License utilization management system service suite

• US 9,563,751 B1
• Filed: 10/13/2010
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Dickson, Richard Jesse
• Primary Examiner(s): Obeid, Mamon
• Application Number:
  US12/903,612
• Time in Patent Office: 2,309 Days
• Field of Search: 705/59, 705/75, 709/238, 709/240, 709/242
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/18 Licensing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0846 using time-dependent-passwords, e.g. periodically changing passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

The different advantageous embodiments provide a system for managing license utilization comprising a client system, a number of message transport servers, and a number of license management servers. The client system is configured to generate a number of messages having information about usage associated with a project code or a business unit. The number of message transport servers replicates the number of messages. The number of messages is transmitted to a message transport server in the number of message transport servers. The message transport server receiving the number of messages replicates the number of messages to each message transport server. The number of license management servers has a number of license management services configured to listen for updates from the number of message transport servers. The updates are the number of messages replicated across the number of message transport servers.

Claims

1. A method for managing project code and business code usage to operate a client system, the method comprising:

using a processor to perform the steps of;

receiving a message from the client system at a primary message transport server in a plurality of message transport servers, wherein the message comprises information about license usage associated with a project code and a business unit;

decrypting the message received;

validating a checksum attached to the message received;

validating a message format for the message received;

validating message content for the message received;

identifying a password within the message received;

determining whether the password is authenticated;

responsive to a determination that the password is authenticated, replicating the message received to each message transport server in the plurality of message transport servers;

replicating the message to each of a plurality of license management servers;

updating each license management server with an identical message update from the message transport servers such that a query to any license management server within the plurality of license management servers will return identical information about license usage;

wherein each license management server of the plurality of license management servers correlates the information about license usage from the message with a number of licenses;

operating the client system based on the information about the license usage including the project code and the business unit such that a software license is available to the client system based on the project code and the business unit;

where work is conducted using computer program products requiring the software license for utilization based on the project code and the business unit to thereby use a fewer number of licenses for the computer program products; and

associating a cost of operating the client system with the software license with one or more of the project code or the business unit based on the identical message update.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

running a message transport service program, wherein the message transport service program configures and runs a message transport server to receive messages from a number of client systems and process the messages accordingly.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating execution threads for a message transport server.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the execution threads include at least one of a generate password thread, read message transport clients thread, create project code synchronization thread, create business code synchronization thread, create process message queue thread, and create a number of message transport service threads.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying a message type for the message received, wherein the message type is at least one of an update message, a save message, and a shutdown message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the password within the message received is a time sensitive password.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of license management servers have a number of license management services configured to listen for updates from the plurality of message transport servers, and wherein the updates are messages replicated across the plurality of message transport servers.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating, by the plurality of license management servers, periodic license utilization reports, license denial reports, project code reports, and business code reports.

9. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium;

using a processor to implement;

first program code stored on the computer readable storage medium for receiving a message from a client system at a primary message transport server in a plurality of message transport servers, wherein the message comprises information about license usage associated with a project code and a business unit;

second program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for decrypting the message received;

third program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for validating a checksum attached to the message received;

fourth program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for validating a message format for the message received;

fifth program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for validating message content for the message received;

sixth program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for identifying a password within the message received;

seventh program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for determining whether the password is authenticated;

eighth program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for replicating the message received to each message transport server in the plurality of message transport servers responsive to a determination that the password is authenticated;

ninth program code stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium for replicating the message to each of a plurality of license management servers responsive to a determination that the password is authenticated, updating each license management server with an identical message update from the message transport servers such that a query to any license management server within the plurality of license management servers will return identical information about license usage wherein each license management server of the plurality of license management servers correlates the information about license usage from the message with a number of licenses;

operating the client system based on the information about the license usage information about the license usage including the project code and the business unit such that a software license is available to the client system based on the project code and the business unit;

where work is conducted using computer program products requiring the software license for utilization based on the project code and the business unit to thereby use a fewer number of licenses for the computer program products; and

associating a cost of operating the client system with the software license with one or more of the project code or the business unit based on the identical message update.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the first program code comprises a message transport service program that configures and runs a message transport server to receive the message from the client system that is processed via the eighth program code.