Native Application Service Mapping for Bare Metal Dependencies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems struggle to generate service maps for bare metal workloads (native applications) running directly on physical computing devices without virtual machines or containers, making it difficult to identify performance issues and dependencies, particularly in complex network applications.
Innovation Solution
A system and method to generate service maps by associating applications with connections using process and connection information collected from compute nodes, determining server and client applications, and generating a service map with edges and nodes to represent these relationships, without requiring manual user input or instrumentation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If service maps are generated for bare metal workloads without virtualization, then visibility and troubleshooting capability are improved, but system complexity increases due to the need to collect and process connection and process information from multiple compute nodes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a service map generation system that acts as an intermediary between compute nodes and administrators. This system collects connection information and process information from compute nodes, processes this data to identify application relationships, and presents the results as visual service maps. The intermediary handles the complexity of data collection and processing while providing simplified visibility into bare metal workload relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the service map generation process into distinct components: connection information collection, process information collection, relationship determination, and visual representation. By dividing the complex task into manageable segments handled by different modules, the system achieves application visibility while maintaining manageable complexity through modular architecture.
2Measurement precision
If connection and process information is collected from multiple compute nodes to generate service maps, then dependency identification is improved, but data processing requirements and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by collecting and storing connection information and process information from compute nodes before service map generation is needed. This pre-collection of data reduces the time required during actual service map generation, as the processing circuitry can work with pre-gathered information rather than collecting data in real-time during analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a representation (copy) of the service map that mirrors the actual application relationships and dependencies. This service map is a simplified model that captures essential dependency information without requiring processing of every raw connection and process detail, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining identification accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If automated service map generation is implemented without manual instrumentation, then ease of operation is improved, but the system must handle diverse connection types and application protocols automatically
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by designing the service map generation system to handle multiple connection types and application protocols automatically without requiring manual configuration or instrumentation for each protocol. The processing circuitry is designed to universally collect connection information, identify application relationships, and generate service maps across diverse bare metal workloads through a single unified approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically collecting its own operational data (connection information and process information) from compute nodes without requiring external instrumentation or manual setup. The service map generation process is self-sufficient, using the system's own monitoring capabilities to generate the maps it needs to display and analyze.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a storage device including process information and connection information collected by one or more host modules at a plurality of compute nodes and processing circuitry in communication with the storage device. The processing circuitry is configured to associate, with each connection of one or more connections identified in the connection information, one or more applications, wherein each of the one or more applications is an application of a plurality of applications identified in the process information, determine whether each of the one or more applications is a server application or a client application based on the one or more connections, generate a service map comprising an edge representing each connection of the one or more connections and a node representing each server application and each client application of the one or more applications, and output an indication of the service map.