Unified Metadata Model for Cloud-Native Lifecycle Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional software solutions lack a standardized metadata model for managing cloud-based, service-oriented applications as a whole, leading to inefficiencies in scaling and requiring disparate operations and management tools for individual components and layers.
Innovation Solution
A metadata model comprising a global, to-be, and as-is model is introduced, representing a software solution and its components, enabling lifecycle management by updating and populating metadata models through release and deployment pipelines, and allowing management operations such as deployment, updating, and monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If proprietary metadata models are provided for individual components, landscapes, and tenants separately, then each component can be managed with dedicated tools, but the solution cannot be scaled as a whole and requires disparate management tools for respective layers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal metadata model that can represent multiple layers of a software solution (solution, landscape, tenant, component) within a single standardized framework. This model enables both component-level detailed management and solution-wide scalable management through a unified interface, eliminating the need for disparate tools while maintaining the ability to manage individual components effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The metadata model is segmented into hierarchical levels (solution, landscape, tenant, component) where each level can be independently managed yet remains part of the overall solution structure. This segmentation allows targeted management of specific components while maintaining the ability to manage the complete solution as a unified entity through the standardized model.
2Ease of operation
If multiple disparate metadata models are used for different layers of the solution, then each layer can be managed independently, but the complexity of managing multiple models increases and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
A single universal metadata model serves multiple functions by representing different layers (solution, landscape, tenant, component) with a consistent structure. This eliminates the complexity of managing multiple separate models while maintaining the ability to independently manage each layer through the unified model's hierarchical capabilities.
3Loss of information
If traditional proprietary metadata models are used for each component, then detailed component information can be captured, but the inability to scale the solution as a whole and lack of unified management increases operational overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The universal metadata model captures detailed component information while simultaneously enabling solution-wide management operations. The standardized structure allows the same model to represent both granular component details and high-level solution architecture, improving management efficiency without losing component-level information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges previously separate metadata models for different layers into a single unified metadata model. This consolidation maintains detailed component information while enabling efficient solution-wide management operations, eliminating the productivity losses associated with managing multiple disparate models.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer-readable storage media for defining a metadata model representative of the software solution, the metadata model including a global model, a to-be model, and an as-is model, updating, by a first model updater, the global model to include metadata generated during execution of a release pipeline associated with the software solution, updating, by a second model updater, the to-be model to include metadata generated during execution of a deployment pipeline associated with the software solution, populating the as-is model with metadata generated as a result of deployment of the software solution to the one or more cloud platforms, the as-is model identifying versions of components of the software solution and respective deploy targets, to which the components are deployed to, and executing at least one management operation on the software solution at least partially based on the metadata model.