Domain Tree License Management for Compliance Rebalancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a domain-separated architecture, managing software license compliance is challenging due to the complexity of tracking licenses across multiple domains, leading to potential non-compliance issues that can result in significant fees and fines.
Innovation Solution
A domain-separated license management system (DSLMS) represents the domain-separated client instance as a domain tree structure, populating it with license information through discovery and reconciliation jobs, and uses this structure to determine compliance, rebalance licenses, and ensure full compliance by transferring licenses from over-compliant to non-compliant domains, with priority values influencing the reassignment process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If license tracking is performed across multiple domains in a domain-separated architecture, then license compliance accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the domain-separated client instance into a hierarchical domain tree structure where each domain is a separate node. License tracking is performed independently at each domain level through discovery and reconciliation jobs, allowing precise local compliance measurement while maintaining modular system architecture that manages complexity through clear separation of concerns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary license management system that acts as a mediator between the domain-separated client instance and the software vendor. This intermediary automatically performs discovery, reconciliation, and compliance determination across domains, accurately tracking license usage without requiring direct complex interactions between all system components.
2Reliability
If manual license tracking is performed across domains, then compliance monitoring capability is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The license management system implements self-service through automated discovery jobs that automatically identify software usage across domains and reconciliation jobs that automatically compare usage against licensed allocations. The system autonomously determines compliance status and triggers rebalancing operations without requiring manual intervention, ensuring reliable compliance monitoring while minimizing time consumption through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary discovery and reconciliation operations to establish baseline license usage data before compliance issues arise. By proactively monitoring and updating license status across domains in advance, the system ensures compliance monitoring capability is continuously maintained without requiring time-consuming reactive investigations when compliance problems are detected.
3Reliability
If licenses are reallocated from over-compliant to non-compliant domains, then overall compliance is improved, but license assignment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The license management system implements dynamic license allocation where license assignments are not fixed but can be automatically rebalanced across domains based on current compliance needs. When non-compliance is detected, the system dynamically transfers licenses from over-compliant domains to non-compliant domains, maintaining overall compliance while adapting to changing usage patterns without requiring complex manual reassignment procedures.
4Measurement precision
If domain tree structure is traversed to determine compliance, then compliance determination accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The domain tree structure segments the client instance into hierarchical domains that can be independently evaluated. The compliance determination process traverses this segmented structure systematically, assessing compliance at each domain level and aggregating results. This segmentation allows accurate compliance determination by examining each domain's specific license usage while maintaining efficient processing through the organized hierarchical structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Present embodiments are directed toward a domain-separated license management system (DSLMS) for managing software license compliance in a domain-separated architecture, such as a domain-separated client instance. The DSLMS populates a domain tree structure with a determined number of software licenses assigned to, and a determined number of software licenses in use by, each granular domain of the instance, and this information is stored in the leaf nodes of the domain tree structure. The domain tree structure may be further populated to include a number of software licenses assigned to, and a number of software licenses in use by, each non-leaf node of the domain tree structure. Once populated, the domain tree structure is used to determine whether the represented domain-separated client instance is fully-compliant, partially-compliant, or non-compliant. Further, software licenses are rebalanced between the granular domains of a partially-compliant instance domain-separated client instance to bring the instance into full compliance.