Cloud Resource Metering via Joule Standardization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cloud computing systems face challenges in metering and billing due to different metering systems and rules used by various providers, leading to inefficiencies in resource usage and billing inaccuracies, particularly in edge computing environments, where users struggle to exchange or trade resources across different platforms.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that decouples and monetizes cloud computing resources using standard units (e.g., joules) for precise metering and flexible resource exchange, enabling efficient allocation and billing without enforcing virtual machine models, and optimizing resource trading in decentralized environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different metering systems and rules are used by various cloud providers, then each provider can track resource usage according to their own methods, but billing inaccuracies and inefficiencies occur due to lack of standardization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies homogeneity by standardizing resource measurement across diverse cloud providers through a common unit (joules). The system converts different resource types (CPU, storage, bandwidth) from various providers into a unified measurement standard, enabling consistent and accurate billing regardless of the underlying heterogeneity in provider-specific metering systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer that acts as a translation mechanism between provider-specific metering systems and a standardized billing system. This intermediary converts proprietary measurement units and rules into a universal standard (joules), resolving the conflict between provider flexibility and billing accuracy by mediating the interaction between diverse metering systems.
2Measurement precision
If complex metering systems are implemented to track resource usage, then detailed usage tracking is achieved, but system complexity increases leading to operational inefficiencies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential measurement function from complex provider-specific metering systems, isolating only the critical resource consumption data needed for billing. By separating the core measurement need from the elaborate provider-specific implementations, the system achieves accurate tracking while eliminating unnecessary complexity through standardized joule-based measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of measurement from diverse provider-specific units to a unified standard (joules). This parameter transformation simplifies the metering system by replacing multiple complex measurement schemes with a single standardized parameter, maintaining measurement precision while dramatically reducing system complexity.
3Device complexity
If virtual machine models are enforced for resource allocation, then resource management is standardized, but flexibility in resource exchange and trading is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by creating a measurement standard (joules) that functions across multiple resource types and trading scenarios without requiring virtual machine enforcement. This universal unit enables diverse resource exchange and trading mechanisms while maintaining consistent measurement, providing both structural simplicity and operational flexibility simultaneously.
4Adaptability or versatility
If resource measurement is not standardized across cloud providers, then each provider maintains independence in their metering approaches, but resource exchange and trading between platforms becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies homogeneity by introducing a universal measurement unit (joules) that enables efficient resource exchange while preserving provider independence. Each provider continues to measure resources according to their own systems, but the standardized conversion to joules allows seamless cross-platform trading, achieving both independence and efficiency through standardized measurement.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for metering computing resources in cloud computing environments are disclosed. A method includes: executing, by a computing device, computing tasks on computing resources; determining, by the computing device, an amount of time and an amount of power used in the executing the computing tasks on the computing resources; determining, by the computing device, a number of standard units consumed by the computing tasks based on the determined amount of time and the determined amount of power; and metering, by the computing device, the computing resources based on the determined number of standard units consumed by the computing tasks.