Automated implementation of best practices for solution deployment

• US 9,753,711 B1
• Filed: 09/27/2013
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Hooker, Richard A., Elayouty, Mohamed Amr, Peros, Roko, Healy, Pat, Currie, John S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kang, Insun
• Application Number:
  US14/040,264
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation

Abstract

Improved techniques involve expressing the best practices for installing a product into a machine-readable language. In particular, a vendor generates code representing best practices procedures for installing a product in the machine-readable language. The vendor makes the expression of this code available in a best-practices script to its customers. When a customer is ready for installation of the product, the customer issues a request and receives the script. The customer has software available on an installation device that runs the script and provides a wizard that automates the installation process.

Claims

1. A method of creating an installation procedure for a product, the method comprising:

acquiring a best practices procedure for installing the product according to a set of metrics;

automatically expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into a machine-readable language, the expression of the best practices procedure into the machine-readable language forming a best practices script; and

transmitting the best practices script to an electronic device at an installation site at which the product is located, the electronic device being configured to translate the best practices script into instructions that cause the electronic device to perform an automated installation of the product;

wherein;

the best practices procedure enables the product to be installed for optimal operation according to the set of metrics, the set of metrics including hardware performance goals and a set of parameters defining a configuration of the product;

acquiring the best practices procedure for installing the product according to the set of metrics includes receiving as input a best practices document that specifies values of the set of parameters;

automatically expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into the machine-readable language includes scanning the best practices document for keywords that represent the set of parameters;

the product is a data storage system produced as part of a line of data storage systems, each data storage system of the line of data storage systems having distinct values of the set of parameters;

the set of parameters includes (i) storage processor parameters defining operation of a storage processor of the data storage system of the line of data storage systems and (ii) storage drive parameters defining operation of storage drives of each data storage system of the line of data storage systems; and

scanning the best practices document for keywords that represent the set of parameters includes searching the best practices document for keywords that describe the storage processor parameters and the storage drive parameters.

2. A method as in claim 1,

wherein expressing the best practices procedure further includes:

translating the best practices document into the machine-readable language.

3. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving feedback as to whether an installation of the device complies with the best practices procedure; and

updating the best practices script in response to the feedback.

4. A method as in claim 1,

wherein the product belongs to a line of products, and the machine-readable language is common to all products within the line of products;

and

wherein expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into the machine-readable language further includes;

writing the best practices procedure in the machine-readable language common to all products within the line of products.

5. A method as in claim 1,

wherein the best practices script includes an extensible markup language (XML) document;

wherein expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into the machine-readable language further includes;

writing the best practices in a markup language within the XML document.

6. A method as in claim 1,

wherein transmitting the best practices script to the electronic device at the installation site at which the product is located includes:

receiving a request from the electronic device in response to a call from an application programming interface (API) of the product that is configured to initiate the installation of the product at the installation site; and

sending the best practices script to the electronic device in response to the request.

7. A computer program product having a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium which stores instructions that, when executed by a controller, causes the controller to carry out a method of installing a product co-located with the controller, the computer program product having been generated using the method of claim 1.

8. A computer program product as in claim 7, wherein the method of installing the product further comprises:

in response to verifying whether the installation of the product achieved the best practices result, sending a result of whether the installation of the product achieved the best practices result to a feedback server which is configured to track whether results of best practices procedures on products are being achieved.

9. A computer program product as in claim 7,

wherein the best practices script causes a computer to display a graphical user interface (GUI) in which an installation wizard displays a series of questions to be answered to a user, the answers being values of a set of parameters that define a state of the product being installed;

and

wherein executing the best practices script includes;

displaying the set of questions in the GUI.

10. A method as in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises receiving a request generated by the electronic device, the electronic device generating the request in response to a command received from the product as the product runs an application programming interface (API) configured to initiate the automated installation;

and

wherein transmitting the best practices script to the electronic device at the installation site at which the product is located includes sending the best practices script to the electronic device, the electronic device reading the machine-readable language from the best practices script in order to provide the automated installation.

11. A computer program product having a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium which stores instructions that, when executed by a controller, causes the controller to carry out a method of creating an installation procedure for a product, the method comprising:

acquiring a best practices procedure for installing the product according to a set of metrics;

automatically expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into a machine-readable language, the expression of the best practices procedure into the machine-readable language forming a best practices script; and

transmitting the best practices script to an electronic device at an installation site at which the product is located, the electronic device being configured to translate the best practices script into instructions that cause the electronic device to perform an automated installation of the product;

wherein;

the best practices procedure enables the product to be installed for optimal operation according to the set of metrics, the set of metrics including hardware performance goals and a set of parameters defining a configuration of the product;

acquiring the best practices procedure for installing the product according to the set of metrics includes receiving as input a best practices document that specifies values of the set of parameters;

automatically expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into the machine-readable language includes scanning the best practices document for keywords that represent the set of parameters;

the product is a data storage system produced as part of a line of data storage systems, each data storage system of the line of data storage systems having distinct values of the set of parameters;

the set of parameters includes (i) storage processor parameters defining operation of a storage processor of the data storage system of the line of data storage systems and (ii) storage drive parameters defining operation of storage drives of each data storage system of the line of data storage systems; and

scanning the best practices document for keywords that represent the set of parameters includes searching the best practices document for keywords that describe the storage processor parameters and the storage drive parameters.

12. A computer program product as in claim 11,

wherein expressing the best practices procedure further includes:

translating the best practices document into the machine-readable language.

13. A computer program product as in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving feedback as to whether an installation of the device complies with the best practices procedure; and

updating the best practices script in response to the feedback.

14. A computer program product as in claim 11,

wherein the product belongs to a line of products, and the machine-readable language is common to all products within the line of products;

and

wherein expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into the machine-readable language further includes;

writing the best practices procedure in the machine-readable language common to all products within the line of products.

15. A computer program product as in claim 11,

wherein the best practices script includes an extensible markup language (XML) document;

wherein expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into the machine-readable language further includes;

writing the best practices in a markup language within the XML document.

16. A computer program product as in claim 11,

wherein transmitting the best practices script to the electronic device at the installation site at which the product is located includes:

receiving a request from the electronic device in response to a call from an application programming interface (API) of the product that is configured to initiate the installation of the product at the installation site; and

sending the best practices script to the electronic device in response to the request.

17. A method of creating an installation procedure for a product, the method comprising:

acquiring a best practices procedure for installing the product according to a set of metrics;

automatically expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into a machine-readable language, the expression of the best practices procedure into the machine-readable language forming a best practices script; and

transmitting the best practices script to an electronic device at an installation site at which the product is located, the electronic device being configured to translate the best practices script into instructions that cause the electronic device to perform an automated installation of the product;

wherein;

the best practices procedure enables the product to be installed for optimal operation according to the set of metrics, the set of metrics including hardware performance goals;

the best practices script includes an extensible markup language (XML) document, the XML document describing settings and specifications of the product, the settings and specifications including values of a set of parameters that define a state of the product upon installation;

automatically expressing the best practices procedure for installing the product into the machine-readable language includes writing the best practices procedure in a markup language within the XML document, wherein writing the best practices procedure in the markup language within the XML document includes specifying a range of values of the set of parameters allowed for the product as part of an installation of the product;

the product is a data storage system produced as part of a line of data storage systems, each data storage system of the line of data storage systems having distinct values of the set of parameters; and

specifying the range of values of the set of parameters allowed for the product includes specifying allowable ranges of values of each of;

a cache size of the data storage system;

a cache page size of the data storage system; and

a configuration of hot spares within the data storage system.