Method and system for simplifying distributed server management
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- initiating a system command from a graphical user interface of a virtual server management system interacting with a virtual server client and a plurality of virtual server agents, each virtual server agent running on a respective server;
translating the system command to an abstract system command that requests a service from an operating system of at least one of the plurality of servers;
receiving the abstract system command at the virtual server client; and
instantiating the abstract system command by;
identifying, by the virtual server client, a target server to receive the abstract system command and a corresponding virtual server agent associated with the target server,transmitting the abstract system command to the virtual server agent for the identified target server for translation of the abstract system command into an operating-system-specific system command for execution on the target server,executing the operating-system-specific system command under permissions determined as a function of the target server, andreceiving execution results from the virtual server agent.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for managing a large number of servers and their server components distributed throughout a heterogeneous computing environment is provided. In one embodiment, an authenticated user, such as a IT system administrator, can securely and simultaneously control and configure multiple servers, supporting different operating systems, through a “virtual server.” A virtual server is an abstract model representing a collection of actual target servers. To represent multiple physical servers as one virtual server, abstract system calls that extend execution of operating-system-specific system calls to multiple servers, regardless of their supported operating systems, are used. A virtual server is implemented by a virtual server client and a collection of virtual server agents associated with a collection of actual servers.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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initiating a system command from a graphical user interface of a virtual server management system interacting with a virtual server client and a plurality of virtual server agents, each virtual server agent running on a respective server; translating the system command to an abstract system command that requests a service from an operating system of at least one of the plurality of servers; receiving the abstract system command at the virtual server client; and instantiating the abstract system command by; identifying, by the virtual server client, a target server to receive the abstract system command and a corresponding virtual server agent associated with the target server, transmitting the abstract system command to the virtual server agent for the identified target server for translation of the abstract system command into an operating-system-specific system command for execution on the target server, executing the operating-system-specific system command under permissions determined as a function of the target server, and receiving execution results from the virtual server agent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 17)
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8. A system comprising:
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a plurality of servers, each server running a respective virtual server agent; a virtual server management system interacting with a virtual server client, the virtual server management system initiating a system command from a graphical user interface and translating the system command to an abstract system command that requests a service from an operating system of at least one of the plurality of servers; and a server running the virtual server client, the virtual server client being configured to; receive the abstract system command, and instantiate the abstract system command by; identifying a target server to receive the abstract system command and a corresponding virtual server agent associated with the target server, transmitting the abstract system command to the virtual server agent for the identified target server for translation of the abstract system command into an operating-system-specific system command for execution on the target server, and receiving execution results from the virtual server agent, wherein the operating-system-specific system command is executed on the target server under permissions determined as a function of the target server. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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18. A virtual server comprising:
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a virtual server management system; a virtual server client; and a plurality of servers each running a virtual server agent, the virtual server management system including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the virtual server management system to perform operations including; receiving, from a graphical user interface, a system command that requests a service from an operating system of at least one of the plurality of servers, and translating the system command to an abstract system command; and the virtual server client including instructions that, when executed by at least one processor cause the virtual server client to perform operations including; receiving the abstract system command; and instantiating the abstract system command by; identifying a target server to receive the abstract system command and a corresponding virtual server agent associated with the target server, transmitting the abstract system command to the virtual server agent for the identified target server for translation of the abstract system command into an operating-system-specific system command for execution on the target server, executing the operating-system-specific system command under permissions determined as a function of the target server, receiving execution results from the virtual server agent, and providing the execution results to the virtual server management system. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification