Role-based application program operations on machine data in a multi-tenant environment

• US 9,992,208 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2016
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Splunk Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Splunk Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Das, Robin Kumar, Ago, Ledio, Shanaghy, Declan Gerard, Gupta, Gaurav
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Baoquoc N
• Application Number:
  US15/339,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20170048255A1
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• Field of Search: 707785, 707786, 707787, 707788, 705 22, 726 1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/134 Distributed indices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/162 Delete operations erasing in storage systems G06F3/0652
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2228 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2272 Management thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/901 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures for retrieval from the web G06F16/951
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4887 involving deadlines, e.g. rate based, periodic
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5088 involving task migration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1435 volume-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Embodiments are directed towards a system and method for a cloud-based front end that may abstract and enable access to the underlying cloud-hosted elements and objects that may be part of a multi-tenant application, such as a search application. Search objects may be employed to access indexed objects. An amount of indexed data accessible to a user may be based on an index storage limit selected by the user, such that data that exceeds the index storage limit may continue to be indexed. Also, one or more projects can be elastically scaled for a user to provide resources that may meet the specific needs of each project.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining at least one role for an application program operating in a multi-tenant environment, wherein a role describes permissions for a user for interacting with the application program;

receiving a request from a first user to interact with the application program;

determining a first role of the first user for the application program;

determining a set of operations that the first user has permission to perform in association with the application program based on the first role determined for the first user, wherein the first role of the first user for the application program grants the first user permission to interact with the application program;

allowing the first user to perform at least one operation in the set of operations, wherein the at least one operation is performed on a set of events, each event in the set of events having a portion of raw machine data associated with a timestamp, wherein the portion of raw machine data reflects activity in an information technology environment and is produced by a component in the information technology environment;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first role indicates that the first user has permission to access a particular portion of the raw machine data in the particular data store.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular application program causes display of one or more dashboards representing the raw machine data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular application program causes display of one or more reports based on the raw machine data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular application program allows the first user to search the raw machine data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular application program allows the first user to index the raw machine data.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving input corresponding to an invitation to provide access to the particular application program to a second user;

wherein the second user inherits the role for the particular application program from the first user.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that determines at least one role for an application program operating in a multi-tenant environment, wherein a role describes permissions for a user for interacting with the application program;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives a request from a first user to interact with the application program;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that determines a first role of the first user for the application program;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that determines a set of operations that the first user has permission to perform in association with the application program based on the first role determined for the first user, wherein the first role of the first user for the application program grants the first user permission to interact with the application program;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that allows the first user to perform at least one operation in the set of operations, wherein the at least one operation is performed on a set of events, each event in the set of events having a portion of raw machine data associated with a timestamp, wherein the portion of raw machine data reflects activity in an information technology environment and is produced by a component in the information technology environment.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first role indicates that the first user has permission to access a particular portion of the raw machine data in the particular data store.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the particular application program causes display of one or more dashboards representing the raw machine data.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the particular application program causes display of one or more reports based on the raw machine data.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the particular application program allows the first user to search the raw machine data.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the particular application program allows the first user to index the raw machine data.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform:

determining at least one role for an application program operating in a multi-tenant environment, wherein a role describes permissions for a user for interacting with the application program;

receiving a request from a first user to interact with the application program;

determining a first role of the first user for the application program;

determining a set of operations that the first user has permission to perform in association with the application program based on the first role determined for the first user, wherein the first role of the first user for the application program grants the first user permission to interact with the application program;

allowing the first user to perform at least one operation in the set of operations, wherein the at least one operation is performed on a set of events, each event in the set of events having a portion of raw machine data associated with a timestamp, wherein the portion of raw machine data reflects activity in an information technology environment and is produced by a component in the information technology environment.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first role indicates that the first user has permission to access a particular portion of the raw machine data in the particular data store.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the particular application program causes display of one or more dashboards representing the raw machine data.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the particular application program causes display of one or more reports based on the raw machine data.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the particular application program allows the first user to search the raw machine data.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the particular application program allows the first user to index the raw machine data.