Rule Set Lifecycle Management via Linkage Sets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern computing systems face challenges in managing the life cycle of rules, where new or modified rules unintentionally delete existing ones, leading to unintended configuration changes and operational issues.
Innovation Solution
A life cycle management module identifies and updates the state of each rule, creating a linkage set to track different versions and manage rule deployment, ensuring that new rules are added without overwriting existing ones, allowing for controlled transitions between activation, deprecation, and exclusion states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If new rules or modified rules are deployed by overwriting current rules, then the deployment speed and simplicity are improved, but existing rules may be unintentionally deleted leading to configuration errors and operational issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the rule deployment process into distinct phases: identification of existing rules, creation of linkage sets to track rule versions, and controlled state transitions. This segmentation prevents accidental overwriting by requiring explicit version management steps before deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by identifying existing rules and creating linkage sets before deploying new rules. This preliminary version tracking establishes a safety mechanism that prevents unintentional deletions while maintaining deployment efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If a simple overwrite mechanism is used for rule updates, then the system complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but the ability to track rule versions and maintain system stability is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces linkage sets as an intermediary structure between simple rule storage and complex version control systems. Linkage sets provide automated version tracking and state management, maintaining simplicity while enabling robust rule lifecycle management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically tracking rule versions and managing state transitions through linkage sets. This automation provides version control capabilities without requiring manual intervention, maintaining ease of operation while enhancing tracking capability.
3Loss of time
If existing rules are allowed to be overwritten without version tracking, then the loss of time for manual version management is avoided, but the loss of information about rule evolution and the ability to recover from errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through linkage sets that automatically track and record rule version transitions. This feedback system captures rule evolution history without manual intervention, preventing information loss while avoiding time consumption for manual version management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of rule information within linkage sets to preserve version history. This copying mechanism maintains complete rule evolution records automatically, preventing information loss without requiring manual version management time.
Data Source
AI summary
Life cycle management of rule sets, each rule set including rules for managing the operation of a computing system, including: identifying, by a life cycle management module, a rule life cycle state for each rule in the rule set, wherein the rule life cycle state specifies the current deployment status of the rule; identifying, by the life cycle management module, a linkage set for each rule in the rule set, wherein the linkage set identifies versions of the rule that are in a different rule life cycle state; and updating, by the life cycle management module, the rule set, including: updating the rule life cycle state for one or more rules in the rule set; and updating the linkage set for one or more rules in the rule set.