Unified cloud computing infrastructure to manage and deploy physical and virtual environments

• US 8,984,134 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2012
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ashok, Rohith K., Brey, Thomas M., Harrington, Raymond J., Hogstrom, Matt R., Sheard, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): KRISHNAN, RAJESHWARI
• Application Number:
  US13/465,504
• Publication Number:
  US 20130297772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: 715/705, 710/104, 710/302, 717/169, 709223-226, 709/235
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5096 wherein the managed service relates to distributed or central networked applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for managing and deploying physical and virtual environments across multiple hardware platforms. A single unit, referred to herein as a cloud construction block, contains both the hardware and software components used to build a cloud computing environment. By having such a single unit contain both the hardware and software components needed to build a cloud computing environment, the user no longer needs to purchase and integrate different hardware and software components. Furthermore, the cloud construction block contains modular pieces of hardware, such as compute hardware, memory hardware, storage hardware and network hardware, that are integrated with management software configured to manage both the hardware and the cloud computing environment in a seamlessly integrated package. Since there is a single management system, the management software allows the user to manage the modular pieces of hardware via a single user interface.

Claims

1. A cloud computing system, comprising:

one or more cloud construction blocks, each cloud construction block comprising;

modular pieces of hardware comprising;

compute hardware, memory hardware, storage hardware and network hardware; and

a management blade coupled to said modular pieces of hardware within the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said management blade comprises;

a memory unit for storing a computer program for managing said modular pieces of hardware and managing a user'"'"'s workload; and

a processor coupled to said memory unit, wherein said processor is configured to execute the computer program comprising instructions for;

presenting a user interface to manage said modular pieces of hardware of the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said modular pieces of hardware of the one or more cloud construction blocks are used to build a cloud computing environment by deploying physical and virtual machines in the one or more cloud construction blocks;

recognizing additional or fewer modular units of one or more of said compute hardware, said memory hardware, said storage hardware and said network hardware in the one or more cloud construction blocks from a last determination time; and

adjusting cloud capacity available to a user based on said recognizing of additional or fewer modular units of one or more of said compute hardware, said memory hardware, said storage hardware and said network hardware in the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said adjusting said cloud capacity available to said user comprises rebalancing cloud capacity resources to service said user, wherein said rebalancing comprises relocating one or more virtual machines from one cloud construction block to another cloud construction block, adding one or more virtual machines to a cloud construction block, relocating one or more virtual machines within a cloud construction block and any combination thereof.

2. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

initializing the one or more cloud construction blocks;

monitoring for changes in components of the one or more cloud construction blocks; and

monitoring hardware failures of said modular pieces of hardware.

3. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

receiving a pattern of a computing environment and policy settings; and

translating said pattern into required components to service said pattern per said policy settings.

4. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 3, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

receiving a topology pattern in a form of virtual machines.

5. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 3, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

receiving an application pattern.

6. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

presenting said user interface to perform one or more of deployment, placement, monitoring and maintenance services for the one or more cloud construction blocks.

7. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

presenting said user interface to perform deployment services for the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said deployment services comprises services for deploying said physical machines and virtual machines.

8. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

presenting said user interface to access a fault detection system for detecting faults across one or more of said storage hardware, said network hardware, said compute hardware and said memory hardware for the one or more cloud construction blocks.

9. The cloud computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions for:

presenting said user interface to perform monitoring services for the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said monitoring services comprises services for monitoring hardware usage, bandwidth utilization, temperature and virtual machine utilization.

10. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for managing and deploying physical and virtual environments across multiple hardware platforms, the computer program product comprising the programming instructions for:

presenting a user interface by a management blade to manage modular pieces of hardware of one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said modular pieces of hardware of the one or more cloud construction blocks are used to build a cloud computing environment by deploying physical and virtual machines in the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said modular pieces of hardware comprises compute hardware, memory hardware, storage hardware and network hardware, wherein said management blade is located within the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said management blade is coupled to said modular pieces of hardware within the one or more cloud construction blocks;

recognizing additional or fewer modular units of one or more of said compute hardware, said memory hardware, said storage hardware and said network hardware in the one or more cloud construction blocks from a last determination time; and

adjusting cloud capacity available to a user based on said recognizing of additional or fewer modular units of one or more of said compute hardware, said memory hardware, said storage hardware and said network hardware in the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said adjusting said cloud capacity available to said user comprises rebalancing cloud capacity resources to service said user, wherein said rebalancing comprises relocating one or more virtual machines from one cloud construction block to another cloud construction block, adding one or more virtual machines to a cloud construction block, relocating one or more virtual machines within a cloud construction block and any combination thereof.

11. The computer program product as recited in claim 10 further comprising programming instructions for:

monitoring for changes in components of the one or more cloud construction blocks; and

monitoring hardware failures of said modular pieces of hardware.

12. The computer program product as recited in claim 10 further comprising programming instructions for:

receiving a pattern of a computing environment and policy settings; and

translating said pattern into required components to service said pattern per said policy settings.

13. The computer program product as recited in claim 12 further comprising programming instructions for:

receiving a topology pattern in a form of virtual machines.

14. The computer program product as recited in claim 12 further comprising programming instructions for:

receiving an application pattern.

15. The computer program product as recited in claim 10 further comprising programming instructions for:

presenting said user interface to perform one or more of deployment, placement, monitoring and maintenance services for the one or more cloud construction blocks.

16. The computer program product as recited in claim 10 further comprising programming instructions for:

presenting said user interface to perform deployment services for the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said deployment services comprises services for deploying said physical machines and virtual machines.

17. The computer program product as recited in claim 10 further comprising programming instructions for:

presenting said user interface to access a fault detection system for detecting faults across one or more of said storage hardware, said network hardware, said compute hardware and said memory hardware for the one or more cloud construction blocks.

18. The computer program product as recited in claim 10 further comprising programming instructions for:

presenting said user interface to perform monitoring services for the one or more cloud construction blocks, wherein said monitoring services comprises services for monitoring hardware usage, bandwidth utilization, temperature and virtual machine utilization.