IT Automation Scripting Module And Appliance

Abstract

A method for automating the performance of information technology (IT) tasks within an enterprise comprising a plurality of client devices is described. The method comprises the steps of receiving an input specifying a set of commands to be executed on a client device and generating a script based theron, wherein the script is configured to be executed by an agent on the client device, and receiving an input specifying to which of the plurality of client devices the script should be made available. The script is provided to a client device based on the input by publishing the script to a user portal, and by deploying the script to the client device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high-level diagram illustrating an enterprise environment in which an IT automation system can be used to carry out IT tasks according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an IT automation appliance in communication with a client in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an application layer of an IT automation system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a filtering system of an IT automation system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4B-4F are screenshots of exemplary user interfaces for implementing the filtering system of FIG. 4A in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 5A-5C are screenshots of exemplary user interfaces for implementing the scripting module of FIG. 3 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 6A-6C are screenshots of an exemplary client portal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a screenshot of an exemplary administrative portal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Claims

1. A computer program product for automating the performance of information technology (IT) tasks within an enterprise comprising a plurality of client devices, the product including a computer-readable medium and comprising computer program code encoded on the medium for: receiving an input specifying a set of commands to be executed on a client device;generating a script based on the set of commands;receiving an input specifying a filter definition to be applied to the plurality of client devices and a label associated with the filter definition;assigning the label to any client device of the plurality of client devices that meets the filter definition;receiving an input specifying that the script should be made available to client devices assigned the label; andproviding the script to client devices assigned the label.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the code for providing comprises code for providing the script to be downloaded from a portal to the device.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the code for providing comprises code for: receiving a request for the script made from a client device;determining whether the client device has the label assigned to it; andresponsive to the client device not having the label assigned to it, denying the request.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the code for generating comprises code for generating a script to be executed by an agent on a client device, the agent comprising code for executing a command of the set of commands.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the script is in an XML format.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the code for generating comprises code for integrating third party commands into the script.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the code for providing comprises code for providing the script to a plurality of client devices, and wherein the computer program product further comprises computer program code for: receiving information about the status of the script's execution from the plurality of client devices;storing the information; andproviding an interface for searching the information.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the code for receiving comprises receiving information from a plurality of agents, each on a client device of the plurality of client devices.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the medium comprises a memory associated with an IT automation appliance that further comprises computer program instructions for performing at least one of, within the enteprise network: a security task, a helpdesk task, an inventory task, software or patch deployment task, and a task to manage agents on the enterprise network.

10. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the plurality of client devices comprise at least one of: a router, a switch, and a firewall.

11. A system for developing and deploying information technology (IT) scripts within an enterprise comprising a plurality of entities, the system comprising: a filtering system for applying labels to entities that meet filter definitions and removing labels from previously labeled entities that no longer meet filter definitions;a scripting module for generating scripts for performing IT tasks on entities within the enterprise; anda deployment module for deploying the generated scripts within the enterprise to entities based on labels assigned to the entities by the filtering system.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising an interface module for receiving information from entities about the status of scripts deployed to the entities by the deployment module.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a memory for storing the information.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the deployment module is configured to provide scripts generated by the scripting module to be downloaded from a self-service portal.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the scripting module is configured to generate a script for performing an IT task by an agent on a client device, the agent comprising code for executing a command of the set of commands.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising an inventory module for collecting information about the plurality of entities to be provided to the filtering system for applying and removing labels.

17. The system of claim 11, further comprising a security module for scanning and reporting on security vulnerabilities within the enterprise, and wherein the scripting module is configured to generate scripts to address security vulnerabilities detected with the security module.

18. The system of claim 11, further comprising a helpdesk module for managing helpdesk tasks on the network.

19. A method for automating the performance of information technology (IT) tasks within an enterprise comprising a plurality of client devices, the method comprising the steps of: receiving an input specifying a set of commands to be executed on a client device and generating a script based thereon, wherein the script is configured to be executed by an agent on the client device;receiving an input specifying to which of the plurality of client devices the script should be made available; andproviding the script to a client device based on the input by publishing the script to a user portal and by deploying the script to the client device.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving an input specifying a filter definition to be applied to the plurality of client devices and a label associated with the filter definition;assigning the label to any client device of the plurality of client devices that meets the filter definition;wherein the input specifies that the script should be made available to client devices with the label; andwherein providing comprises providing the script to a client device based on the client device having the label assigned to it.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving an input specifying a schedule upon which the script client device should be executed and generating the script based thereon.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein providing comprises providing from an IT automation appliance, and the schedule can specify whether the script should be executed when the client device is connected to the appliance or disconnected from the appliance.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving an input specifying whether the script should be executed as a background process or a user-activated process and generating the script based thereon.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein generating comprises integrating third party commands into the script.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving an input specifying a filter definition to be applied to the plurality of client devices and a label associated with the filter definition; assigning the label to any client device of the plurality of client devices that meets the filter definition, and wherein the input specifies that the script should be made available to client devices assigned the label; and providing the script to client devices assigned the label.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving a request for the script made from a client device;determining whether the client device has the label assigned to it; and responsive to the client device not having the label assigned to it, denying the request.

27. The method of claim 19, further comprising: generating a script to be executed by an agent on a client device, the agent comprising code for executing a command of the set of commands.