Multi-tenant Customization Deltas for Base System Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In multi-tenant computer systems, customization by different tenants creates challenges in sharing common resources while maintaining separate customizations, leading to difficulties in offering solutions efficiently.

Innovation Solution

Customization deltas are saved and applied separately to a base computing system, allowing groups of tenants to share common resources while accessing different customization deltas, which are automatically grouped and applied at runtime.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If each tenant maintains separate customizations to the base system, then tenant-specific functionality is preserved, but system complexity and difficulty in offering multi-tenant solutions increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetenant-specific customizationVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the system into a base system and separate customization layers (customization deltas). Each tenant's customizations are stored as independent delta sets that can be applied to the base system without modifying it. This segmentation allows multiple tenants to have different customizations while sharing the same base system, reducing overall complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates copies of the base system state at different points in time and applies customizations to these copies rather than modifying the original base system. Customization deltas are essentially copies of modification states that can be selectively applied. This copying approach preserves the integrity of the base system while enabling tenant-specific variations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Loss of energy

If multiple tenants share common resources, then resource utilization efficiency improves, but maintaining separate customizations becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource utilization efficiencyVSAvoidcustomization separation
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of energyVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the customization data into separate delta sets that can be independently managed and applied. This segmentation allows the system to share the base resources efficiently while maintaining distinct customization layers for each tenant, resolving the conflict between resource sharing and customization separation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The base system serves as a universal foundation that can be shared across multiple tenants, while the customization delta mechanism provides multi-functionality by enabling different tenants to apply different sets of customizations to the same base system. This universal base with configurable overlays achieves both resource sharing and customization flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Productivity

If customization deltas are applied at runtime for each tenant group, then scalability and memory utilization improve, but processing overhead at runtime increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovescalabilityVSAvoidruntime processing overhead
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and validating customization deltas during system setup and deployment phases. The deltas are prepared, checked for conflicts, and organized into tenant-specific groups in advance. This preliminary preparation reduces the actual runtime overhead when applying customizations, as the heavy lifting of conflict resolution and validation has already been done.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a dynamic customization application mechanism that adapts to different tenant groups at runtime. Rather than applying all customizations uniformly, the system dynamically determines which delta sets to apply based on tenant groupings and current system state. This dynamic approach optimizes runtime performance by applying only necessary customizations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3314417B1Multi-tenant, tenant-specific applications
Publication Date: 2023.03.01 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3314417B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3314417B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3314417B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Customizations, made at various levels in the customization channel, are saved as separate sets of customization deltas that are applied to a base computing system in order to generate a given solution. In a multi-tenant environment, groups of tenants access different solutions or customization deltas. The tenants are automatically grouped, based upon the solution or customization deltas that they access, and the deltas for those customizations are applied to the base system at runtime, for each group.