Template-Based Infrastructure Provisioning Management Server
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity and size of modern computer systems, combined with Agile Software Development, increase the workload for IT administrators, particularly in platform deployment, due to the need for coordination between platform and infrastructure administrators, leading to potential misconfigurations and prolonged deployment times caused by the lack of accurate physical and platform mapping information.
Innovation Solution
A management server that manages computer devices by storing templates for software configurations and using these templates to create device profiles, which are then applied to configure servers, storage, and networks, ensuring consistent and accurate provisioning across platforms and physical infrastructures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If template-based provisioning tools are used to reduce deployment work, then deployment time is reduced, but coordination complexity between platform and infrastructure administrators increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines platform administrator functions and infrastructure administrator functions into a single unified management server. This consolidation merges previously separate coordination tasks into one automated system, reducing the coordination complexity between administrators while maintaining template-based provisioning capabilities that reduce deployment time.
Solution Approach 2:
The management server acts as an intermediary that automatically handles the coordination between platform requirements and infrastructure configurations. By introducing this automated mediator, the system reduces manual coordination complexity while preserving the efficiency benefits of template-based provisioning.
2Reliability
If manual coordination between platform and infrastructure administrators is performed, then configuration accuracy may be maintained, but deployment time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The management server implements self-service automation where the system automatically determines infrastructure requirements based on selected platform templates without requiring manual administrator coordination. This self-service approach maintains configuration accuracy through automated validation while significantly reducing deployment time by eliminating manual coordination steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-defining platform templates that encapsulate all necessary infrastructure requirements. By preparing these templates in advance with embedded dependency information, the system ensures configuration accuracy is maintained while eliminating time-consuming manual coordination during actual deployment.
3Reliability
If infrastructure requirements are determined manually before platform deployment, then misconfigurations are reduced, but workload for IT administrators increases
Solution Approach 1:
The management server performs self-service by automatically determining infrastructure requirements from platform template selections. This eliminates the need for IT administrators to manually assess infrastructure needs, reducing their workload while maintaining low misconfiguration rates through automated validation and dependency resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the management server automatically validates infrastructure configurations against platform template requirements. This closed-loop feedback ensures misconfigurations are detected and corrected automatically, maintaining high reliability while reducing administrator workload by eliminating manual verification tasks.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods described herein are directed to a template based deployment system providing settings across platform and physical infrastructures. The infrastructure can involve a server, storage, and a network. The platform can include various types of operating systems. A management server may be configured to manage various system elements, server virtualization and platform deployment. The management server may use policies based on a platform template, server profile, host storage profile, and host network profile. Infrastructure configurations may be determined by the management server, according to the platform type, and platform option settings in the platform template. The management server deploys the infrastructure and platform on top of the infrastructure using platform template and images.