Standard operating procedure automation in database administration

• US 8,738,753 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2009
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus LLC (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Devraj, Venkat S., Luistro, Rainier L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Jeong S
• Application Number:
  US12/405,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20090177707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,898 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 717176-178
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/217 Database tuning G06F16/2282 takes precedence; database performance monitoring G06F11/3409

Abstract

A plurality of modules and/or engines to manage the operation and health of a plurality of data center assets through the use of standard operating procedures (SOPs). Modules of the present invention are configured to assist IT Administrators to create, and thereafter store in an accessible memory resource, a plurality of SOPs. These SOPs define procedures to address various data center asset informational states. An asset'"'"'s state information is monitored, collected and analyzed to determine, based either on a predetermined rule set or on manual input from an authorized IT Administrator, whether one or more SOPs will be applied to a particular data center asset. These SOPs can be combined and/or executed on the asset either automatically or manually.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for managing a plurality of data center environments, the method comprising:

determining, by a computer including a processor, state information of each of a plurality of data center environments that are coupled via a network with the computer;

identifying, by the processor, a change in the state information of each of the plurality of data center environments;

comparing, by the processor, the change in the state information of each of the plurality of data center environments against predefined criteria to predict sub optimal data center environment performance in at least one data center environment based on the state information; and

modifying an information state of the at least one data center environment by automatically executing a standard operating procedure including installation of application software during a scheduled time interval to prevent sub optimal data center environment performance.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each data center environment includes at least one database running on a specific platform operating on a unique operating system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining state information of each of the plurality of data center environments includes determining a condition of an overall data center system comprising the plurality of data center environments.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a report identifying the predicted sub optimal data center performance and the modification.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising prioritizing modification of the sub optimal data center environment performances responsive to predicting more than one sub optimal data center environment performance.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising modifying the at least one data center environment based on prior attempts to correct sub optimal performance.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining a log of predicted sub optimal data center environment performance and of actions taken to modify the at least one data center environment to prevent sub optimal data center environment performance.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising creating a report summarizing the log.

9. A data center management system comprising:

a computer device including a processor, the computing device comprising;

a monitoring module including instructions executable by the processor to collect state information regarding a plurality of data center environments that are coupled via a network with the computer device;

an analysis module including instructions executable by the processor to retrieve collected state information regarding the plurality of data center environments and predict future and identify current sub optimal data center environment performance of at least one data center environment based on the state information;

a scheduling module including instructions executable by the processor to select one or more standard operating procedures to prevent predicted or correct current sub optimal data center environment performance of the at least one data center environment and determine a scheduled time interval to execute selected standard operating procedures; and

a control module including instructions executable by the processor to automatically execute at the at least one data center environment the selected one or more standard operating procedures including updating application software based on prior attempts to modify an information state of the at least one data center environment.

10. The data center of claim 9 wherein the scheduling module resolves conflicts arising between selected standard operating procedures.

11. The data center of claim 9 wherein the scheduling module creates new standard operating procedures based on the predicted or identified sub optimal data center environment performance of the at least one data center environment.

12. The data center of claim 9 wherein each of the plurality of data center environments includes at least one database running on a specific platform and operating under a unique operating system.

13. The data center of claim 12 wherein the scheduling module prioritizes execution of multiple standard operating procedures across the plurality of data center environments running on a plurality of platforms and operating under a plurality of different operating systems.

14. A method for data center environment management, comprising:

examining a plurality of data center environments to determine a state of a plurality of databases operating on one or more platforms being run on one or more operating systems;

determining that performance of at least one of the plurality of data center environments can be improved;

maintaining a log of attempts to improve the performance of the at least one of the plurality of data center environments; and

modifying an information state including database operations or platform procedures or operating system protocols associated with the at least one of the plurality of data center environments by automatically executing a standard operating procedure including installation of application software during a scheduled time interval to improve performance based on the prior attempts.