Role-Based Interface Segmentation for Data Center Administration

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing data center administration systems often overwhelm users with irrelevant information and fail to preserve political boundaries by attempting to cater to multiple administrative roles through a single interface, leading to inefficient management and security issues.

Innovation Solution

The system provides role-based perspectives to administrators, customizing the interface to allow administration of primary components while preventing access to secondary components, thereby reducing information overload and maintaining data center security through role-specific access.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a single interface is used to cater to multiple administrative roles, then the system can serve more users, but users are overloaded with irrelevant information and political boundaries are not preserved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to serve multiple administrative rolesVSAvoidinformation overload for users

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the administrative interface into multiple role-specific perspectives (server administrator, cluster administrator, storage administrator, virtualization administrator, application administrator). Each perspective displays only the components and information relevant to that specific administrative role, eliminating information overload while maintaining the ability to serve multiple user types through a single unified system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If a single interface is used to cater to multiple administrative roles, then the system can serve more users, but political boundaries between administrative roles are not preserved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to serve multiple administrative rolesVSAvoidpreservation of political boundaries

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments access control and information display by administrative role, creating distinct perspectives that preserve political boundaries. Each administrative role (server, cluster, storage, virtualization, application) sees only the components and operations appropriate to their authority level, preventing unauthorized access while maintaining system-wide functionality through a single interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Manufacturing precision

If multiple systems are deployed to administer different data center components, then each system can be specialized, but the organization needs to deploy and manage multiple separate systems

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespecialization for specific component typesVSAvoidnumber of separate systems to deploy

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements a universal administrative interface that provides multi-functionality by accommodating multiple administrative roles within a single system. The unified platform delivers role-specific specialized views (server, cluster, storage, virtualization, application administration) without requiring separate deployment of multiple systems, reducing complexity while maintaining specialization through perspective-based access.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Adaptability or versatility

If all components are made accessible to all administrators, then comprehensive control is achieved, but security and political boundaries are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomprehensive administrative controlVSAvoidsecurity risks from unauthorized access

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments visibility and control rights by administrative role, ensuring that each administrator (server, cluster, storage, virtualization, or application administrator) can only access and control components appropriate to their designated role. This segmentation maintains comprehensive administrative control across the entire data center while preventing security risks by restricting access to only authorized components for each user.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS9806958B1Systems and methods for enabling multiple-perspective administration of computing systems

Publication Date: 2017.10.31 ARCTERA US LLC

AI summary

The disclosed computer-implemented method for enabling multiple-perspective administration of computing systems may include (1) receiving, from a user, a request to administer a computing system that includes a plurality of types of components, (2) identifying an administrative role of the user, (3) identifying a primary component of a primary type of component that is administered by the user in the administrative role, (4) identifying a secondary component of a secondary type of component that is not administered by the user in the administrative role, and (5) providing, via a graphical user interface, a perspective of the computing system to the user that (a) enables the user to administer the computing system by administering the primary component and view information about the secondary component in terms of the primary component and (b) prevents the user from administering the secondary component. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.