Cloud Configuration History Storage and Visualization

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Solution Overview

Problem

In cloud environments, frequent configuration changes make it difficult to apprehend configuration information at a specific point in time, leading to challenges in identifying failure causes and restoring past configurations, as existing systems lack effective history storage and comparison capabilities.

Innovation Solution

A cloud-configuration storage system that connects to cloud service providers, acquiring and storing configuration information and history, allowing for visual diagram generation and display, enabling the retrieval of configuration information at any point in time and facilitating replication or restoration of past configurations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If cloud service providers frequently change system configuration to improve service flexibility and automation, then service adaptability and automation level are improved, but configuration traceability and historical comparison capability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice flexibilityVSAvoidconfiguration history
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically capturing and storing configuration information at specific time points before changes occur. The configuration information acquisition unit proactively collects configuration data from cloud service providers at designated time points, ensuring historical records are preserved before any configuration changes take place.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates copies of configuration information at different time points and stores them in the configuration history database. Instead of modifying original configurations, the system generates and preserves multiple copies of configuration states, enabling historical comparison and traceability while allowing current configurations to change freely.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Productivity

If cloud environment configuration changes are performed automatically and frequently to improve productivity, then service deployment speed is improved, but time to identify failure causes and restore configurations increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice deployment speedVSAvoidtroubleshooting time
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides feedback by enabling users to compare current configuration with historical configurations at different time points. The configuration history display unit presents stored configuration information in a comprehensible manner, allowing operators to quickly identify when and how configurations changed, thereby reducing troubleshooting time despite frequent automatic changes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system prepares configuration history records in advance at regular time points, so when failures occur, the information is already captured and organized. This preliminary capture of configuration states eliminates the need for manual documentation during troubleshooting, reducing the time required to identify failure causes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If configuration information is stored at every change point to maintain accurate history, then configuration traceability is improved, but system complexity and data storage requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconfiguration traceabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements periodic action by acquiring and storing configuration information at predetermined time intervals or specific time points, rather than continuously or at every single change event. This periodic sampling maintains adequate configuration history for traceability while avoiding the complexity and storage overhead of capturing every instantaneous configuration change.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentEP3240232B1Cloud-configuration storage system, cloud-configuration storage method, and cloud-configuration storage program
Publication Date: 2020.01.15 HITACHI SYST LTD
  • EP3240232B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3240232B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3240232B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention provides a cloud service provision system with which a configuration history of a cloud environment can be apprehended. The invention includes a cloud connection information reception part, a configuration storage processing part, a configuration history display processing part, a cloud connection information reception part, a cloud connection information DB, a configuration information acquisition processing part, a cloud configuration history DB, and a configuration history acquisition processing part. A cloud ID of a user is used to acquire a cloud connection information, a cloud service provision system from which cloud configuration information is to be acquired is specified based on the cloud connection information being acquired, the cloud configuration information is acquired, and the information is stored in a cloud configuration history DB. A configuration history is acquired from the cloud configuration history DB based on the cloud information received from the user, and a configuration diagram is generated and displayed using configuration component icons corresponding to each configuration component.