Managing tenant-specific data sets in a multi-tenant environment

• US 9,244,951 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2012
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mandelstein, Dan J., Milman, Ivan M., Oberhofer, Martin A., Pandit, Sushain, Wolfson, Daniel C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Willoughby, Alicia
• Application Number:
  US13/414,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20130238641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,419 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/214 Database migration support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

A method, computer program product and system for managing tenant-specific data sets in a multi-tenant system, by receiving a request to convert a data set in a physical data store from a first type of multi-tenant deployment to a second type of multi-tenant deployment, retrieving tenant identification metadata identifying a tenant making the request, modifying the data set in the physical data store based on the second type of multi-tenant deployment, and modifying metadata associated with an abstraction layer to allow the modified data set to be accessed.

Claims

1. A computer program product for managing tenant-specific data sets in a multi-tenant system, the computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code executable by a processor to perform an operation comprising;

receiving, through an abstraction layer, a request to convert a data set in a first database type to a second database type;

retrieving, from the abstraction layer, tenant identification metadata identifying a tenant making the request;

modifying the data set in the first database type based on the second database type, wherein modifying the data set comprises;

creating a target database of the second database type, wherein the first database type is one of a private database and a shared database defined by a private schema, wherein the second database type is one of the private database and the shared database defined by the private schema;

transferring a first table of the data set to a second table in the target database; and

while transferring the first table to the target database;

responsive to receiving a select query, issuing the select query to the first table and the second table;

responsive to receiving an insert query, issuing the insert query to the second table;

responsive to receiving a delete query, issuing the delete query to the first table and the second table; and

responsive to receiving an update query, issuing the update query to the first table and the second table; and

modifying, through the abstraction layer, metadata describing the first database type to describe the second database type, thereby allowing the modified data set to be accessed in the second database type.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein a union is applied to each resulting data set returned responsive to issuing the select query to the first table and the second table, wherein the union of the resulting data sets is returned as a set of results responsive to the select query.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the first database type is the shared database defined by the private schema, wherein the private schema is specific to the identified tenant, wherein the second database type is the private database, wherein the modified metadata describing the second database type comprises a reference to a private schema for the private database.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the first database type is the private database, wherein the second database type is the shared database defined by the private schema, wherein the private schema is specific to the identified tenant, wherein the modified metadata describing the second database type comprises a reference to the shared database and the private schema.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein an application accessing the tenant-specific data set in the first database type can access the tenant-specific data set in the second database type without requiring code modification, wherein the application is unaware of a physical implementation of the first or second database types, wherein the multi-tenant application issues the request through the abstraction layer, wherein the modified metadata in the data abstraction layer describing the second database type further comprises the tenant identification metadata.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the modified metadata in the abstraction layer describing the second database type comprises:

(i) an identifier of the private database, and (ii) an identifier of the shared database defined by the private schema.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the abstraction layer, when receiving a query from the multi-tenant application, inserts at least a portion of the modified metadata into the query to identify the second database type.

8. A system, comprising:

one or more computer processors;

a memory containing a program, which when executed by the one or more computer processors is configured to perform an operation for managing tenant-specific data sets in a multi-tenant system, the operation comprising;

receiving, through an abstraction layer, a request to convert a data set in a first database type to a second database type;

retrieving, from the abstraction layer, tenant identification metadata identifying a tenant making the request;

modifying the data set in the first database type based on the second database type, wherein modifying the data set comprises;

creating a target database of the second database type, wherein the first database type is one of a private database and a shared database defined by a private schema, wherein the second database type is one of the private database and the shared database defined by the private schema;

transferring a first table of the data set to a second table in the target database; and

while transferring the first table to the target database;

responsive to receiving a select query, issuing the select query to the first table and the second table;

responsive to receiving an insert query, issuing the insert query to the second table;

responsive to receiving a delete query, issuing the delete query to the first table and the second table; and

responsive to receiving an update query, issuing the update query to the first table and the second table; and

modifying, through the abstraction layer, metadata describing the first database type to describe the second database type, thereby allowing the modified data set to be accessed in the second database type.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein a union is applied to each resulting data set returned responsive to issuing the select query to the first table and the second table, wherein the union of the resulting data sets is returned as a set of results responsive to the select query.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first database type is the shared database defined by the private schema, wherein the private schema is specific to the identified tenant, wherein the second database type is the private database, wherein the modified metadata describing the second database type comprises a reference to a private schema for the private database.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first database type is the private database, wherein the second database type is the shared database defined by the private schema, wherein the private schema is specific to the identified tenant, wherein the modified metadata describing the second database type comprises a reference to the shared database and the private schema.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein an application accessing the tenant-specific data set in the first database type can access the tenant-specific data set in the second database type without requiring code modification, wherein the application is unaware of a physical implementation of the first or second database types, wherein the multi-tenant application issues the request through the abstraction layer, wherein the modified metadata in the data abstraction layer describing the second database type further comprises the tenant identification metadata, wherein the multi-tenant application resides on an application tier of an application runtime environment.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the modified metadata in the abstraction layer describing the second database type comprises:

(i) an identifier of the private database, and (ii) an identifier of the shared database defined by the private schema.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the abstraction layer, when receiving a query from the multi-tenant application, inserts at least a portion of the modified metadata into the query to identify the second database type.