Validated State Control for Edge Computing Version Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing consistent and compatible versions of hardware, firmware, and software components in information handling systems is impractical due to the vast number of combinations, especially when upgrading, as seen in microservice architecture deployments, rendering manual approaches inefficient.
Innovation Solution
The method involves maintaining snapshots of validated release versions for component groups, identifying the lowest validated release version that covers a non-validated state, and upgrading only the necessary components to that version, with the option to verify and establish a new validated configuration instead of upgrading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual approaches are used to manage component versions, then version consistency can be maintained, but the complexity and time required for management increases exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates and maintains snapshots of validated release versions as copies of component version states. These snapshots store the complete version configuration of all components at a validated state, allowing systems to reference pre-validated configurations without manually managing each component version individually, thus reducing management complexity while ensuring consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary validation of component versions before they are deployed. By validating and snapshotting versions in advance, the system ensures that when upgrades are needed, the target validated release version is already prepared and verified, eliminating the need for manual verification during deployment and reducing overall management complexity.
2Reliability
If all components are upgraded to the latest version, then system compatibility is improved, but the time and resources required for upgrading increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring all components to be upgraded to the latest version simultaneously, the patent enables selective upgrading to the lowest validated release version that covers the current non-validated state. This partial action approach upgrades only the necessary components to the minimum required validated version, reducing upgrade time and resources while still achieving system compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the upgrade parameter from 'latest version' to 'lowest validated release version that covers current state'. This parameter change allows the upgrade process to target the minimum necessary validated version rather than always upgrading to the latest, reducing unnecessary upgrade time and resources while maintaining compatibility.
3Reliability
If validated release versions are maintained for all component combinations, then version compatibility is ensured, but the storage and management overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the version management process into discrete validated release versions, each representing a specific validated state of the component group. By segmenting versions into distinct validated releases rather than managing all possible combinations, the system reduces the quantity of versions to manage while ensuring compatibility through systematic validation of each segment.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing information handling resource versions includes maintaining one or more snapshots of one or more validated release versions for a group of components. Each validated release version indicates a component version for each component in the group. Each component version in a higher validated release version is required to be greater than or equal to a corresponding component version in a lower validated release version. Responsive to identifying an instance of the component group in an non-validated state, disclosed methods identify a lowest validated release version that “covers” the non-validated state, wherein a validated release version covers any state in which no component version is greater than its corresponding component version in the validated release version. The instance of the component group is updated to a validated release version that equals or exceeds the lowest validated version.