Remote debug service in a cloud environment

• US 9,632,913 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2013
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Deakin, Hannah J., Mitchell, Sara L., Slattery, Edward J.
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, SARAI E
• Application Number:
  US14/418,002
• Publication Number:
  US 20150193328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,414 Days
• Field of Search: 714 3814
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/362 Software debugging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3644 by instrumenting at runtime
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

A method provides a debug service in a network environment. One or more processors initiate a debug service as a remote shared service in the network environment. The debug service receives a call from a deployed workload process within a virtual machine in the network environment, and gathers required information for a debug session of the workload process, where the required information includes source code used by the workload process. One or more processors attach the debug service to the workload process to carry out the debug session, such that the debug service working with a debug agent at the workload process attaches to and debugs a virtual environment that obscures the virtual machine.

Claims

1. A method for providing a debug service in a network environment, the method comprising:

initiating, by one or more processors, a debug service as a remote shared service in the network environment, wherein the debug service provides a debugger that is capable of accepting connections from any workload process such that collaborating cloud processes are responsible for initiating conversations with the debugger;

receiving, by the debug service, a call from a deployed workload process within a virtual machine in the network environment, wherein the call is to a debug process to be performed by the debug service;

gathering, by the debug service, required information by the debug process for a debug session of the workload process, wherein the required information comprises source code used by the workload process; and

attaching, by one or more processors, the debug service to the workload process to carry out the debug session;

wherein the debug service working with a debug agent at the workload process attaches to and debugs a virtualized environment that obscures the virtual machine.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the debug service, a call from a deployed workload process as part of a deployed application with a collaboration of multiple workload processes, wherein the collaboration of multiple workload processes comprises a first workload process and a second workload process, wherein the first workload process is debugged by a first debug process and the second workload is debugged by a second debug process, and wherein the first workload process and the second workload process are written in different languages;

debugging, by the debug service, the first workload process with the first debug process;

receiving, by the debug service, a communication indicating that the first workload process has reached a boundary with the second workload process;

gathering, by the debug service, required information for the second debug process to debug the second workload process; and

debugging, by the debug service, the second workload processes using the second debug process, wherein the debug service transitions from the first debug process to the second debug process without a breakpoint being set between the first workload process and the second workload process.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

asking, by the debug service, at a boundary if debugging of the next workload process is required.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network environment is a cloud computing environment, and wherein the debug service is provided as a cloud service that accepts connections from workload processes.

5. A method for using a debug service in a network environment, the method comprising:

deploying, by one or more processors, a workload process within a virtual machine in a network environment;

registering, by one or more processors, with a debug service as a remote shared service in the network environment; and

activating, by one or more processors, a debug agent to run alongside the workload process in response to a call from the workload process to the debug service to activate the debug agent,

wherein the debug service working with the debug agent provides a resource to attach to and debug virtualized environments.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein activating the debug service is based on failure criteria of the workload process and includes:

monitoring, by one or more processors, a failure condition at the workload process;

triggering, by one or more processors, the debug agent if a failure condition is detected; and

the debug agent calling out to the debug service.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein activating the debug service includes:

providing the debug agent a user interface for the workload process;

triggering the debug agent via the user interface; and

the debug agent calling out to the debug service.

8. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the debug service is run on the whole workload process.

9. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

providing an option to a user to accept or decline a debug of some or all of the workload process.

10. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

providing access to required information for the debug service to carry out a debug session on the workload process.

11. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

providing, by one or more processors, the debug service with access to remotely stored source code of the workload process.

12. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

a workload process providing a build number to a debug agent, such that an exact version of workload process code can be handed to the debug service.

13. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

deploying an application in a network environment as a collaboration of multiple workload processes;

sharing information across the multiple workload processes indicating that a debug session of the application is underway; and

checking at boundaries between the multiple workload processes that the debug service has an appropriate debug component for a next workload process, wherein the appropriate debug component is debugging code used to debug the next workload process.

14. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

indicating to workload processes involved in a transaction that they are about to be debugged, wherein each external application programming interface of the workload processes informs the debug agent when it is hit, and wherein each external application programming interface of the workload processes informs the debug agent which debug service is appropriate for the application that is about to be debugged.

15. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the network environment is a cloud computing environment, and wherein the debug service is provided as a cloud service that accepts connections from workload processes.

16. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the workload process is deployed by a cloud deployment middleware.

17. A computer program product for utilizing a debug service in a network environment, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, and wherein the program code is readable and executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

deploying a workload process within a virtual machine in a network environment;

registering with a debug service in the form of a remote shared service in the network environment; and

activating a debug agent to run alongside the workload process in response to a call from the workload process to the debug service to activate the debug agent,

wherein the debug service working with the debug agent provides a resource to attach to and debug virtualized environments.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein activating the debug service is based on failure criteria of the workload process, and wherein the method further comprises:

monitoring a failure condition at the workload process;

triggering the debug agent if a failure condition is detected; and

the debug agent calling out to the debug service.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

a workload process providing a build number to a debug agent, such that the exact version of the workload process code can be handed to the debug service.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

deploying an application in a network environment as a collaboration of multiple workload processes;

sharing information across the workload processes that a debug session of the application is underway; and

checking at boundaries between the workload processes that the debug service has appropriate information for the next workload process.