Method and apparatus for improving performance and scalability of an object manager

• US 7,171,417 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Issued: 01/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Ping, Wang, Christine I., Foster, Robert Kimberlin, Wang, Quan, Xia, Xiaodong, Underhill, Joy Mei-Jen
• Primary Examiner(s): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US10/675,741
• Publication Number:
  US 20050071363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 709/223, 345/765
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for improving performance and scalability of common information model object (CIMOM) by using a hardware management console (HMC) repository. The HMC repository includes storage of HMC objects, an HMC object model and a common interface (CIM Wrapper) for accessing to HMC objects. The HMC object model allows the user to store and retrieve the CIM objects and their associations efficiently. A CIM provider may access HMC objects through a common interface (CIM Wrapper), so that different repositories are allowed to be used without significant changes to the underlying server code (CIM provider). A CIM provider may also call the HMC repository directly for more efficient operations because the number of times conversions made between the CIM object and the repository object are greatly decreased.

Claims

1. A method in a common information model (CIM) server computer system for managing objects, the CIM server computer system including storage and a common information model object manager (CIMOM) processing environment that includes an internal repository, method calls to the storage being executed by methods that are currently stored in the storage, an existing set of methods being currently stored in the storage, the existing set of methods for manipulating first objects that are included in the internal repository, wherein current method calls to the storage manipulate first objects that are stored in the internal repository, the method comprising:

creating, by the CIM server computer system, a second repository, the second repository external to the CIMOM processing environment;

the second repository including second objects representing components for a logically partitioned data processing system, wherein the second objects are grouped by class into a set of classes, wherein associations between the second objects are links within the second repository;

manipulating the second objects using a second set of methods;

transforming the storage by overwriting the existing set of methods in the storage with the second set of methods;

receiving a request from a requestor that includes a method call to the storage; and

executing one of the second set of methods causing one of the second objects to be manipulated, wherein method calls to the storage manipulate the second objects instead of the first objects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is for a selected format and further comprising:

converting at least one second object into the selected format to form at least one converted second object; and

returning the converted second object to the requestor.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selected format is a common information model (CIM) standard.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the converting step is performed by the second repository.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second objects include at least a computer system, a partition, a partition profile, an input/output slot, a processor, and a memory.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is received from a common information manager (CIM) provider.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of executing one of the second set of methods causing one of the second objects to be manipulated includes at least one of retrieving the one of the second objects, creating the one of the second objects, deleting the one of the second objects, and updating the one of the second objects.

8. An object management system in a common information model (CIM) server computer system that includes storage and a common information model object manager (CIMOM) processing environment that includes an internal repository, method calls to the storage executed by methods that are currently stored in the storage, an existing set of methods being currently stored in the storage, the existing set of methods for manipulating first objects that are included in the internal repository, wherein current method calls to the storage manipulate first objects that are stored in the internal repository, comprising:

a second repository that is created in the CIM server computer system by the object management system, the second repository external to the CIMOM processing environment;

the second repository including second objects representing components for a logically partitioned data processing system, wherein the second objects are grouped by class into a set of classes, wherein associations between the second objects are links within the second repository;

a second set of methods for manipulating the second objects;

the storage being transformed by overwriting the existing set of methods in the storage with the second set of methods;

an object manager for receiving a request from a requestor that includes a method call to the storage; and

an interface for executing one of the second set of methods causing one of the second objects to be manipulated, wherein method calls to the storage manipulate the second objects instead of the first objects.

9. The object management system of claim 8, wherein the interface comprises:

a provider, wherein the provider handles requests relating to a logical partitioned data processing system; and

wherein the storage is a wrapper, wherein the wrapper provides an interface for the provider to different types of repositories, including the internal repository and the second repository.

10. The object management system of claim 8, wherein methods and properties for the first and second objects are defined in a schema class, which inherits from RClassSchema.

11. The object management system of claim 8, wherein the first and second objects are defined using an RObject class.

12. The object management system of claim 11, wherein the links are included in the RObject class.

13. The object management system of claim 11, wherein property values are stored in an array in an RObject in the RObject class, wherein the array indexes are used to directly access the property values.

14. The object manager system of claim 11, wherein table mapping of an RObject identifier to an RObject is “

CIM Class”

based with each CIM Class having one table.

15. A common information model (CIM) server computer system for managing objects, the CIM server computer system including storage and a common information model object manager (CIMOM) processing environment that includes an internal repository, method calls to the storage being executed by methods that are currently stored in the storage, an existing set of methods being currently stored in the storage, the existing set of methods for manipulating first objects that are included in the internal repository, wherein current method calls to the storage manipulate first objects that are stored in the internal repository, the CIM server computer system comprising:

creating means for creating a second repository in the CIM server computer system, the second repository external to the CIMOM processing environment;

the second repository including second objects representing components for a logically partitioned data processing system, wherein the second objects are grouped by class into a set of classes, wherein associations between the second objects are links within the second repository;

manipulating means for manipulating the second objects using a second set of methods;

transforming means for transforming the storage by overwriting the existing set of methods in the storage with the second set of methods;

receiving means for receiving a request from a requestor that includes a method call to the storage; and

executing means for executing one of the second set of methods causing one of the second objects to be manipulated, wherein method calls to the storage manipulate the second objects instead of the first objects.

16. The CIM server computer system of claim 15, wherein the request is for a selected format and further comprising:

converting means for converting at least one second object into the selected format to form at least one converted second object; and

returning means for returning the converted second object to the requestor.

17. The CIM server computer system of claim 16, wherein the selected format is a common information model (CIM) standard.

18. The CIM server computer system of claim 16, wherein the converting means is performed by the second repository.

19. The CIM server computer system of claim 15, wherein the second objects include at least a computer system, a partition, a partition profile, an input/output slot, a processor, and a memory.

20. A computer program product that is stored in a computer readable storage medium for managing objects, in a common information model (CIM) server computer system, the CIM server computer system including storage and a common information model object manager (CIMOM) processing environment that includes an internal repository, method calls to the storage being executed by methods that are currently stored in the storage, an existing set of methods being currently stored in the storage, the existing set of methods for manipulating first objects that are included in the internal repository, wherein current method calls to the storage manipulate first objects that are stored in the internal repository, the computer program product comprising:

first instructions for creating a second repository that is external to the CIMOM processing environment;

the second repository including second objects representing components for a logically partitioned data processing system, wherein the second objects are grouped by class into a set of classes, wherein associations between the second objects are links within the second repository;

second instructions for manipulating the second objects using a second set of methods;

third instructions for transforming the storage by overwriting the existing set of methods in the storage with the second set of methods;

fourth instructions for receiving a request from a requestor that includes a method call to the storage; and

fifth instructions for executing one of the second set of methods causing one of the second objects to be manipulated, wherein method calls to the storage manipulate the second objects instead of the first objects.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the request is for a selected format and further comprising:

sixth instructions for converting at least one second object into the selected format to form at least one converted second object; and

seventh instructions for returning the converted second object to the requestor.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the selected format is a common information model standard.

23. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the converting step is performed by the second repository.

24. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the second objects include at least a computer system, a partition, a partition profile, an input/output slot, a processor, and a memory.