U.S. patent application number 14/997945 was filed with the patent office on 2016-05-12 for system and method for building business service model.
The applicant listed for this patent is BMC SOFTWARE, INC.. Invention is credited to Troy CLINE, Shane CRAWFORD, Walt GIROIR, Jean-Marc TRINON.
Application Number | 20160132551 14/997945 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36602364 |
Filed Date | 2016-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160132551 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TRINON; Jean-Marc ; et
al. |
May 12, 2016 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BUILDING BUSINESS SERVICE MODEL
Abstract
A modeling system has a database that stores information of
resources of a computer network service. A server f has a graphical
user interface application for creating and editing service models.
The application receives user-entered search criteria and searches
information in the database based on the criteria. The search
criteria can include a name, type, attribute, and other information
of the resources. In addition, the search criteria can be a
user-entered search query entered that has one or more logical or
Boolean conditions relating resource attributes to attribute
values. Using information obtained through searching, the
application is used to create at least a portion of a service model
of the computer network service. Once created, the application is
used to initiate publishing of at least a portion of the service
model to one or more impact managers of the computer network
service.
Inventors: |
TRINON; Jean-Marc; (Luik,
BE) ; CLINE; Troy; (Leander, TX) ; GIROIR;
Walt; (Round Rock, TX) ; CRAWFORD; Shane;
(Austin, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BMC SOFTWARE, INC. |
Houston |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
36602364 |
Appl. No.: |
14/997945 |
Filed: |
January 18, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14512919 |
Oct 13, 2014 |
9239857 |
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14997945 |
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11316025 |
Dec 21, 2005 |
8862631 |
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14512919 |
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60637929 |
Dec 21, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
707/722 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/2379 20190101;
G06F 16/248 20190101; G06Q 30/0201 20130101; G06F 16/252 20190101;
G06F 16/245 20190101; G06F 9/542 20130101; G06F 16/284 20190101;
G06F 16/23 20190101; G06Q 10/06 20130101; G06Q 10/067 20130101;
G06F 2209/544 20130101; G06F 16/21 20190101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30; G06Q 10/06 20060101 G06Q010/06 |
Claims
1-33. (canceled)
34. A computer server comprising at least one element of hardware,
the computer server programmed with instructions to perform a
method, the method comprising: discovering information describing a
plurality of resources, the information being obtained from a
plurality of sources; storing the information in a configuration
management database, the configuration management database enabled
to reconcile descriptions of the same resources obtained from
different ones of the sources into one description; receiving at
least one user-entered search criterion in a service model editor
to locate at least one of the plurality of resources, wherein the
service model editor comprises a graphical user interface (GUI);
searching the configuration management database based on the at
least one user-entered search criterion; sending for graphical
display in the service model editor at least a portion of a service
model using information obtained through searching, the portion of
the service model comprising at least two resources of the
plurality of resources; receiving an impact relationship in the
service model editor, the impact relationship relating to the
portion of the service model; and updating the information in the
configuration management database to reflect the impact
relationship.
35. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the plurality of
resources comprises a computer network service.
36. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the plurality of
resources comprises an enterprise computing system.
37. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the impact
relationship is user entered.
38. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the impact
relationship is template based.
39. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the service model
comprises a business service model.
40. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the at least one
user-entered search criterion includes at least one configuration
item (CI).
41. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the portion of the
service model sent for graphical display includes a number of
levels related to a configuration item.
42. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the portion of the
service model sent for graphical display includes a business
service map.
43. The computer server of claim 42, wherein the business service
map is a vertical hierarchy.
44. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the at least two
resources of the plurality of resources comprising the portion of
the service model for graphical display are expandable and
collapsible.
45. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the at least one
user-entered search comprises find capabilities that are limited to
a criteria.
46. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the at least one
user-entered search can be saved.
47. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the at least one
user-entered search includes location.
48. The computer server of claim 34, wherein the at least one
user-entered search includes multiple criteria.
49. The computer server of claim 48, wherein the multiple criteria
are related by one or more logical or Boolean conditions.
50. A computer program product tangibly embodied on a
non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and including
executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause at
least one processor to: discover information describing a plurality
of resources, the information being obtained from a plurality of
sources; store the information in a configuration management
database, the configuration management database enabled to
reconcile descriptions of the same resources obtained from
different ones of the sources into one description; receive at
least one user-entered search criterion in a service model editor
to locate at least one of the plurality of resources, wherein the
service model editor comprises a graphical user interface (GUI);
search the configuration management database based on the at least
one user-entered search criterion; send for graphical display in
the service model editor at least a portion of a service model
using information obtained through searching, the portion of the
service model comprising at least two resources of the plurality of
resources; receive an impact relationship in the service model
editor, the impact relationship relating to the portion of the
service model; and update the information in the configuration
management database to reflect the impact relationship.
51. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the plurality
of resources comprises a computer network service.
52. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the plurality
of resources comprises an enterprise computing system.
53. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the impact
relationship is user entered.
54. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the impact
relationship is template based.
55. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the service
model comprises a business service model.
56. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the at least
one user-entered search criterion includes at least one
configuration item (CI).
57. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the portion
of the service model sent for graphical display includes a number
of levels related to a configuration item.
58. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the portion
of the service model sent for graphical display includes a business
service map.
59. The computer program product of claim 58, wherein the business
service map is a vertical hierarchy.
60. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the at least
two resources of the plurality of resources comprising the portion
of the service model for graphical display are expandable and
collapsible.
61. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the at least
one user-entered search comprises find capabilities that are
limited to a criteria.
62. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the at least
one user-entered search can be saved.
63. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the at least
one user-entered search includes location.
64. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the at least
one user-entered search includes multiple criteria.
65. The computer program product of claim 64, wherein the multiple
criteria are related by one or more logical or Boolean
conditions.
66. A system, comprising: a configuration management database; and
a computer server functionally coupled to the configuration
management database, wherein the computer server comprises at least
one element of hardware and is configured to: discover information
describing a plurality of resources, the information being obtained
from a plurality of sources; store the information in the
configuration management database, the configuration management
database enabled to reconcile descriptions of the same resources
obtained from different ones of the sources into one description;
receive at least one user-entered search criterion in a service
model editor to locate at least one of the plurality of resources,
wherein the service model editor comprises a graphical user
interface (GUI); search the configuration management database based
on the at least one user-entered search criterion; send for
graphical display in the service model editor at least a portion of
a service model using information obtained through searching, the
portion of the service model comprising at least two resources of
the plurality of resources; receive an impact relationship in the
service model editor, the impact relationship relating to the
portion of the service model; and update the information in the
configuration management database to reflect the impact
relationship.
67. The system of claim 66, wherein the plurality of resources
comprises a computer network service.
68. The system of claim 66, wherein the plurality of resources
comprises an enterprise computing system.
69. The system of claim 66, wherein the impact relationship is user
entered.
70. The system of claim 66, wherein the impact relationship is
template based.
71. The system of claim 66, wherein the service model comprises a
business service model.
72. The system of claim 66, wherein the at least one user-entered
search criterion includes at least one configuration item (CI).
73. The system of claim 66, wherein the portion of the service
model sent for graphical display includes a number of levels
related to a configuration item.
74. The system of claim 66, wherein the portion of the service
model sent for graphical display includes a business service
map.
75. The system of claim 74, wherein the business service map is a
vertical hierarchy.
76. The system of claim 66, wherein the at least two resources of
the plurality of resources comprising the portion of the service
model for graphical display are expandable and collapsible.
77. The system of claim 66, wherein the at least one user-entered
search comprises find capabilities that are limited to a
criteria.
78. The system of claim 66, wherein the at least one user-entered
search can be saved.
79. The system of claim 66, wherein the at least one user-entered
search includes location.
80. The system of claim 66, wherein the at least one user-entered
search includes multiple criteria.
81. The system of claim 80, wherein the multiple criteria are
related by one or more logical or Boolean conditions.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
11/316,025, filed Dec. 21, 2005 and entitled "System and Method For
Building Business Service Model," which claims the benefit of
provisional Application No. 60/637,929, filed Dec. 21, 2004 and
entitled "Business Service Management Architecture," both of which
are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The subject matter of the present disclosure generally
relates to an architecture for a Business Service and, more
particularly relates, to a system and method of managing a Business
Service.
[0003] Business Service Management ("BSM") is a dynamic information
Technology ("IT") management strategy supported by technology,
people, and processes. BSM enables organizations to align their IT
and help desk operations to business goals and business services. A
business service consists of a number of resources, such as
management processes, hardware, software, facilities, and people,
for example, which help satisfy business needs or objectives. Using
a BSM approach, IT staff can monitor, manage, and improve their IT
systems and applications that support critical business processes.
BSM also enables companies to understand and predict how technology
changes will affect their business and how changes in the business
affect the IT infrastructure.
[0004] As suggested above, one goal of BSM is to assess the impact
that problems reported on some resources (e.g., a network router,
file server, or database application) may have on other resources
of a higher level (e.g., business processes or services). To do
that, a special type of "relationship" is used to describe the
operational link between two resources: the impact relationship. An
impact relationship is created between a first resource identified
as the "provider" and another resource identified as the
"consumer." While there may be many different types of impact
relationships, all impact relationships represent a dependency from
the consumer on the provider.
[0005] Modeling a business service is one way to organize the
impact relationships between resources. It will be appreciated that
a business service can encompass thousands of resources and
relationships so that modeling the business service can be
challenging. In large computing environments or enterprises, for
example, multiple applications may be used to "discover" or detect
resources and components associated with the computing environment.
In such situations, a single resource may have been discovered and
reported to an enterprise's configuration management system
multiple times, which can make modeling a business service
difficult. In addition, discovery applications may not identify all
the resources and/or operational relationships between various
resources in the large computing environments or enterprises. Thus,
it would be beneficial to provide a mechanism to facilitate
modeling of resources and relationships of a computing system.
[0006] In addition to the difficulties involved with modeling a
business service, difficulties occur when changes or modifications
are to be made to a model of the business service. Typically,
portions of the business service model are stored locally at
managers that detect and report events that may have an impact on
business processes. These managers are software components
distributed throughout an enterprise computing system and are
referred to as Impact Managers or cells. To make changes or updates
to the service model, a user, such as a network administrator,
typically must individually access the portions of the service
model stored locally at the Impact Managers and make separate
changes at the Impact Managers.
[0007] The subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to
overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the
problems set forth above.
SUMMARY
[0008] A modeling system has a database that stores information
pertaining to resources of a computer network service. A server is
functionally coupled to the database and has a graphical user
interface application for creating and editing service models. The
application receives user-entered search criteria and searches
information in the database based on the criteria. The search
criteria can include a name, type, or attribute of the resource. In
addition, the search criteria can be based on whether the resource
has been previously published, who was the last editor, and when
was the last publishing date. Furthermore, the search criteria can
be a search query entered by the user. The search query has one or
more logical or Boolean conditions relating resource attributes to
attribute values. Using information obtained through searching the
application is used to create at least a portion of a service model
of the computer network service. Once created, the application is
used to initiate publishing of at least a portion of the service
model to one or more impact managers of the computer network
service.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a Business Service Management process
according to certain teachings of the present disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 2A illustrates an embodiment of a Business Service
Management Architecture according to certain teachings of the
present disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 2B illustrates another embodiment of a Business Service
Management Architecture according to certain teachings of the
present disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates a process for building a Service Model
with a Service Model Editor.
[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor.
[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor for
creating a component.
[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor for
creating a relationship between components.
[0016] FIG. 7 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor for
finding a component in the reconciled dataset of a Configuration
Management Database (CMDB).
[0017] FIG. 8 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor for
finding a component with advanced criteria.
[0018] FIG. 9 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor for
finding a component with conditional criteria.
[0019] FIG. 10 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor for
previewing publishing information.
[0020] FIG. 11 illustrates portion of a BSM architecture having a
publishing server.
[0021] FIG. 12 illustrates a screen of the Service Model Editor for
reviewing publication history.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] The following descriptions are presented to enable any
person skilled in the art to make and use the invention as claimed
and is provided in the context of the particular examples discussed
below, variations of which will be readily apparent to those
skilled in the art. Accordingly, the claims appended hereto are not
intended to be limited by the disclosed embodiments, but are to be
accorded their widest scope consistent with the principles and
features disclosed herein.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, Business Service Management (BSM)
process 100 in accordance with the present disclosure is directed
to the acquisition, generation, propagation, and evaluation of a
business services model for an enterprise computing system. The
process 100 includes an identification phase 110, a reconciliation
phase 120, an editing phase 130, and a publishing phase 140.
[0024] During the identification phase 110, resources 105 are
detected through automated and/or manual discovery operations known
in the art. As used herein, resources 105 include, but are not
limited to, computer systems, computer system components, data
storage systems, switches, routers, memory, software applications
(e.g., accounting and database applications) operating systems, and
business services (e.g., order entry or change management and
tracking services). (In the present disclosure, the term
"resources" may be interchangeably referred to as components.) It
will be recognized that in a typical software embodiment, each
detected resource 105 may be represented as an object (a software
entity) that includes one or more attributes. For example, a
computer system resource may be represented by a computer system
object whose attributes include, among others, "Name," "IP Number"
and "Operating System." Identification phase 110 also analyzes the
detected resources 105 to determine if they were previously
identified and reconciled or whether they are a newly detected
resource.
[0025] During the reconciliation phase 120, data associated with
resource objects (e.g., a resource objects' attributes and related
values) identified as being different instances of a common
resource are combined into a single or reconciled resource object.
This reconciled resource object is pushed into (i.e., associated
with) a reconciled dataset 125. (Unitary identified resource
objects are also moved into reconciled dataset 125.)
[0026] In the editing phase 130, a Service Model 135 is created,
updated, modified, or changed using the resources in the reconciled
dataset 125. The Service Model 135 allows a user, such as an
administrator, to model the components of the enterprise system and
make changes to the system. Ultimately, the entire Service Model
135 or portions thereof are published to Impact Managers or cells
of the network resources during the publishing phase 140. However,
in another embodiment, creating the Service Model 135 can be
automated so that no interaction is necessary from a user. In
addition, creating the Service Model 135 can occur at resource
discovery time, reconciliation time, or at another time.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 2A, one embodiment of a Business Service
Management architecture 200A is schematically illustrated. The BSM
architecture 200A is directed to the acquisition, generation,
propagation, and evaluation of a business service model. In the
illustrated embodiment, a datastore or database (represented by
Configuration Management Database, "CMDB") 220 is used to store
component descriptions and relationships. The CMDB 220 includes the
functional elements of discovery datastores 230, a reconciliation
engine 240, and a reconciled dataset 250. The CMDB 220 can also
include a published dataset (not shown). As explained in more
detail below, the published dataset is used to store data that has
been successfully published to Impact Managers 290 and can be used
by the Publishing server 280.
[0028] The discovery datastores 230 include components and
relationships identified during one or more discovery mechanisms
(automated and/or manual) from one or more datasources 210. The
Reconciliation Engine 240 provides a mechanism for taking data from
multiple discovery sources (i.e., from the discovery datastores 232
and 234). In addition, the Reconciliation Engine 240 provides rules
for identifying and merging data that is found in more than one
source. Thus, the reconciled dataset 250 of the CMDB 220 holds a
description of components and of the relationships among
components. Details of the Common Management Database (CMDB) are
disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/204,189, entitled "Resource Reconciliation," filed 15 Aug. 2005
and claiming benefit of provisional application Ser. No.
60/633,640, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0029] In general, the reconciliation engine 240 accesses
information describing the resources in the discovery datasets 230.
Then, the reconciliation engine 240 determines whether any of the
resources are described by information from at least two of the
datasets 230. If so, the reconciliation engine 240 merges
information from each of the datasets 230 that describe the same
resource and generates reconciled information for the resource.
Thus, operation of the Reconciliation Engine 240 results in a
single, unified view of the data (the reconciled dataset 250). This
unified data in the reconciled dataset 250 can then by used by the
Impact Managers ("IM") 290 and other applications. As used herein,
the Impact Managers 290 may also be referred to as cells.
[0030] Details related to impact management and software components
of Impact Managers are disclosed U.S. Patent Application
Publication 2002/0138571 entitled "System and Methods of Enterprise
Systems and Impact Management" and in U.S. Patent Application
Publication 2004/0024571 entitled "System and Method for Assessing
and indicating the Health of Components," which are both
incorporated herein by reference. In general, the Impact Managers
290 are software components distributed throughout an enterprise
computing system. The Impact Managers 290 have event-processing
engines that collect, process, and store events. The engines
associate events with information pertaining to the components and
other aspects of the enterprise computing system and determines
their status. In turn, information from the Impact Managers 290 is
used to access the impact of events on business services and other
processes of the enterprise computing system.
[0031] The collection of components and their impact relationships
form what is referred to as a Service Model ("SM"). The Service
Model 252 is stored in or with the reconciled dataset 250 of the
CMDB 220. However, the real-time assessment of the impact that
reported problems or events have on a specified Service Model 250
is not carried out by the CMDB 220. Rather, one or more Impact
Managers 290 report such problems and events. To enable the Impact
Managers 290 to assess impacts of various events, the Publishing
Server 280 under coordination with the Service Model Editor 270
publishes or distributes information of the Service Model 252 to
the Impact Managers 290. In turn, if the Impact Managers 290 work
on their own local copy of their portion of the Service Model 252.
Accordingly, the BSM architecture 200A associates which Impact
Managers 290 manage which components and includes that association
in the Service Model 252. Because the Service Model 252 or portions
thereof are published or distributed to multiple Impact Managers
290, the Publishing Server 280 and other portions BSM architecture
200A, as described in more detail below, are responsible for
controlling or managing how updates to the Service Model 252 in the
CMDB 220 are passed along to the Impact Managers 290.
[0032] In one embodiment, the Service Model Editor 270 is a
graphical client application that allows a user to visualize and
manipulate the Service Model 252. The Service Model Editor 270
operates on a backend server or engine (not shown), which
communicates changes to the Service Model 252 in the CMDB 220. In
general, the Service Model Editor 270 has various functions for
visualizing the service model; searching the service model;
creating and editing components; creating, editing, and deleting
relationships between components; creating, editing, and deleting
service model meta-data; and visualizing components related through
non-impact relationships. The Service Model Editor 270 uses a
graphical representation of the Service Model 252 so the user can
see what components are related to other components, what
components are associated with which Impact Managers 290, and what
changes have been made since the last time an update was sent to
the Impact Managers 290. New components or new impact relationships
can be created through the Service Model Editor 270. In addition,
the Service Model Editor 270 allows the user to update existing
components (e.g., attributes) and/or relationships in the Service
Model 252.
[0033] The Service Model Editor 270 centralizes the control and
management of which portions of the Service Model 252 are
associated with which Impact Manager 290 and when to send updates
to the various Impact Managers 290. Being able to centrally control
and manage the distribution of the Service Model 252 to the Impact
Managers 290 with the Service Model Editor 270 can help ensure the
integrity and consistency of the Service Model information at the
Impact Managers 290. For example, an update of a component or
relationship made in the CMDB 220 is not sent immediately to the
Impact Manager 290 responsible for that component or relationship.
The reason for this is that the update of the Service Model 252
does not necessarily correspond to a single component/relationship
update, but rather a whole series of changes. Another reason is
that the work of updating the Service Model 252 may be performed
ahead of the time when the new Service Model 252 becomes active.
Accordingly, the Service Model Editor 270 controls how the Service
Model 252 is distributed to the Impact Managers 290 and initiates
publishing of the Service Model 252 by the Publishing Server 280.
In general, the Service Model Editor 270 can initiate publishing
current changes, re-publishing Service Model data to a specific
event-processing engine or Impact Manager, reviewing changes to be
published, and verifying publish status.
[0034] To initiate publishing, the server of the Service Model
Editor 270 communicates requests for publishing to the Publishing
Server 280. The function of the Publishing Server 280 (under
control of the Service Model Editor 270) is to publish or
distribute to each Impact Manager 290 that portion of the Service
Model 252 that the Impact Manager 290 is responsible for
exercising--as updated in the CMDB 220. The Publishing Server 280
also maintains a copy of the "current" (i.e., previously published)
Service Model 252 in the reconciled dataset 250 of the CMDB 220.
When requested to publish updates of the Service Model 252 to one
or more Impact Managers 290, the Publishing Server 280 selects
those objects (component attributes, associated Impact Managers,
events, relationships, etc.) from the reconciled dataset 250 that
have been changed (i.e., added, deleted, modified, updated) since
the last publish operation. The Publishing Server 280 then compares
the changed objects with the copy of the service model kept in a
production dataset of the CMDB 220. From the differences, the
Publishing Server 280 produces a list of updates to be sent to the
various Impact Managers 290. To avoid disrupting the Impact
Managers 290 in their work while the Publishing Server 280 sends
updates of the Service Model 252, the Impact Managers 290 have a
companion process, called the Service Model Manager (not shown),
that works with the Publishing Server 280 to propagate updates to
the Service Model 252. The Service Model Managers receive updates
sent by the Publishing Server 280 and validate that the updates can
actually be applied to the particular Impact Managers 290.
[0035] After validating the updates, however, the Service Model
Managers do not apply the updates immediately to the Impact
Managers 290. Instead, the Publishing Server 280 controls when the
Service Model Managers actually update the Impact Managers 290 so
that application of the updates can be consistent. For example, it
is possible that some of the updates cannot be applied to one
particular Impact Manager 290. In such a situation, an inconsistent
model would result if the Service Model Managers go forward and
apply their updates to other Impact Managers 290. For this reason,
the Publishing Server 280 instruct the Service Model Managers to
apply the updates only if all the updates are deemed valid by the
Service Model Managers to which they have been sent. Only then will
the Publishing Server 280 command the Service Model Managers to
make the Service Model 252 updates active. At that time, the
Publishing Server 280 also updates the published copy of the
Service Model 252 kept in the CMDB 220. When a Service Model
Manager receives an activation command, it halts the processing of
incoming alerts for its Impact Manager 290, uploads the updates to
its portions of the Service Model 252, and then reactivates the
processing of incoming alerts. In this manner, the time window of
disruption to Impact Managers 290 can be kept to a minimum.
[0036] Based on the information of the Service Model 252 applied,
event-processing engines within the Impact Managers 290 collect,
process, and store events. Detected events are routed to the
appropriate Impact Managers 290 where the events are correlated in
the context of the Service Model at the Impact Manager 290 to
determine their effect or impact on the modeled business service.
Thus, the event-processing engines and Impact Managers 290 provide
the core functionality for event and service impact management, and
they are responsible for associating received events with the
Service Model components and determining a component's status.
Typically, the Impact Managers 290 and event-processing engines
provide local event management as part of a larger distributed
network that propagates events throughout the network. Accordingly,
the Impact Managers 280 and event-processing engines are typically
organized to model/process any model of a business service.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 2B, another embodiment of a Business
Service Management architecture 200B in accordance with the
invention is schematically illustrated. Many of the features of
this architecture 200B are similar to those discussed above so that
like reference numbers are used for like components. In the present
embodiment, however, the CMDB 220 further includes a sandbox 260
and a test dataset 266. In this embodiment, updates to the Service
Model 252 by the Service Model Editor 270 are not made directly to
the copy of the service model 252 as with the previous embodiment.
Rather, the Service Model Editor 270 makes changes to a change
dataset 262 in the sandbox 260.
[0038] The change dataset 262 includes all of the updates and
changes made by the Service Model Editor 270 to the Service Model
252. The changes and updates in the change set 262 are then stored
in a test dataset 266 in the CMDB 220. A user can then publish the
test dataset 266 with the Publishing Server 280 to a Test Impact
Manager 296. This test process has several advantages. For example,
the Service Model 252 may be complex and the test process allows
the user to test any updates or changes without actually committing
or implementing those changes.
[0039] In the present embodiment, publishing of the Service Model
from the reconciled dataset 250 is not strictly a user activity
that is invoked from the Service Model Editor 270. Rather, the
present embodiment can use an automated process invoked after the
reconciliation process. As new data gets reconciled into the
reconciled dataset 250, for example, the publishing server 280 is
made aware of this new or changed data and determines if a
publishing activity is necessary. If so, the publishing server 280
automatically initiates the publishing activity.
[0040] For example, the reconciliation engine 240 maintains a log
of edits that it makes to the reconciled dataset 250. This log is
monitored, and Publishing server 280 determines from the edits
whether they should be automatically published or not. This
automatic publication process may be suitable for a variety of
situations. In one example, the Publishing server 280 can perform
an automated publishing operation when the reconciliation engine
240 edits information on a component that has already been
previously published by the Publishing server 280. In another
example, the Publishing server 280 can perform an automated
publishing operation when information in the reconciled dataset 250
has been obtained through topology discovery techniques known in
the art that are able to determine impact relationships. In such a
situation, the discovered information does not necessarily require
user intervention and can be published automatically by the
Publishing server 280.
[0041] In yet another example, the Publishing server 280 can
perform an automated publishing operation for changes related to
virtualization. As is known in the art, virtualization in one
example involves moving the hosting of an application from one host
to another based on policies, host availability, etc. When such a
change occurs, a virtualization system responsible for managing
virtualization in the enterprise computing system can notify the
CMDB 220 of the change. In turn, the Publishing server 280 can
automatically publish the updates to impact Managers 290 without
the need for user intervention. Accordingly, the automated
publishing process of the Architecture 200B can be used for these
and other examples.
[0042] With an understanding of the Business Service Management
process and architecture discussed previously, the discussion now
turns to details of the Service Model Editor 270. As alluded to
above, the Service Model Editor 270 allows a user to edit (e.g.,
create, update, modify, and change) a Service Model 252 and to
initiate publication of the Service Model 252 to the Impact
Managers 290. In particular, the Service Model Editor 270 is used
to perform centralized editing of the Service Model 252 stored in
the CMDB 220. In addition, the Service Model Editor 270 is used to
configure and initiate the process performed by the Publishing
Server 280, which centralizes the publishing of the Service Model
252 from the CMDB 220 to distributed Impact Managers 290.
[0043] A process 300 for editing a service model with the Service
Model Editor is shown in FIG. 3. (To facilitate the discussion,
references are concurrently made to element numbers of FIGS. 2A and
2B.) Initially, a user, such as a network administrator, creates or
finds components in the CMDB 220 (Block 305). Creating components
involves selecting components from templates and/or manually
defining component attributes, such as name, alias, network
address, associated Impact Manager or cell, component type, etc.
Finding components involves searching for one or more components in
the pool of components stored in the reconciled dataset 250 of the
CMDB 220. In the Service Model Editor 270, the components in the
Service Model 252 are assigned to the Impact Managers or cells 290
(Block 310), and the user defines relationships between the
components (Block 315). Next, the user associates certain events
with the components in the Service Model 252 (Block 320). These
events constitute what events the Impact Managers 290 will monitor
and manage as part of their functionality. Finally, the user
publishes the objects (i.e., component attributes, events,
relationships, etc.) of the Service Model 252 to the Impact
Managers 290 (Block 325).
[0044] As noted previously, the Service Model Editor 270 is a
graphical user interface (GUI) application that allows the user to
create and initiate publishing of a Service Model 252. In the
discussion that follows, exemplary user interface screens of the
Service Model Editor 270 of the present disclosure are discussed.
In FIG. 4, for example, a main screen 400 of the GUI of the Service
Model Editor is illustrated. Within the screen 400, the user has
access to dockable windows that include templates 410, find 420,
properties 430, workspaces 440, and console navigation tree
450.
[0045] Viewing a Service Model is one primary task used to create
and modify the Service Model. To help the user visualize, create,
and modify the Service Model, the Service Model Editor
schematically displays components and relationships of the Service
Model in one or more workspace windows 440. In a first type of
workspace window 440, components are shown as they are related by
their impact relationships. In another type of workspace window
440, components are shown in non-impact relationships in what is
referred to as a Topology workspace. Various discovery sources are
capable of determining relationships of many types other than
impact relationships, and these non-impact type relationships
provide additional information about how various components are
related. In addition, another type of workspace window 440 allows
the user to produce a graphical layout based on network topology,
application topology, or other customizable typology.
[0046] One example of a workspace window 442 is shown open in the
screen 400 of FIG. 4. This workspace window 442 shows impact
relationships between components. Preferably, only a portion of the
Service Model is shown in the window 442 based on a starting point
that selected by the user because a typical Service Model can have
thousands of components and relationships. As shown, the Service
Model is displayed as a hierarchy of nodes and links. The nodes are
components 444 that are displayed as icons in the hierarchy. The
links are relationships 448 between components 444 and are shown as
lines interconnecting the icons. Expandable/collapsible handles 446
allow the user to expand or collapse the subgraph of parent and
child components 444 related to one another in the hierarchy.
[0047] The relationships 448 represent interdependencies between
components and map the flow of events between components in the
Service Model. In general, a component can consume the services of
another component in a consumer relationship, can provide services
to another component in a provider relationship, or can do both.
Active impact relationships 448 are rendered as a solid line
linking two components 444, inactive impact relationships (not
shown) may be rendered as a gray line linking two components 444,
and non-impact relationships (not shown) may be rendered as a
dashed line linking two components. The relationships 448 are
selectable so that user can show and edit properties of the
selected relationship in a properties window 430.
[0048] The templates window 410 allows the user to select a
template component 412 and drag it into an open workspace window
440. When a template component 412 is inserted into a workspace
window 440, an instance of the added component is automatically
stored in the reconciled dataset (250; FIGS. 2A-2B) of the CMDB
220. A number of template components 412 are preferably
preconfigured in the templates window 410 for selection by the
user. Some examples of template components 440 in hierarchical
order include generic groups (e.g., Business Processes,
Geographical locations, Cities, Regions, Sites, etc.); Logical
Components (e.g., Aggregate SLA Measurement, Application
Connectivity, Network Connectivity, Database Replication, Service
Level Agreement (SLA) Configuration, etc.); Systems (e.g.,
Applications, Application Infrastructure, Software Servers,
Hardware Clusters, Software Clusters, Mainframes, Network Printers,
Virtual Systems, etc.); System Components (e.g., Hardware System
Components, Media, Disk Partition, File System, Database Storage,
Local File System, Remote File System, System Resource, etc.); and
System Services (e.g., application services, etc.).
[0049] The template components 440 can also be groupings of
components. For example, a template component 440 can represent a
full, distributed set of applications, such as J2EE or SAP
applications. In addition, the template components 440 can remain
templates even after being added to the Service Model when dragged
onto the workspace. Keeping the components as templates or virtual
instances of components in the Service Model allows the user to
abstract all or part of a Service Model without relating those
components actual components stored in the reconciled dataset. The
user enters qualifiers of the template component 440. These
qualifiers describe qualities of the component without giving
specifics of an actual component. For example, a user can qualify a
component as an "Apache Server operating on a Windows.RTM.-based
system and having a name qualifier." At the time of publishing the
Service Model, the qualifiers specify how the BSM architecture is
to select (or later bind) real instances of detected, reconciled
component information to these template components 440.
[0050] Find windows 420 allow the user to search for components in
the reconciled dataset (250; FIGS. 2A-2B) of the CMDB. Details
related to the find windows 420 are provided below with reference
to FIGS. 7 through 9. The console navigation tree window 450 has a
navigation tree and allows the user to organize and manage nodes in
the Service Model into groups and folders.
[0051] The Properties window 430 allows the user to select a
component in a workspace window 440 and to define various
properties and values for the component. Typical properties to
define a component include creator, creation date, editor, last
edit date, object type, name, description, owner, associated cell
or Impact Managers, whether component is in the Service Model,
permissions, priority, cost, alias name, and others known in the
art. Typical properties to define a relationship include some of
those associated with components and include whether the
relationship is active, what the relationship type is (i.e.,
direct, indirect, etc.), and others known in the art.
[0052] As noted previously, the user can create a component by
adding a template component 412 to a workspace. In another option,
the user can manually create a component using a menu operation,
for example. In FIG. 5, an example of a screen 500 of the Service
Model Editor for manually creating a component is illustrated. The
screen 500 has tabs to input information that include a general tab
510, a status and alias tab 512, a permissions tab 514, and a
priority and cost tab 516. The general tab 510 allows the user to
select the type of component from a hierarchical tree 520 of
components and allows the user to define the component name,
description, and owner in data fields 530. In addition, the general
tab 510 allows the user to associate the created component with an
Impact Managers or cell using a drop down 540, which is
pre-populated with cells of the BSM architecture configured in the
system. Furthermore, the user specifies whether the component is
not in the model or in the model using selections 550. If the
created component is defined as not "not in the model," the created
component is added to the reconciled dataset of the CMBD 220 but is
not added to the service model 252.
[0053] In the tabs 512, 514, and 516, the user enters information
that is commonly used to define components in the BSM architecture.
In the status and alias tab 512, for example, the user selects a
status computation model and enters values for component
attributes, and other values commonly used in the art. The status
computation model defines how the status of components and
relationships are determined and propagated. In addition, the
status and alias tab 512 allows the user to define a unique alias
name to each component, which is required for publishing.
[0054] In the permissions tab 514, the user sets the access
permissions for the components. Preferably, the user can select
from a list of roles and associate the selected role with a
component to define access and read/write capabilities. In the
priority and cost tab 516, the user assigns priorities and costs to
components. Preferably, the user can select a cost from a list of
available costs and can add new costs if desired. In the other tab
518, the user can edit all other non-system properties and
attributes for the component types.
[0055] In addition to creating components, users can create
relationships between components with the Service Model Editor.
Relationships tie a consuming component to a provider component in
the Service Model. The type of relationship between components is
one of the primary factors in determining how status changes are
propagated through the Service Model. One type of relationship the
user can create is the impact type. Once a relationship is created,
the user can assign attributes to the relationship.
[0056] in FIG. 6, an example of a screen 600 of the Service Model
Editor for creating a relationship between components is
illustrated. The screen 600 has a consumer list 610 or adding
component(s) as the consumer(s) in a relationship, an impact
direction 620 for the relationship, and a provider list 630 for
adding component(s) as the provider(s) in the relationship.
Selecting to "add" components to the lists 610 and 630 allows the
user to access components in the Service Model stored in the
reconciled dataset (250; FIGS. 2A-2B) of the CMDB. After selecting
the impact relationship between components, the user defines
whether the relationship is active or inactive (selections 640);
defines the relationship policy (drop down 650); and defines the
status weighting (field 660) for the relationship. The policy and
status weighting governs how status and other impact related
information is handled and propagated through the relationship of
components.
[0057] Although the user can create components and can select
template components to build a Service Model, another feature of
the Service Model Editor of the present disclosure allows the user
to search for components based on search criteria. As noted
previously, the reconciled dataset (250; FIGS. 2A-2B) of the CMDB
is populated with components that are discovered using discovery
tools and that are manually entered. Therefore, the stored
components exist in a large pool of objects, any of which can be
attached to various locations of a Service Model. The find windows
(440; FIG. 4) of the Service Model Editor allow the user to search
for components stored in the large pool of objects in the
reconciled dataset of the CMDB.
[0058] In FIG. 7, a first example of a find screen 700 of the
Service Model Editor for searching for a component in the
reconciled dataset of the CMDB is illustrated. This find screen 700
shows general find features of the Service Model Editor, as
indicated by the "find" tab 710. Other find features of the Service
Model Editor are indicated by an "Advanced Find" tab 712, and a
"Conditional Find" tab 714, which are each discussed later. In the
current find tab 710, the user can search by a component name by
entering a name or portions thereof in a field 720. Preferably, the
search algorithm supports wildcard characters when searching for a
name.
[0059] To refine the find capabilities, the components that have
been previously found are saved and stored and these stored finds
can be opened using controls 730. These controls 730 can be used to
refine searches. In addition, the find capabilities can be limited
to particular criteria related to the components and model. Using
selections 740, for example, the user can search all components in
the pool of the reconciled dataset, can search only in-model
components, and can search only not-in-model components.
[0060] Results of the find are shown in a list 750 that displays
the type, name, and other attributes of the find operation.
Preferably, the user can sort the results in the list by selecting
one of the displayed attributes. From the list 750, the user can
select one or more of the found components and then perform one of
the available operations 760. These operations 760 include opening
the selected component(s) in a new workspace, placing the selected
component(s) in a selected workspace, showing editable properties
of the selected component(s) in a properties window, and publishing
information of the selected component(s) directly to an associated
impact manager. By selecting to publish information directly, the
user can make individual changes, updates, or modifications to
portions of the service model that are substantially localized.
This individualized process of publishing is contrasted with the
more extensive form of publishing updates of a Service Model to a
number of distributed Impact Managers where features discussed
later are preferably used.
[0061] In FIG. 8, an example of an advanced find screen 800 of the
Service Model Editor is illustrated. Many of the capabilities in
the advanced find tab 810 of screen 800 are the same as the general
find capabilities discussed previously. However, the advanced find
tab 810 includes advanced capabilities. For example, the advanced
find tab 810 allows the user to define, in fields 870, whether the
component being searched for has been published or not, what type
of component it is, what Impact Manager or cell it is associated
with, what the last published date is, and/or who the last editor
(i.e., user) of the component is. By limiting the find operation to
searching components of a specific publish status, the user can
search published components only, search component that have not
been published, or search components that have previously been
published but have since been edited and not yet republished. In
addition, the other advanced capabilities for searching offered by
the advanced find screen 800 further enhance the ability of the
user to search for and locate particular components in the large
pool of components stored in the reconciled dataset (250; FIGS.
2A-2B) of the CMDB.
[0062] To enhance the ability of the user to find components, an
example of a conditional find screen 900 of the Service Model
Editor is illustrated in FIG. 9. Many of the capabilities in the
conditional find tab 910 of screen 900 are the same as the other
find capabilities discussed previously. However, the conditional
find tab 910 allows the user to create a search query in field 980
for finding components. The search query fields 980 allows the user
to build a query that contains Boolean and/or logical relationships
of components attributes as they relate to attribute values. The
constructed query is shown in a query display field 990. The search
query fields 980 preferably have pre-populated drop downs for the
user to select attributes, relationships, relationship operators,
Boolean operators, logical relationships, and other information for
constructing the query. Having the fields 980 pre-populated allows
the user to construct the query without needing to know specific
code, names, etc. required for searching. Preferably, component
attributes provided in the drop downs are determined by the
component type selected. Fields for entering values are also
provided so that the user can create a condition clause relating an
attribute to a manually entered search value.
[0063] Once the user has built the Service Model using the various
screens discussed above, the Service Model Editor allows the user
to preview the Service Model that is to be published or distributed
to the Impact Managers. Referring to FIG. 10, a screen 1000 of the
Service Model Editor for previewing publishing information is
shown. In the screen 1000, the user can select which objects (i.e.,
Service Model attributes of components) to view using fields 1010.
For example, the user can select all or particular sets of objects
and actions to be viewed. The selection only changes what is viewed
in this screen 1000 and does not change what will or will not be
published. A table 1020 of objects to be published is provided
based on the selected view. The table 1020 shows the action (i.e.,
add, delete, or modify), the type of object (e.g., component or
relationship), the class of the object, and the name for the object
to be published.
[0064] In addition, the screen 1000 includes fields 1050 for
comparing the new and previously published property values for a
component that has been selected in table 1020. For example, the
user can select to view only changed properties or all properties
in comparison to their previously published values for a selected
component in table 1020. The comparison is shown in a table 1060
showing the action, property name, new value, and previously
published value. Alter reviewing the information, the user can
initiate the publish operation by selecting button 1080.
[0065] Then, the publish operation initiated with screen 1000
publishes or distributes all objects set for publishing to the
associated Impact Managers. In another option discussed previously,
the user can publish only selected objects from the Find, Advanced
Find, Conditional Find windows of FIGS. 7 through 9. For example,
the user selects one or more objects in the lists of found objects
and clicks "Publish Selected Objects" button in these windows. In
another option, the user can publish only selected objects from a
workspace window, such as shown in FIG. 4, which contains the
object(s) to publish. In the workspace window, for example, the
user selects the object(s) to publish and uses a "Partial Publish"
command on the toolbar, a "Publish Selected Objects" command on the
menu bar, or other menu operation.
[0066] As discussed previously with reference to FIGS. 2A-2B,
Publishing Server 280 publishes or distributes a Service Model or
portion thereof to Impact Managers 290. Referring to FIG. 11,
portion of the BSM architecture 1100 is shown in detail. In
particular, the CMDB 1110, the Service Model Editor Server 1120,
publishing server 1130, an explorer 1140, Impact Managers 1150, and
Service Model Managers 1160 of the BSM architecture 1100 are
illustrated. The CMDB 1110 and the Service Model Editor Server 1120
are the same as discussed previously and operate together using
communications 1112 detailed above. The CMDB 1110 and Publishing
Server 1130 communicate queries and commands 1114 related to the
Service Model between each other. The Service Model Editor Server
1120 and the Publishing Server 1130 communicate publishing commands
and log retrievals 1116 between each other. The Publishing Server
1130 retrieves information pertaining to the Impact Managers and
Impact Managers 1150 from the explorer server 1140. The information
retrieved includes host/IPs, ports, and encryption keys for the
Impact Managers 1150 that the Publishing Server 1130 needs to
communicate with the Impact Managers 1150.
[0067] As noted previously, the Service Model Editor on Server 1120
is used to configure and initiate a publishing process. Requests
for publishing are communicated to the Publishing Server 1130 via
the Service Model Editor Server 1120. In turn, the Publishing
Server 1130 is responsible for centralized publishing of a Service
Model from the CMDB 1110 to distributed Impact Managers 1150.
Publishing includes publishing of the entire Service Model or
portion thereof and publishing updates, changes, or modifications.
Publishing can be based on a schedule, can allow for partial
selection among components for publishing, and can allow for
publishing class modifications, which can be installed in the
knowledge base (not shown) for the Impact Managers 1150.
[0068] The Publishing Server 1130 publishes the Service Model or
portions thereof as distribution packets 1132 to the Impact
Managers 1150. The distribution packages 1132 contain either a
complete Service Model to replace the existing one or contain a set
of modifications to update an existing Service Model. Each Impact
Manager 1150 has to verify the portion of the published Service
Model it receives when applying the packages 1132. To do this,
every Impact Manager 1150 that is publish-enabled has a Service
Model Manager 1152, and every Impact Manager 1150 only accepts
modifications to its portion of the Service Model from that Service
Model Manager 1152.
[0069] The Service Model Managers 1152 at the Impact Managers 1150
manage and coordinate the publishing of the Service Model with the
Publishing Server 1160. Whenever the Publishing Server 1130
contacts an Impact Manager 1150 to publish Service Model
information, the Impact Manager 1150 activates its Service Model
Manager 1152. The Publishing Server 1130 then sends a Service Model
package 1132 to the Service Model Manager 1152. The Service Model
Manager 1152 verifies the package 1132 against the current Service
Model from the associated Impact Manager 1150. Then, the Service
Model Manager 1152 sends a verification result 1134 to the
Publishing Server 1130.
[0070] If all Service Model Managers 1152 at the Impact Managers
1150 accept and verify the distribution packages 1132, the Service
Model can be applied effectively. Between the beginning of the
verification phase and the end of the application phase, the active
Service Model at the Impact Managers 1150 is preferably not
modified to ensure that results of the verification remains valid.
After the distribution packages 1132 have been either verified or
not, the Publishing Server 1130 instructs all connected Service
Model Managers 1152 whether to apply its package or not. If the
instruction is positive, the Service Model Managers 1152 present
the Service Model packages to their associated Impact Managers 1150
and terminate. In turn, the Impact Managers 1150 adapt their
portions of the Service Model. If the instruction is negative, the
Service Model Managers 1152 terminate operation without
implementing the information of the Service Model. In this way, the
Service Model Managers 1152 can ensure that only one publishing
process is performed at one time.
[0071] Further details related to the communication and
coordination between the Publishing Server 1130 and Service Model
Managers 1152 are provided below. As alluded to above, the
communication and coordination between the Publishing Server 1130
and Service Model Managers 1152 preferably ensures the integrity
and consistent application of Service Model information provided to
the Impact Managers 1150.
[0072] When communicating, the Publishing Server 1130 connects to
an Impact Manager 1150 using a command line interpreter and
initiates the publishing process with a command. Impact Managers
1150 are configured to accept any Service Model publish
("smpublish") command, even if the Impact Managers' Service Model
Manager 1152 is already active. The Impact Managers 1150 do not
activate another instance of their Service Model Managers 1152. The
port number for communicating with the Publishing Server 1130 is
retrieved from a specific file (not shown) that is created by the
Service Model Managers 1152. Before activating the Service Model
Managers 1152, the port files are checked. If the port files have
been recently updated, the Service Model Managers 1152 are
considered active. Otherwise the Service Model Managers 1152 are
(re)started.
[0073] As soon as the Service Model Managers 1152 have a listening
port number, the number is stored in a specified file (not shown).
This file is regularly updated to indicate activity. The Service
Model Managers 1152 then wait for commands from the Publishing
Server 1130. Before actual publishing, a check is made against each
Impact Manager 1150. In this check, a connection to each Impact
Manager 1150 is established by sending a "ping" to each Impact
Manager 1150 before initiating publishing, for example. If one of
the Impact Manager 1150 associated with the publishing is not
available, publishing may be aborted so that publishing the Service
Model will be consistent.
[0074] At any time, the Service Model Managers 1152 are in either a
standby session or a publish session. There can only be one such
session at a time. All session information is stored on disk to
enable a resume of the session after a restart of the Service Model
Managers 1152. During a session, the Service Model can be modified
and verified at any moment. The session is closed with the
effective application of the new Service Model or with an abort of
the session. If an abort occurs, the existing Service Model is left
unchanged.
[0075] To communicate errors to the Publishing Server, all commands
from the Publishing Server 1130 are of a QUERY type, and they
return an exit code followed by command specific answer data. The
codes can indicate success, invalid session, session already open,
invalid component identifier, component identifier already in use,
duplicate component, invalid slot settings, verification failed,
and publish failed. For any code other than success, the publishing
process can be terminated altogether to prevent partial publishing
of the Service Model or portion thereof. As will be appreciated,
implementing only some of the changes and updates of a Service
Model is not desirable.
[0076] To ensure consistent application of Service Model
information, each Impact Manager 1150 can be in one of the three
states. In a first state, publishing is successfully applied to the
Impact Manager 1150. In a second state, publishing is not
successfully applied to the Impact Manager 1150. For example, the
Publishing Server 1130 does not know whether the Service Model has
been applied or whether impact Manager 1150 is in an inconsistent
state. Typically, this situation occurs when the Publishing Server
1130 loses its connection (for any reason) to the Impact Managers
1150 during publishing. In a third state, publishing has not been
initiated. Publishing has failed as soon as one of the Impact
Manager 1150 is not in the first state of successful publishing. A
publish log maintained by the Publishing Server 1130 contains
details of a publication, such as its success or failure and the
status for every Impact Manager 1150.
[0077] In one embodiment, the Publishing Server 1130 allows
incomplete publishing of Service Model information and republishing
of information that was not successfully published. For example,
Service Model information at the Impact Managers 1150 that was
successfully published is stored in a published copy of the Service
Model. A new publish request can then include modifications for
Service Model information that was not successfully published
during a failure of a previous request. Republishing an entire
model to certain Impact Managers 1150 may be necessary if the data
of the Impact Managers 1150 is no longer synchronized with data of
the BSM architecture.
[0078] In another embodiment of the publishing process, Impact
Managers 1150 ensure that the Service Model is either entirely
published or is not published to any Impact Manager 1150 at all. If
an Impact Manager 1150 cannot support publishing, then every Impact
Manager 1150 is given a no-publishing state, and the Publishing
Server 1130 does not update the published copy of the Service Model
in the CMDB 1110. A new publishing operation must then be initiated
by a user at the Service Model Editor Server 1120 or by an software
engine that schedules publishing operations.
[0079] After successful publishing, the Publishing Server 1130
updates the CMDB 1110 to store a copy of the successfully published
Service Model. The Publishing Server 1130 also puts a timestamp on
this copy of the Service Model. Preferably, this time is the time
of the CMDB 1110 at which retrieval of last modifications has
occurred. When setting the publish timestamp, the CMDB 1110 does
not update the last modified timestamp. The Publishing Server 1130
also maintains a log of publishing, and the Service Model Editor
Server 1120 can request publish log files from the Publishing
Server 1130. During the publishing process, the user is presented
with a graphical dialog at the Service Model Editor Server 1120
indicating that publishing is in progress. When successfully
completed or failed, a review screen is presented in the Service
Model Editor at the Server 1120. An example of such a screen 1200
is shown in FIG. 12. In this screen 1200, the user can view the
details and errors of recent publication operations. For example, a
publication history 1210 of recent prior publishes, is shown, and
details and error information for a selected publication in the
history 1210 is displayed in field 1220.
* * * * *