Inventory Manager for Distributed Cloud Software Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customers using remote computing resources, or 'the cloud,' face difficulties in determining and managing software packages, versions, and patches across allocated resources, making it challenging to maintain and update software effectively.
Innovation Solution
A framework is provided that allows customers to remotely define, execute, and analyze data from within a guest Operating System, using gatherers to collect and output inventory data in a flexible and extensible manner, enabling the collection of various types of data and supporting post-processing analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If customers use remote computing resources in the cloud, then resource accessibility and scalability are improved, but the ability to determine and manage software packages, versions, and patches across allocated resources deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an inventory manager as an intermediary component that mediates between the distributed cloud resources and the customer's management interface. This inventory manager collects software package information, versions, and patch status from multiple virtual machines and consolidates it into a unified view, enabling customers to monitor and manage software across their allocated cloud resources without direct access to each individual machine.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the inventory manager continuously collects and updates software inventory data from distributed resources, providing real-time or periodic feedback to the customer's management interface. This allows customers to stay informed about software states across their cloud allocations and make informed decisions about updates and maintenance.
2Loss of information
If software inventory data is collected from multiple distributed resources, then comprehensive software visibility is improved, but system complexity and data management burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data collection and management functions into a centralized inventory manager that consolidates software inventory information from multiple distributed virtual machines. Instead of requiring customers to manually track software across each resource, the system combines all software package data, versions, and patch information into a single unified inventory that can be viewed and managed from one interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The inventory manager is designed as a universal system capable of collecting and managing diverse software inventory data from multiple different virtual machine instances simultaneously. It handles various software package types, version formats, and patch information through a standardized interface, reducing the complexity of managing heterogeneous software environments across distributed cloud resources.
3Measurement precision
If real-time software inventory monitoring is implemented across distributed resources, then software management accuracy is improved, but computational overhead and resource usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The inventory manager implements periodic data collection cycles rather than continuous real-time monitoring of all software inventory data. It collects software package information, versions, and patch status at scheduled intervals from distributed virtual machines, providing sufficiently accurate and timely software inventory visibility while reducing the computational overhead and resource consumption associated with constant real-time monitoring.
Data Source
AI summary
Mechanisms are presented by which a customer of a resource provider can determine information about the portions of shared resources that are allocated to the customer. The information can include, for example, the software, operating systems software versions, software updates, software patches, and other such packages installed and/or executing on the various resources. In at least some embodiments, a customer can select one of a set of predefined actions that enables the customer to query the allocations, or resource instances, to obtain the information, such as through a series of inventory reports stored to a central location. In at least some embodiments the information can be obtained using a set of gatherers each configured to obtain a specific type of information.