Maintenance Window Scheduling for IT Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing compliance with regulatory policies across large computing services is challenging due to the complexity of implementing and maintaining policies across thousands of resources, requiring significant manual effort and oversight, and existing solutions often fail to efficiently schedule maintenance periods without disrupting service operations.
Innovation Solution
An intelligent scheduler and compliance system that programmatically matches resource policies to computing resources, allows self-evaluation and remediation, and dynamically schedules maintenance windows based on priority and service level objectives to ensure compliance operations are completed efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual compliance management is implemented across thousands of computing resources, then policy compliance can be achieved, but significant manual effort and oversight are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through automated compliance agents deployed on computing resources that autonomously evaluate compliance status and execute remediation actions without manual intervention. The system automatically monitors policy violations, schedules maintenance windows, and performs compliance operations, eliminating the need for significant manual effort while maintaining policy compliance across thousands of resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical compliance management with an automated electronic system. Compliance agents use software-based mechanisms to continuously monitor, evaluate, and remediate policy violations automatically. The system substitutes human operators with automated algorithms that can process and enforce compliance policies across large-scale computing environments without manual intervention.
2Reliability
If maintenance operations are performed on computing resources, then compliance can be improved, but service disruption and downtime occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by scheduling maintenance operations during pre-determined maintenance windows before compliance violations escalate. The system proactively identifies compliance issues and plans remediation activities in advance during scheduled maintenance periods, allowing compliance improvements to be made before critical failures occur while minimizing service disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making maintenance window scheduling flexible and adaptive. The system dynamically adjusts maintenance schedules based on service level objectives, resource priorities, and operational conditions. Maintenance operations are scheduled during periods of lowest impact, and the system can adaptively reschedule operations to balance compliance requirements with service availability, minimizing downtime while achieving compliance goals.
3Reliability
If frequent maintenance windows are scheduled to ensure compliance, then compliance operations can be completed, but service operations are disrupted more often
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by adjusting maintenance window parameters such as duration, frequency, and timing based on service level objectives and compliance priorities. The system dynamically modifies maintenance schedules to optimize the balance between completing compliance operations and maintaining service productivity. By changing parameters like maintenance window timing and duration, the system ensures compliance operations are completed with minimal impact on service operations.
4Reliability
If compliance operations are performed immediately, then policy violations are remediated quickly, but service availability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by proactively identifying and scheduling compliance remediation during planned maintenance windows before policy violations become critical. Rather than reacting to violations after they occur, the system anticipates compliance needs and schedules remediation in advance during appropriate maintenance periods, ensuring quick remediation while maintaining service availability during normal operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A change in an information technology system may be monitored. The information technology system may include a computing resource, a computing service that is to utilize the computing resource, a resource policy including a rule that is to be matched to the computing resource. A compliance operation may be performed on the computing resource in accordance with the rule. A schedule may be changed for a maintenance window in which the compliance operation is to be performed. The change of the schedule may be based on the monitored change in the information technology system and on a priority of the compliance operation or of the computing service.