Software license management in a networked computing environment
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for managing licenses for software installations on virtual machine instances in a networked computing environment, comprising:
- collecting, on a computer storage device, data pertaining to usage of a set of software installations on a set of virtual machine (VM) instances running on cloud resources in the networked computing environment;
receiving a request for a license for a particular software installation of the set of software installations from a requester;
determining whether the license is available from a license service;
evaluating, responsive to the license being unavailable, whether the license is obtainable from a source other than the license service based on the data and a current configuration of the networked computing environment, wherein the evaluating comprises;
determining that changes have been made to terms of the license in a particular geographic location, anddetermining that changes have been made to terms of the license based on a datacenter where the cloud resources are located; and
responsive to the license being obtainable, allocating the license from the source other than the license service, with adjustments made based on the changes, to the requester.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An approach for managing licenses for software installations on virtual machine (VM) instances in a networked computing environment (e.g., a cloud computing environment) is provided. Specifically, in one example, data (e.g., real-time and/or historical) pertaining to usage of a set of software installations on a set of (VM) instances in the networked computing environment is collected. When a request is received (e.g., from a requester) for a license for a particular software installation of the set of software installations, it is determined whether the license is available. If not, it is then determined whether the license is obtainable based on the collected data and a current configuration of the networked computing environment. Then, responsive to the license being obtainable, the requested license may be allocated.
79 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for managing licenses for software installations on virtual machine instances in a networked computing environment, comprising:
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collecting, on a computer storage device, data pertaining to usage of a set of software installations on a set of virtual machine (VM) instances running on cloud resources in the networked computing environment; receiving a request for a license for a particular software installation of the set of software installations from a requester; determining whether the license is available from a license service; evaluating, responsive to the license being unavailable, whether the license is obtainable from a source other than the license service based on the data and a current configuration of the networked computing environment, wherein the evaluating comprises; determining that changes have been made to terms of the license in a particular geographic location, and determining that changes have been made to terms of the license based on a datacenter where the cloud resources are located; and responsive to the license being obtainable, allocating the license from the source other than the license service, with adjustments made based on the changes, to the requester. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for managing licenses for software installations on virtual machine instances in a networked computing environment, comprising:
a memory medium comprising instructions; a bus coupled to the memory medium; and a processor coupled to the bus that when executing the instructions causes the system to; collect, on a computer storage device, data pertaining to usage of a set of software installations on a set of virtual machine (VM) instances running on cloud resources in the networked computing environment; receive a request for a license for a particular software installation of the set of software installations from a requester; determine whether the license is available from a license service; evaluate, responsive to the license being unavailable, whether the license is obtainable from a source other than the license service based on the data and a current configuration of the networked computing environment, wherein the evaluating comprises; determine that changes have been made to terms of the license in a particular geographic location, and determine that changes have been made to the terms of the license based on a datacenter where the cloud resources are located; and responsive to the license being obtainable, allocate the license from the source other than the license service, with adjustments made based on the changes, to the requester. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer program product for managing licenses for software installations on virtual machine instances in a networked computing environment, the computer program product comprising a computer readable hardware storage device, and program instructions stored on the computer readable storage media, to:
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collect, on a computer storage device, data pertaining to usage of a set of software installations on a set of virtual machine (VM) instances running on cloud resources in the networked computing environment; receive a request for a license for a particular software installation of the set of software installations from a requester; determine whether the license is available from a license service; evaluate, responsive to the license being unavailable, whether the license is obtainable from a source other than the license service based on the data and a current configuration of the networked computing environment, wherein the evaluating comprises; determine that changes have been made to terms of the license in a particular geographic location, and determine that changes have been made to the terms of the license based on a datacenter where the cloud resources are located; and responsive to the license being obtainable, allocate the license from the source other than the license service, with adjustments made based on the changes, to the requester. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification