Simulation-Based Evaluation of Upgrade Campaign Specifications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Selecting the most appropriate upgrade campaign specifications for highly available systems is challenging due to variations in procedures, ordering, and execution methods, which can result in differing execution times and service outages, making it difficult to meet maintenance windows and service availability requirements.
Innovation Solution
A simulation-based approach using the Discrete EVent System Specification (DEVS) formalism and DEVS-Suite simulator to evaluate upgrade campaign specifications, considering best and worst case scenarios for fully and partially ordered executions, to determine execution times and service outages, and reject specifications that do not meet thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If different upgrade campaign specifications are used to migrate from source to target configuration, then the system can be upgraded, but the execution time and service outage vary making it difficult to meet maintenance windows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing simulation and evaluation of upgrade campaign specifications before actual execution. The system simulates multiple upgrade scenarios, calculates execution times and service outages for each specification, and selects the optimal specification in advance. This allows operators to choose upgrade specifications that will meet maintenance window requirements before the upgrade actually occurs, rather than discovering timing issues during execution.
2Reliability
If different upgrade campaign specifications are used to migrate from source to target configuration, then the system can be upgraded, but the service outage varies making it difficult to meet service availability requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by using simulation results to evaluate and compare different upgrade campaign specifications. The system calculates service outage metrics for each specification and uses this feedback information to select the specification that minimizes service disruption. The feedback loop allows the system to learn from simulated outcomes and make informed decisions about which upgrade specification to execute, ensuring service availability requirements are met.
3Measurement precision
If multiple upgrade campaign specifications are evaluated through simulation, then the optimal specification can be selected, but the complexity of the upgrade management process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by creating simulated versions of the upgrade campaign specifications and system state for evaluation purposes. Instead of executing multiple actual upgrades to test different specifications, the system creates virtual copies of the upgrade processes in a simulation environment. This allows accurate comparison of execution times and service outages without the complexity of managing multiple real upgrade executions, as the simulation models capture the essential behavior of each specification.
Data Source
AI summary
An upgrade campaign specification upgrades a system from a current configuration to a target configuration. A method is provided for selecting one or more upgrade campaign specifications from a given set of upgrade campaign specifications. For each upgrade campaign specification, the method (1) identifies software and management operations specified in the upgrade campaign specification for upgrading the system; and (2) for each of a set of one or more scenarios defined in terms of operation execution time selection and execution mode, simulates upgrade of the system according to a corresponding arrangement of the software and management operations, thereby obtaining a corresponding execution time and a corresponding outage. A subset of the upgrade campaign specifications is rejected, for which the corresponding execution times do not meet an execution time threshold or for which the corresponding outages do not meet an outage threshold.