Instance Space Management Pack Infrastructure Reduces Complexity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing management pack infrastructure faces significant costs and complexities when introducing new management pack elements, requiring substantial handling infrastructure for authoring, validation, importing, and exporting, which is often solution-specific and not easily reusable.
Innovation Solution
A management pack management pack (MPMP) defines the structure of management packs, allowing for a unified instance space in a database, enabling the storage and management of management pack elements in a reusable and cost-effective manner, with automatic generation of infrastructure and support for incremental updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a new management pack element is introduced into a conventional management pack infrastructure, then the functionality and capabilities of the management system are improved, but the cost and complexity of authoring, validation, importing, and exporting functionality increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal management pack schema that can accommodate multiple types of management pack elements (rules, monitors, templates, etc.) through a common instance space infrastructure. This schema uses standardized element types with attributes like 'element_type', 'name', 'description', and 'xml_schema_name' to represent diverse management objects uniformly, eliminating the need for separate handling infrastructure for each element type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the management pack infrastructure into distinct components: the management pack schema (defining the instance space), the instance space itself (storing element instances), and the materialized database representation. This segmentation allows new elements to be added by simply defining new instances within the existing schema framework rather than restructuring the entire system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a new management pack element is introduced into a conventional management pack infrastructure, then the functionality and capabilities of the management system are improved, but the cost of authoring, validation, importing, and exporting functionality increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The universal instance space schema serves as a multi-functional platform that handles authoring, validation, importing, and exporting for all management pack element types through a single infrastructure. The schema includes standardized attributes and relationships that work across different element types, eliminating the need for type-specific processing logic and reducing development costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses XML-based schemas to define and replicate management pack element structures. The instance space schema acts as a template that can be copied and instantiated multiple times to create different management pack elements, reducing the cost of creating new elements by reusing existing schema definitions and relationships.
3Manufacturing precision
If management pack elements are made solution-specific with custom classes, actions, and methods, then the precision and specificity of management operations are improved, but the reusability and portability of management packs across different solutions decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by allowing management pack elements to have specific attributes and relationships tailored to their particular needs while maintaining a common instance space structure. Each element type (rule, monitor, template) can define its own specific attributes locally within the universal schema framework, enabling specificity without sacrificing reusability.
Solution Approach 2:
The universal instance space schema provides a common framework that can represent multiple solution-specific element types through standardized attributes. The schema includes element_type identifiers and configurable attributes that allow the same infrastructure to handle both generic and solution-specific elements, enabling management packs to be reused across different solutions with minimal modification.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described herein for using a management pack to define a structure of management packs. A management pack is business logic expressed in terms of an extensible language, such as extensible markup language (XML). Instances of entities that are described by a management pack are stored in an instance space that is defined by the management pack. An entity can be a computer, software program, employee, customer, management pack, management pack element, or anything else in the system that an administrator may wish to describe. A management pack that defines the structure of management packs is referred to as a “management pack management pack” (MPMP). Accordingly, management packs (including MPMPs) having a structure that is defined by a MPMP are stored in an instance space that is defined by the MPMP. The instance space that is defined by the MPMP is materialized in a database.