SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION OF MULTIPLE RESOURCES ACROSS A SET OF CLOUD-BASED NETWORKS

• US 20120131176A1
• Filed: 11/24/2010
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Ferris, James Michael, Riveros, Gerry Edward
• Granted Patent: US 8,924,539 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5019 Workload prediction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for combinatorial optimization of multiple resources across a set of cloud-based networks. In aspects, a set of usage histories can store patterns for users in a host cloud-based network recording the consumption of processor, memory, storage, operating system, application, or other resources subscribed to by the user. The user can be a corporation or other collective user. A deployment engine can identify similar target resources available in a set of target clouds. The engine can receive selection criteria for selecting target clouds for a migration of the user'"'"'s deployment. In the combinatorial selection, each target cloud can independently supply one or more target resources. The engine can thus identify a series of combinations of target resources and target clouds supplying those resources to discover combinations of target clouds and target resources that can satisfy or optimize the selection criteria, such as cost or others.

Claims

1. A method of managing cloud deployments, comprising:

accessing a resource usage history of a set of client machines in a set of host clouds, the resource usage history comprising a record of consumption of a plurality of resources by the set of client machines in the set of host clouds;

receiving a request to provision the set of client machines in a set of target clouds, the provisioning request comprising a set of selection criteria associated with the plurality of resources in the set of host clouds;

evaluating a plurality of target resources hosted in the set of target clouds based on the set of selection criteria; and

selecting a set of combined target resources hosted in at least two of the set of target clouds meeting the set of selection criteria.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of resources in the set of host clouds comprises at least two of processor resources, memory resources, storage resources, bandwidth resources, communications port resources, operating system resources, application resources, or appliance resources.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of selection criteria comprises at least one of a subscription cost, a minimum number of software images to be deployed in the set of target clouds, a maximum number of software images to be deployed in the set of target clouds, an operating system specification, a software application specification, a minimum processor throughput specification, a maximum processor throughput specification, a minimum memory amount specification, a maximum memory amount specification, a minimum storage capacity specification, a maximum storage capacity specification, a minimum bandwidth specification, a maximum bandwidth specification, a minimum set of communications ports specification, a maximum set of communications ports specification, an appliance specification, or a service level agreement specification.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluating a plurality of target resources hosted in the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for at least one of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein comparing the set of selection criteria for at least one of the target resources across at least two of the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for at least one of the target resources across all clouds of the set of target clouds.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein evaluating a plurality of target resources hosted in the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for at least two of the target resources across the at least two clouds of the set of target clouds.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein comparing the set of selection criteria for at least two of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds comprises determining a selection score for each of the at least two of the target resources evaluated against the set of associated selection criteria.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein comparing the set of selection criteria for at least two of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds comprises maximizing the selection score for each of the at least two of the target resources.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein selecting the set of combined target resources hosted in at least two of the set of target clouds comprises selecting the clouds for which the selection score for each of the at least two of the target resources is maximized.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising selecting both of the at least two of the set of target clouds for a target resource when the selection score for the target resource is substantially within a predetermined range.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the comparing the set of selection criteria for at least two of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for all of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the comparing the set of selection criteria for at least two of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for all of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the comparing the set of selection criteria for all of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for all of the target resources across all clouds of the set of target clouds.

14. A system for managing cloud deployments, comprising:

an interface to a data store, the data store storing a set of usage history data for a set of client machines in a set of host clouds, the set of usage history data comprising a record of consumption of a plurality of resources by the set of client machines in the set of host clouds; and

a processor, communicating with the data store via the interface, the processor being configured to—

access the set of usage history data of the set of client machines,

receive a request to provision the set of client machines in a set of target clouds, the provisioning request comprising a set of selection criteria associated with the plurality of resources in the set of host clouds,

evaluate a plurality of target resources hosted in the set of target clouds based on the set of selection criteria, and

select a set of combined target resources hosted in at least two of the set of target clouds meeting the set of selection criteria.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of resources in the set of host clouds comprises at least two of processor resources, memory resources, storage resources, bandwidth resources, communications port resources, operating system resources, application resources, or appliance resources.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the set of selection criteria comprises at least one of a subscription cost, a minimum number of software images to be deployed in the set of target clouds, a maximum number of software images to be deployed in the set of target clouds, an operating system specification, a software application specification, a minimum processor throughput specification, a maximum processor throughput specification, a minimum memory amount specification, a maximum memory amount specification, a minimum storage capacity specification, a maximum storage capacity specification, a minimum bandwidth specification, a maximum bandwidth specification, a minimum set of communications ports specification, a maximum set of communications ports specification, an appliance specification, or a service level agreement specification.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the evaluating a plurality of target resources hosted in the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for at least one of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein comparing the set of selection criteria for at least one of the target resources across at least two of the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for at least one of the target resources across all clouds of the set of target clouds.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein evaluating a plurality of target resources hosted in the set of target clouds comprises comparing the set of selection criteria for at least two of the target resources across the at least two clouds of the set of target clouds.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein comparing the set of selection criteria for at least two of the target resources across at least two clouds of the set of target clouds comprises determining a selection score for each of the at least two of the target resources evaluated against the set of associated selection criteria.