Method for supporting new network element software versions in an element management system without upgrading

• US 8,887,147 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2011
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gopal, Niraj, Sun, Jiong, Ramamoorthy, Sai V., Ward, David D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Li B
• Assistant Examiner(s): BODDEN, EVRAL E
• Application Number:
  US13/048,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20110167418A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates

Abstract

A method and apparatus for configuring an element management system server (an EMS server) to support new network element service application versions without upgrading the EMS server software is provided. The EMS stores base version data that describes the data model of a first version of a service application installed on a network element. When a second version of the service application is available, incremental version data describing changes to the data model from the first version to the second version is obtained and stored. In response to receiving a client request involving a service application on a particular network element, the EMS may apply incremental version data, associated with the version of the service application installed on the particular network element, to the base version data to form merged version data that describes the data model of the version of the service application installed on the particular network element.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing, at a server, base version data that describes a first data model, wherein the first data model is for a first version of a software application hosted on the server;

without upgrading software of the server, receiving, at the server, incremental version data that describes changes between the first data model for the first version of the software application and a second data model for a second version of the software application;

wherein the second data model is a data representation schema for the second version of the software application;

correlating and overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data to form merged version data that describes the second data model, and which comprises at least one element that is present in the incremental version data and not present in the base version data; and

the server using the merged version data, without upgrading the server to the second version of the software application, to communicate with the second data model associated with the second version of the software application hosted on a network element to provision a new service on the network element, and using the base version data to communicate with the first data model to provision services on another network element;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the correlating and overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data are performed in response to receiving a request to perform an operation involving the second version of the software application on a particular network element.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing, at the server, a plurality of sets of merged version data based on pluralities of base version data and incremental version data, wherein each set of the plurality of sets of merged version data corresponds to a different version of a plurality of service applications hosted by a plurality of network elements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the incremental version data contains information for use by a client to dynamically generate a GUI for use in configuring how to provision the new service on the network element using the second version of the software application.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the incremental version data contains information for use by a client to disable an input capability of one or more data fields of a GUI for use in configuring how to provision the new service on the network element using the second version of the software application.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a client interface through which a user may initiate provisioning the new service on the network element without an upgrade.

7. A method comprising:

storing, at a server, base version data that describes a first data model, wherein the first data model is for a version of a first software application hosted on the server;

storing, at the server, incremental version data that describes changes between the first data model and a second data model for a second version of the first software application;

correlating and overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data to form merged version data that describes the second data model and which comprises at least one element that is present in the incremental version data, but not in the base version data;

storing, at the server, merged version data;

collecting, at the server, second base version data about a service application hosted by a second network element;

based on the second base version data, determining that the second network element is executing an unknown software application version of the service application for which the server is not storing incremental version data, or merged version data;

in response to determining that the second network element is executing the unknown software application version of the service application, without upgrading the server to the unknown software application version of the service application, requesting and receiving from an incremental version source, second incremental version data and not the unknown software application version of the service application,

wherein the second incremental version data describes changes between a base data model for base data and a third data model associated with the unknown software application version, and is used, at least in part, to communicate with the second network element, hosting the unknown software application version of the service application, to provision the second network element;

wherein the third data model is a data representation schema for the unknown software application version.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, at the server, the second incremental version data that describes changes between the unknown software application version and the third data model for a subsequent version of the unknown software application version;

correlating and overlaying the second incremental version data with the second base version data to form second merged version data that describes the third data model, and using the second merged version data to communicate the third data model associated with the subsequent version of the unknown software application to provision a new service on the second network element without an upgrade.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

based on the second base version data, determining that the second network element is hosting a software application version for which the server is storing corresponding incremental version data that describes a third data model for a subsequent version of the software application version;

correlating and overlaying the corresponding incremental version data with the second base version data to form second merged version data that describes the third data model, and using the second merged version data to communicate with the software application version to provision a new service on the second network element without an upgrade.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising maintaining, at the server, a list of network elements managed by the server, the list including the first network element and the second network element, and wherein the step of collecting information about all versions of applications executed by the second network element is performed in response to adding the second network element to the list of network elements.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising storing, at the server, a plurality of sets of merged version data based on pluralities of base version data and incremental version data, wherein each set of the plurality of sets of merged version data corresponds to a different version of a plurality of service applications hosted by a plurality of network elements.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the incremental version data contains information for use by a client to disable an input capability of one or more data fields of a GUI for use in configuring how to provision the new service on the network element using the second version of the software application.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable volatile or non-volatile storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:

storing, at a server, base version data that describes a first data model, wherein the first data model is for a first version of a software application hosted on the server;

without upgrading software of the server, receiving, at the server, incremental version data that describes changes between the first data model for the first version of the software application and a second data model for a second version of the software application;

wherein the second data model is a data representation schema for the second version of the software application;

correlating and overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data to form merged version data that describes the second data model, and which comprises at least one element that is present in the incremental version data and not in the base version data; and

the server using the merged version data without upgrading the server to the second version of the software application to communicate with the second data model associated with the second version of the software application hosted on a network element to provision a new service on the network element, and using the base version data to communicate with the first data model to provision services on another network element.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions that cause correlating and overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data are performed in response to receiving a request to perform an operation involving the second version of the software application on a particular network element.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions which, when executed, cause storing, at the server, a plurality of sets of merged version data based on pluralities of base version data and incremental version data, wherein each set of the plurality of sets of merged version data corresponds to a different version of a plurality of service applications hosted by a plurality of network elements.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable volatile or non-volatile storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:

storing, at a server, base version data that describes a first data model, wherein the first data model is for a version of a first software application hosted on the server;

correlating and overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data to form merged version data that describes the second data model and which comprises at least one element that is present in the incremental version data and not in the base version data;

storing, at the server, merged version data;

storing, at the server, merged version data that describes the second data model by correlating and overlaying the incremental version data with the base version data;

collecting, at the server, second base version data about applications hosted by a second network element;

based on the second base version data, determining that the second network element is executing an unknown software application version of the service application for which the server is not storing incremental version data, or merged version data;

in response to determining that the second network element is executing the unknown software application version of the service application, without upgrading the server to the unknown software application version of the service application, requesting and receiving from an incremental version source, second incremental version data and not the unknown software application,

wherein the second incremental version data describes changes between a base data model for base data and a third data model associated with the unknown software application version, and is used, at least in part, to communicate with the second network element, hosting the unknown software application version of the service application, to provision the second network element;

wherein the third data model is a data representation schema of the unknown software application version.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions which when executed cause:

receiving, at the server, the second incremental version data that describes changes between the base data model for the base data and the third data model for the unknown software application version;

correlating and overlaying the second incremental version data with the second base version data to form second merged version data that describes the third data model, and using the second merged version data to communicate with the subsequent version of the unknown software application to provision a new service on the second network element without an upgrade.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions which, when executed, cause:

based on the second base version data, determining that the second network element is hosting a software application version for which the server is storing corresponding incremental version data that describes a third data model for a subsequent version of the software application version;

correlating and overlaying the corresponding incremental version data with the second base version data to form second merged version data that describes the third data model, and using the second merged version data to communicate with the software application version to provision a new service on the second network element without an upgrade.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions which when executed cause maintaining, at the server, a list of network elements managed by the server, the list including the first network element and the second network element, and wherein instructions which when executed cause collecting information about all versions of applications executed by the second network element are performed in response to adding the second network element to the list of network elements.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions which when executed cause storing, at the server, a plurality of sets of merged version data based on pluralities of base version data and incremental version data, wherein each set of the plurality of sets of merged version data corresponds to a different version of a plurality of service applications hosted by a plurality of network elements.