Operational cost visualization system and operation cost visualization method

Abstract

To provide a system and a method for operation cost visualization that compare cost in consideration of cost in the whole operation work.SOLUTION: In an operation cost visualization system, an operation management service 100 stores, in a memory: cloud operation work; a dynamic cost parameter that directly or indirectly affects cost of the operation work; an influence parameter that affects cost of other operation work by the operation work; and an operation work cost association table, accepts specification of operation work to be estimated regarding a cloud from a user, identifies a dynamic parameter corresponding to specified operation work based on accepted operation work and the operation work cost association table and a dynamic parameter about other operation work including the influence parameter corresponding to the dynamic parameter, and estimates cost based on an influence calculation formula and a cost calculation table for calculating cost of the operation work and other operation work to output estimation results.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an operation cost visualization system and an operation cost visualization method using the same. [Background technology]

[0002] As cloud usage increases, problems with cloud usage, such as unexpected costs and costs that far exceed budgets, have become apparent, drawing attention to FinOps, a field that visualizes and optimizes cloud costs. Furthermore, as cloud-based system operations become more complex and distributed, services aimed at standardizing operations and sharing operational personnel are gaining attention, and these services require the visualization and optimization of operational costs.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing system that estimates the cost for each type of operation by inputting the input / output path of an operation request and a server usage fee table. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-192145 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Generally, system operation is achieved by combining multiple operational tasks, so when comparing operational costs, it is necessary to understand the overall cost of the combined operational tasks.

[0006] The information processing system disclosed in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to estimate the cost of a single operation task. However, when estimating the cost of a certain operation task, it is not possible to estimate the impact that this will have on the costs of other planned operation tasks, and it is not possible to compare the costs of all operation tasks.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a technique that enables cost comparison in consideration of the cost of the entire operation tasks in an operation method that is configured by combining a plurality of operation tasks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An operational cost visualization system that is one embodiment of the present invention is an operational cost visualization system that estimates and visualizes the costs of cloud operational work using a computer having a processor and memory, wherein the computer stores in the memory an operational work cost association table that associates cloud operational work with dynamic cost parameters that indicate parameters that directly or indirectly affect the cost of the operational work, impact parameters that indicate parameters that affect the cost of other operational work due to the operational work, and impact calculation formulas for calculating the change or degree of impact due to the dynamic cost parameters or the impact parameters, and the processor is configured as an operational cost visualization system that accepts from a user a specification of an operational work to be estimated for the cloud, and based on the accepted operational work and the operational work cost association table, identifies the dynamic parameters corresponding to the specified operational work and the dynamic parameters for other operational work that include the impact parameters corresponding to the dynamic parameters, estimates the costs based on the impact calculation formula and a cost calculation table for calculating the costs of the operational work and the other operational work, and outputs the results of the estimate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, in an operation method configured by combining a plurality of operation tasks, cost comparison can be made taking into account the cost of the entire operation tasks.

[0010] The details of at least one implementation of the subject matter disclosed herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the disclosed subject matter will become apparent from the following disclosure, drawings, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1A] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of an operation cost visualization system. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the present system. [Figure 3A] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an image of a dashboard and screen transitions. [Figure 3B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cost analysis screen. [Figure 3C] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correlation visualization screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of a cost estimation unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a cost result acquisition unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation cost related table. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation cost calculation table. [Figure 8A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operational work management table. [Figure 8B] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a workflow definition table. [Figure 9A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation personnel management table. [Figure 9B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a labor cost-skill association table. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow for generating an operation cost related table. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation task relevance table. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following description and drawings are examples for explaining the present invention, and some omissions and simplifications have been made as appropriate for clarity of explanation. The present invention can be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

[0013] In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings.

[0014] In the following explanation, various types of information may be described using expressions such as "database," "table," and "list," but the various types of information may also be expressed in data structures other than these. To indicate that the information is not dependent on the data structure, "XX table," "XX list," etc. may be referred to as "XX information." When describing identification information, expressions such as "identification information," "identifier," "name," "ID," and "number" are used, and these are interchangeable.

[0015] When there are multiple components with the same or similar functions, they may be described using the same reference numeral with different subscripts. However, when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted.

[0016] Furthermore, in the following description, processing performed by executing a program may be described, but the program is executed by a processor (e.g., a CPU or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)) to perform the specified processing while appropriately using storage resources (e.g., memory) and / or interface devices (e.g., communication ports), and therefore the processor may be the subject of the processing. Similarly, the subject of the processing performed by executing a program may be a controller, device, system, computer, or node having a processor. The subject of the processing performed by executing a program may be any computing unit, and may include a dedicated circuit (e.g., an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)) that performs specific processing.

[0017] A program may be installed on a device such as a computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable storage medium. If the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server may include a processor and storage resources for storing the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. Also, in the following description, two or more programs may be realized as one program, and one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0018] In this embodiment, the user is assumed to be an operations person who operates their company's system on the cloud, and the service provider is assumed to be an operations service provider that provides standard operations tasks, but the present invention can also be applied to cases where a single company serves both the operations person and the operations service provider. Specifically, as will be described later, in the operations cost visualization system 1000 shown in FIG. 1A, the user registers the operations tasks required for their company's system in the operations management service 100. The user can execute the operations registered in the operations management service 100 as needed or automatically execute them according to a preset schedule. Once the operations tasks have been executed, approval and confirmation of the execution of the operations tasks are performed according to the registered flow.

[0019] Generally, for a user to know in advance the cloud costs involved in operational tasks, they must identify the cloud resources that will be added or changed by the operational tasks, refer to the price list provided by the cloud provider for those cloud resources, obtain the metrics required for cost calculation via API, calculate the usage, and apply the calculation formula to calculate the costs. Conventionally, it was possible to calculate the operational costs for each operational task by linking the operational task request with the server to be operated and its price list.

[0020] However, system operation is achieved by combining multiple operational tasks, and when comparing the overall operational methods from a cost perspective, it is necessary to understand the cost of the entire combination of operational tasks. Conventionally, while it was possible to estimate a single operational task, it was not possible to simultaneously estimate the cost impact on other operational tasks, and it was necessary to re-estimate the costs of all operational tasks after performing a specific operational task.

[0021] In response to this, this system prepares an operation task cost association table that defines, for each operation task, dynamic parameters that dynamically affect the cost of that operation task and impact parameters that dynamically affect the costs of other operation tasks, and extracts operation tasks that have a cost impact from the specified operation task by searching via the parameters.Then, by measuring the current value of the dynamic parameter of the impacting operation task or predicting the future value for scheduled operation tasks and substituting it into the cost calculation formula, it becomes possible to simultaneously estimate other operation tasks that have a cost impact on a certain operation task.

[0022] For example, in the example of FIG. 2, a user environment 200 is constructed on the cloud with a load balancer 201, multiple web servers 202, a database server 203, and backup storage 204. The example assumes scale-out and scale-up operations for the web server 202 as demand operations, and regular operations for taking snapshots of the web server 202, backing up the database server 203, and transferring the data from the backup storage 204 to local storage 301. In this case, if a scale-out operation is performed and another web server 202 is added, the number of servers from which snapshots of the web server 202 are taken increases by one. If snapshot operations are not automated, the operational workload increases, resulting in corresponding operational costs. Additionally, cloud costs are incurred for snapshot acquisition requests and the resulting storage usage. Furthermore, increased storage usage increases the amount of data transferred to the local storage 301. Thus, performing one operational task impacts the costs of other operational tasks. Therefore, to improve operational tasks from a cost perspective, estimates must take into account the impact on other operational tasks. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0023] 1A is a block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of an operation cost visualization system. In this embodiment, an operation management service 100, a cloud-based user environment 200, and a local user environment 300 are connected to each other via a network N so that they can communicate with each other.

[0024] Specifically, the user environment 300 is realized by a computer, which is an information processing device, including as its main components a processor (CPU) 301, memory 302, storage device 303, input / output device 304, communication device 305, and bus 306, as shown in FIG. 1B. The processor 301 functions as a functional unit that provides predetermined functions by executing processes in accordance with programs loaded into memory 302. The storage device 303 stores data and programs used by the functional unit. The input / output device 304 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a pointing device, and an output device such as a display. The communication device 305 enables communication with other information processing devices via a network. These are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via the bus 306. The operation management service 100 and the user environment 200 on the cloud may also be configured by a computer such as that shown in FIG. 1B.

[0025] The operation management service 100 stores the above-mentioned operation work cost related table 150, cost calculation table 160 for calculating the cost of operation work, operation work management table 170 in which the user manages operation work, and operation staff management table 180 in which the user manages operation staff. The user executes operation work from the operation execution unit 120 via the dashboard 110. The dashboard 110 is a tool for analyzing data obtained from the user environment 200. In addition, the cost estimating unit 130 estimates the cost of operation work from the information stored in the operation work cost related table 150 and the cost calculation table 160, and outputs the estimation results as information to be presented to the user. The cost result acquiring unit 140 acquires the actual costs incurred and provides feedback to the user.

[0026] In a user environment 200 on the cloud, there are disposed IT resources that are deployed on the cloud and incur costs, such as a load balancer 201, a web server 202 (configured redundantly with multiple servers by the load balancer 201), a DB server 203, and backup storage 204. The types and number of IT resources are not limited to these. In addition, functions that the cloud provider provides to users include an operation execution API 210 that executes cloud operations in the user environment 200, a metrics acquisition API 211 that measures the usage amount of IT resources, and a cost acquisition API 212 that acquires the usage costs of IT resources.

[0027] The local user environment 300 is made up of a local storage 301 that backs up cloud data, a console 310 for accessing the operation management service 100 and the user environment 200 on the cloud, etc. Details of each of these functional units and tables will be described later.

[0028] Figure 2 shows an example of a system configuration and a specific use case when utilizing the operation cost visualization system 1000. In a user environment 200 on the cloud, an end user's web application is running. The end user who uses the web application accesses a load balancer 201 in the user environment 200 via a computer operated by the end user. When the load balancer 201 receives accesses from many of the computers, it distributes these unspecified number of accesses to multiple web servers 202.

[0029] Each web server 202 accesses the DB server 203 and reads and writes data required for the application. In this embodiment, the following five types of operation of the application will be described. Specifically, the following cases will be described: (1) a scale-out operation in which the number of web servers 202 is increased to withstand the access load when the number of end users increases, (2) a scale-up operation in which the specifications (CPU, memory, etc.) of the web servers 202 are enhanced to withstand the access load when the number of end users increases, (3) a snapshot operation in which data in the web servers 202 is periodically backed up to prepare for updates or failures, (4) a backup operation in which data in the DB server is periodically backed up to prepare for updates or failures, and (5) a data transfer operation in which the contents of the backup storage 204 on the cloud in the user environment 200 are transferred to the local storage 301 to prepare for failures or data loss in the cloud.

[0030] The cloud costs for these operations are as follows: (1) the instance usage fee for adding the web server 202; (2) the difference in the instance usage fee for upgrading the web server 202; (3) the snapshot acquisition fee and the resulting backup storage usage fee; (4) the backup storage usage fee; and (5) the data transfer fee for transferring data from the cloud to an external location. Furthermore, for example, when performing scale-out operation (1), the number of web servers 202 increases, which can lead to cost impacts such as an increase in the snapshot acquisition fee for snapshot operation (3). In addition, increasing the frequency of backup operations can increase storage usage and the cost of data transfer operations. Furthermore, increasing the number of web servers 202 due to scale-out operation increases the operational labor required for snapshot operations, i.e., labor costs. As such, there are cases where one operational task affects the cost of another. In other words, there are cases where a directly performed operational task affects the cost of an indirect operational task related to the current operational task. The operation cost visualization system 1000 according to this embodiment visualizes the operation cost including this cost impact, and enables the user to compare and improve the operation work better.

[0031] A user accesses the operations management service 100 via a computer operated by the user, and upon receiving this access, the dashboard 110 of the operations management service 100 estimates the operations work and compares the results. The screen image and flow in this case are shown in Figure 3A. Here, three roles of operations personnel, namely, the operations manager, and operations improvement manager, appear as customer users who use this system. However, please note that this is just an example and different role configurations are also possible. For example, the roles of the operations manager who manages the overall operation of the cloud and the operations manager who approves the requested cloud operation may be played by different people.

[0032] First, the operations staff selects the operation task that he or she wishes to perform from an operation task selection screen 111 for selecting an operation task via a computer operated by the user or the like. The operations staff periodically performs predetermined operation tasks in response to requests from end users or environmental changes in the user environment 200. The operation task selection screen 111 is output by the operation execution unit 120. These operation tasks include operations performed as needed and regular operations performed daily or weekly. In this example, a scale-out task (an operation to add one web server) for adding one web server 202 to the user environment 200 is selected. In Figure 3A, it can be seen that "Instance Scale out" 111A has been selected.

[0033] When the operations staff selects an operation task, the operation execution unit 120 of the computer displays an application screen 112 including input fields for inputting various setting information required for the operation task, and the operations staff inputs the required fields. Parameters for each of the operation tasks that make up a workflow, which will be described later, are entered into the application screen 112. For example, if a workflow includes three operation tasks, pressing a page-turning button (not shown) on the application screen 112 shown in FIG. 3A displays the second page screen corresponding to the second operation task and the third page screen corresponding to the third operation task.

[0034] On this application screen 112, for example, the operation execution unit 120 accepts input of parameters required for the scale-out operation, such as the instance type and specifications such as CPU, memory, and storage size. In FIG. 3A, various parameters are entered as "XXXX." When the operations manager makes such an application, a notification of the application is sent to a tool such as the email address of the next person in charge, following the steps of a predefined workflow. The next person in charge, the operations manager, accesses the dashboard 110 of the operations management system 100 by, for example, clicking a link embedded in the tool.

[0035] When access to the dashboard 110 is accepted from the operations manager, the operations execution unit 120 outputs a workflow management screen 114 that displays a list of workflows for performing current operations. The workflow management screen 114 will be described later, but the workflows displayed on the workflow management screen 114 and the schedules of the operations included in the workflows are determined in advance in another system or the like.

[0036] For example, the operation execution unit 120 of the operation management service 100 aggregates cloud operation schedules performed in the user environment 200 and stores them as a table that associates cloud operation names with the dates and times when the operations with those operation names are to be performed. The operation execution unit 120 displays, as the workflow management screen 114, a screen that includes the above table that associates a serial number (No.), which is identification information for the operation schedule, the operation name of the operation task identified by the serial number, and the date and time when the operation task with that operation name is to be performed. In this example, as the operation tasks applied for on the application screen 112, of the operation tasks identified by the serial numbers "001" to "003" of three operation tasks included in a certain workflow, for example, the operation task "scale-out operation" is scheduled for 18:00 on October 3, 2022.

[0037] The operations manager views the corresponding workflow from the workflow management screen 114 and executes the approval work, which is the next step. When the operations manager gives an instruction to execute the approval work on the workflow management screen 114 (for example, by pressing an approval work execution button, not shown), the operations execution unit 120 outputs an approval screen 112A similar to the application screen 112 by the operations manager. The approval screen 112A is a screen similar to the application screen 112 described above, but is in a state where the input fields on the application screen 112 cannot be entered and the screen is only available for viewing. On the approval screen 112A, the operations manager checks the application content (parameters entered on the approval screen 112) submitted by the operations staff and either approves or rejects the application. Approval or rejection is performed, for example, by pressing an approval button or a rejection button, not shown, on the approval screen 112A.

[0038] When the operations manager gives a cost estimate instruction (e.g., by pressing an estimate button, not shown) on the approval screen 112A when approving or rejecting the request, the cost estimating unit 120 displays the cost estimate result 1121, including the labor costs and cloud costs for the operation task, along with the application details displayed by the operation execution unit 120. In this example, the labor costs and cloud costs are both output as estimate results of $123.45. The operations manager can determine whether to approve the request based on the cost estimate result by the cost estimating unit 120, the allocation of a separately managed budget, the status of budget consumption, and other factors. For example, if the operations manager determines that the operation environment is in place to meet the application details, such as if the costs for the requested operation task can be consumed within the current budget or if the number of web servers 202 to scale out for the requested operation task can be secured, the operations manager approves the request. If the operations manager approves the request, the operations manager outputs a cost inquiry screen 115. The cost inquiry screen 115 will be described later.

[0039] Furthermore, when the operations manager issues an instruction to output details of the cost estimate on the approval screen 112A (for example, by pressing an estimate details button, not shown), the operations execution unit 120 displays an estimate details screen 113 showing details of the cost estimate result 1121. This screen displays the cost 1131 of the requested operation task itself, as estimated in the cost estimate result 1121, and a breakdown of the cost impact 1132 on other operation tasks that are displayed on the workflow management screen 114 and are planned for execution. By referring to this information, the operations manager can understand the impact on other operation tasks. For example, in FIG. 3A, when performing an operation task to increase the number of web servers through scale-out, the labor costs and cost impact of the requested operation task, including other operation tasks such as the operation tasks planned as schedules A, B, and C, are displayed. In addition, for example, the labor costs for regular backup operations of the DB server 203 and the increase in storage usage during the backup can be displayed. A calculation example of the cost 1131 and cost impact 1132 will be described later.

[0040] After the requested operation work is approved, the actual operation work is carried out by the operation staff according to the steps of the workflow. For example, when the operation manager sends a notification of approval to the operation staff's email address or other tool, the operation execution unit 120 receives instructions from the operation staff and carries out the requested operation work.

[0041] Once the actual costs incurred by executing the operation work are determined, the cost result acquisition unit 140 displays cost results such as labor costs and cloud costs as information related to the determined costs on the workflow cost inquiry screen 115. The operation manager can view the cost results and compare them with the budget situation.

[0042] 3A, on the workflow cost inquiry screen 115, the working hours and the worker's estimated hourly wage are output as labor cost details 1151, and the instance usage fee and storage usage fee are output as cloud cost details 1152. Information on these cost results can be calculated by, for example, referring to a unit price table (not shown) that associates setting information on resources for configuring the cloud, such as servers, storage, and instances, with the unit price when the resources defined in the setting information are used, or an hourly wage table (not shown) that associates the actual working hours entered by the worker who performed the operation work with the hourly wage of the worker, such as the labor cost skill-related table 185 described later, but the calculation may be performed in various ways.

[0043] When the operation improvement person issues an instruction to display the operation cost analysis screen on the workflow cost inquiry screen 115 (for example, by pressing a display button not shown), the cost result acquisition unit 140 outputs the operation cost analysis screen 116.

[0044] The cost result acquisition unit 140 displays information combining the cost estimate on the operation cost estimate detail screen 113 and the cost result information on the cost inquiry screen 115 as an operation cost analysis screen 116. Displaying the operation cost analysis screen 116 makes it possible to display the match rate between the actual costs and the cost estimate and to suggest improvements to the workflow. The actual costs can be acquired using the cost acquisition API 212. An operation improvement officer responsible for continuous improvement of operations can refer to the operation cost analysis screen 116 and use it to improve the workflow, etc. Figures 3B and 3C show examples of specific implementations of the operation cost analysis screen. The operation cost analysis screen 116 includes a cost analysis screen 1161 shown in Figure 3B and a cost impact correlation visualization screen 1162 shown in Figure 3C.

[0045] 3B, the cost result acquisition unit 140 displays the ratio of labor costs to equipment costs (cloud costs) based on the total cost of operational tasks, as well as the operational tasks with the highest costs. In this example, the cost analysis screen 1161 displays a graph display area 1161A that displays a graph showing the ratio and breakdown of cloud costs and labor costs, a detail display area 1161B that shows details of cloud costs and labor costs, and a transition display area 1161C that shows the temporal changes in the ratio and breakdown shown in the graph display area 1161A. The information displayed in the graph display area 1161A and the transition display area 1161C can be displayed in each area by aggregating the information displayed in the detail display area 1161B in a predetermined unit (e.g., once a month). The information displayed in the detailed display area 1161B may be, for example, calculated by the cost result acquisition unit 140 at a predetermined timing by referring to the unit price table, the hourly wage table, the application details (parameters entered from the application screen 112), the workflow displayed on the workflow management screen 114, the schedule of the operation tasks included in the workflow, and the execution history of past operation tasks stored in memory or storage, and then compiling and outputting information such as the number of times the operation task was performed, labor costs, cloud costs, and month-on-month comparison for each operation task.

[0046] By checking the cost analysis screen 1161, which includes the screen shown in Figure 3B, the person in charge of operational improvement can notice operational tasks that require a lot of labor costs or that are increasing cloud costs.By drilling down further, they can find out the details of the costs incurred for each operational task and each workflow and consider countermeasures.

[0047] The correlation visualization screen 1162 in Figure 3C visualizes the correlation between cost impacts. For operational tasks performed over a certain period, the system intuitively visualizes the causal relationships between operational tasks, as determined from cost impact information. For example, if a scale-out operation impacts the cost of an operational task that acquires a snapshot, the cost result acquisition unit 140 connects an arrow 1162A from the circle representing the scale-out operation to the circle representing the snapshot operation. The cost result acquisition unit 140 outputs the size of the circle and the thickness of the arrow in proportion to the cost. This allows operations managers and operational improvement personnel to intuitively understand the causal relationships between operational tasks. Furthermore, the cost estimation method used by this system also allows for simulations on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) of the cost impact of increasing a certain operation on other operations. This allows operational improvement personnel to improve operations to achieve more cost-effectiveness.

[0048] FIG. 4 shows the processing flow of the operation execution unit 120 and the cost estimation unit 130 for performing cost estimation.

[0049] First, the operation execution unit 120 receives, from the operator, a specification of the operation task that the operator wishes to execute on the operation task selection screen 111 (s01). The operation execution unit 120 extracts the impact parameters of the column describing the operation task specified in s01 from the operation task cost relation table 150 (described later) (s02). For example, when an operation task indicating a scale-out operation that adds an instance is specified in s01, the operation execution unit 120 reads the operation task cost relation table 150 (described later) and acquires the impact parameters corresponding to "instance addition" that indicates the specified operation task. Here, the impact parameters "number of instances N" and "amount of written data" corresponding to "instance addition" are acquired. In this way, it can be seen that the number of instances and the amount of written data are impact parameters that are affected by the scale-out operation.

[0050] Thereafter, the operation execution unit 120 reads the regular operation tasks that are already planned to be executed and the registered occasional operation tasks (for example, other operation tasks scheduled on the workflow management screen 114), identifies dynamic cost parameters that include the same parameters as the above-mentioned impact parameters, and searches the above-mentioned operation task cost relation table 150 for operation tasks that correspond to the identified dynamic cost parameters (s03). In this example, the operation task "take snapshot" that includes dynamic parameters including "number of instances N" and "amount of written data" is searched for, and it is found that the operation task will be affected by the addition of an instance.

[0051] The operation execution unit 120 also repeats steps s02 and s03 for the operation tasks found in step s03, and determines whether or not there are any operation tasks that will affect costs due to the specified operation task (step s04). If it determines that there are any operation tasks that will have an impact (step s04; Yes), it returns to step s02 and extracts all operation tasks that will have an impact (step s04). In this example, the operation execution unit 120 searches for an operation task "backup of object storage" that includes dynamic parameters including the impact parameter "storage data volume" that will be affected by the operation task "snapshot acquisition." In this way, it can be seen that "backup of object storage" is also an operation task that will be indirectly affected by the addition of an instance.

[0052] Thereafter, if it is determined that there are no operational tasks that have the above-mentioned impact, i.e., that all operational tasks that have the above-mentioned impact have been extracted (s04; No), the cost estimator 120 acquires or predicts metrics for the dynamic cost parameters of each extracted operational task via the metrics acquisition API 211 (s05). In this example, the cost estimator 120 instructs the metrics acquisition API 211 to acquire the number of instances, the amount of data written to the instances, and the amount of data in the object storage, and the metrics acquisition API 211 acquires this information. Furthermore, for routine operational tasks such as snapshot operations, it is necessary to calculate ongoing costs for, for example, the next month. In this case, the cost estimator 120 predicts metrics using the currently acquired metric values ​​and metrics acquired during previous executions of this process and stored in memory or storage. This allows for an accurate estimation of the cost during routine operation. At this time, metrics prediction can be achieved using various conventionally known techniques, such as machine learning technology and prediction services provided by cloud providers in the user environment 200.

[0053] Thereafter, the cost estimator 120 calculates the cost based on the measured or predicted values ​​and the calculation formula defined in the cost calculation table 104, and presents the estimate to a user who is responsible for managing the budget, such as an operations manager (s06). These flows can also be executed when an operations person registers the execution of a routine operation task, or when an operations manager executes an operation task.

[0054] FIG. 5 shows the process flow of the operation execution unit 120 and the cost result acquisition unit 140 for acquiring the cost result.

[0055] Upon receiving an instruction from the operations manager or the like, the cost result acquisition unit 140 outputs the cost results to a screen, and the operations manager or the like views the displayed cost results.

[0056] As a prerequisite for this, the operation execution unit 120 tags each service and resource used in the operation work with an operation name, workflow ID, etc. in advance (s11). Tagging is necessary for cost allocation, which will be described later. The tagging operation can be performed during operation execution. For example, the operation execution unit 120 associates the tag key "owner" with the operation person "Taro Tanaka," associates the tag key "operation_name" with the operation work "scale-out operation" performed by the operation person, and associates the tag key "workflow_id" with the workflow ID "xxx-xxxx," which is the identification information for the operation work.

[0057] After the operation work is completed, the cost result acquisition unit 140 receives an instruction from the operation manager to display a screen for acquiring the cost results. In accordance with the instruction, the cost result acquisition unit 140 opens the screen and accepts an operation to acquire the cost results (s12). The processing of this step may be executed at a fixed time every day.

[0058] The cost result acquisition unit 140 acquires the costs involved in the actual operation work (s13) using the cost acquisition API 212 provided by the cloud provider in the user environment 200. The cost acquisition API 212 can transmit the costs involved in the actual operation work to the cost result acquisition unit 140 by associating the costs with the operation work names.

[0059] Thereafter, the cost result acquisition unit 140 divides the costs based on the operation task name and workflow ID of the tag value corresponding to the cost acquired in s13. As described above, the cost acquired in s13 can be associated with which operation task by the cost acquisition API 212. After the division, the cost result acquisition unit 140 calculates the cost for each operation task and the cost for each workflow (s14).

[0060] The cost result acquisition unit 140 then compares the estimated results for each operation task at the time of operation execution and displays them on the screen (s15). The difference between the actual costs and the estimated results is fed back to the operation manager in the form of a predicted match rate or the like.

[0061] The above processing flow allows the user to compare the cost of each operation task with the estimated cost.

[0062] Fig. 6 shows an example of the data structure of the operation work cost-related table 150. The operation work cost-related table 150 is a table that defines, for each operation work, parameters that affect the cost of the operation work. As shown in Fig. 6, the operation work cost-related table 150 stores, in association with one another, operation work item 151 that indicates the name of the operation work, type 152 that indicates the type of the operation work (on-demand operation or regular operation), dynamic cost parameters 153 that indicate parameters that directly or indirectly affect the cost of the operation work, impact parameters 154 that indicate parameters that are affected by the operation work on the costs of other operation works, and impact calculation formulas 155 for calculating changes and degrees of impact due to the dynamic cost parameters or the impact parameters.

[0063] In Figure 6, the operation task of "instance addition" indicated by operation task item 151 is an operation task performed in the "as needed operation" type indicated by type 152, and indicates that it will have an impact on the "number of instances" and the "amount of written data." The formulas for calculating the degree of impact based on the impact parameters are "N+=1" and "D+=f(spec)." The impact parameters are assumed to be the amount of data required for the new instance.

[0064] The table also indicates that the "Snapshot Acquisition" operation task, which corresponds to dynamic parameters including the impact parameters "Number of Instances" and "Amount of Written Data," is an operation task that is affected when the "Instance Addition" operation task is performed. For example, the snapshot acquisition operation task affects the number of instances of the web server 202 and the amount of data written to the block storage of the web server 202. In other words, in this example, in the case of "Instance Addition," the number of instances is increased by "+1" in impact calculation formula 155, so the number of instances N is incremented by one. Furthermore, since the value of "Amount of Written Data" depends on the specifications of the instance being added, a function "f" is defined with the specifications as variables. When calculating the cost impact, the number of instances and amount of written data added by impact calculation formula 155 are used to calculate costs and estimate the impact of other operation tasks. This table is used in steps s02 to s04 of the cost estimation flow shown in Figure 4.

[0065] The dynamic cost parameters 153, impact parameters 154, and impact calculation formulas 155 in this operation task cost related table are created by a servicer that provides operation management services, but part of the creation process may be automated. An example of this process will be described in detail in the modified example below.

[0066] Fig. 7 shows an example of the data structure of cost calculation table 160. Cost calculation table 160 is a table that defines definitions for calculating the cost of operation work. As shown in Fig. 7, cost calculation table 160 stores operation work items 161, types 162, and dynamic cost parameters 163 that are similar to operation work items 151, types 152, and dynamic cost parameters 153 shown in Fig. 6, in association with cloud cost calculation formulas 164 and labor cost calculation formulas 165 for calculating the cost incurred by performing the operation work.

[0067] For example, for the operational task of "taking a snapshot," cloud cost calculation formula 164 defines that the cost is proportional to the amount of data written and the number of instances. Such a cloud cost calculation formula can be created by referring to cost references provided by the cloud provider, or it can be obtained automatically by periodically scraping a website, for example. Furthermore, labor cost calculation formula 165 defines a calculation formula expressed as work hours multiplied by an hourly wage coefficient determined by the required skills. In the case of regular operations, this is given as a calculation formula obtained by multiplying this by the number of repetitions (variable "w" in this example). Regarding the method of calculating labor costs, if the person actually performing the operation has been determined, it may be determined based on the hourly wage, or may be calculated taking into account conditions such as peak times, or may be determined by referring to past operational conditions.

[0068] This table is used in step s05 in the cost estimation flow shown in FIG.

[0069] 8A shows an example of the data structure of the operation work management table 170. The operation work management table 170 is a table that defines operation works and which workflows the operation works belong to. This table shows a list of operation works that are displayed to the operator on the operation work selection screen 111.

[0070] 8A, operation work management table 170 is configured by associating operation type 171, which is the same as type 152, name 172 of the operation work classified by that type, description 173 of what kind of work that operation work is, and workflow 174, which indicates the workflow to which that operation work belongs. Each workflow defined in workflow 174 is configured by a list of workflow steps.

[0071] 8B is an example of a workflow definition table showing a list of workflow steps. Here, the workflow for the operation task "instance addition" is shown, but similar definitions are made for other operation tasks.

[0072] 8B, the example of workflow definition table 170A is configured by associating step number 175 for identifying the steps constituting the workflow and their order, workflow step 176 which is the name of the step identified by the step number, action 177 to be executed in the step, person in charge of the step 178, expected skill level 179 which is the expected skill level of the person in charge, expected work time 180 which is the expected work time for the step, etc. Action 177 is reference information for a UI (User Interface) operated by person in charge 178 and a script to be automatically executed. The operational work is realized by performing processing with reference to the reference information.

[0073] For example, in FIG. 8A, for the workflow of the operational task "Instance Addition," the operational task performed in step "Application" numbered "1" is performed via action "UI_1," and the person in charge of the operational task is "Operator A." It also shows that the skill level of the operator in question meets the required "Cloud Operation Certification Level 1 (Level 1)," and the estimated time for the operational task performed by the operator in question is "10 minutes." In this way, workflow definition table 170A shown in FIG. 8B defines each workflow step displayed on application screen 112 and approval screen 112A, as well as the operator, expected skill level, estimated work time, etc.

[0074] 9A shows an example of the data structure of the operation personnel management table 180. The operation personnel management table 180 stores information about the users who are actually in charge of each workflow step and the skills of the users.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 9A, the operations personnel management table 180 is configured by associating a user ID 181 for identifying a user, the user's name 182, a person in charge 183 indicating the user's position, and the user's skill level 184. For example, FIG. 9A shows that a user "Tanaka Ichiro" with a user ID of "001" is an operations person and has a skill level of "Cloud Operation Certification Level 1." Users are assigned a person in charge according to their skill level, and perform operations and approvals in workflow steps. To calculate the labor costs for operations, a labor cost-skill association table 185 in FIG. 9B is used.

[0076] FIG. 9B is a diagram showing an example of a labor cost / skill-related table 185. The labor cost / skill-related table 185 defines skills 186 indicating the skills to be held by the user, their levels 187, and estimated labor costs 188 required for the skills at that level. FIG. 9B shows, for example, that when a user with level 1 (Lv1) of the skill "Cloud Operation Certification" performs operation work, the labor costs are 1500 yen / h at an hourly rate. By referencing the operation personnel management table 180 and the workflow definition table 170A shown in FIG. 8B and multiplying the estimated labor costs 188 by the estimated work time 180 indicating the work time for each workflow step, the estimated labor costs for the operation work can be virtually calculated.

[0077] (Variation 1) In the above-described embodiment, the operation work cost related table 150 has been described as being prepared in advance. However, the operation work cost related table 150 may also be created to some extent automatically. In this modified example, a method for automatically presenting the impact parameters of operation work will be described. This will be explained according to the operation work cost related table generation processing flow in Figure 10. This processing flow assumes that an operation manager of a servicer or the like has newly registered an operation work that can be selected by an operation staff member.

[0078] First, the operation execution unit 120 receives an operation from the operation manager and registers a new operation task in the operation task management table 170 (s21). Here, as an example, an "instance addition" operation task is newly registered.

[0079] When an operator selects and executes an operation task, the operation execution unit 120 extracts the dynamic cost parameters 153 of all operation tasks registered in the operation task cost relation table 150 and measures metrics for each parameter (s22). In this embodiment, since the "instance addition" operation task is performed, the dynamic cost parameters that correspond to the "number of instances" and "amount of written data" of the "snapshot acquisition" operation task defined in association with the operation task are "number of instances" and "amount of written data" and "amount of storage data" of the "storage backup" operation task.

[0080] The operation execution unit 120 then calculates an index indicating the correlation or causal relationship between each dynamic cost parameter and the operation task (s23). The index may be calculated using conventional techniques such as linear regression. For example, there may be a predetermined statistical relationship, such as approximation within a certain range, between the dynamic cost parameter "storage data volume" and the dynamic cost parameter "write data volume" for the "instance addition" operation task. In other words, if a correlation or causal relationship is found between the operation task and the dynamic cost parameter, the dynamic cost parameter is likely to be an influence parameter of the operation task. Therefore, in such a case, the operation execution unit 120 registers the influencing dynamic cost parameter or both as influence parameters and presents the dynamic cost parameters as influence parameters of the operation task to the operation manager (s24). In this example, for example, a correlation is found between "number of instances" and "write data volume," so these two parameters are presented to the operation manager as influence parameters of the instance addition operation.

[0081] The above processing flow can facilitate the creation and continuous updating of the operation work cost related table 150. Furthermore, if there is sufficient learning data, the parameter changes during the execution of the operation work may be generalized in s24 to automatically create the impact calculation formula 155 or present the formula to the servicer.

[0082] (Variation 2) The above-described embodiment was described assuming that only one currency is used for cost payments. However, there are cases where the cloud provider updates the cost calculation table 160 due to changes in the fee structure or fluctuations in exchange rates. To prepare for such cases, the cost calculation table 160 may be automatically updated by referencing an exchange table stored in memory in advance, which defines the latest exchange rates and values ​​for each currency type. While no specific example of the exchange table is provided, a conventionally known table showing trends in exchange rate fluctuations may be used. The operation execution unit 120 updates the unit prices, etc., used to calculate cloud costs and labor costs using the cost calculation table 160 at a predetermined timing or whenever an exchange rate fluctuation occurs. In this case, fee parameters and exchange parameters that may fluctuate may be automatically obtained in advance at the time of quotation, calculated, and presented to the user.

[0083] (Variation 3) In the above-described embodiment, as explained using Fig. 3A etc., a cost estimate was presented for the requested operation work, including cloud costs and labor costs for the affected operation work, but better operation work may also be recommended from a cost perspective. For example, an operation work relevance table 190 such as that shown in Fig. 11 may be stored in advance, and low-cost operation work that is similar to the operation work estimated on the application screen 112, approval screen 112A, estimate details screen 113, etc. (i.e., the requested operation work) may be presented on these screens on the cost inquiry screen 115.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 11, the operation task relevance table 190 stores, in association with each other, categories 191 for classifying the types of operation tasks, operation tasks 192 classified by the categories, similar operation tasks 193 indicating operation tasks similar to the operation task in question, and estimated costs 194 for the operation tasks. Similar operation tasks are, for example, operation tasks whose purposes and effects (such as speeding up processing) are similar to a certain extent. In this example, the operation task "instance addition" and the operation task "instance specification improvement" are defined as similar operation tasks. This example shows that the operation task "instance addition" can be performed at a lower cost than the operation task "instance specification improvement." The estimated costs may be determined in advance or by learning past performance values.

[0085] The cost estimating unit 130 refers to the operation task relevance table 190, compares the estimated cost of operation tasks registered as similar operation tasks among operation tasks in the same category as the estimated operation task, and displays the similar operation task and its cost on the screen if the estimated cost of the similar operation task is lower. In this way, the cost estimating unit 130 simultaneously estimates similar operation tasks when estimating the cost of an operation task, presents the cost type and cost impact to the user, and further recommends operation tasks with lower operation costs to the user. This allows the user to change and improve operation tasks from a multifaceted perspective, such as cloud costs, labor costs, and their impact.

[0086] As described above, in this embodiment, as explained using Figures 2, 3A, 4, etc., in an operation cost visualization system 1000 that estimates and visualizes the costs of cloud operation work using a computer having a processor and memory, the computer stores in the memory an operation work cost association table 150 that associates cloud operation work with dynamic cost parameters that indicate parameters that directly or indirectly affect the cost of the operation work, impact parameters that indicate parameters that affect the costs of other operation work due to the operation work, and impact calculation formulas for calculating changes and degrees of impact due to the dynamic cost parameters or the impact parameters, and the processor accepts from the user a designation of an operation work to be estimated for the cloud (operation work selection screen 111), and based on the accepted operation work and the operation work cost association table, identifies the dynamic parameters corresponding to the specified operation work and the dynamic parameters for other operation work that include the impact parameters corresponding to the dynamic parameters, estimates the costs based on the impact calculation formula and a cost calculation table 160 for calculating the costs of the operation work and the other operation work, and outputs the results of the estimation. This makes it possible to compare costs in an operation method that is made up of a combination of multiple operation tasks, taking into account the cost of the entire operation tasks.

[0087] Furthermore, as explained using Figures 4s02-s04, etc., the processor identifies the impact parameters corresponding to the dynamic parameters for the identified other operational tasks, executes a process to identify the dynamic parameters for further other operational tasks that include the identified impact parameters, and repeats this process until no more impact parameters are identified, thereby making it possible to estimate costs taking into account the impact that each of multiple operational tasks has on each other.

[0088] 7 and other figures, the computer stores the cost calculation table in the memory in association with operation tasks, the dynamic parameters of the operation tasks, and cost calculation formulas for calculating the costs incurred by performing the operation tasks, and the processor obtains metrics from the cloud for the identified dynamic cost parameters or predicts the values ​​of the dynamic parameters for the operation tasks from past metrics that have already been obtained, and calculates the costs using the cost calculation formulas defined in the cost calculation table. This allows for accurate cost estimation based on the metrics at the time of applying for the operation tasks.

[0089] 9A, 9B, etc., the computer stores in the memory an operation personnel management table 180 that associates the users with their skill levels, and a labor cost / skill association table 185 that associates the user skills with labor costs corresponding to the skills, and the processor estimates labor costs affected by the other operation tasks corresponding to the identified dynamic cost parameters based on the operation management table, the cost calculation table, and the labor cost / skill association table. This makes it possible to estimate labor costs according to skill levels.

[0090] 10 and the like, the processor extracts the dynamic cost parameters of each of the plurality of operation tasks registered in the operation task cost relation table, measures metrics for each of the extracted dynamic parameters, and, if it determines that there is a relationship between the dynamic parameters based on the measured metrics and a predetermined statistical relational expression, registers the dynamic parameter determined to have the relationship as the influence parameter. This makes it possible to automatically set influence parameters for operation tasks that include influencing dynamic parameters.

[0091] As explained using Fig. 7 and other exchange tables, the processor updates the cost information in the cost calculation table each time an exchange rate fluctuation occurs, using an exchange table that defines the latest exchange rates and values ​​for each currency type, thereby enabling cost estimation to take the latest exchange rate fluctuations into account.

[0092] 11 and other figures, the computer stores in the memory an operation task relevance table 190 that associates categories for classifying types of operation tasks, operation tasks classified by the categories, similar operation tasks that indicate operation tasks similar to the operation tasks, and estimated costs for the operation tasks, and the processor uses the operation task relevance table to output the cost of an operation task that is registered as a similar operation task from the same category as the operation task whose cost has been estimated, if the estimated cost is lower than the operation task whose cost has been estimated. This makes it possible to present lower-cost operation tasks to the user.

[0093] 3C and the like, when the processor identifies the dynamic parameters for other operation tasks that include the influencing parameters corresponding to the dynamic parameters corresponding to the specified operation task, the processor outputs a screen showing the causal relationship between the operation task and the other operation tasks, including the estimation results, thereby enabling the causal relationship between the operation tasks to be grasped at a glance.

[0094] Furthermore, by using the system of this embodiment, cloud costs and labor costs related to operations can be visualized and optimized / reduced, which can contribute to the realization of a sustainable, environmentally friendly society by reducing the load on cloud servers and cutting electricity costs.

[0095] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied within the scope of the gist of the present invention, or multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments can be appropriately combined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1000 Operational Cost Visualization System 100 Dashboards 120 Operations Department 130 Cost Estimation Department 140 Cost result acquisition unit 150 Operational Cost Related Tables 160 Cost Calculation Table 170 Operational Work Management Table 170A Workflow Definition Table 180 Operation personnel management table 185 Labor Cost Skill Related Table 190 Operational Task Relevance Table N Network

Claims

1. An operational cost visualization system that estimates and visualizes costs for cloud operational tasks using a computer having a processor and a memory, The computer an operation cost association table is stored in the memory, which associates cloud operation tasks with dynamic cost parameters indicating parameters that directly or indirectly affect the cost of the operation tasks, impact parameters indicating parameters that affect the cost of other operation tasks due to the operation tasks, and impact calculation formulas for calculating changes and degrees of impact due to the dynamic cost parameters or the impact parameters; The processor: Accept the user's specification of the cloud-related operational tasks to be estimated, Identifying the dynamic cost parameter corresponding to the specified operation task and the dynamic cost parameters for other operation tasks including the influence parameter corresponding to the dynamic cost parameter based on the received operation task and the operation task cost relation table; estimate the costs based on the impact calculation formula and a cost calculation table for calculating the costs of the operation task and the other operation tasks, and output the results of the estimation; An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

2. The operation cost visualization system according to claim 1, The processor: Identifying the influence parameter corresponding to the dynamic cost parameter for the identified other operation work, executing a process of identifying the dynamic cost parameter for further other operation work including the identified influence parameter, and repeating this process until no more influence parameters are identified. An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

3. The operation cost visualization system according to claim 1, The computer The cost calculation table is stored in the memory in such a manner that an operation task, the dynamic cost parameter of the operation task, and a cost calculation formula for calculating the cost incurred by performing the operation task are associated with each other; The processor: For the identified dynamic cost parameters, metrics are acquired from the cloud or values ​​of the dynamic cost parameters in the operation work are predicted from past metrics that have already been acquired, and the costs are calculated using a cost calculation formula defined in the cost calculation table. An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

4. The operation cost visualization system according to claim 1, The computer an operation personnel management table that associates the users with their skill levels and a labor cost / skill association table that associates the users' skills with labor costs corresponding to the skills; The processor: Regarding the other operation tasks corresponding to the identified dynamic cost parameters, estimating the labor costs affected by the operation work based on the operation personnel management table, the cost calculation table, and the labor cost / skill relation table; An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

5. The operation cost visualization system according to claim 1, The processor: extracting the dynamic cost parameters of each of the plurality of operation tasks registered in the operation task cost relation table, measuring metrics for each of the extracted dynamic cost parameters, and, if it is determined that there is a relationship between the dynamic cost parameters based on the measured metrics and a predetermined statistical relational expression, registering the dynamic cost parameters determined to have the relationship as the influential parameters; An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

6. The operation cost visualization system according to claim 1, The processor: updating the cost information in the cost calculation table every time an exchange rate fluctuation occurs using an exchange table that defines the latest exchange rate and values ​​for each currency type according to the currency type; An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

7. The operation cost visualization system according to claim 1, The computer an operation task relevance table in the memory that associates categories for classifying types of operation tasks, operation tasks classified by the categories, similar operation tasks that indicate operation tasks similar to the operation tasks, and estimated costs for the operation tasks; The processor: Using the operation task relevance table, if the estimated cost of an operation task registered as the similar operation task among operation tasks in the same category as the operation task whose cost has been estimated is lower than the operation task whose cost has been estimated, output the cost of the similar operation task. An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

8. An operation cost visualization system according to claim 1, The processor: When the dynamic cost parameters for other operation tasks including the influence parameters corresponding to the dynamic cost parameters corresponding to the specified operation task are identified, a screen showing the causal relationship between the operation task and the other operation tasks including the results of the estimate is output. An operational cost visualization system characterized by:

9. An operational cost visualization method for estimating and visualizing costs for cloud operational tasks using a computer, comprising: The computer Accept the user's specification of the cloud-related operational tasks to be estimated, Based on an operation work cost association table that associates the received operation work, cloud operation work, dynamic cost parameters indicating parameters that directly or indirectly affect the cost of the operation work, impact parameters indicating parameters that affect the cost of other operation work due to the operation work, and impact calculation formulas for calculating changes and degrees of impact due to the dynamic cost parameters or the impact parameters, identify the dynamic cost parameters corresponding to the specified operation work and the dynamic cost parameters for other operation works that include the impact parameters corresponding to the dynamic cost parameters, estimate the costs based on the impact calculation formula and a cost calculation table for calculating the costs of the operation task and the other operation tasks, and output the results of the estimation; An operational cost visualization method comprising:

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