Infrastructure Services Manager for Converged Resource Domain Discovery

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Solution Overview

Problem

The management of converged, hyper-converged, and hybrid cloud information handling systems faces challenges in ensuring proper deployment, operation, and performance optimization, with existing infrastructure management systems often resulting in high costs, low utilization, and fragmented resource management.

Innovation Solution

An infrastructure services manager is introduced that accesses resource description information to identify and manage information handling resources, determining placement domains and fault domains through a discovery engine, generating domain description documents, and monitoring for changes to optimize resource utilization and deployment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If vertically oriented data centers are used with dedicated IT resources for specific applications, then application performance and reliability are improved, but capital costs and operating costs increase significantly while resource utilization decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplication performanceVSAvoidresource utilization

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges previously siloed IT resources (compute, storage, networking) into unified data center facilities where multiple applications share common infrastructure. This consolidation maintains application performance through dedicated resource pools while improving overall resource utilization by eliminating duplicate components across separate facilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates universal data center infrastructure that can serve multiple applications simultaneously. Shared compute resources, storage systems, and networking facilities can be dynamically allocated to different applications based on demand, replacing the previous model where each application required its own dedicated facilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Loss of energy

If horizontally oriented data centers with shared resources are implemented, then cost reduction and resource utilization improvement are achieved, but resource management becomes fragmented and complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource utilizationVSAvoidresource management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary resource management layer that sits between the shared physical infrastructure and the applications. This intermediary manages compute, storage, and networking resources centrally, providing unified control and allocation policies that reduce management complexity while maintaining the benefits of shared horizontal architecture.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments resource management into distinct functional areas (compute management, storage management, networking management) that can be independently controlled and optimized. This segmentation allows complex shared infrastructure to be managed through specialized subsystems rather than as a monolithic system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Adaptability or versatility

If separate acquisition of processing resources, storage resources, and networking resources is maintained, then resource specialization and application optimization are improved, but interoperability and system integration become difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource specializationVSAvoidinteroperability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines separately acquired processing, storage, and networking resources into integrated data center systems. The resources maintain their specialized functions but are interconnected through standardized interfaces and unified management, ensuring reliable interoperability while preserving resource specialization benefits.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS10282242B2Fault domains and optimization domains in converged infrastructure information handling systems

Publication Date: 2019.05.07 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

An infrastructure services manager accesses resource description information identifying a plurality of information handling resources and a management endpoint corresponding to each of the resources. Management information for each resource is retrieved from each management endpoint and an infrastructure of the system is determined based on the management information. Placement domains, including optimization domains and fault domains, within the infrastructure are discovered. A domain description document identifying each placement domain, its type, and the server resources included may be generated. The endpoints may be monitored and, when an infrastructure change is detected, placement domains may be re-discovered. The resource description information may be included in a resource description file comprising structured data indicative of the plurality of information handling resources, the management endpoint corresponding to each of the information handling resources and a REST compliant protocol for a discovery interface for each of the information handling systems.