow, checking whether one or more of values and parameters for the operation in the new prepare workflow match the one or more values and parameters for the operation in the current prepare workflow;

based on the checking indicating a mismatch, determining whether the operation of the new prepare workflow is more stringent in being prepared to meet the new goal than the operation in the current prepare workflow is in being prepared to meet the new goal, and

 

based on determining the operation of the new prepare workflow is more stringent for being prepared to meet the new goal, adding the operation of the new prepare workflow to the delta workflow, and

 

based on determining the operation of the new prepare workflow is not more stringent in being prepared to meet the new goal, indicating that execution of the delta workflow results in being more prepared to meet the new goal; and

executing the delta workflow to facilitate achievement of the new goal.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether the new prepare workflow is to be modified; and

based on determining the new prepare workflow is to be modified, modifying the new prepare workflow.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises dividing operations in the delta workflow into a set of operations to be executed in advance of activating a policy to meet the new goal and a set of operations to be executed based on activating the policy.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises subsequent to executing the delta workflow, assessing whether the delta workflow completed successfully, and based on completing successfully providing an option of making the new goal a current existing goal.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein based on the delta workflow completing unsuccessfully, initiating an undo process to undo changes of the delta workflow.

16. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising determining an ordering of operations and any dependent operations in the delta workflow.

15. A computer system of managing changes within an Information Technology (IT) environment, said computer system comprising:

a memory;

a processor in communications with the memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform a method, said method comprising;

obtaining a change in a goal for an overall business application of the IT environment, the business application comprising a plurality of resources and one or more relationships between resources which provide the function of the business application, and the goal being a management goal associated with the plurality of resources used to support the business application, the management goal comprising one of an availability goal, a performance goal or other management goal for the business application, wherein the goal is to be changed to provide a new goal while continuing to enforce an existing goal;

generating a delta workflow to reflect one or more changes to the IT environment to enable achievement of the new goal, the delta workflow providing a programmatic difference between a current prepare workflow for the existing goal and a new prepare workflow for the new goal, the generating comprising;

traversing a list of operations for the new prepare workflow, wherein each operation is associated with a resource, and for an operation in the list of operations, determining whether the operation is in the current prepare workflow;

based on the operation not being in the current prepare workflow, checking whether the operation in the new prepare workflow supports a non-disruptive change, wherein the operation supports a non-disruptive change when the operation can be performed without impact to an existing state, and

based on the operation supporting a non-disruptive change, adding the operation to the delta workflow;

based on the operation being a disruptive change, the operation is not added to the delta workflow;

based on the operation being in the current prepare workflow, checking whether one or more of values and parameters for the operation in the new prepare workflow match the one or more values and parameters for the operation in the current prepare workflow;

based on the checking indicating a mismatch, determining whether the operation of the new prepare workflow is more stringent in being prepared to meet the new goal than the operation in the current prepare workflow is in being prepared to meet the new goal, and

 

based on determining the operation of the new prepare workflow is more stringent for being prepared to meet the new goal, adding the operation of the new prepare workflow to the delta workflow, and

 

based on determining the operation of the new prepare workflow is not more stringent in being prepared to meet the new goal, indicating that execution of the delta workflow results in being more prepared to meet the new goal; and

executing the delta workflow to facilitate achievement of the new goal.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether the new prepare workflow is to be modified; and

based on determining the new prepare workflow is to be modified, modifying the new prepare workflow.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises dividing operations in the delta workflow into a set of operations to be executed in advance of activating a policy to meet the new goal and a set of operations to be executed based on activating the policy.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises subsequent to executing the delta workflow, assessing whether the delta workflow completed successfully, and based on completing successfully providing an option of making the new goal a current existing goal.

20. The computer system of claim 15, further comprising determining an ordering of operations and any dependent operations in the delta workflow.