Host Process Characterization for Priority-Based Resource Provisioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
In complex computing environments like data centers, identifying and prioritizing important applications for monitoring and security is challenging due to the large number of applications and hosts, making resource provisioning inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for identifying long-running processes such as web server or database server processes by analyzing snapshots of processes executing on hosts, using criteria like uptime, command strings, and file hashes, and applying TF-IDF analysis to determine uniqueness, thereby prioritizing hosts for monitoring and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If monitoring and security resources are provided for all hosts in a data center, then comprehensive security coverage is achieved, but resource consumption and system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments hosts into different priority groups based on their functionalities identified through process characterization. Instead of treating all hosts uniformly, the system divides them into segments (e.g., high-priority hosts running critical applications like web servers or database servers versus low-priority hosts) and applies differentiated monitoring and security resource allocation to each segment, thereby achieving comprehensive coverage while reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing different levels of monitoring and security resources to different hosts based on their specific functionalities and importance. High-priority hosts receive enhanced monitoring and security resources, while low-priority hosts receive standard or reduced resources. This localized differentiation optimizes resource allocation according to actual needs rather than applying a uniform approach across all hosts.
2Loss of information
If process snapshots are collected from all hosts continuously, then complete process information is obtained, but data volume and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential and relevant process information needed to identify host functionalities and prioritize hosts. Instead of collecting and processing all process snapshot data from every host continuously, the system extracts key characteristics (such as process types, critical applications, and functionality indicators) that are sufficient for prioritization purposes, thereby reducing data volume while maintaining information completeness for decision-making.
3Ease of operation
If resource provisioning is done uniformly across all hosts, then simplicity in resource management is maintained, but efficiency in resource utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of resource allocation from a uniform fixed approach to a dynamic prioritized approach based on host functionalities. By identifying and ranking hosts according to their critical applications and processes, the system adjusts resource provisioning parameters (such as monitoring intensity, security resource allocation, and priority levels) to match actual host importance, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency while maintaining manageable complexity through automated prioritization.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable for defining host functionalities in a computing environment include obtaining two or more snapshots comprising information pertaining to two or more processes executing in two or more hosts, the two or more snapshots being obtained at two or more points in time from the two or more hosts. One or more long-running processes amongst the two or more processes are identified based on one or more criteria associated with long-running processes. One or more priorities associated with the one or more long-running processes and used for defining functionalities for at least a subset of the two or more hosts, where high priorities are assigned to long-running processes, such as web server or database server processes, which are unique to at least the subset of the two or more hosts. Resources may be provisioned based on these host functionalities.