License management in a networked software application solution

• US 9,690,913 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2008
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bisker, Solomon Michael, Dossa, Zahir A., Noshadi, Hyduke, Balu, Suresh
• Primary Examiner(s): CASEY, ALEXIS M
• Application Number:
  US12/036,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20090216548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,410 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1, 705 59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services

Abstract

A networked software solution comprising a plurality of servers, and application programs at various of the servers forming components of the solution. License information for all networked applications that form part of the solution is stored at each server that forms part of the solution. At relevant times, a server might determine from it'"'"'s stored license information whether or not the applications of the solution are all operating according to unexpired licenses. In this way all servers of a solution receive and store the license information pertaining to other required applications of the solution and can determine at any time if the solution is validly licensed.

Claims

1. A method executed by each of a network of application servers for software license management of a software solution formed by a plurality of different collaborating application programs distributed at various ones of the networked application servers, comprising:

activating, from a first software solution installation program at a first networked application server, software solution installation programs at each other networked application server that contains at least one other of the plurality of different collaborating application programs;

automatically generating interactively between the first software solution installation program and the activated software solution installation programs, at each networked application server that contains at least one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs, combined software license information that specifies relationships of software licenses of all of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that collectively as a set operate interactively among the networked application servers to form the software solution by each providing a respective different portion of functionality of the software solution; and

determining at any of the networked application servers based upon the automatically generated combined software license information, whether or not the software solution is operating according to unexpired software licenses of all of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that collectively as the set operate interactively among the networked application servers to form the software solution by each providing the respective different portion of functionality of the software solution;

wherein each of the networked application servers comprise a memory and a computer processor; and

where the determining step occurs at run-time as part of an installation of one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that forms part of the software solution at the first networked application server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising

controlling the installation of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs at the first networked application server by executing an installation script that specifies all of the collaborating application programs that collectively as the set form the software solution and their respective addresses in the network of application servers.

3. The method of claim 2, where the installation script further controls transmission of software license information of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs being installed to all other networked application servers with installed collaborating application programs that also form part of the software solution.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving, from each other networked application server to which the software license information of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs being installed was transmitted, software license information pertaining to any collaborating application program that forms part of the software solution installed at the respective other networked application server, where the received software license information forms a part of the generated combined software license information.

13. The method of claim 1, where activating the software solution installation programs at each other networked application server that contains the at least one other of the plurality of different collaborating application programs comprises activating the software solution installation programs at each other networked application server in response to initiation of an installation of one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs at the first networked application server.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium comprising program code executed by each of a network of application servers for software license management of a software solution formed by a plurality of different collaborating application programs distributed at various ones of the networked application servers, the networked application servers comprising a memory and a computer processor, where the program code when executed by the computer processor at a networked application serer causes the computer processor to:

activate, from a first software solution installation program at a first networked application server, software solution installation programs at each other networked application server that contains at least one other of the plurality of different collaborating application programs;

automatically generate interactively between the first software solution installation program and the activated software solution installation programs, at each networked application server that contains at least one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs, combined software license information that specifies relationships of software licenses of all of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that collectively as a set operate interactively among the networked application servers to form the software solution by each providing a respective different portion of functionality of the software solution; and

determine at any of the networked application servers based upon the automatically generated combined software license information, whether or not the software solution is operating according to unexpired software licenses of all of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that collectively as the set operate interactively among the networked application servers to form the software solution by each providing the respective different portion of functionality of the software solution;

where the determining code is executed at run-time as part of an installation of one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that forms part of the software solution at the first networked application server.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium of claim 5, where the program code when executed by the computer processor at the networked application server causes the computer processor to control the installation of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs at the first networked application server by executing an installation script that specifies all of the collaborating application programs that collectively as the set form the software solution and their respective addresses in the network of application servers.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium of claim 6, where the installation script further comprises code for controlling transmission of software license information of one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs being installed to all other networked application servers with installed collaborating application programs that also form part of the software solution.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium of claim 7, where the program code when executed by the computer processor at the networked application server causes the computer processor to receive, from each other networked application server to which the software license information of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs being installed was transmitted, software license information pertaining to any collaborating application program that forms part of the software solution installed at the respective other networked application servers where the received software license information forms a part of the generated combined software license information.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium of claim 5, where the program code for activating the software solution installation programs at each other networked application server that contains the at least one other of the plurality of different collaborating application programs comprises program code for activating the software solution installation programs at each other networked application server in response to initiation of an installation of one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs at the first networked application server.

9. A system for software license management of a software solution formed by a plurality of different collaborating application programs distributed at various ones of a plurality of networked application servers, comprising:

a memory at each networked application server; and

a computer processor at each networked application server, each computer processor being programmed to;

activate, from a first software solution installation program at a respective networked application server, software solution installation programs at each of the networked application server that contains at least one other of the plurality of different collaborating application programs;

automatically generate within the memory interactively between the first software solution installation program and the activated software solution installation programs, at each networked application server that contains at least one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs, combined software license information that specifies relationships of software licenses of all of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that collectively as a set operate interactively among the networked application servers to form the software solution by each providing a respective different portion of functionality of the software solution; and

determine, at any of the networked application servers based upon the automatically generated combined software license information, whether or not the software solution is operating according to unexpired software licenses of all of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that collectively as the set operate interactively among the networked application servers to form the software solution by each providing the respective different portion of functionality of the software solution, where the computer processor is programmed to determine at run-time whether or not the software solution is operating according to unexpired software licenses of all of the different collaborating application programs that form the software solution as part of an installation of one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs that forms part of the software solution at the respective networked application server.

10. The system of claim 9, where the computer processor at the one of the networked application servers controls the installation of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs by executing an installation script that specifies all of the collaborating application programs that collectively as the set form the software solution and their respective addresses in the network of application servers.

11. The system of claim 10, where the installation script further controls transmission of software license information of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs being installed to all other networked application servers with installed collaborating application programs that also form part of the software solution.

12. The system of claim 11, where the computer processor at the one of the networked application servers receives, from each other networked application server to which the software license information of the one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs being installed was transmitted, software license information pertaining to any collaborating application program that forms part of the software solution installed at the respective other networked application server, where the received software license information forms a part of the generated combined software license information.

15. The system of claim 9, where, in being programmed to activate the software solution installation programs at each other networked application server that contains the at least one other of the plurality of different collaborating application programs, the computer processor at each networked application server is further programmed to activate the software solution installation programs at each other networked application server in response to initiation of an installation of one of the plurality of different collaborating application programs at the respective networked application server.