Candidate Program Release Health Checks for Client Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for deploying software updates across diverse networked client computer systems face compatibility issues due to varying operating systems and configurations, leading to instability, data loss, and productivity loss, with lab testing and phased rollouts being inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
A content delivery system that executes a candidate program in a health-check mode on client devices to perform compatibility tests, generating reports, and only installs the program in runtime mode on compatible devices, thereby avoiding instability and reducing the need for phased rollouts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a candidate program is deployed across diverse client computer systems, then software update coverage is improved, but compatibility issues and system instability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs health checks and compatibility tests before deploying the candidate program widely. A test group is selected to evaluate the candidate program's compatibility with diverse client configurations, and deployment is conditioned on passing these preliminary tests, thereby preventing instability before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the deployment process into distinct phases: a test group phase and a full deployment phase. The client population is segmented into those receiving the candidate program for testing and those receiving it for production use, allowing controlled evaluation before organization-wide rollout.
2Reliability
If lab testing is performed to verify compatibility, then system stability is improved, but testing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating physical lab environments that replicate client devices, the patent uses virtual health check modes that copy the essential testing functionality to the actual client devices themselves, enabling remote compatibility verification without physical lab infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables client devices to perform their own self-diagnostics through health check modes, automatically testing compatibility without requiring manual lab testing personnel, thereby reducing both time and cost while maintaining verification quality.
3Reliability
If phased rollouts are implemented to reduce risk, then system stability is improved, but deployment time and productivity loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous feedback through health check monitoring during deployment. Deployment progress and compatibility results are tracked in real-time, allowing automatic adjustment of deployment parameters and rapid response to any issues, thereby reducing overall deployment time while maintaining stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the deployment process dynamic by allowing real-time modification of deployment parameters based on health check results. The system can automatically adjust deployment speed, target selection, and rollback criteria based on observed compatibility, optimizing both risk reduction and deployment speed.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing system may implement a content delivery system to communicate to a plurality of client devices an indication to install a candidate program. The indication causes each client to download and execute the candidate program in a health-check mode to execute a health-check. Each client device executes the candidate program in health-check mode that includes one or more compatibility tests to generate a result associated with the one or more compatibility tests. The client device generates a test report associated with the results to upload to the content delivery system for analysis.