Providing tenant isolation in multi-tenant API gateway with micro-service containers

Abstract

The invention relates to providing tenant isolation in a multi-tenant API gateway using micro-service containers. The system may host APIs for a plurality of different tenants and receive requests from a number of different client devices. When a request is received, an associated tenant may be identified, and a router may determine whether a container instance is available for the service request. The container instance may be an empty container instance including an internal endpoint, a Web server, and a runtime environment. Empty container instances may be independent of a particular tenant. To associate container instances with tenants, a data repository, such as a key value data repository, may retrieve configuration files that convert agnostic container instances into container instances associated with a particular tenant and include configuration code that is to execute necessary API functions. A pool of empty and filled containers may be managed efficiently.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application date of September 28, 2018, application number 201880068977.3 and invention name “Providing Tenant Isolation in a Multi-Tenant API Gateway Using Microservice Containers”. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to managing API gateways, and more particularly to providing tenant isolation in a multi-tenant API gateway using microservice containers. Background Art

[0003] An application programming interface (API) gateway is a fully managed service that allows developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs for public use. Tenants can define APIs and publish them to these public API gateways, such as cloud platforms, which can then be made available to client devices for use. In large-scale API gateways, environments can include multi-tenant environments where multiple different tenants host APIs that can be made available through the same hosting service. Summary of the invention

[0004] In some embodiments, a method of using containers to isolate tenants to service requests in a multi-tenant environment may include: receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant; selecting an empty container in the multi-tenant environment; loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container; serving the first request from the container; receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant; flushing the first configuration from the container; and serving the second request from the container.

[0005] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant; selecting an empty container in a multi-tenant environment; loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container; serving the first request from the container; receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant; flushing the first configuration from the container; and serving the second request from the container.

[0006] In some embodiments, a system may include one or more processors and one or more memory devices, the memory devices including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant; selecting an empty container in a multi-tenant environment; loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container; serving the first request from the container; receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant; flushing the first configuration from the container; and serving the second request from the container.

[0007] In any embodiment, any or all of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. The container may be one of a plurality of containers in a multi-tenant environment that are instantiated to service requests from a client device. The first configuration may include the size of a heap in memory that the first service may use. After flushing the first configuration from the container, the container may include a runtime process with an embedded server and an internal endpoint. The internal endpoint may be called by a router in the multi-tenant environment to service a second request. The first configuration may include multiple actions that are linked together to service a request. The multi-tenant environment may prevent the container from simultaneously servicing requests associated with different tenants. The multi-tenant environment may allow the container to simultaneously service requests associated with a single tenant. The method / operation may also include: receiving a third request for a second service provided by a second tenant; and servicing the third request from the container without flushing the second configuration from the container. The first service may include a public API that is made available through the multi-tenant environment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be achieved by reference to the remainder of this specification and the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the several drawings to refer to like parts. In some cases, a sub-label is associated with a reference numeral to denote one of a plurality of similar parts. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specifying an existing sub-label, it is intended to refer to all such plurality of similar parts.

[0009] Figure 1 Illustrated is a simplified block diagram of a system for processing requests in a multi-tenant environment according to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a container instance 108 is illustrated, according to some embodiments, that is ready to service requests of tenants.

[0011] Figure 3 A block diagram illustrating how an empty container instance is populated with files from a data repository according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 4 Illustrated is how a filled container can service a request according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 5 A simplified block diagram is illustrated of a container being placed back into a pool of available containers in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] Fig. 6A Illustrated is a state diagram of the life cycle of a container in a multi-tenant environment according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 6BIllustrated is an alternative state diagram of the life cycle of a container in a multi-tenant environment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 7 A flow chart illustrating a method for using containers to isolate tenants to serve requests in a multi-tenant environment.

[0017] Figure 8 A flow chart of a method for managing runtime state and service configuration of containers in a multi-tenant environment according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0018] Fig. 9 A flow diagram is illustrated of a method of efficiently allocating a pool of containers to service requests in a multi-tenant environment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0019] Fig.10 A simplified block diagram of a distributed system for implementing some embodiments is illustrated.

[0020] Fig.11 Illustrated is a simplified block diagram of components of a system environment by which services provided by components of an embodiment system may be provided as cloud services.

[0021] Fig.12 An exemplary computer system is illustrated in which various embodiments may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Described herein is an embodiment for managing an API gateway. A cloud system may host APIs for multiple different tenants and receive requests from many different client devices. When a request is received, the associated tenant may be identified and the router may determine whether a container instance is available for the service request. A container instance may be an empty container instance including an internal endpoint, a web server, and a runtime environment. An empty container instance may be independent of a specific tenant. In order to associate a container instance with a tenant, a data repository (such as a key-value data repository) may retrieve configuration files that convert an unknown container instance into a container instance associated with a specific tenant and include configuration code to execute the required API functions. When the API in the container completes a service request (or multiple requests for a single tenant), the runtime state information may be saved back to the data repository and the contents of the container instance may be flushed. This ensures isolation between tenant data in a multi-tenant environment while still allowing efficient management of container reuse and pooled resources. The data repository may maintain a service registry to enable routers in the system to allocate new container instances when needed and to de-allocate container instances when they are not in use. The data repository may also store runtime state information, configurations, and applications of tenant APIs that may be distributed on demand to any container.

[0023] Figure 1A simplified block diagram of a system for processing requests in a multi-tenant environment according to some embodiments is illustrated. Throughout this disclosure, examples of API gateways may be used. However, the embodiments described herein are not limited thereto. Alternatively, the functionality described for processing requests for an API gateway may be implemented in any system having an interface for receiving requests.

[0024] Multiple client devices 102 (e.g., smart phones, laptops, tablets, workstations, servers, etc.) can send requests to a common interface 104, which can include a load balancer as a service (LBaaS) interface. These requests can be associated with specific tenants of the multi-tenant environment and can reference specific services provided by the tenants, such as API functions. For example, a request received from one of the client devices 102 may include information such as "Tenant:ACME, API:ProcessInvoice". The common interface 104 can funnel the requests to one or more routers 106.

[0025] The router 106 may communicate with the data repository 112 periodically and in real time to determine one or more containers that are assigned to a tenant and that are capable of processing a particular request. Figure 1 In the example of , a request to Tenant 2 will have three different container instances that the router 106 can choose from. Among the set of container instances assigned to Tenant 2, the router 106 can select one or more container instances that are loaded with the configuration and / or application to service the request. For example, the router 106 can select one of the three container instances assigned to "Tenant:ACME" that is loaded with the configuration for processing "API:ProcessInvoice". If no instance is already loaded with the configuration, the router 106 can select an existing empty container or instantiate a new empty container. The router 106 can then cause the data repository 112 to transfer the configuration specific to "API:ProcessInvoice" to the existing / new empty container to create a containerized service that can handle the specific request for "Tenant:ACME".

[0026] Once the containerized service processes the request and (if necessary) returns a response to the client device, the containerized service can either be reused to service additional requests for that particular tenant / service combination, or its contents can be flushed from the container to make it available to other tenants. When a container is flushed and reallocated to a different tenant, the runtime information that needs to be saved in the container can be sent back to the data repository 112. This ensures that the next time a particular application or API is instantiated in an empty container, the runtime information can be transferred and used by the new container to continue execution from where it left off.

[0027] The registration service 114 can be used to register a new tenant into the multi-tenant environment. The new tenant can use the interface of the registration service 114 to generate a new tenant entry in the data repository 112 and define the parameters for its use of the multi-tenant environment. These parameters can include the maximum, minimum, average, and expected number of container instances available to the particular tenant. In addition, the new tenant can select the number and type of routers used to service requests, the different configuration services available, different configurations of the runtime container pool, and other aspects of the registration process.

[0028] The configuration service 110 may provide a web-based user interface that allows tenants to define configurations and select applications that can be made available through a public interface. For example, some embodiments may provide a series of web forms and drop-down boxes that allow tenants to select from a number of different microservices, applications, functions, etc. to build an API. Some embodiments may also allow tenants to select applications that can be run, such as an application that limits the number of times an API can be called within a predetermined time limit. After the configuration and applications are selected / defined through the configuration service 110, they can be stored in the data center 112 for placement into empty containers in the system.

[0029] Note that a given gateway can satisfy more than one tenant at the same time. In some embodiments, there can be multiple gateways that are completely isolated and run on different availability domains or data centers. For example, there may be a gateway for Chicago and a gateway for Phoenix. However, these two gateways may still serve the same tenant. End users can still deploy APIs to one or any combination of multiple gateways using a unique gateway ID. In some embodiments, each gateway can have its own unique key-value data store for storing configurations, applications, etc.

[0030] The following diagrams walk through an example of how the system can process a request. These examples are not meant to be limiting. Figure 2A diagram of a container instance 108 according to some embodiments is illustrated, which is ready to service a tenant's request. At this stage, the router 106 has received the request to be serviced. First, the router 106 can work in conjunction with the data repository 112 to determine whether the available container instance is operating and available to service the request. The data repository 112 may include a service registry 214, which catalogs each available instance in the system. The service registry 214 can also track which APIs and tenants are assigned to each instantiated container. When a new container is instantiated or an existing container is removed, the data repository 112 can update the service registry 214 in real time. The router 106 can maintain a local copy of at least a portion of the service registry 214. The data repository 112 can intermittently update the router 106 with a list of changes to the service registry 214. In some embodiments, the data repository 112 can update the router 106 with a list of available container instances that can receive requests. In some embodiments, because the total list of instances in the system may be very large, only changes or portions of the service registry 214 are transmitted to the router 106.

[0031] like Figure 1 As shown, some embodiments may include multiple routers 106. One of the routers 106-2 may be designated as a master router. The master router 106-2 may be designated as the only router in the routers 106 that is allowed to instantiate new container instances when needed. Thus, if Figure 2 If the router 106 in is designated as the master router, it can freely instantiate new container instances when it needs to service requests for a specific tenant. The master router 106-2 can analyze the settings provided by the tenant during the registration process to ensure that the number of container instances allocated to the tenant in the pool is within the minimum / maximum number of the specific tenant. If one of the routers 106 is processing a request that requires the instantiation of a new container, then the router 106-1 can forward the request to the master router 106-2, and the master router 106-2 can determine whether to instantiate a new container. By only allowing the master container 106-2 to instantiate new containers, this helps to ensure that the size of the container pool is managed efficiently. For example, if six different routers all receive simultaneous requests for a specific service for a specific tenant, each of these routers may independently decide to instantiate a new container even if a single instantiated container may be sufficient. Focusing each of these requests on the master router 106-2 ensures that only a minimum number of new containers are instantiated.

[0032] Conversely, if the router 106 and / or data repository 112 determines that a tenant has been assigned many container instances that are not being used, or that there are many unassigned containers available in the container pool, it may be determined that one or more of these unused containers may be eliminated from the system, thereby freeing up memory and processing power to enable existing containers to operate. This provides a dynamic pool of container instances that can service requests. The pool can dynamically grow / shrink based on how much request traffic is received at any given time. As described below, flushing container contents allows containers to be reused between different tenants while still ensuring that tenants are isolated from each other.

[0033] One technical advantage achieved by these embodiments is the efficient management of container pool sizes. A runtime pool can be a collection of runtime instances that all share common properties. The runtime instances in a container pool can be numbered sequentially starting from index 0 so that a given runtime instance is uniquely identified by a pair of values: {pool name, instance index}. Pool management may depend on the specific container environment used by each embodiment. For example, a Java class can be used to implement pool functionality using the Docker daemon REST API to create / start / stop runtime containers as needed. The class may allow the environment to set the name of the pool, the number of (one or more) ports, the number of debug ports, the timeout value for container state transitions (described in detail below), and the like. Some embodiments may also allow the class to specify a "minSize" value, which represents a number of running container instances that are not bound to any tenant and will be available for service requests. In addition, a "maxSize" value may specify the maximum number of runtime container instances in a container pool.

[0034] Once a service is assigned to a container in the gateway, the service can perform periodic "heartbeats" as an indication to other services that it is still alive and working correctly. For example, when a service is loaded into a container, it can perform a heartbeat to let (one or more) routers know that it is available to service requests. Performing a heartbeat can include updating a corresponding entry in a service registry of the data repository 112. These heartbeat transmissions can be used to determine the life cycle of a container in the gateway. For example, some embodiments may use a time-to-live (TTL) interval after which a service can be considered inactive. Alternatively, some embodiments may specify the number of heartbeats that are allowed to be skipped / missed before a service is considered inactive. Heartbeats can occur periodically, such as every 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, etc.

[0035] exist Figure 2In the example of , the router 106 can identify an empty container 108-3 that is not currently assigned to a specific tenant, or that is assigned to the requested tenant but is not populated with a configuration to run the requested specific API. Note that container 108-1 and container 108-2 are populated with configuration and assigned to specific tenants. Because they operate in separate containers from container 108-3, the data and operations of these three containers can be strictly isolated from each other.

[0036] Figure 3 A block diagram illustrating how an empty container instance may be populated with files from the data repository 112 in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 2 For example, an empty container 108-3 can be assigned to handle a request 304 for a specific tenant. First, the container 108-3 can be assigned to the tenant so that requests from other tenants cannot be served through the container 108-3. Next, the tenant and API information from the request 304 can be used to find configuration, application, and runtime information in the data repository 112. In some embodiments, the data repository 112 can be a key-value data repository. Some embodiments may also allow the data repository 112 to be distributed to different systems in a multi-tenant environment or across different platforms. For example, the tenant and / or API from the request 304 can be used as a keyword to find a value in the data repository 112 to return the configuration 202, application 204, and / or any runtime state information.

[0037] In some embodiments, the key-value data store 112 can be used to persist tenant-specific configurations to disk. In addition, the key-value data store can provide a central service registry 214 so that all running microservices "register" themselves so that other services can locate and call them. For example, The distributed key-value data repository can be used to store state information, such as: configurations obtained from management services (e.g., policies, APIs, applications, plan metadata, etc.); runtime container states in the service registry 214; container pool configurations (e.g., minimum values, maximum values, policies, timeout intervals, etc.); tenant registration states (e.g., tenants, tenant pool bindings, etc.); rate limit configurations, real-time states, etc.

[0038] Configuration 202 may include already in Figure 1The configuration service 110 of the embodiment of the present invention is a pipeline of actions 206 defined in the configuration service 110. These actions 206 can be linked together to form an API or other service for processing data. Each action 206 can include things such as receiving a request, parsing the payload in the request, processing the data in the payload, changing the data in the payload, calling another service to obtain information, writing the information to a file or database, and / or generating a response. In some embodiments, the configuration 202 can handle multiple requests at the same time. Therefore, a single container filled with the configuration 202 can handle multiple requests for this particular API and this particular tenant. In general, the configuration is stateless (e.g., RESTful) and is very efficient in processing information and quickly generating responses.

[0039] In addition to returning configuration 202, data repository 112 may also return one or more applications 204 that may also run in a container along with API configuration 202. For example, application 204 may be a bandwidth-limited application that limits the number of times a particular API may be called within a predetermined time interval (e.g., only 100 requests may be served per hour). Application 204 may need to save runtime state information between executions of the application, as compared to configuration 202. Figure 3 In the example, application 204 may not have been run in the past, so there may be no state runtime information saved for application 204 in data repository 112. Container 108-3 can now represent a microservice assigned to a single tenant for processing specific API requests. Once container 108-3 is bound to a tenant, the instance can load all new configuration information such as API definitions, applications, plans, and subscriptions from data repository 112 on demand.

[0040] Empty containers can be software containers such as Containers, and multi-tenant environments can include orchestrated container platforms such as Instantiating a new empty container may include generating an empty container from a container image and populating it with a minimal number of software processes that will be common to any configuration used in the system. For example, some embodiments may specify an empty container as A container that includes a runtime environment 212, such as a Java Runtime (JRE), a web server 210 (such as an HTTP server), and an internal endpoint 208. The internal endpoint 208 can be exposed to the router 106 and can be used by the router 106 to send requests to the container 108-3. In some embodiments, Other container environments other than containers. For example, some embodiments may use a UNIX process to start / stop a runtime container.

[0041] When filling an empty container, the data repository 112 can transfer the configuration 202 and the application 204 to the container 108-3. If runtime state data 302 is available in the data repository 112, then in this case it will also be transferred to the container 108-3, the runtime state data 302 is generated by the application when the application is running and is stored in the container 108-3. For example, the application 204 can record the number of requests received in a given time interval. This information can be saved in the runtime state 302 and transferred back to the data repository 112 when the container 108-3 is flushed. In general, transferring the configuration 202, the application 204 and / or the runtime state 302 to the empty but instantiated container 108-3 is a relatively lightweight process that can be completed very quickly and efficiently to process requests without noticeable delays.

[0042] Figure 4 The diagram illustrates how a populated container 108-3 according to some embodiments can serve requests. The container 108-3 can serve any request for the tenant to the API defined by the configuration 202. In some cases, this may include processing only a single request that causes the configuration 202 to be transmitted to the container 108-3. In other cases, this may include processing multiple similar requests sent to the router 106 for the same tenant. After all requests have been processed and responses (if any) have been sent back to the client device that issued the request, the container 108-3 may become idle or passive. Although the container 108-3 is still allocated or bound to a specific tenant, it is not currently used to process any request. After a predetermined time interval, the container 108-3 can be de-allocated to the specific tenant and placed back in the pool of available containers 108-3, waiting to be allocated to a new tenant with a new configuration.

[0043] Before flushing container 108-3 and reallocating it to a different tenant, any runtime state information 302 generated or updated by application 204 running on container 108-3 may be saved in data store 112. Then, when configuration 202 and / or application 204 is reallocated to a new container to service future requests, runtime state information 302 may be transferred to the different container.

[0044] Figure 5 A simplified block diagram of a container 108-3 being placed back into the pool of available containers according to some embodiments is illustrated. After the runtime state information 302 is transmitted back to the data repository 112, the configuration 202, application 204, and / or runtime state 302 of the container 108-3 may be flushed. Now, the router 106 may reallocate the empty container 108-3 to a different tenant to service a different API call. Figure 5Only container 108-3 is shown as empty, but an actual deployment may typically include multiple empty containers. Router 106 may use different strategies to assign requests to one of multiple available empty containers, such as a round-robin strategy. As described above, if container 108-3 is not assigned to a new tenant / API within a predetermined time interval, container 108-3 may be removed from the multi-tenant environment to save memory and / or computing resources.

[0045] As described above, the data repository 112 facilitates these operations by distributing configuration, application, and runtime states to various containers running in a multi-tenant environment. The data repository 112 can also receive configuration information from tenants at initial registration or even at runtime. The data repository 112 also maintains a service registry 214 that monitors the state of the container pool at any time. The data repository 112 uses the service registry 214 to communicate with the router 106 to determine when the available container pool should grow and / or shrink.

[0046] Fig. 6A The state diagram of the life cycle of a container in a multi-tenant environment according to some embodiments is illustrated. In the initial state 602, the container does not exist. In state 604, the container has been instantiated with the above-mentioned processing set (e.g., web server, endpoint, etc.), but the container is not bound or assigned to a specific tenant and is empty. When serving a request, the container can enter state 606, in which it is bound or assigned to a specific tenant and filled with configuration, application and / or runtime state information. State 606 is called an active state because the container may be actively serving a request received from router 106. In state 608, the container can still be bound or assigned to a specific tenant, but it is passive because it does not actively process any request using its internally stored configuration. After being idle for a predetermined time interval, the container can be de-assigned or de-bound in state 610. When the container is no longer bound to a specific tenant, the internal configuration, application and / or runtime state can be flushed. In some embodiments, an unbound container does not need to flush its internal contents until it is reallocated to a new tenant. If the container is not assigned to a new tenant, the container can be removed in state 612.

[0047] Figure 6B The diagram shows a method according to some embodiments Fig. 6AAnother view of a state diagram of , which illustrates the life cycle of a container in a multi-tenant environment. In the initial state 602, the container does not yet exist or has been deleted from the container environment. After the container instance is created, it can be unbound in state 604. If the container is idle for a predetermined time interval (called the "unbound timeout"), the container can be deleted from the environment and then returned to state 602. Alternatively, in state 606, the container can be assigned to a tenant and loaded with configuration, applications, state information, etc. From the bound state and active state 606, if the router reduces the size of the container pool, the container can be removed from the environment and thus transition back to state 602. The container can also be released from the tenant, flush its tenant-specific content, and return to the unbound container pool in state 604. In addition, if the bound active container in state 606 is idle without servicing any client requests for a predetermined time interval called the "idle tenant timeout", it can become passive in state 608. From the bound and passive state 608, a "passive timeout" interval may expire and cause the container to transition from the bound and passive container state 608 to the unbound container pool in state 604. The container lifecycle may transition between states as long as the container exists.

[0048] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method for isolating tenants using containers to service requests in a multi-tenant environment is illustrated. The method may include receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant (702). The method may also include selecting an empty container in the multi-tenant environment (704). The method may additionally include loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container (706). The method may also include servicing the first request from the container (708). The method may also include receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant (710). The method may additionally include flushing the first configuration from the container (712). The method may also include servicing the second request from the container (714). Some embodiments may include a system including one or more processors and one or more memories that perform the method steps. Other embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that cause one or more processors to perform the method steps.

[0049] In any embodiment, one or more of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. The container may be one of a plurality of containers in a multi-tenant environment that are instantiated to service requests from a client device. After flushing the first configuration from the container, the container may include a runtime process with an embedded server and an internal endpoint. The internal endpoint may be called by a router in the multi-tenant environment to service a second request. The first configuration may include multiple actions that are linked together to service the request. The multi-tenant environment may prevent the container from servicing requests associated with different tenants simultaneously. The multi-tenant environment may allow the container to simultaneously service requests associated with a single tenant. The method may also include: receiving a third request for a second service provided by a second tenant; and servicing the third request from the container without flushing the second configuration from the container. The first service may include a public API that is made available through the multi-tenant environment.

[0050] It should be recognized that Figure 7 The specific steps shown in provide specific methods for using containers to isolate tenants to serve requests in a multi-tenant environment according to various embodiments of the present invention. According to alternative embodiments, other sequences of steps may also be performed. For example, alternative embodiments of the present invention may perform the steps outlined above in a different order. In addition, Figure 7 The various steps shown may include multiple sub-steps, which may be performed in various orders suitable for the individual steps. In addition, additional steps may be added or removed depending on the specific application. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, modifications, and substitutions.

[0051] Figure 8 A flowchart of a method for managing runtime state and service configuration of a container in a multi-tenant environment according to some embodiments is illustrated. The method may include receiving an indication that a request for a service provided in a multi-tenant environment has been received (802). The method may additionally include identifying a configuration that implements the service, wherein the configuration is stored in a data repository (804). The method may also include sending the configuration to a container in the multi-tenant environment to service the request (806). The method may also include receiving a runtime state from the container (808). The method may also include storing the runtime state in a data repository, wherein the configuration is flushed from the container (810). Some embodiments may include a system including one or more processors and one or more memories that perform these method steps. Other embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that cause one or more processors to perform these method steps.

[0052] In any embodiment, one or more of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. The configuration may be provided by a tenant of the multi-tenant environment prior to runtime. The data repository may include a key-value data repository. The key-value data repository may include a distributed key-value data repository. The identity of the tenant associated with the service may be a key in the key-value data repository, and the configuration and runtime state may be values ​​in the key-value data repository. The data repository may also store a registry of containers available in the multi-tenant environment. When a new container is available in the multi-tenant environment based on the registry of containers, the data repository may update one or more routers in the multi-tenant environment.

[0053] It should be recognized that Figure 8 The specific steps shown provide specific methods for managing the runtime state and service configuration of containers in a multi-tenant environment according to various embodiments. According to alternative embodiments, other step sequences may also be performed. For example, alternative embodiments of the present invention may perform the steps outlined above in a different order. In addition, Figure 8 The various steps shown may include multiple sub-steps, which may be performed in various orders suitable for the individual steps. In addition, additional steps may be added or removed depending on the specific application. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, modifications, and substitutions.

[0054] Fig. 9 A flow chart of a method for efficiently allocating a pool of containers to service requests in a multi-tenant environment according to some embodiments is illustrated. The method may include allocating multiple containers to a first tenant in a multi-tenant environment (902). The method may also include identifying one or more containers of the multiple containers that are allocated to the first tenant but are not being used by the first tenant (904). The method may additionally include flushing the contents of one or more containers (906). The method may also include reallocating one or more containers to a second tenant in the multi-tenant environment (908). Some embodiments may include a system including one or more processors and one or more memories that perform these method steps. Other embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that cause one or more processors to perform these method steps.

[0055] In any embodiment, one or more of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. After flushing the contents of one or more containers, the one or more containers need not be allocated to any tenant within a first time interval before being reallocated to a second tenant. The method may also include: identifying a second one or more containers in the plurality of containers that are allocated to the first tenant but are not being used by the first tenant; determining that no other tenants need the second one or more containers; and removing the second one or more containers from the multi-tenant environment. The method may additionally include: determining that the first tenant is receiving more requests than the plurality of containers can serve. The method may also include instantiating a new plurality of containers; and assigning the new plurality of containers to the first tenant. The method may also include assigning a container previously assigned to another tenant to the first tenant. The gateway of the multi-tenant environment may reallocate the one or more containers to the second tenant in the multi-tenant environment.

[0056] It should be recognized that Fig. 9 The specific steps shown provide specific methods for efficiently allocating a pool of containers to serve requests in a multi-tenant environment according to various embodiments. According to alternative embodiments, other sequences of steps may also be performed. For example, alternative embodiments of the present invention may perform the steps outlined above in a different order. In addition, Fig. 9 The various steps shown may include multiple sub-steps, which may be performed in various orders suitable for the individual steps. In addition, additional steps may be added or removed depending on the specific application. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, modifications, and substitutions.

[0057] Each method described herein can be implemented by a computer system. Each step of these methods can be automatically performed by a computer system, and / or can be provided with input / output involving a user. For example, a user can provide input for each step in the method, and each of these inputs can be in response to a specific output requesting such input, wherein the output is generated by a computer system. Each input can be received in response to a corresponding request output. In addition, input can be received from a user, from another computer system as a data stream, from a memory location, retrieved through a network, from a web service request, etc. Similarly, the output can be provided to a user, provided to another computer system as a data stream, stored in a memory location, sent through a network, provided to a web service, etc. In short, each step of the method described herein can be performed by a computer system, and can involve any number of inputs, outputs, and / or requests from a computer system, which may or may not involve a user. It can be said that those steps that do not involve a user are automatically performed by a computer system without human intervention. Therefore, it will be understood from the present disclosure that each step of each method described herein can be changed to include inputs and outputs to and from a user, or can be automatically completed by a computer system without human intervention, wherein any determination is generated by a processor. Furthermore, some embodiments of each of the methods described herein may be implemented as a set of instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory storage medium to form a tangible software product.

[0058] Fig.10 A simplified diagram of a distributed system 1000 for implementing one of the embodiments is depicted. In the illustrated embodiment, the distributed system 1000 includes one or more client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008, each of which can be configured to execute and operate a client application, such as a web browser, a proprietary client (e.g., Oracle Forms), etc., over one or more networks 1010. A server 1012 can be communicatively coupled to the remote client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008 via the network 1010.

[0059] In various embodiments, server 1012 may be adapted to run one or more services or software applications provided by one or more components of the system. In some embodiments, these services may be provided as web-based services or cloud services, or provided to users of client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and / or 1008 under a software as a service (SaaS) model. Users operating client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and / or 1008 may in turn utilize one or more client applications to interact with server 1012 to utilize the services provided by these components.

[0060] In the configuration depicted in the figure, software components 1018, 1020 and 1022 of system 1000 are shown as being implemented on server 1012. In other embodiments, one or more components of system 1000 and / or the services provided by these components may also be implemented by one or more of client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006 and / or 1008. Then, a user operating the client computing device can use the services provided by these components using one or more client applications. These components may be implemented with hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof. It should be appreciated that various system configurations are possible, which may be different from distributed system 1000. The embodiment shown in the figure is therefore an example of a distributed system for implementing an embodiment system, rather than being intended to be limiting.

[0061] Client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and / or 1008 may be portable handheld devices (e.g., Cellular phone, computing tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or wearable devices (e.g., Google head mounted display), running software such as Microsoft Windows and / or software for various mobile operating systems (such as iOS, Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry 10, Palm OS, etc.), and enabling Internet, email, short message service (SMS), or other communication protocols. The client computing device may be a general-purpose personal computer, including, for example, a computer running various versions of Microsoft Apple The client computing device may be a personal computer and / or laptop computer running any of a variety of commercially available Alternatively or additionally, client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008 may be any other electronic device capable of communicating over network(s) 1010, such as thin client computers, Internet-enabled gaming systems (e.g., with or without Internet access), or workstation computers running UNIX-like operating systems (including, but not limited to, various GNU / Linux operating systems, such as, for example, Google Chrome OS). A gesture input device for a Microsoft Xbox gaming console) and / or a personal messaging device.

[0062] Although exemplary distributed system 1000 is shown with four client computing devices, any number of client computing devices may be supported. Other devices, such as devices with sensors, etc., may interact with server 1012 .

[0063] The network(s) 1010 in the distributed system 1000 may be any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that may support data communications using any of a variety of commercially available protocols, including but not limited to TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), SNA (Systems Network Architecture), IPX (Internet Message Exchange), AppleTalk, and the like. Merely by way of example, the network(s) 1010 may be a local area network (LAN), such as a LAN based on Ethernet, Token Ring, and the like. The network(s) 1010 may be a wide area network and the Internet. It may include virtual networks, including but not limited to virtual private networks (VPNs), intranets, extranets, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), infrared networks, wireless networks (e.g., in accordance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 protocol suite, and / or any other wireless protocol operating in any one of the networks); and / or any combination of these and / or other networks.

[0064] The server 1012 may be composed of one or more general-purpose computers, dedicated server computers (including, for example, PC (personal computer) servers, The server 1012 may be a server, a mid-range server, a mainframe computer, a rack-mounted server, etc.), a server farm, a server cluster, or any other suitable arrangement and / or combination. In various embodiments, the server 1012 may be adapted to run one or more services or software applications described in the foregoing disclosure. For example, the server 1012 may correspond to a server for performing the processing described above according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0065] Server 1012 may run any of the operating systems discussed above, as well as any commercially available server operating system. Server 1012 may also run any of a variety of additional server applications and / or middle-tier applications, including HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) servers, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) servers, CGI (Common Gateway Interface) servers, Servers, database servers, etc. Exemplary database servers include, but are not limited to, those commercially available from Oracle, Microsoft, Sybase, IBM (International Business Machines), etc.

[0066] In some implementations, server 1012 may include one or more applications to analyze and integrate data feeds and / or event updates received from users of client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008. By way of example, data feeds and / or event updates may include, but are not limited to, feed, Real-time updates and continuous data streams updated or received from one or more third-party information sources, which may include real-time events related to sensor data applications, financial quote machines, network performance measurement tools (e.g., network monitoring and traffic management applications), clickstream analysis tools, automobile traffic monitoring, etc. Server 1012 may also include one or more applications to display data feeds and / or real-time events via one or more display devices of client computing devices 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008.

[0067] Distributed system 1000 may also include one or more databases 1014 and 1016. Databases 1014 and 1016 may reside in various locations. As an example, one or more of databases 1014 and 1016 may reside on a non-transient storage medium local to server 1012 (and / or residing in server 1012). Alternatively, databases 1014 and 1016 may be remote from server 1012 and communicate with server 1012 via a network-based connection or a dedicated connection. In one set of embodiments, databases 1014 and 1016 may reside in a storage area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for executing the functions possessed by server 1012 may be appropriately stored locally on server 1012 and / or remotely. In one set of embodiments, databases 1014 and 1016 may include a relational database suitable for storing, updating and retrieving data in response to commands in SQL format, such as a database provided by Oracle.

[0068] Fig.11 1 is a simplified block diagram of one or more components of a system environment 1100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, through which services provided by one or more components of the embodiment system can be provided as cloud services. In the illustrated embodiment, the system environment 1100 includes one or more client computing devices 1104, 1106, and 1108 that can be used by a user to interact with a cloud infrastructure system 1102 that provides cloud services. The client computing device can be configured to operate a client application, such as a web browser, a proprietary client application (e.g., Oracle Forms), or some other application that can be used by a user of the client computing device to interact with the cloud infrastructure system 1102 to use the services provided by the cloud infrastructure system 1102.

[0069] It should be appreciated that the cloud infrastructure system 1102 depicted in the figure may have other components in addition to those depicted. In addition, the embodiment shown in the figure is only one example of a cloud infrastructure system that may be combined with embodiments of the present invention. In some other embodiments, the cloud infrastructure system 1102 may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure, may combine two or more components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement of components.

[0070] Client computing devices 1104 , 1106 , and 1108 may be similar devices to those described above with respect to 1002 , 1004 , 1006 , and 1008 .

[0071] Although the exemplary system environment 1100 is shown with three client computing devices, any number of client computing devices may be supported. Other devices such as devices with sensors may interact with the cloud infrastructure system 1102 .

[0072] Network(s) 1110 can facilitate data communications and exchanges between clients 1104, 1106, and 1108 and cloud infrastructure system 1102. Each network can be any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can support data communications using any of a variety of commercially available protocols, including those described above for network(s) 1010.

[0073] Cloud infrastructure system 1102 may include one or more computers and / or servers, which may include those described above with respect to server 1012 .

[0074] In some embodiments, the services provided by the cloud infrastructure system may include many services available on demand to users of the cloud infrastructure system, such as online data storage and backup solutions, web-based email services, hosted office suites and document collaboration services, database processing, managed technical support services, etc. The services provided by the cloud infrastructure system can be dynamically expanded to meet the needs of users of the cloud infrastructure system. The specific instantiation of the services provided by the cloud infrastructure system is referred to as a "service instance" in this article. In general, any service available to users from a cloud service provider's system via a communication network (such as the Internet) is referred to as a "cloud service." Typically, in a public cloud environment, the servers and systems that make up the cloud service provider's system are different from the customer's own local servers and systems. For example, a cloud service provider's system can host applications, and users can order and use applications on demand via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0075] In some examples, services in a computer network cloud infrastructure may include protected computer network access to storage devices, hosted databases, hosted web servers, software applications, or other services provided by a cloud provider to users, or as otherwise known in the art. For example, a service may include password-protected access to remote storage devices on the cloud over the Internet. As another example, a service may include a hosted relational database and scripting language middleware engine based on web services for private use by networked developers. As another example, a service may include access to an email software application hosted on a cloud provider's website.

[0076] In certain embodiments, the cloud infrastructure system 1102 may include a suite of application, middleware, and database service offerings delivered to customers in a self-service, subscription-based, elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner. An example of such a cloud infrastructure system is the Oracle public cloud provided by the present assignee.

[0077] In various embodiments, the cloud infrastructure system 1102 may be adapted to automatically provision, manage, and track customer subscriptions to services provided by the cloud infrastructure system 1102. The cloud infrastructure system 1102 may provide cloud services via different deployment models. For example, services may be provided in accordance with a public cloud model, where the cloud infrastructure system 1102 is owned by an organization that sells cloud services (e.g., owned by Oracle), and the services are available to the general public or businesses in different industries. As another example, services may be provided in accordance with a private cloud model, where the cloud infrastructure system 1102 operates only for a single organization and may provide services to one or more entities within the organization. Cloud services may also be provided in accordance with a community cloud model, where the cloud infrastructure system 1102 and the services provided by the cloud infrastructure system 1102 are shared by several organizations in a related community. Cloud services may also be provided in accordance with a hybrid cloud model, which is a combination of two or more different models.

[0078] In some embodiments, the services provided by cloud infrastructure system 1102 may include one or more services provided under a software as a service (SaaS) category, a platform as a service (PaaS) category, an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) category, or other service categories including hybrid services. A customer, via a subscription order, may subscribe to one or more services provided by cloud infrastructure system 1102. Cloud infrastructure system 1102 then performs processing to provide the services in the customer's subscription order.

[0079] In some embodiments, the services provided by the cloud infrastructure system 1102 may include, but are not limited to, application services, platform services, and infrastructure services. In some examples, application services may be provided by the cloud infrastructure system via a SaaS platform. The SaaS platform may be configured to provide cloud services that fall into the SaaS category. For example, a SaaS platform may provide the ability to build and deliver on-demand application suites on an integrated development and deployment platform. The SaaS platform may manage and control the underlying software and infrastructure used to provide SaaS services. By utilizing the services provided by the SaaS platform, customers may utilize applications executed on the cloud infrastructure system. Customers may obtain application services without the need for customers to purchase separate licenses and support. A variety of different SaaS services may be provided. Examples include, but are not limited to, services that provide solutions for sales performance management, enterprise integration, and business flexibility to large organizations.

[0080] In some embodiments, platform services can be provided by a cloud infrastructure system via a PaaS platform. The PaaS platform can be configured to provide cloud services that fall into the PaaS category. Examples of platform services may include, but are not limited to, services that enable organizations (such as Oracle) to integrate existing applications on a shared public architecture and to fully utilize the shared services provided by the platform to build new applications. The PaaS platform can manage and control the underlying software and infrastructure for providing PaaS services. Customers can obtain PaaS services provided by a cloud infrastructure system without the need for customers to purchase separate licenses and support. Examples of platform services include, but are not limited to, Oracle Java Cloud Service (JCS), Oracle Database Cloud Service (DBCS), etc.

[0081] By utilizing the services provided by the PaaS platform, customers can adopt programming languages ​​and tools supported by the cloud infrastructure system and also control the deployed services. In some embodiments, the platform services provided by the cloud infrastructure system may include database cloud services, middleware cloud services (e.g., Oracle Fusion Middleware Services), and Java cloud services. In one embodiment, the database cloud service may support a shared service deployment model that enables organizations to pool database resources and supply databases as a service to customers in the form of a database cloud. In the cloud infrastructure system, the middleware cloud service can provide customers with a platform for developing and deploying various business applications, and the Java cloud service can provide customers with a platform for deploying Java applications.

[0082] A variety of different infrastructure services can be provided by IaaS platforms in cloud infrastructure systems. Infrastructure services facilitate the management and control of underlying computing resources (such as storage, networks, and other basic computing resources) for customers to utilize services provided by SaaS platforms and PaaS platforms.

[0083] In some embodiments, the cloud infrastructure system 1102 may also include infrastructure resources 1130 for providing resources for providing various services to customers of the cloud infrastructure system. In one embodiment, the infrastructure resources 1130 may include a combination of pre-integrated and optimized hardware (such as servers, storage devices, and networking resources) to perform services provided by the PaaS platform and the SaaS platform.

[0084] In some embodiments, resources in cloud infrastructure system 1102 can be shared by multiple users and dynamically reallocated as needed. In addition, resources can be allocated to users in different time zones. For example, cloud infrastructure system 1130 can enable a first group of users in a first time zone to utilize the resources of the cloud infrastructure system for a specified number of hours, and then enable the same resources to be reallocated to another group of users in a different time zone, thereby maximizing the utilization of the resources.

[0085] In certain embodiments, a plurality of internal shared services 1132 may be provided that are shared by different components or modules of the cloud infrastructure system 1102 and services provided by the cloud infrastructure system 1102. These internal shared services may include, but are not limited to: security and identity services, integration services, enterprise repository services, enterprise manager services, virus scanning and whitelisting services, high availability, backup and recovery services, cloud-enabled services, email services, notification services, file transfer services, and the like.

[0086] In some embodiments, the cloud infrastructure system 1102 can provide comprehensive management of cloud services (e.g., SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS services) in the cloud infrastructure system. In one embodiment, the cloud management function can include the ability to provision, manage, and track customer subscriptions received by the cloud infrastructure system 1102, etc.

[0087] In one embodiment, as depicted in the figure, cloud management functionality may be provided by one or more modules, such as order management module 1120, order orchestration module 1122, order provisioning module 1124, order management and monitoring module 1126, and identity management module 1128. These modules may include or be provided using one or more computers and / or servers, which may be general purpose computers, dedicated server computers, server farms, server clusters, or any other suitable arrangement and / or combination.

[0088] In exemplary operation 1134, a customer using a client device (such as client devices 1104, 1106, or 1108) may interact with cloud infrastructure system 1102 by requesting one or more services provided by cloud infrastructure system 1102 and placing an order to subscribe to one or more services provided by cloud infrastructure system 1102. In certain embodiments, the customer may access a cloud user interface (UI) (cloud UI 1112, cloud UI 1114, and / or cloud UI 1116) and place a subscription order via these UIs. Order information received by cloud infrastructure system 1102 in response to a customer placing an order may include information identifying the customer and one or more services provided by cloud infrastructure system 1102 to which the customer wants to subscribe.

[0089] After a customer places an order, order information is received via cloud UIs 1112 , 1114 , and / or 1116 .

[0090] At operation 1136, the order is stored in order database 1118. Order database 1118 may be one of several databases operated by cloud infrastructure system 1118 and in conjunction with other system elements.

[0091] At operation 1138, the order information is forwarded to order management module 1120. In some cases, order management module 1120 may be configured to perform billing and accounting functions related to the order, such as validating the order, and booking the order after validation.

[0092] At operation 1140, information about the order is transmitted to order orchestration module 1122. Order orchestration module 1122 can use the order information to orchestrate the provisioning of services and resources for the order placed by the customer. In some cases, order orchestration module 1122 can use the services of order provisioning module 1124 to orchestrate the provisioning of resources to support the subscribed services.

[0093] In certain embodiments, order orchestration module 1122 enables management of business processes associated with each order and applies business logic to determine whether an order should proceed to provisioning. At operation 1142, upon receiving an order for a new subscription, order orchestration module 1122 sends a request to order provisioning module 1124 to allocate resources and configure those resources required to fulfill the subscription order. Order provisioning module 1124 enables allocation of resources for services ordered by a customer. Order provisioning module 1124 provides an abstraction layer between the cloud services provided by cloud infrastructure system 1100 and the physical implementation layer for provisioning resources for providing the requested services. Thus, order orchestration module 1122 can be isolated from implementation details such as whether services and resources are actually provisioned on the fly or pre-provisioned and allocated / assigned only upon request.

[0094] At operation 1144 , once the services and resources are provisioned, notifications of the provided services may be sent to customers on client devices 1104 , 1106 , and / or 1108 via the order provisioning module 1124 of the cloud infrastructure system 1102 .

[0095] At operation 1146, the order management and monitoring module 1126 can manage and track the customer's subscription order. In some cases, the order management and monitoring module 1126 can be configured to collect usage statistics for the services in the subscription order, such as the amount of storage used, the amount of data transferred, the number of users, and the amount of system uptime and system downtime.

[0096] In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 1100 may include identity management module 1128. Identity management module 1128 may be configured to provide identity services, such as access management and authorization services in cloud infrastructure system 1100. In some embodiments, identity management module 1128 may control information about clients that wish to utilize services provided by cloud infrastructure system 1102. Such information may include information authenticating the identities of these clients and information describing which actions these clients are authorized to perform with respect to various system resources (e.g., files, directories, applications, communication ports, memory segments, etc.). Identity management module 1128 may also include management of descriptive information about each client and how and by whom this descriptive information may be accessed and modified.

[0097] Fig.12 An exemplary computer system 1200 in which various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented is shown. System 1200 may be used to implement any of the computer systems described above. As shown, computer system 1200 includes a processing unit 1204 that communicates with multiple peripheral subsystems via a bus subsystem 1202. These peripheral subsystems may include a processing acceleration unit 1206, an I / O subsystem 1208, a storage subsystem 1218, and a communication subsystem 1224. Storage subsystem 1218 includes a tangible computer-readable storage medium 1222 and a system memory 1210.

[0098] The bus subsystem 1202 provides a mechanism for allowing the various components and subsystems of the computer system 1200 to communicate with each other by intention. Although the bus subsystem 1202 is schematically shown as a single bus, an alternative embodiment of the bus subsystem can utilize multiple buses. The bus subsystem 1202 can be any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or a memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any various bus architectures. For example, this architecture can include an industrial standard architecture (ISA) bus, a microchannel architecture (MCA) bus, an enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, a video electronics standard association (VESA) local bus, and a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, which can be implemented as a Mezzanine bus manufactured by the IEEE P1386.1 standard.

[0099] The processing unit 1204, which may be implemented as one or more integrated circuits (e.g., conventional microprocessors or microcontrollers), controls the operation of the computer system 1200. One or more processors may be included in the processing unit 1204. These processors may include single-core or multi-core processors. In some embodiments, the processing unit 1204 may be implemented as one or more independent processing units 1232 and / or 1234, wherein a single-core or multi-core processor is included in each processing unit. In other embodiments, the processing unit 1204 may also be implemented as a quad-core processing unit formed by integrating two dual-core processors into a single chip.

[0100] In various embodiments, the processing unit 1204 can execute various programs in response to the program code and can maintain multiple concurrently executed programs or processes. At any given time, some or all of the program code to be executed may reside in (one or more) processors 1204 and / or in the storage subsystem 1218. Through appropriate programming, (one or more) processors 1204 can provide the various functions described above. The computer system 1200 can additionally include a processing acceleration unit 1206, which can include a digital signal processor (DSP), a special processor, and the like.

[0101] I / O subsystem 1208 may include user interface input devices and user interface output devices. User interface input devices may include a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse or trackball, a touch pad or touch screen incorporated into a display, a scroll wheel, a click wheel, a dial, buttons, switches, a keyboard, an audio input device with a voice command recognition system, a microphone, and other types of input devices. User interface input devices may include, for example, motion sensing and / or gesture recognition devices such as Microsoft Motion sensors that enable users to control apps such as Microsoft 360 game controller. The user interface input device may also include an eye gesture recognition device, such as detecting eye activity from the user (e.g., a "wink" when taking a picture and / or making a menu selection) and translating eye gestures to the input device (e.g., Google ) in Google In addition, the user interface input device may include a user interface that enables the user to communicate with the voice recognition system (e.g., Navigator) interactive voice recognition sensing device.

[0102] The user interface input device may also include, but is not limited to, a three-dimensional (3D) mouse, a joystick or pointing stick, a game panel and a drawing board, and audio / video equipment such as a speaker, a digital camera, a digital video camera, a portable media player, a webcam, an image scanner, a fingerprint scanner, a barcode reader 3D scanner, a 3D printer, a laser rangefinder, and a sight tracking device. In addition, the user interface input device may include, for example, a medical imaging input device such as a computer tomography, a magnetic resonance imaging, a positron emission tomography, a medical ultrasound device. The user interface input device may also include, for example, an audio input device such as a MIDI keyboard, a digital musical instrument, etc.

[0103] The user interface output devices may include a display subsystem, indicator lights, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc. The display subsystem may be a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat panel device such as using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma display, a projection device, a touch screen, etc. In general, the use of the term "output device" is intended to include all possible types of devices and mechanisms for outputting information from the computer system 1200 to a user or other computers. For example, the user interface output devices may include, but are not limited to, various display devices that visually convey text, graphics, and audio / video information, such as monitors, printers, speakers, headphones, car navigation systems, plotters, voice output devices, and modems.

[0104] Computer system 1200 may include a storage subsystem 1218 containing software elements, shown currently located in system memory 1210. System memory 1210 may store program instructions that may be loaded and executed on processing unit 1204, as well as data generated during execution of these programs.

[0105] Depending on the configuration and type of computer system 1200, system memory 1210 may be volatile (such as random access memory (RAM)) and / or non-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.). RAM typically contains data and / or program modules that are immediately accessible to and / or currently being operated and executed by processing unit 1204. In some implementations, system memory 1210 may include a variety of different types of memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In some implementations, a basic input / output system (BIOS), such as one that contains basic routines that help transfer information between elements of computer system 1200 during startup, may typically be stored in ROM. By way of example, and not limitation, system memory 1210 also illustrates application programs 1212 that may include client applications, web browsers, middle-tier applications, relational database management systems (RDBMS), etc., program data 1214, and an operating system 1216. By way of example, operating system 1216 may include various versions of Microsoft Apple and / or Linux operating systems, various commercially available or UNIX-like operating systems (including but not limited to various GNU / Linux operating systems, Google OS operating system, etc.) and / or such as iOS, Phone, OS, 10OS and OS operating system's mobile operating system.

[0106] Storage subsystem 1218 may also provide a tangible computer-readable storage medium for storing basic programming and data structures that provide the functionality of some embodiments. Software (programs, code modules, instructions) that provide the above-described functionality when executed by the processor may be stored in storage subsystem 1218. These software modules or instructions may be executed by processing unit 1204. Storage subsystem 1218 may also provide a repository for storing data used in accordance with the present invention.

[0107] The storage subsystem 1200 may also include a computer-readable storage media reader 1220, which may be further connected to a computer-readable storage medium 1222. Together with the system memory 1210 and, optionally, in conjunction therewith, the computer-readable storage medium 1222 may comprehensively represent remote, local, fixed, and / or removable storage devices plus storage media for temporarily and / or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information.

[0108] The computer-readable storage medium 1222 containing the code or portions of the code may also include any suitable media known or used in the art, including storage media and communication media, such as, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage and / or transmission of information. This may include tangible computer-readable storage media, such as RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible computer-readable media. This may also include non-tangible computer-readable media, such as data signals, data transmissions, or any other media that can be used to send the desired information and can be accessed by the computing system 1200.

[0109] As examples, computer-readable storage media 1222 may include a hard drive that reads from or writes to non-removable nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to removable nonvolatile magnetic disks, and a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to removable nonvolatile optical disks (such as CD ROMs, DVDs, and optical drives). Computer readable storage media 1222 may include, but are not limited to, The computer readable storage medium 1222 may include a solid-state drive (SSD) based on non-volatile memory (such as a flash memory-based SSD, an enterprise flash drive, a solid-state ROM, etc.), a volatile memory-based SSD (such as a solid-state RAM, a dynamic RAM, a static RAM), a DRAM-based SSD, a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) SSD, and a hybrid SSD using a combination of DRAM and flash memory-based SSDs. The disk drive and its associated computer-readable media may provide non-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computer system 1200.

[0110] The communication subsystem 1224 provides an interface to other computer systems and networks. The communication subsystem 1224 is used as an interface for receiving data from other systems and sending data from the computer system 1200 to other systems. For example, the communication subsystem 1224 can enable the computer system 1200 to be connected to one or more devices via the Internet. In some embodiments, the communication subsystem 1224 may include a radio frequency (RF) transceiver component for accessing a wireless voice and / or data network (e.g., using cellular phone technology, advanced data network technology such as 3G, 4G or EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 series standards), or other mobile communication technologies, or any combination thereof), a global positioning system (GPS) receiver component and / or other components. In some embodiments, as an addition or replacement of a wireless interface, the communication subsystem 1224 can provide a wired network connection (e.g., Ethernet).

[0111] In some embodiments, the communication subsystem 1224 may also receive incoming communications in the form of structured and / or unstructured data feeds 1226 , event streams 1228 , event updates 1230 , and the like on behalf of one or more users who may use the computer system 1200 .

[0112] As an example, the communication subsystem 1224 may be configured to receive data feeds 1226 in real time from users of a social network and / or other communication service, such as feed, Updates, web feeds such as Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and / or real-time updates from one or more third-party information sources.

[0113] Additionally, the communication subsystem 1224 may also be configured to receive data in the form of a continuous data stream, which may include event streams 1228 and / or event updates 1230, which may be continuous or unbounded in nature, real-time events without explicit termination. Examples of applications that generate continuous data may include, for example, sensor data applications, financial quote machines, network performance measurement tools (e.g., network monitoring and traffic management applications), clickstream analysis tools, automotive traffic monitoring, and the like.

[0114] The communication subsystem 1224 may also be configured to output structured and / or unstructured data feeds 1226 , event streams 1228 , event updates 1230 , etc. to one or more databases that may be in computer communication with one or more streaming data source computers coupled to the computer system 1200 .

[0115] Computer system 1200 may be one of various types, including a handheld portable device (e.g., Cellular phone, computing tablets, PDAs), wearable devices (e.g., Google head mounted display), PC, workstation, mainframe, kiosk, server rack, or any other data processing system.

[0116] Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, the description of the computer system 2000 depicted in the figure is intended only as a specific example. Many other configurations with more or fewer components than the system depicted in the figure are possible. For example, customized hardware may also be used and / or specific elements may be implemented with hardware, firmware, software (including applets) or a combination thereof. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may also be employed. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other ways and / or methods of implementing various embodiments.

[0117] In the foregoing description, for the purpose of explanation, many specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. However, it is clear to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.

[0118] The above description provides exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the present disclosure. More specifically, the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide an enabling description for implementing the exemplary embodiments for those skilled in the art. It should be understood that various changes may be made to the functions and arrangements of the elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

[0119] Specific details are given in the foregoing description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may have been shown as components in block diagram form so as not to obscure the embodiments with unnecessary detail. In other cases, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may have been shown without unnecessary detail so as not to obscure the embodiments.

[0120] Furthermore, it should be noted that various embodiments may have been described as processes that are depicted as flow charts, data flow diagrams, structure diagrams, or block diagrams. Although the flow charts may have described the operations as sequential processes, many operations may be performed in parallel or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. A process terminates when its operations are completed, but there may be other steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to the function returning to the calling function or main function.

[0121] The term "computer-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels, and various other media capable of storing, containing, or carrying (one or more) instructions and / or data. A code segment or machine executable instruction can represent any combination of a process, function, subroutine, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or instruction, data structure, or program statement. A code segment can be coupled to another code segment or hardware circuit by transmitting and / or receiving information, data, independent variables, parameters, or memory contents. Information, independent variables, parameters, data, etc. can be transmitted, forwarded, or sent via any suitable means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0122] In addition, the embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments for performing the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine-readable medium. The processor may perform the necessary tasks.

[0123] In the foregoing description, various aspects of the present invention have been described with reference to their specific embodiments, but it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited thereto. Each feature and aspect disclosed above can be used alone or in combination. In addition, without departing from the broader spirit and scope of this specification, the embodiment can be used in any number of environments and applications other than those described herein. Accordingly, this specification and the accompanying drawings should be considered to be illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0124] In addition, for the purpose of illustration, method is described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that, in an alternative embodiment, the method can be performed in a sequence different from the described order. It should also be appreciated that the above method can be performed by hardware components, or can be implemented with a sequence of machine executable instructions, which can be used to make a machine (such as a general or special processor or logic circuit programmed with instructions) perform the method. These machine executable instructions can be stored in one or more machine-readable media, such as CD-ROM or other types of optical disks, floppy disks, ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic cards or optical cards, flash memory or other types of machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Alternatively, the method can be performed by a combination of hardware and software.

[0125] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0126] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 566,422, filed September 30, 2017, U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 566,431, filed September 30, 2017, and U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 566,435, filed September 30, 2017. The entire disclosures of U.S. Patent Applications 62 / 566,422, 62 / 566,431, and 62 / 566,435 are incorporated herein by reference, including the appendices.

Claims

1. A method for managing runtime state and service configuration of a container in a multi-tenant environment, the method comprising: receiving an indication that a request for a service provided in the multi-tenant environment has been received; identifying a configuration that implements the service, wherein the configuration is stored in a data repository; sending the configuration to a container in the multi-tenant environment to service the request; receiving a runtime state from the container; as well as The runtime state is stored in the data repository, wherein the configuration is flushed from the container.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration is provided by a tenant of the multi-tenant environment prior to runtime. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data repository comprises a key-value data repository. The method of claim 3 , wherein the key-value data store comprises a distributed key-value data store.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the identity of the tenant associated with the service comprises a key in the key-value data store, and wherein the configuration and runtime state comprise values ​​in the key-value data store.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data repository further stores a registry of containers available in the multi-tenant environment.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein when a new container becomes available in the multi-tenant environment, the data repository updates one or more routers in the multi-tenant environment based on a registry of the container.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, after the configuration is flushed from the container, an indication that a second request for the service has been received; sending the configuration to a second container in the multi-tenant environment to service the second request; sending the runtime state to the second container; receiving an updated runtime state from the second container; as well as The updated runtime state is stored in the data repository.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication that a request for a service provided in a multi-tenant environment has been received; identifying a configuration that implements the service, wherein the configuration is stored in a data repository; sending the configuration to a container in the multi-tenant environment to service the request; receiving a runtime state from the container; as well as The runtime state is stored in the data repository, wherein the configuration is flushed from the container.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein: The operations also include: allocating a plurality of containers to a first tenant in the multi-tenant environment; identifying one or more containers of the plurality of containers that are assigned to the first tenant but are not being used by the first tenant; flushing the contents of the one or more containers; and The one or more containers are reassigned to a second tenant in the multi-tenant environment.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein after flushing the contents of the one or more containers, the one or more containers are not allocated to any tenant for a first time interval before being reassigned to the second tenant.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein: The operations also include: identifying a second one or more containers of the plurality of containers that are assigned to the first tenant but are not being used by the first tenant; determining that no other tenants require the second one or more containers; and The second one or more containers are removed from the multi-tenant environment.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein: The operations also include: It is determined that the first tenant is receiving more requests than can be serviced by the plurality of containers.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein: The operations also include: Instantiating new multiple containers; and The new plurality of containers is assigned to the first tenant.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein: The operations also include: Assign a container that was previously assigned to another tenant to the first tenant.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein a gateway of the multi-tenant environment reassigns the one or more containers to the second tenant in the multi-tenant environment.

17. A system comprising: one or more processors; as well as One or more memory devices comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: receiving an indication that a request for a service provided in a multi-tenant environment has been received; identifying a configuration that implements the service, wherein the configuration is stored in a data repository; sending the configuration to a container in the multi-tenant environment to service the request; receiving a runtime state from the container; and The runtime state is stored in the data repository, wherein the configuration is flushed from the container.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant; selecting an empty container in the multi-tenant environment; Loading a first configuration implementing the first service into the container; servicing the first request from the container; receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant; flushing the first configuration from the container, wherein after flushing the first configuration from the container, the container includes a runtime process having an embedded server and an internal endpoint; as well as The second request is serviced from the container.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the container is one of a plurality of containers in the multi-tenant environment, the plurality of containers being instantiated to service requests from client devices.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first configuration includes a size of a heap in memory that the first service can use.

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