Tamper-Resistant Agent for On-Premise Resource Consumption Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional consumption-based cost models for on-premise computing are flawed in measuring actual consumption, allowing customers to tamper with measurement tools and provide false reporting, leading to inaccurate billing.
Innovation Solution
A tamper-resistant agent is deployed on the customer's mainframe to monitor resource consumption, measuring cost factors and compliance with software licensing, and communicates data to the vendor, ensuring accurate billing and compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional consumption-based cost models are used for on-premise computing, then billing is based on reported consumption data, but customers can tamper with measurement tools and provide false reporting leading to inaccurate billing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vendor-deployed agent as an intermediary between the customer's computing resources and the billing system. This agent independently monitors and measures resource consumption (CPU, memory, storage, network), preventing customer tampering with measurement tools. The agent reports directly to the vendor, ensuring accurate consumption data for billing while maintaining the customer's operational control over their infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where the embedded agent constantly monitors resource consumption metrics and reports them to the vendor's billing system. This real-time feedback mechanism ensures that consumption data is accurately captured and transmitted, preventing false reporting and enabling precise consumption-based billing adjustments.
2Measurement precision
If an embedded agent is deployed to monitor resource consumption, then accurate compliance data is obtained, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The embedded agent operates autonomously, self-monitoring resource consumption without requiring external measurement infrastructure. The agent automatically collects metrics from CPU, memory, storage, and network components, and self-reports this data to the vendor, eliminating the need for complex external monitoring systems while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The vendor-deployed agent serves multiple functions: it monitors resource consumption, ensures compliance with service agreements, provides billing data, and can detect anomalies. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into a single integrated solution, reducing overall system complexity while improving measurement accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method includes monitoring, by an agent, resource consumption at a system running at an on-premises data center, where the agent is embedded into the system. Compliance data is determined by measuring, by the agent, the resource consumption according to one or more cost factors of a consumption-based pricing agreement. The compliance data is useable to determine a consumption-based price of operating the system according to the consumption-based pricing agreement.