Virtualization-Aware Software Licensing Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The traditional CPU-based licensing model for software is inaccurate and arbitrary, especially in cloud and virtual machine environments, leading to complex license management issues, including unnecessary licensing, inefficiencies, and legal penalties, as it fails to account for dynamic resource allocation and virtualization.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a management device, governance engine, language engine, and recommendation engine that processes human-readable licensing agreements to generate machine-readable rules, optimizing VM placement and resource utilization, and providing strategic software deployments to maximize licensing value and avoid legal constraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional CPU-based licensing model is used, then licensing is simple at CPU level, but it becomes inaccurate and arbitrary in virtualized environments leading to complex license management issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the licensing model from CPU-level to VM-level by introducing virtualization-aware licensing mechanisms. The system divides the physical server into multiple VMs and applies licensing rules at the VM level, allowing independent licensing decisions for each virtual instance while maintaining traceability to physical hardware resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (virtualization management system) between the physical CPU and the software licensing. This intermediary tracks VM creation, migration, and resource allocation, translating physical CPU usage into virtualized licensing units that accurately reflect actual software usage without requiring direct CPU-level monitoring.
2Productivity
If VMs are dynamically allocated and migrated, then resource utilization is optimized, but license management becomes complex with unnecessary licensing and legal penalties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the virtualization management system continuously monitors VM placement, resource allocation, and licensing status. This feedback loop enables real-time adjustments to licensing decisions based on actual VM configurations, ensuring license compliance while maximizing resource utilization across the virtualized infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms static CPU-based licensing into dynamic VM-based licensing that adapts to changing virtualization configurations. Licensing rights are tied to VM identifiers and can be automatically activated or deactivated based on VM creation, migration, or deletion events, allowing flexible resource allocation without manual license reconfiguration.
3Stability of the object's composition
If software vendors do not acknowledge VM virtualization, then traditional licensing can be maintained, but it results in communication system license management issues in cloud environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal licensing framework that works across both traditional physical server environments and virtualized cloud environments. The system can operate in hybrid modes, supporting both CPU-based and VM-based licensing models simultaneously, allowing seamless transition and compatibility with various software vendor licensing policies while adapting to virtualization requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Management of communication systems is facilitated. A method comprises: processing, by a device comprising a processor, first information representative of human-readable language and indicative of terms of agreements associated with respective software for a communication system, wherein the communication system is arranged according to a first configuration of virtual machines and server devices, and wherein the agreements comprise license agreements for the respective software; converting, by the device, the first information into machine-readable rules indicative of the terms of the agreements associated with the respective software for the communication system; and based on a result of comparing the machine-readable rules and first information indicative of the first configuration, determining, by the device, whether the first configuration of the communication system satisfies a defined criterion.