Virtualized Resource Monitoring for License Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtualized environments, dynamic resource allocation makes it challenging to ensure software license compliance, as audits cannot accurately track past or present resource usage, leading to potential overages and straining vendor-customer relationships, with hypervisors sometimes assigning excess resources unintentionally.
Innovation Solution
Implement a monitoring and reporting system that tracks and reports physical computing resource usage, including processor types and speeds, to generate secure, detailed reports for compliance and resource allocation, compatible with off-the-shelf hypervisors without requiring customization, and capable of aggregating data across disparate cloud providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a full audit is performed to check license compliance, then the risk of license overage is reduced, but the system consumes valuable resources and may cause disruption to the computing environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous monitoring that proactively tracks resource allocation and usage before license overages occur. The system maintains a running record of physical computing resources assigned to and used by virtual computing resources, enabling early detection of potential compliance issues without requiring disruptive audits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback mechanism where the monitoring system continuously reports resource allocation and usage data to the hypervisor and/or customer. This feedback loop enables real-time awareness of license compliance status, allowing corrective actions to be taken before overages occur, thereby reducing the need for resource-intensive audits.
2Productivity
If the hypervisor optimizes application performance by assigning excess resources, then application performance is improved, but license overage occurs unintentionally
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system provides continuous feedback to the hypervisor about current resource usage and license limits. When the hypervisor considers assigning additional resources for optimization, the monitoring system alerts it to potential license overage conditions, enabling the hypervisor to make informed decisions that balance performance with compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system preemptively identifies and prevents actions that would lead to license overage. By continuously tracking resource allocation against license limits, the system can warn or block resource assignment decisions before they cause compliance violations, even when such assignments might improve application performance.
3Productivity
If dynamic resource allocation is used to optimize virtualized environment, then resource utilization efficiency is improved, but accurate tracking of license compliance becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a monitoring system as an intermediary between the hypervisor and the license compliance requirements. This intermediary continuously observes and records resource allocation and usage events, creating an accurate audit trail that reflects the dynamic nature of virtualized resource management while maintaining precise tracking for compliance verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system operates continuously to track resource allocation and usage throughout the virtualized environment. This continuous observation ensures that no resource assignment or usage event goes unrecorded, maintaining accurate compliance tracking even as resources are dynamically reassigned to optimize utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
Various aspects of the disclosure relate to monitoring of resource usage in a virtualized environment, including usage of a physical processor that executes a virtual machine or an application of the virtualized environment. By monitoring physical computing resources (e.g., by number and type) that are used to execute a virtual machine or an application of the virtualized environment, a user may, for example, be informed as to when physical computing resources are used in excess or less than the limits set by the license. In some embodiments, additional actions may be taken to update the license to better satisfy the user's resource requirements or reduce the amount paid annually for ongoing technical services. To inform a user, or form the basis for the additional actions, a report may be generated that includes data describing how a virtual machine or application executed on the physical computing resources.