Legacy Application Container Migration with Recursive Dependency Analysis

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Solution Overview

Problem

Legacy applications pose challenges due to reliance on outdated hardware and software, leading to security risks, compatibility issues, and high maintenance costs, with manual migration to modern platforms being time-consuming and costly.

Innovation Solution

A software-driven method to automatically identify and containerize application components, breaking them down into minimal but complete sets, and migrate them to a target system, using a recursive process to define entry points and dependencies.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual migration methods are used to move legacy applications to modern platforms, then migration accuracy and component identification can be achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and costly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecomponent identification accuracyVSAvoidmigration time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service automated migration by allowing the legacy application to migrate itself to the target platform without requiring manual intervention. The migration tool automatically identifies components, analyzes dependencies, and performs the migration process, eliminating the need for manual component identification and reducing migration time while maintaining accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If legacy applications continue to run on outdated hardware and software, then existing functionality is maintained, but security risks and compatibility issues increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefunctionality maintenanceVSAvoidsecurity risks
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of the legacy application's components and dependencies before migration. By automatically identifying all components and their relationships in advance, the system ensures that the migrated application maintains its existing functionality while being moved to a secure, modern platform, thereby preventing security risks before they can affect the system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If automated migration tools are implemented, then migration speed and efficiency improve, but the complexity of the migration system increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemigration speedVSAvoidmigration system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The migration system is segmented into distinct automated modules: component identification, dependency analysis, and migration execution. Each module handles a specific aspect of the migration process independently, which increases automation capability and migration speed while managing system complexity through modular design, making the overall system more maintainable and understandable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS12367024B2Application to container conversion and migration
Publication Date: 2025.07.22 CRISTIE SOFTWARE LTD
  • US12367024B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method and system is disclosed for migrating an application on a source computer system, which may be a legacy application running on an out-of-date operating system, to a container host running on a target computer system. The system includes software products which analyse the source system to identify application components, and which provision containers corresponding to the identified components.