Integrated Capacity and Reliability SLA Licensing for Cloud Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing capacity software licensing approaches fail to offer on-demand access to differentiated levels of reliability Service Level Agreements (SLA) in conjunction with on-demand access to processing capacity, particularly in distributed processing entities and utility cloud computing, where service providers have varying reliability requirements that cannot be scaled flexibly.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an Integrated Capacity and Reliability SLA Software License (ISL) system that allows users to purchase customizable levels of processing capacity and reliability SLA on demand, utilizing an ISL Manager and Controller to monitor and allocate resources accordingly, enabling fine-grained scalability and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional capacity software licensing is used, then on-demand access to processing capacity is provided, but differentiated levels of reliability SLA cannot be offered on-demand
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the reliability SLA into discrete, purchasable units similar to capacity licensing. The ISL manager divides the processing resource's reliability capacity into quantifiable levels that can be allocated independently to different users based on their specific needs, enabling on-demand acquisition of differentiated reliability SLAs.
Solution Approach 2:
The Integrated Software License (ISL) serves multiple functions by combining both capacity allocation and reliability SLA guarantees into a single licensing mechanism. This universal license type can simultaneously provide different capacity levels and different reliability SLA levels to different users from the same processing resource pool.
2Reliability
If N+1 redundant capacity is engineered for reliability, then system reliability level improves, but system capacity is underutilized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic reliability allocation where the N+1 redundant capacity is not statically assigned but dynamically shared among multiple users based on their current SLA requirements. The ISL manager continuously monitors and reallocates the redundant capacity to different users as their needs change, maximizing utilization while maintaining the required reliability level for each user.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of reliability allocation from fixed (N+1 for all users) to variable (customizable SLA levels per user). Users can select from different reliability SLA levels based on their actual needs, allowing the system to optimize the allocation of redundant capacity and improve overall utilization while maintaining adequate reliability for each user.
3Adaptability or versatility
If cloud computing is used, then on-demand access to processing capacity is provided, but only a blanket level of guaranteed QoS or reliability SLA is offered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing customized reliability SLA levels to different users based on their specific requirements rather than a uniform blanket SLA. Each user can acquire the precise level of reliability SLA needed for their applications, creating localized quality differentiation within the shared cloud computing environment.
4Reliability
If service providers purchase fixed levels of capacity and reliability, then reliability requirements are met, but capital and operational expenditures are not optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The ISL system enables dynamic adjustment of both capacity and reliability SLA levels, allowing service providers to scale their purchases according to actual demand fluctuations. This dynamic licensing allows providers to optimize expenditures by acquiring only the necessary level of reliability SLA at any given time rather than maintaining fixed, over-provisioned capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for providing on-demand Integrated capacity and reliability Service Level Agreement (SLA) Software License (ISL). The disclosed approach allows customized purchase of capacity together with the desired reliability SLA at fine granularity of both quantities. The ISL licensing approach can be applied in the distributed Processing Entities (PEs) systems and also in the Virtual Machines (VMs) based cloud computing model. The on-demand ISL licensing approach makes use of an ISL dimensioning methodology (implemented using an ISL Manager) and an ISL Controller (ISLC) that keeps track of the capacity usage at the system level together with the periodic monitoring of health status of PEs or VMs. The ISLC dynamically controls the capacity usage as well as the reliability SLA based on the aggregated workload utilization conditions from all the PEs or VMs, hence allowing the delivery of the user-purchased level of guaranteed reliability SLA in an economical manner.