Methods and systems for cloud computing management

• US 9,501,329 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2010
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rackspace US Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rackspace US Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Spaltro, Dan Di, Polvi, Alex, Welliver, Logan
• Primary Examiner(s): MIRZA, ADNAN M
• Application Number:
  US12/777,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20110131335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,388 Days
• Field of Search: 709/228
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability

Abstract

Disclosed is a management service that enables a user to establish, monitor, and control cloud computing sessions offered via third-party service providers. In some instances, the management service establishes a market space that allows a user to establish a customized cloud computing session based on computing resources offered by third-party service providers. In some instances, the management service instantiates monitoring mechanisms within the virtual servers of the cloud computing sessions to be able to monitor, assess, and provide reports and alerts pertaining to performance metrics of the various virtual servers. In some instances, the management service also allows a user to remotely transfer services from a first cloud computing session to a second cloud computing session.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing, by a management server, a user with an option to select one or more third-party service providers from a plurality of service providers supported by the management server;

receiving, by the management server, the user'"'"'s selection of a first third-party service provider and a second third-party service provider from the plurality of service providers;

establishing, by the management server, a customized cloud computing environment that includes a set of resources instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment by a set of physical servers operated by the first and second third-party service providers;

monitoring one or more performance metrics associated with the customized cloud computing environment, wherein the monitoring includes monitoring network communications between a first set of resources of the set of resources and a second set of resources of the set of resources, and further includes subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing environment, monitoring one or more performance metrics associated with the customized cloud computing environment, and wherein the first set of resources is provided by the first third-party service provider and the second set of resources is provided by the second third-party service provider; and

providing at least one of a performance report of the customized cloud computing environment and an alert relating to an issue associated with the customized cloud computing environment, the performance report based in part on the one or more performance metrics.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, a plurality of options to enable the user to define the customized cloud computing environment; and

receiving, by the management server, an input selection from the user to define the customized cloud computing environment, wherein the plurality of options includes one or more of;

a choice of redundancy;

a choice of storage capacity;

a choice of duration of the customized cloud computing environment;

a choice of layout of one or more servers associated with the cloud computing environment;

a choice of a geographic location of one or more physical servers operated by the one or more third-party service providers;

a choice of computing capacity of servers instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment;

or

a choice of one or more value-add services offered by the management server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein establishing the customized cloud computing environment further comprises:

providing, by the management server, a plurality of session-options that match the user'"'"'s input selection, each of the plurality of session-options corresponding to a particular configuration of a cloud computing environment, wherein a given session-option of the plurality of session-options includes configuration information pertinent to the given session-option, and the configuration information includes an indication of the first third-party service provider;

receiving, by the management server, a session-selection from the user corresponding to the user'"'"'s selection of the first third-party service provider, wherein the session-selection is indicative of the user'"'"'s desired configuration; and

establishing, by the management server, the customized cloud computing environment according to the desired configuration.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of:

an indication of a cost of the given session-option;

an indication of a duration of the given session-option;

an indication of a redundancy availability associated with the given session-option;

an indication of a number of servers available for instantiation in the given session-option;

or

an indication of an amount of storage available in association with the given session-option.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more performance metrics includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a processor in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the management server establishes an instrumentation bootstrap in one or more virtual servers instantiated within the customized cloud computing environment.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon request from the user, transferring, by the management server, one or more virtual servers included in the customized cloud computing environment to a second cloud computing environment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second cloud computing environment is one of:

a new cloud computing environment with no virtual servers;

or

a preexisting cloud computing environment that includes one or more preexisting virtual servers.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the transferring step further comprises:

suspending one or more process threads associated with each of the one or more virtual servers of the customized cloud computing environment;

retrieving configuration parameters associated with the customized cloud computing environment; and

activating the one or more process threads and the configuration parameters in the second cloud computing environment.

10. A method comprising:

offering, by a management server, a centralized marketplace that enables a user to select a target third-party service provider from a plurality of target third-party service providers;

receiving, by the management server, the user'"'"'s input selection of a first target third-party service provider and a second target third-party service provider, the first target third-party service provider being different from the second target third-party service provider;

establishing, by the management server, a customized cloud computing environment using a set of resources instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment by a set of physical servers operated by the first and second third-party service providers, wherein establishing the customized cloud computing environment includes establishing a first connection through a first interconnect with a first operating interface associated with the first third-party service provider, receiving first configuration information for the customized cloud computing environment from the first operating interface, establishing a second connection through a second interconnect with a second operating interface associated with the second third-party service provider, and receiving second configuration information for the customized cloud computing environment from the second operating interface;

subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing environment, monitoring, by the management server, a performance metric associated with the customized cloud computing environment;

providing at least one of a performance report of the customized cloud computing environment and an alert relating to an issue associated with the customized cloud computing environment, the performance report based in part on the one or more performance metrics; and

providing the first and second configuration information to the user.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, a plurality of options to enable the user to define the customized cloud computing environment; and

receiving, by the management server, an input selection from the user to define the customized cloud computing environment, wherein the plurality of options includes one or more of;

a choice of redundancy;

a choice of storage capacity;

a choice of duration of the customized cloud computing environment;

a choice of layout of one or more servers associated with the cloud computing environment;

a choice of a geographic location of one or more physical servers operated by the plurality of third-party service providers;

a choice of a computing capacity of servers instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment;

or

a choice of one or more value-add services offered by the management server.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, one or more session-options, each session-option indicative of a particular cloud computing environment that matches the user'"'"'s input selection, wherein a given session-option of the one or more session-options includes the first configuration information pertinent to the given session-option, the first configuration information including one or more of;

an indication of the first target third-party service-provider;

an indication of a cost of the given session-option;

an indication of a duration of the given session-option;

an indication of a redundancy availability associated with the given session-option;

an indication of a number of servers available for instantiation in the given session-option;

or

an indication of an amount of storage available in association with the given session-option.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, a bidding option to enable the user to specify a desired cost for establishing the customized cloud computing environment.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, one or more bidding-matches in response to the user'"'"'s specification of the desired cost, each of the one or more bidding-matches indicative of a particular could computing environment that substantially matches the desired cost criterion.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

if the management server is unable to identify a particular computing environment that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user, providing, by the management server, an indication of availability of a new computing environment that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user when the new computing environment becomes available at a later time.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing, by the management server, a premium service associated with the customized cloud computing environment.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the premium service includes one or more of:

an option to receive periodic performance reports;

an option to receive alerts in response to specified criteria;

an option to establish redundant storage for data;

or

an option to transfer one or more virtual servers from the customized cloud computing environment to a different cloud computing environment.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the performance metric includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a number of process threads running on the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a process or in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

19. A method of operating a cloud computing environment, the method comprising:

controlling, using a management server, access to a first cloud computing environment, including a first set of one or more virtual servers, wherein the first cloud computing environment operates based on computing resources of a first third-party service provider;

providing, by the management server, a plurality of options including a plurality of service providers to enable a user to request a transfer of the first set of virtual servers from the first cloud computing environment to a second cloud computing environment selected by the user, wherein the second cloud computing environment operates based on computing resources of a second third-party service provider, the first third-party service provider being different from the second third-party service provider;

receiving, by the management server, the request to transfer the first set of virtual servers from the first cloud computing environment to the second cloud computing environment; and

in response to the request;

suspending, by the management server, one or more process operations of each virtual server in the first set of virtual servers;

instantiating, by the management server, new process operations in a second set of one or more virtual servers in the second cloud computing environment, wherein the new process operations are based on the suspended one or more process operations of the first cloud computing environment;

retrieving configuration data associated with the first set of virtual servers;

compressing and encoding, by the management server, the configuration data prior to transferring to the second cloud computing environment; and

decompressing and decoding, by the management server, the configuration data subsequent to instantiating the second set of one or more virtual servers in the second cloud computing environment; and

transferring the uncompressed and unencrypted configuration data to be stored in association with the one or more new virtual servers of the second cloud computing environment.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein a number of virtual servers in the first set is different from a number of virtual servers in the second set.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the management server operates as a temporary buffer for the configuration data before being copied to the second cloud computing environment.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the suspended process operations are terminated subsequent to the instantiation of the new process operations in the second cloud computing environment.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the management server translates the configuration data associated with the first computing environment to be adapted for use with the second computing environment based on a setup of the second computing environment.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

in response to the request;

retrieving storage data associated with the first set of virtual servers;

compressing and encoding, by the management server, the storage data prior to transferring to the second cloud computing environment;

decompressing and decoding, by the management server, the storage data subsequent to instantiating the second set of one or more virtual servers in the second cloud computing environment; and

transferring the uncompressed and unencrypted storage data to be stored in association with the one or more new virtual servers of the second cloud computing environment.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the transferring includes transferring the configuration data and/or storage data to the second cloud computing environment.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the second cloud computing environment operates based on computing resources of the first third-party service provider.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the computing resources of the first third-party service provider are controlled by an entity different from the computing resources of the second third-party service provider.

28. A system comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing code which, when executed by the processor, causes the network storage server to perform a process, including;

providing, by a management server, a user with an option to select one or more third-party service providers from a plurality of service providers supported by the management server;

receiving, by the management server, the user'"'"'s selection of a first third-party service provider and a second third-party service provider from the plurality of service providers; and

establishing, by the management server, a customized cloud computing environment that includes a set of resources instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment by a set of physical servers operated by the first and second third-party service providers, and

monitoring one or more performance metrics associated with the customized cloud computing environment, wherein the monitoring includes monitoring network communications between a first set of resources of the set of resources and a second set of resources of the set of resources, and further includes subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing environment, monitoring one or more performance metrics associated with the customized cloud computing environment, and wherein the first set of resources is provided by the first third-party service provider and the second set of resources is provided by the second third-party service provider; and

providing at least one of a performance report of the customized cloud computing environment and an alert relating to an issue associated with the customized cloud computing environment, the performance report based in part on the one or more performance metrics.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the process further comprises:

providing, by the management server, a plurality of options to enable the user to define the customized cloud computing environment; and

receiving, by the management server, an input selection from the user to define the customized cloud computing environment, wherein the plurality of options includes one or more of;

a choice of redundancy;

a choice of storage capacity;

a choice of duration of the customized cloud computing environment;

a choice of layout of one or more servers associated with the cloud computing environment;

a choice of a geographic location of one or more physical servers operated by the one or more third-party service providers;

a choice of a computing capacity of servers instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment;

or

a choice of one or more value-add services offered by the management server.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein establishing the customized cloud computing environment further comprises:

providing, by the management server, a plurality of session-options that match the user'"'"'s input selection, each of the plurality of session-options corresponding to a particular configuration of a cloud computing environment, wherein a given session-option of the plurality of session-options includes configuration information pertinent to the given session-option, and the configuration information includes an indication of the first third-party service provider;

receiving, by the management server, a session-selection from the user corresponding to the user'"'"'s selection of the first third-party service provider, wherein the session-selection is indicative of the user'"'"'s desired configuration; and

establishing, by the management server, the customized cloud computing environment according to the desired configuration.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of:

an indication of a cost of the given session-option;

an indication of a duration of the given session-option;

an indication of a redundancy availability associated with the given session-option;

an indication of a number of servers available for instantiation in the given session-option;

or

an indication of an amount of storage available in association with the given session-option.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein the one or more performance metrics includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a number of process threads running on the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a processor in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the process further comprises:

upon request from the user, transferring one or more virtual servers included in the customized cloud computing environment to a second cloud computing environment.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the second cloud computing environment is one of:

a new cloud computing environment with no virtual servers;

or

a preexisting cloud computing environment that includes one or more preexisting virtual servers.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the transferring further comprises:

suspending one or more process threads associated with each of the one or more virtual servers of the customized cloud computing environment;

retrieving configuration parameters associated with the customized cloud computing environment; and

activating the one or more process threads and the configuration parameters in the second cloud computing environment.

36. A system comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing code which, when executed by the processor, causes the network storage server to perform a process, including;

offering a centralized marketplace that enables a user to select a target third-party service provider from a plurality of target third-party service providers;

receiving the user'"'"'s input selection of a first target third-party service provider and a second target third-party service provider, the first target third-party service provider being different from the second target third-party service provider;

establishing a customized cloud computing environment using a set of resources instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment by a set of physical servers operated by the user selected first and second target third-party service providers, wherein establishing the customized cloud computing environment includes establishing a first connection through a first interconnect with a first operating interface associated with the first third-party service provider, receiving first configuration information for the customized cloud computing environment from the first operating interface, establishing a second connection through a second interconnect with a second operating interface associated with the second third-party service provider, and receiving second configuration information for the customized cloud computing environment from the second operating interface;

subsequent to establishing the customized cloud computing environment, monitoring a performance metric associated with the customized cloud computing environment;

providing at least one of a performance report of the customized cloud computing environment and an alert relating to an issue associated with the customized cloud computing environment, the performance report based in part on the one or more performance metrics; and

providing the first and second configuration information to the user.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the process further comprises:

providing a bidding option to enable the user to specify a desired cost for establishing the customized cloud computing environment.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the process further comprises:

providing one or more bidding-matches in response to the user'"'"'s specification of the desired cost, each of the one or more bidding-matches indicative of a particular cloud computing environment that substantially matches the desired cost criterion.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the process further comprises:

if the system is unable to identify a particular computing environment that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user, providing an indication of availability of a new computing environment that substantially matches the desired cost specified by the user when the new computing environment becomes available at a later time.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein the process further comprises:

providing a premium service associated with the customized cloud computing environment.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the premium service includes one or more of:

an option to receive periodic performance reports;

an option to receive alerts in response to specified criteria;

or

an option to transfer one or more virtual servers from the customized cloud computing environment to a different cloud computing environment.

42. The system of claim 36, wherein the performance metric includes one or more of:

an indication of a load on a physical server associated with a virtual server instantiated in the customized cloud computing environment;

an indication of memory availability in the physical server;

an indication of a number of process threads running on the physical server;

an indication of a performance of a processor in the physical server;

or

an indication of a capacity of the processor.

43. A management system comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing code which, when executed by the processor, causes the network storage server to perform a process, including;

controlling access to a first cloud computing environment including a first set of one or more virtual servers, wherein the first cloud computing environment operates based on computing resources of a first third-party service provider;

providing a plurality of options including a plurality of service providers to enable a user to request a transfer of the first set of virtual servers from the first cloud computing environment to a second cloud computing environment selected by the user, wherein the second cloud computing environment operates based on computing resources of a second third-party service provider, wherein the first third-party service provider is different from the second third-party service provider;

receiving the request to transfer the first set of virtual servers from the first cloud computing environment to the second cloud computing environment; and

in response to the request;

suspending, by the management server, one or more process operations of each virtual server in the first set of virtual servers;

instantiating, by the management server, new process operations in a second set of one or more virtual servers in the second cloud computing environment, wherein the new process operations are based on the suspended one or more process operations of the first cloud computing environment;

retrieving configuration data associated with the first set of virtual servers;

compressing and encoding, by the management server, the configuration data prior to transferring to the second cloud computing environment; and

decompressing and decoding, by the management server, the configuration data subsequent to instantiating the second set of one or more virtual servers in the second cloud computing environment; and

transferring the uncompressed and unencrypted configuration data to be stored in association with the one or more new virtual servers of the second cloud computing environment.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein a number of virtual servers in the first set is different from a number of virtual servers in the second set.

45. The system of claim 43, wherein the system operates as a temporary buffer for the storage and configuration data before being copied to the second cloud computing environment.

46. The system of claim 43, wherein the suspended process operations are terminated subsequent to the instantiation of the new process operations in the second cloud computing environment.

47. The system of claim 43, wherein the system translates the configuration data associated with the first computing environment to be adapted for use with the second computing environment based on a setup of the second computing environment.

48. The system of claim 43, wherein in response to the request, the system retrieves storage data associated with the first set of virtual servers, compresses and encodes the storage data prior to transferring to the second cloud computing environment, decompresses and decodes the storage data subsequent to instantiating the second set of one or more virtual servers in the second cloud computing environment, and transfers the uncompressed and unencrypted storage data to be stored in association with the one or more new virtual servers of the second cloud computing environment.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the system transfers the storage data and/or the configuration data to the second cloud computing environment.

50. The system of claim 43, wherein the second cloud computing environment operates based on computing resources of the first third-party service provider.