BEHAVIOR ADJUSTMENT BASED ON CAPABILITIES OF A DOWNSTREAM SERVER

• US 20150278825A1
• Filed: 05/02/2014
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Poteat, William Otto III, Goodwin, Devan
• Granted Patent: US 11,068,905 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/18 Licensing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products

Abstract

Systems, methods, and techniques are disclosed for controlling access to a subscription. An example method includes receiving a set of capabilities of a downstream server and storing the set of capabilities in a distributor record. The distributor record is a representation of the downstream server and includes the set of capabilities and a set of subscriptions assigned to the distributor record. The method also includes receiving a request to assign a subscription to the distributor record. The subscription is subject to a licensing agreement. The method further includes determining, based on the set of capabilities, whether the downstream server has the capability to enforce the licensing agreement. The method also includes when the downstream server is determined to have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement, assigning the subscription to the distributor record.

Claims

1. A method of controlling access to a subscription, comprising:

receiving a set of capabilities of a downstream server;

storing the set of capabilities in a distributor record, the distributor record being a representation of the downstream server and including the set of capabilities and a set of subscriptions assigned to the distributor record;

receiving a request to assign a subscription to the distributor record, the subscription being subject to a licensing agreement;

determining, based on the set of capabilities, whether the downstream server has the capability to enforce the licensing agreement; and

when the downstream server is determined to have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement, assigning the subscription to the distributor record.

2. The method of claim 1, further including:

when the downstream server is determined to not have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement, sending a message indicating that the subscription has not been assigned to the distributor record.

3. The method of claim 1, further including:

when the downstream server is determined to not have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement, sending a message indicating that an upgrade of the downstream server is required.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the downstream server manages subscriptions for a set of entities, and wherein the determining whether the downstream server has the capability to enforce the licensing agreement includes determining whether the downstream server has the capability to enforce the licensing agreement on the set of entities.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of entities is registered with the downstream server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the licensing agreement specifies a second set of capabilities, and wherein the determining whether the downstream server has the capability to enforce the licensing agreement includes determining whether the second set of capabilities is included in the first set of capabilities of the downstream server.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the second set of capabilities is included in the first set of capabilities of the downstream server, the downstream server is determined to have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein when the second set of capabilities is not included in the first set of capabilities of the downstream server, the downstream server is determined to not have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the distributor record includes a second set of capabilities of the downstream server, and wherein the storing the first set of capabilities includes updating the distributor record with the second set of capabilities.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the capabilities list includes a capability of enforcing a number of central processing unit (CPU) cores that an entity registered with the downstream server uses.

11. A system for controlling access to a subscription, comprising:

a capabilities tracker that receives a set of capabilities of a downstream server and stores the set of capabilities in a distributor record, wherein the distributor record is a representation of the downstream server and includes the set of capabilities and a set of subscriptions assigned to the distributor record; and

a license enforcer that receives a request to assign a subscription to the distributor record and determines, based on the set of capabilities, whether the downstream server has the capability to enforce a licensing agreement to which the subscription is subject, wherein when the downstream server is determined to have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement, the license enforcer assigns the subscription to the distributor record

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the downstream server is behind a firewall.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the downstream server is connected to a public network and sends the set of capabilities to the customer portal over the public network.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein after a time period has elapsed, the downstream server sends an updated set of capabilities of downstream server to the customer portal.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the downstream server stores a manifest that lists downstream server versions and capabilities of each listed downstream server version.

16. The system of claim 11, further including:

a customer portal, wherein the customer portal includes the capabilities tracker and license enforcer, and wherein the downstream server is incapable of sending requests to the customer portal.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the downstream server is not connected to a public network.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the capabilities tracker receives a user selection of the downstream server having a version and server product specified in a master list, wherein the master list includes the set of capabilities of the user selected downstream server, and wherein the receiving a set of capabilities includes identifying the set of capabilities of the user selected downstream server version from the master list.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the downstream server is a subscription server.

20. A machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions that when executed by one or more processors is adapted to cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

receiving a set of capabilities of a downstream server;

storing the set of capabilities in a distributor record, the distributor record being a representation of the downstream server and including the set of capabilities and a set of subscriptions assigned to the distributor record;

receiving a request to assign a subscription to the distributor record, the subscription being subject to a licensing agreement;

determining, based on the set of capabilities, whether the downstream server has the capability to enforce the licensing agreement; and

when the downstream server is determined to have the capability to enforce the licensing agreement, assigning the subscription to the distributor record.