System and method for transmitting supporting requests in a data center with a support meta language

Abstract

In transmitting generic support commands in a utility data center network, a network operation center generates a support request in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission. A control plane receives the support request and transmits the report request to a mini data center. A local support agent interprets the support request and determines the appropriate local agent or software tool to execute the support request and then transmits the results of the support request to the network operations center in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0002] Data centers and timesharing have been used for over 40 years in the computing industry. Timesharing, the concept of linking a large numbers of users to a single computer via remote terminals, was developed at MIT in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A popular timesharing system in the late 1970's to early 1980's was the CDC Cybernet network. Many other networks existed. The total computing power of large mainframe computers was typically more than the average user needed. It was therefore more efficient and economical to lease time and resources on a shared network. Each user was allotted a certain unit of time within a larger unit of time. For instance, in one second, 5 users might be allotted 200 microseconds apiece, hence, the term timesharing. These early mainframes were very large and often needed to be housed in separate rooms with their own climate control.

[0003] As hardware costs and size came down, mini-computers and personal computers began to be popular. The users had more control over their resources, and often did not need the computing power of the large mainframes. These smaller computers were often linked together in a local area network (LAN) so that some resources could be shared (e.g., printers) and so that users of the computers could more easily communicate with one another (e.g., electronic mail, or e-mail, instant chat services as in the PHONE facility available on the DEC VAX computers).

[0004] As the Information Technology (IT) industry matured, software applications became more memory, CPU and resource intensive. With the advent of a global, distributed computer networks, i.e., the Internet, more users were using more software applications, network resources and communication tools than ever before. Maintaining and administering the hardware and software on these networks could be a nightmare for a small organization. Thus, there has been a push in the industry toward open applications, interoperable code and a re-centralization of both hardware and software assets. This re-centralization would enable end users to operate sophisticated hardware and software systems, eliminating the need to be entirely computer and network literate, and also eliminating direct maintenance and upgrade costs.

[0005] With Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Application Service Providers (ASPs) and centralized Internet and Enterprise Data Centers (IDCs), or Network Operation Centers (NOCs), the end user is provided with up-to-date hardware and software resources and applications. The centers can also provide resource redundancy and “always on” capabilities because of the economies of scale in operating a multi-user data center.

[0006] Thus, with the desire to return to time and resource sharing among enterprises (or organizations), in the form of IDCs and NOCs, there is a need to optimize the center's resources while maintaining a state-of-the-art facility for the users. There is also a need to provide security and integrity of individual enterprise data and ensure that data of more than one enterprise, or customer, are not co-mingled. In a typical enterprise, there may be significant downtime of the network while resources are upgraded or replaced due to failure or obsolescence. These shared facilities must be available 24-7 (i.e., around the clock) and yet, also be maintained with state-of-the art hardware and software.

[0007] A typical IDC of the prior art consists of one or more separate enterprises. Each customer leases a separate LAN within the IDC, which hosts the customer's enterprise. The individual LANs may provide always-on Internet infrastructure (AOII), but require separate maintenance and support. When an operating system requires upgrade or patching, each system must be upgraded separately. This can be time intensive and redundant.

[0008] Prior art systems could not provide support requests that could be transmitted to the individual LANs in a generic language that is firewall, operating system and hardware independent. In addition, prior art support requests could not be built on top of an existing meta-language, which would cause developers of the support requests to learn new paradigms before they could create the support requests. Prior art solutions are inadequate because it was required to know the exact types of devices that were being supported. This made it difficult to write support requests for new device types.

SUMMARY

[0009] In a method for transmitting generic support commands in a utility data center network, a support request is generated at a network operation center and transported via HTTP protocol in XML format to a control plane through the control plane's firewall. The control plane then transmits the support request to a mini data center. The local support agent receives the request at the mini data center through the mini data center's firewall. The local support agent then determines whether the mini data center can perform the task requested and executes the support request. The results of support requests are then transmitted via HTTP protocol in XML format to the control plane through the control plane's firewall, and then transmitted to the network operations center.

[0010] In a system for transmitting generic support commands in a utility data center network, a network operation center generates a support request in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission. A control plane receives the support request and transmits the support request to a mini data center. A local support agent interprets the support request and determines the appropriate local agent or software tool to execute the support request and then transmits the results of the support request to the network operations center in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission.

[0011] In one embodiment, a local support agent in a mini data center for executing support requests in a utility data center network comprises a receiving means for receiving support requests from a network operations center, wherein the support requests are generically formatted to pass through firewalls. The local support agent also has an interpreting means for interpreting the support request and determining the appropriate local agent or software tool to execute the support request. The local support agent also has a transmitting means for packaging the result of the support request into a generic format to send to the network operations center through network firewalls.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The detailed description will refer to the following drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a Utility Data Center (UDC) with virtual local area networks (VLANs);

[0014] FIG. 2 is a hierarchical block diagram representing the two VLAN configurations within a UDC, as shown in FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UDC with multiple control planes with oversight by a NOC, and supported by an outside entity;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a control plane management system of a UDC;

[0017] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a management portal segment layer of a UDC;

[0018] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a high availability observatory (HAO) support model of a UDC;

[0019] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a virtual support node (VSN) and VLAN tagging system used to segregate the VLANs of a UDC;

[0020] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of support services through firewalls as relates to a UDC;

[0021] FIG. 9, is a block diagram showing the handling of support requests across firewalls in a UDC network via local support agents; and

[0022] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the method of handling of support requests across firewalls in a UDC network via local support agents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with particular reference to the presently described embodiments. However, it should be understood that this class of embodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous uses of the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily delimit any of the various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others.

[0024] An embodiment of the present invention combines existing support tools/agents with AOII (Always On Internet Infrastructure) technology in a Utility Data Center (UDC) to recognize and deploy message/data traffic through to virtual customer enterprises. The AOII technology uses a control plane, or communication and control layer, to control resources and message/data traffic among the UDC resources. The control plane manages the virtual local area networks (VLANs) that comprise a set of mini-data centers (MDCs), or customer enterprises. These capabilities are leveraged to deploy pre-packaged and/or customized support tools to an end-customer. This presents a clear business advantage in terms of cost reduction of support. End-customers no longer need to install and maintain support tools. This can be accomplished via the mid-customer, or UDC owner/operator. Additionally, maintenance of the support toolset can be done by the mid-customer providing economy of scale.

[0025] An advantage of an “always-on” infrastructure is hardware and software redundancy. If a component fails, the AOII will automatically switch out the failed component with a redundant unit. The AOII keeps track of which applications are configured on which hardware, and which ones are active. The network is monitored constantly for status. An example of a current system which will monitor an enterprise and assist in swapping out failed components is MC/ServiceGuard, available from Hewlett-Packard Company. AOII systems in the prior art are specific to an enterprise. Thus, each enterprise had to be monitored and maintained separately. An embodiment of the present invention promotes optimal resource use by creating virtual LANs (VLANs) within the UDC (or control plane) network.

[0026] Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown a simplified embodiment of a UDC 100 with two VLANs, or mini-data centers (MDCs) 110 and 120. MDC-A 110 comprises a host device 111; resources 143; and storage 131. MDC-B 120 comprises a host device 121; resources 141; and storage 133 and 135. A UDC control plane manager 101 controls the virtual MDC networks. Spare resources 145 are controlled by the control plane manager 101 and assigned to VLANs, as necessary. A UDC control plane manager 101 may comprise a control plane database, backup management server, tape library, disk array, network storage, power management appliance, terminal server, SCSI gateway, and other hardware components, as necessary.

[0027] The entire UDC network here is shown as an Ethernet hub network with the control plane manager in the center, controlling all other enterprise devices. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that other network configurations may be used, for instance, a daisy chain configuration.

[0028] In this embodiment, one control plane manager 101 controls MDC-A 110 and MDC-B 120. In systems of the prior art, MDC-A and MDC-B would be separate enterprise networks with separate communication lines and mutually exclusive storage and resource devices. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the control plane manager 101 controls communication between the MDC-A 110 and MDC-B 120 enterprises and their respective peripheral devices. This is accomplished using VLAN tags in the message traffic. A UDC may have more than one control plane controlling many different VLANs, or enterprises. The UDC is monitored and controlled at a higher level by the network operation center (NOC)(not shown).

[0029] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown an alternate hierarchical representation 200 of the two virtual networks (VLANs) in a UDC, as depicted in FIG. 1. VLAN A 210 is a hierarchical representation of the virtual network comprising MDC-A 110. VLAN B 220 is a hierarchical representation of the virtual network comprising MDC-B 120. The control plane manager 101 controls message traffic between the MDC host device(s) (111 and 121), their peripheral devices/resources (131, 132, 143, 133, 135 and 141). An optional fiber of SCSI (small computer system interface) network 134, 136 may be used so that the VLAN can connect directly to storage device 132. The fiber network is assigned to the VLAN by the control plane manager 101. The VLANs can communicate to an outside network, e.g., the Internet 260, directly through a firewall 275. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the enterprises could be connected to the end user 250 through an intranet, extranet or another communication network. Further, this connection may be wired or wireless, or a combination of both.

[0030] The control plane manager 101 recognizes the individual VLANs and captures information about the resources (systems, routers, storage, etc.) within the VLANs through a software implemented firewall. It monitors support information from the virtual enterprises (individual VLANs). The control plane manager also provides proxy support within the UDC control plane firewall 275 which can be utilized to relay information to and from the individual VLANs. It also supports a hierarchical representation of the virtual enterprise, as shown in FIG. 2. An advantage of a centralized control plane manager is that only one is needed for multiple VLANs. Prior art solutions required a physical support node for each virtual enterprise (customer) and required that support services be installed for each enterprise.

[0031] The network operation center (NOC) 280 is connected to the UDC control plane manager 101 via a firewall 285. The UDC control plane manager 101 communicates with the VLANs via a software implemented firewall architecture. In systems of the prior art, the NOC could not support either the control plane level or the VLAN level because it could not monitor or maintain network resources through the various firewalls. An advantage of the present invention is that the NOC 280 is able to communicate to the control plane and VLAN hierarchical levels of the UDC using the same holes, or trusted ports, that exist for other communications. Thus, an operator controlling the NOC 280 can install, maintain and reconfigure UDC resources from a higher hierarchical level than previously possible. This benefit results in both cost and time savings because multiple control planes and VLANs can be maintained simultaneously.

[0032] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a simplified UDC 300 with multiple control plane managers 311 and 321 controlling several VLANs 313, 315, 317, 323, 325, and 327. In addition, the control planes control spare resources 319 and 329. A higher level monitoring system, also known as a network operation center (NOC) 301, is connected to the control planes 311 and 321 via a firewall 375. A VLAN can be connected to an outside network through a firewall as shown at VLAN C 327 and firewall 328. The NOC 301 has access to information about each VLAN 313, 315, 317, 323, 325 and 327 via a virtual protocol network (VPN). Typically, a human operator will operate the NOC and monitor the entire UDC. The operator may request that a control plane 311 reconfigure its virtual network based on performance analysis, or cost benefit analysis. The present system and method also allows for automatic reconfiguration.

[0033] For example, if a resource dedicated to VLAN-1 (313) fails, the control plane 311 will automatically switch operation to a redundant resource. Because the network uses an always-on infrastructure, it is desirable to configure a spare from the set of spares 319 to replace the faulty resource, as a new redundant dedicated resource. In systems of the prior art, this enterprise would be monitored and maintained separately. In this embodiment, the NOC 301 monitors the control planes 311 and 321, as well as, the VLANs 313, 315, 317, 323, 325 and 327. Thus, if none of the spares 319 are viable substitutions for the failed component, the NOC operator can enable one of the spares 329 to be used for control plane 311 rather than control plane 321. Depending on the physical configuration of the UDC, this substitution may require a small update in the VLAN configurations of each VLAN, or may require a cable change and then a VLAN configuration change.

[0034] Because one centralized control system (NOC 301) is used to monitor and route traffic among several VLANs a high availability observatory (HAO) facility can monitor the entire UDC at once. Systems of the prior art use HAO's at an enterprise level, but the HAO could not penetrate between the network hierarchies from a control plane level to the enterprise level. The present system and method has the advantage that problems with components of any enterprise, or VLAN, within the UDC can be predicted and redundant units within the UDC can be swapped and repaired, even between and among different control planes and VLANs, as necessary. The HAO facility would predict problems, while a facility such as MC/ServiceGuard, available from Hewlett-Packard Company, would facility the swapping of redundant units. If an enterprise is not required to be “always-on” it can operate without redundant units. However, during planned and unplanned system maintenance, the system, or portions of the system may be unavailable. Maintenance and support costs will be favorably affected by the use of the NOC regardless of the always-on capabilities of the individual enterprises.

[0035] In an embodiment, the HAO performs two tasks. First, once each day, a remote shell, or execution, (remsh) is launched out to each client/component in the UDC that has been selected for monitoring. The remsh gathers many dozens of configuration settings, or items, and stores the information in a database. Examples of configuration items are: installed software and version, installed patches or service packs, work configuration files, operating configuration files, firmware versions, hardware attached to the system, etc. Analysis can then be performed on the configuration data to determine correctness of the configuration, detect changes in the configuration from a known baseline, etc. Further, a hierarchy of the UDC can be ascertained from the configuration data to produce a hierarchical representation such as shown in FIG. 2. Second, a monitoring component is installed on each selected component in the UDC. The monitoring components send a notification whenever there is a hardware problem. For instance, a memory unit may be experiencing faults, or a power supply may be fluctuating and appear to be near failure. In this way, an operator at the NOC 301 level or support node 350 level can prevent or mitigate imminent or existing failures. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that a monitoring component can be deployed to measure any number of metrics, such as performance, integrity, throughput, etc. For instance, performance measurements are collected to assist in rebalancing loads throughout the data center.

[0036] This monitoring and predictive facility may be combined with a system such as MC/ServiceGuard. In systems of the prior art, MC/ServiceGuard runs at the enterprise level. If a problem is detected on a primary system in an enterprise, a fail over process is typically performed to move all processes from the failed, or failing, component to a redundant component already configured on the enterprise. Thus, the HAO monitors the UDC and predicts necessary maintenance or potential configuration changes. If the changes are not made before a failure, the MC/ServiceGuard facility can ensure that any downtime is minimized. Some enterprise customers may choose not to implement redundant components within their enterprise. In this case, oversight of the enterprise at the NOC or support node level can serve to warn the customer that failures are imminent, or that performance thresholds are being approached, and initiate maintenance or upgrades before a debilitating failure.

[0037] In current systems, an NOC (301) could not monitor or penetrate through the firewall to the control plane cluster layer (311, 321), or to the enterprise layer (VLAN/MDC 313, 315, 317, 323, 325, 327). In contrast, the present system and method is able to deploy agents and monitoring components at any level within the UDC. Thus, the scope of service available with an HAO is expanded. The inherent holes in the communication mechanisms used to penetrate the firewalls are used.

[0038] In an exemplary embodiment, the communication mechanism is XML (eXtended Markup Language) wrapped HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) requests that are translated by the local agents into the original HAO support actions and returned to the originating support request mechanism. HTTP may be used for requests originating from outside the customer enterprise. SNMP (simple network management protocol) may be used as a mechanism for events originating within the customer enterprise. This and other “client originated events” can be wrapped into XML objects and transported via HTTP to the support node 350. In alternative embodiments, the support node 350 can be anywhere in the UDC, i.e. at the control plane level NOC level, or even external to the ULDC, independent of firewalls.

[0039] The purpose of a firewall is to block any network traffic coming through. Firewalls can be programmed to let certain ports through. For instance, a firewall can be configured to allow traffic through port 8080. HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) messages typically use port 8080. In systems of the prior art, an HAO is configured to communicate through many ports using remote execution and SNMP communication mechanisms. These mechanisms are blocked by the default hardware and VLAN firewalls. In the present system and method, a single port can be programmed to send HAO communications through to the control plane and enterprise layers. Fewer holes in the firewall are preferred, for ease of monitoring, and minimization of security risks.

[0040] Similar to the architecture of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), a series of messages or requests can be defined to proxy support requests through firewalls. An example is a “configuration collection request.” The collection request is encapsulated in an XML document sent via HTTP through the firewall to the local agent within the firewall. The local agent does the collection via remsh as is done in the existing HAO. The remsh is performed within a firewall and not blocked. The results of the request are packaged up in an XML reply object and sent back through the firewall to the originating requesting agent.

[0041] Referring again to FIG. 2, the control plane can provide proxy support within the UDC control plane firewall 285. For instance, 10-15 different ports might be needed to communicate through the firewall 275. It is desirable to reduce the number of ports, optimally to one. A proxy mechanism on each side reduces the number of required ports, while allowing this mechanism to remain transparent to the software developed using multiple ports. This enables each VLAN to use a different port, as far as the monitoring tools and control software is concerned. Thus, the existing tools do not need to be recoded to accommodate drilling a new hole through the firewall each time a new VLAN is deployed.

[0042] Another example is an event generated within a control plane. A local “event listener” can receive the event, translate it into an XML event object, and then send the XML object through the firewall via HTTP. The HTTP listener within the NOC can accept and translate the event back into an SNMP event currently used in the monitoring system.

[0043] An advantage of the UDC architecture is that a baseline system can be delivered to a customer as a turnkey system. The customer can then add control plane clusters and enterprises to the UDC to support enterprise customers, as desired. However, the UDC operator may require higher-level support from the UDC developer. In this case, a support node 350 communicates with the NOC 301 via a firewall 395 to provide support. The support node monitors and maintains resources within the UDC through holes in the firewalls, as discussed above. Thus, the present system and method enables a higher level of support to drill down their support to the control plane and VLAN levels to troubleshoot problems and provide recommendations. For instance, spare memory components 319 may exist in the control plane 311. The support node 350 may predict an imminent failure of a memory in a specific enterprise 313, based on an increased level of correction on data retrieval (metric collected by a monitoring agent). If this spare 319 is not configured as a redundant component in an enterprise, a system such as MC/ServiceGuard cannot swap it in. Instead, the support node 350 can deploy the changes in configuration through the firewalls, and direct the control plane cluster to reconfigure the spare memory in place of the memory that will imminently fail. This method of swapping in spares saves the enterprise customers from the expense of having to maintain additional hardware. The hardware is maintained at the UDC level, and only charged to the customer, as needed.

[0044] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a more detailed view of an embodiment of a control plane management system (410, comprising: 431, 433, 435, 437, 439, 441, and 443) (an alternative embodiment to the control plane manager of FIG. 1, 2 and 3) within a UDC 400. Several components of the UDC are shown, but at different levels of detail. In this figure, adjacent components interface with one another. The control plane (CP) 401 is shown adjacent to the public facing DMZ (PFD) 403, secure portal segment (SPS) 405, network operation center (NOC) 407, resource plane (RP) 409 and the Public Internet (PI) 411. The various virtual LANs, or mini-data centers (MDC) 413 and 415 are shown adjacent to the resource plane 409 because their controlling resources, typically CPUs, are in the RP layer.

[0045] The control plane 401 encompasses all of the devices that administer or that control the VLANs and resources within the MDCs. In this embodiment, the CP 401 interacts with the other components of the UDC via a CP firewall 421 for communication with the NOC 407; a virtual router 423 for communicating with the PI 411; and a number of components 455 for interacting with the resource plane (RP) 409 and MDCs 413, 415. A control plane manager of managers (CPMOM) 431 controls a plurality of control plane managers 433 in the CP layer 401. A number of components are controlled by the CPMOM 431 or individual CP 433 to maintain the virtual networks, for instance, CP Database (CPDB) 435; Control Plane Internet Usage Metering (CP KYM) Collector (CPIUM) 437, using Netflow technology (for instance, Cisco IOS Netflow, available from Cisco Systems, Inc.) on routers to monitor paths of traffic; backup and XP management servers 439; restore data mover and tape library 441; and backup data mover and tape library 443. These devices are typically connected via Ethernet cables and together with the CPMOM 431 and CP manager 433 encompass the control plane management system (the control plane manager of FIGS. 1-3). There may be network attached storage (NAS) 453 which is allocated to a VLAN by the CP manager, and/or disk array storage 445 using either SCSI or fiber optic network connections and directly connected to the resources through fiber or SCSI connections. The disk array 445, fiber channel switches 449, and SAN/SCSI gateway 447 exist on their own fiber network 461. The resources 451 are typically CPU-type components and are assigned to the VLANs by the CP manager 433.

[0046] The CP manager 433 coordinates connecting the storage systems up to an actual host device in the resource plane 409. If a VLAN is to be created, the CP manager 433 allocates the resources from the RP 409 and talks to the other systems, for instance storing the configuration in the CPDB 435, etc. The CP manager 433 then sets up a disk array 445 to connect through a fiber channel switch 449, for example, that goes to a SAN/SCSI gateway 447 that connects up to resource device in the VLAN. Depending on the resource type and how much data is pushed back and forth, it will connect to its disk array via either a small computer system interface (SCSI), i.e., through this SCSI/SAN gateway, or through the fiber channel switch. The disk array is where a disk image for a backup is saved. The disk itself doesn't exist in the same realm as where the host resource is because it is not in a VLAN. It is actually on this SAN device 447 and controlled by the CP manager 433.

[0047] Things that are assigned to VLANs are things such as a firewall, that an infrastructure might be built, and a load balancer so that multiple systems can be hidden behind one IP address. The load balancer balances Internet traffic. A router could be added so that a company's private network could be added to this infrastructure. A storage system is actually assigned to a host device specifically. It is assigned to a customer, and the customer's equipment might be assigned to one of the VLANs, but the storage system itself does not reside on the VLAN. In one embodiment, there is storage that plugs into a network and that the host computer on a VLAN can access through Ethernet network. Typically, how the customer hosts are connected to the disk storage is through a different network, in one embodiment, through a fiber channel network 461. There is also a network attached storage (NAS) device 453, whereas the other storage device that connects up to the host is considered a fiber channel network storage device. The NAS storage device 453 connects through an Ethernet network and appears as an IP address on which a host can then mount a volume. All of the delivery of data is through Ethernet to that device.

[0048] The control plane manager system 410 has one physical connection for connecting to multiples of these virtual networks. There is a firewall function on the system 410 that protects VLAN A, in this case, and VLAN B from seeing each others data even though the CP manager 433 administers both of these VLANs.

[0049] Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a more detailed view of the NOC layer of the UDC 400. The NOC 407 is connected to the CP 401 via firewall 421 (FIG. 4). In an exemplary embodiment within the NOC 407 is a HAO support node 501, HP OpenView (OV) Management Console 503 (a network product available from Hewlett-Packard Company for use in monitoring and collecting information within the data center), TUM NOC Aggregator (NIUM) 505, portal database server (PDB) 507, ISM message bus 509, ISM service desk 511, ISM infranet portal 513, and ISM service info portal 515. The NOC 407 interfaces with the secure portal segment (SPS) 405 via a NOC firewall 517. The SPS 405 has a portal application server (PAS) 519. The SPS 405 interfaces with the public facing DMZ (PFD) 403 via a SPS firewall 523. These two firewalls 517 and 523 make up a dual bastion firewall environment. The PFD 403 has a portal web server (PWS) 527 and a load balancer 529. The PFD 503 connects to the PI 411 via a PF firewall 531.

[0050] The PFD 403, SPS 405 and NOC layer 407 can support multiple CP layers 401. The control planes must scale as the number of resources in the resource plane 409 and MDCs 413 and 415 increase. As more MDCs are required, and more resources are utilized, more control planes are needed. In systems of the prior art, additional control planes would mean additional support and controlling nodes. In the present embodiment, the multiple control planes can be managed by one NOC layer, thereby reducing maintenance costs considerably.

[0051] Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown an exemplary management structure for a high availability observatory (HAO) support model. The HP HAO support node with relay 601 has access to the control plane database (CPDB) 435 to pull inventory and configuration information, as described above for a simple UDC. The HP HAO support node 601 residing in the control plane consolidates and forwards to the NOC for the UDC consolidation. In an embodiment, a support node (SN) resides at the NOC level 501 and/or at an external level 350 (FIG. 3). The support node 601 is a virtual support node (VSN), or proxy, that listens for commands from SN 501 and performs actions on its behalf and relays the output back to SN 501 for storage or action. Each CP manager system can run multiple VSN instances to accommodate multiple VLANs, or MDCs, that it manages. The CP manager system 433 then consolidates and relays to a consolidator in the CP. The NOC support node 501 consolidates multiple CPs and provides the delivery through the Internet Infrastructure Manager (IIM) portal, also known as UDC Utility Data Center Utility Controller (UC) management software, for client access. This method can scale up or down depending on the hierarchy of the data center. For instance, a support node 350 (FIG. 3) may interact with a VSN at the NOC level in order to monitor and support the NOC level of the UDC. It may also interact with VSNs at the CP level in order to monitor and support the CP level of the UDC.

[0052] The control plane management system has one physical connection that connects to multiples of these virtual networks. There is a firewall function on the CP management system that protects VLAN A, in the exemplary embodiment, for instance, and VLAN B from seeing each other's data even though the control plane management system is administrating both of these VLANs. The VLANs themselves are considered an isolated network.

[0053] Information still needs to be communicated back through the firewall, but the information is gathered from multiple networks. The VLAN tagging piece of that gathering is the means by which this data is communicated. In the typical network environment of the prior art, there are multiple network interfaces. Thus, a system would have to have multiple cards in it for every network that it is connecting to. In the present system, the CP management system only has one connection and uses this communication gateway to see all of the networks (VLANs) and transfer information for these VLANs up to the support node by using VLAN tagging in the card.

[0054] Information can be sent back and forth from the CP management system to the VLANs, but by virtue of the protocol of the gateway, information cannot be sent from one VLAN to the other. Thus, the information remains secure. This gateway is also known as a VLAN tag card. This type of card is currently being made by 3COM and other manufacturers. The present system differs from the prior art because it securely monitors all of the HAO through this one card.

[0055] Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown the common network interface card and its interaction with the VLANs. The CP management system sees all of the resource VLANs; it has a common network interface card 701 with a firewall piece (not shown). A gateway is created with the HAO that allows it to perform the HAO support functions. The virtual support nodes (VSN) 721 connect to all of these different VLANs 703, 705, 707 through one interface. The support relay agent (SRA) 709 communicates all of the secure information through the common network interface 701. The SRA 709 is used to translate support requests specific to the virtual support nodes into “firewall save” communications. For example, HTTP requests can be made through the firewall where they get proxied to the actual support tools. The existing art of “SOAP” (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a good working example as to how this would work. This is predicated on the currently acceptable practice of allowing holes in firewalls for HTTP traffic. The virtual support node uses the industry standard and accepted protocol of HTTP to drill through the firewalls. Utilizing a SOAP type mechanism, collection requests and client-originated events are wrapped in XML objects and passed through the firewall between “HAO Proxies.”

[0056] Referring now to FIG. 8, there is shown a block diagram of support services through firewalls as relates to a data center. Standard support services 801 such as event monitoring and configuration gathering can be accomplished remotely in spite of the existence of firewalls 803 and 807 by using HTTP based requests. By leveraging technologies such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), the Support Node (SN) 805 can package up requests such as a collection command in an XML object. The Request can be sent to a “Support Proxy,” or virtual support node (VSN) 809 on the other side of the firewall 807. A VSN 809 on the other side of the firewall 807 can translate that request into a collection command, or any other existing support request, that is run locally as though the firewall 807 was never there.

[0057] For example, a request to gather the contents of the ‘/etc/networkrc’ file from enterprise 811a in a control plane might be desired. There is a SN 805 in the NOC and a VSN 809 inside the Control plane. The request for /etc/networkrc is made from the SN 805. The request is packaged as an XML SOAP object. The request is sent to the VSN 809 inside the CP, and through the CP's firewall (not shown). The VSN 809 hears the HTTP based SOAP request and translates it into a remote call to get the requested file from the enterprise 811a. The VSN 809 packages up the contents of the requested file into another XML SOAP object and sends it back to the SN 805.

[0058] Referring now to FIG. 9, there is shown a block diagram an embodiment of a UDC network 900 illustrating the handling of support requests across firewalls via local support agents, or VSNs as discussed above. The network 900 shown in FIG. 9 includes a NOC 902, Control Planes 906, 910, and MDCs 914, 918, 922, 926. The NOC 902, Control Planes 906, 910, and MDCs 914, 918, 922, 926 also include local support agents or VSNs (904, 908, 912, 916, 920, 924 and 928) to handle various support requests. Each component of the network illustrated in FIG. 9 is contained within its own firewall (not shown).

[0059] Support requests that may seem benign to pass through a firewall, e.g., collect information, perform an operation, check a value, etc., are often difficult to execute by the receiving operating system. This is because it is often difficult for the MDC 914 to determine which local agent or software tool it should use to execute the request and return the data. In addition, it is often difficult to translate generic support commands to a local system's operating system for execution. The solution illustrated in FIG. 9 provides for the abstraction of specific support requests. Support agents are deployed on a variety of devices to respond to generic support requests received by those devices. Each device can then return device-specific information based on what it knows about itself.

[0060] In the network 900, support requests can be automatically or manually generated as needed. For example, an automatically generated support request maybe be performed on a daily basis to provide updates to existing software in an MDC 914. Or, the support requests may, for example, on a nightly basis, look for changes in the network in sensitive areas. Support requests may also be manually generated to resolve a variety of existing problems within the network. Typical support requests could also be used as requests operations to perform corrections. For example, a particular attribute of a system may not be set high enough. The amount of shared memory allocated in the server or the cash setting for a storage device may not be set to an optimal level. A support request could also be sent to request that a change of the value of a particular configuration or to change the registry value to a new value. Other support requests are known to those skilled in the art.

[0061] In order for the support requests to be properly executed, a local support agent, or VSN, is placed within the firewall of each component of the network that is involved with sending and receiving the support requests. As illustrated in FIG. 9 the VSNs are designated by the reference numerals 904, 908, 912, 916, 920, 924 and 928. The various VSNs listen for support requests to come through the secured HTTP line through the firewall. When the various VSNs receive the support request, it analyzes the information to determine the function that it is to perform. The various VSNs may be programmed to determine the appropriate tool to execute the support request. For example, the support request may ask to get a piece of data, change a setting, or change an attribute. The typical support requests will utilize existing support tools, e.g., open view.

[0062] The VSN may receive the support request and determine that the respective MDC does not have a local agent or tool that would allow it to perform the requested operation. The VSN could then simply deny the request and send it back to the NOC 902. Or, the VSN may determine that is has multiple tools to get the piece of information or execute the command and then determines which tool to use by default to query the data and send it back. Thus, the VSN can serve as software tool organizer, by determining which software tool to use to execute the support request, and as a mapping request handler, by sending the requested data back to the NOC 902.

[0063] As discussed above, each component of the network 900 is contained within its own firewall and has its own VSNs (904, 908, 912, 916, 920, 924 and 928) to handle various support requests. In operation, a support request may start at the NOC 902. As discussed, the support request may either be a scheduled request or manually generated. The CP 906, 910 then proxies the request along to an MDC 914 through the various firewalls. The VSN 916 then interprets the support request and determines the best method to fulfill the request. The VSN 916 then looks for locally available support tools to decide on the best method to fulfill the request. The result of the support request is then returned to the requester, e.g., NOC 902.

[0064] The support requests can be communicated by various communications and mechanisms, e.g., HTTP, email, etc., and travel through the various firewalls as XML objects. The support request may be described as an API on top of HTTP or HDPS that sends a web request. SOAP may be utilized to model the support request similar to a remote procedure call. The VSN in the MDC that receives the support request through the HTTP server inside the firewall and determines that the request is not for a web page, but instead requests to run a command. In effect, HTTP is used to communicate through the firewall; XML is used on top of HTTP to model the request; and SOAP is used on top of XML to model the remote procedure call.

[0065] The makeup of a support request could have an example schema as follows:

<xml...>
<support_request name=“pushFile” type=“file>
<requested>7654321</requested>
<filename>/var/opt/program/log/logfile</filename>
<accesslevel>general</accesslevel>
<default_command>cat</default_command>
<os_command name=“hpux”>cat</os_command>
<os_command name+“windows”>cp</os_command>
</supprt_request>
</xml>
-or-
<xml...>
<support_request name=“processes” type=“command”>
<requested>1234567</requested>
<accesslevel>general</acesslevel>
<default_command>ps-ef</default_command>
<os_command name=“hpux”>ps-ef</os_command>
<os_command name=“windows”>proc?</os_command>
</support_reuest>
</xml>

[0066] Thus, the support meta language and support agents can be used to broker generic support requests across firewalls and to any generic device. Thus, the support requests are flirewall independent. The support requests can be communicated via http/https and formatted in SOAP and be built on top of an existing meta-language, e.g., XML, so that developers of the queries will not be required to learn a new paradigm before they create the support requests. A constant system load is not required because data will only be gathered when queried for. In addition, the support requests can execute known requests, e.g., collecting installed software, setting collection schedules, invoking complete configuration collections, invoking local security checks, and setting registry values to designated values.

[0067] Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown a flow chart diagram, generally designated by the reference numeral 1000, illustrating the method of handling of support requests across firewalls in a UDC network via local support agents, or VSNs. The method of handling support requests across firewalls begins when a support request is generated at the NOC 902 (step 1002). As discussed, the support request can be manually or automatically generated. The support request is then transported via HTTP protocol in XML/SOAP format (step 1004) to the CP 906 through its firewall (1006). The CP 906 then proxies the support request to an MDC 914 (step 1008). The support request travels through the firewall (step 1010) to the MDC 914 where a local support agent, or VSN 916 receives the support request (step 1012).

[0068] The VSN 916 then determines if the MDC 914 has a local agent or software tool that can perform the task requested of the support agent (step 1014). Typical support requests may include: collecting installed software, setting collection schedules, invoking complete configuration collections, invoking local security checks, and setting registry values to designated values. If the MDC 914 does not have a local agent or software tool that can perform the task requested of the support agent, the support request is sent back to the requestor (step 1016). If the MDC 914 has a local agent or software tool that can perform the task requested of the support agent, then the VSN 916 determines the best tool to fulfill the request (step 1018). Next, the request is fulfilled (step 1020). Then the VSN 916 packages any resulting information from the support request into a firewall independent XML SOAP format and sends the information back to the requester (step 1022).

[0069] The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, and their equivalents, in which all terms are to be understood in their broadest possible sense unless otherwise indicated.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting generic support commands in a utility data center network, said method comprising the steps of: generating a support request at a network operation center in said utility data center network; transporting said support request via HTTP protocol in XML format to a control plane through said control plane's firewall; transmitting, by said control plane, said support request to a mini data center; receiving, by a local support agent at said mini data center, said support request through said mini data center's firewall. determining by said local support agent, whether said mini data center can perform the task requested of said support request; executing said support request; transmitting the results of said support request via HTTP protocol in XML format to said control plane through said control plane's firewall; and transmitting the results of said support request via HTTP protocol in XML format to said network operations center.

2. The method according to claim 1, further including the step of: determining, by said local support agent, the best local agent or software tool to execute said support request.

3. The method according to claim 1, further including the step of: returning said support request back to said network operations center if said mini data center does not have the correct local agent or software tool to execute said support request.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said utility data center provides always-on Internet infrastructure.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said support requests are passed through said utility data center's firewalls for analysis using a simple object access protocol (SOAP) request mechanism.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said support requests are chosen from the group consisting of: collecting installed software, setting collection schedules, invoking complete configuration collections, invoking local security checks, and setting registry values to designated values.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said local support agent returns said support request in the same protocol in which said support request was received.

8. A system for transmitting generic support commands in a utility data center network, said system comprising: a network operation center, said network operations center generating a support request, wherein said support request is generated in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission; at least one control plane, said at least one control plane receiving said support request and transmitting said support request to a mini data center; a local support agent in said mini data center, said local support agent interpreting said support request and determining the appropriate local agent or software tool to execute said support request and then transmitting the results of said support request to said network operations center in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission.

9. The system according to claim 8 wherein said support request is transmitted via HTTP protocol in XML format.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said support requests are transmitted using a simple object access protocol (SOAP) request mechanism.

11. The system according to claim 8 wherein said support request is transmitted via electronic mail.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein said local support agent returns said support request if said mini data center cannot execute said support request.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein said local support agent returns said support request in the same protocol in which said support request was received.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein said support requests are chosen from the group consisting of: collecting installed software, setting collection schedules, invoking complete configuration collections, invoking local security checks, and setting registry values to designated values.

15. A local support agent in a mini data center for executing support requests in a utility data center network, comprising: receiving means for receiving support requests from a network operations center, wherein said support requests are generically formatted to pass through firewalls in said utility data center; interpreting means for interpreting said support request and determining the appropriate local agent or software tool to execute said support request; and transmitting means for packaging the result of said support request into a generic format to send to the network operations center through firewalls in said utility data center.

16. The local support agent of claim 15, wherein said support requests are generated at said network operation center in said utility data center network.

17. The local support agent of claim 15, wherein said support requests are transported via HTTP protocol in XML format.

18. The local support agent of claim 15, wherein said support requests are passed through said utility data center's firewalls for analysis using a simple object access protocol (SOAP) request mechanism.

19. The local support agent of claim 15, wherein said support requests are chosen from the group consisting of: collecting installed software, setting collection schedules, invoking complete configuration collections, invoking local security checks, and setting registry values to designated values.

20. The local support agent of claim 15, wherein said local support agent returns said support request if said mini data center does not have the appropriate local agent or software tool to execute said support request.

21. A method for transmitting generic support commands in a utility data center network, said method comprising the steps of: generating a support request at a network operation center in said utility data center network, wherein said support request is generated in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission; transmitting said support request to a control plane through said control plane's firewall; transmitting, by said control plane, said support request to a mini data center; receiving, by a local support agent at said mini data center, said support request through said mini data center's firewall; determining by said local support agent, whether said mini data center can perform the task requested of said support request; executing said support request; and transmitting the result of said support request to said network operations center, wherein said result is generated in a generic format that is firewall independent during transmission;

22. The system according to claim 21 wherein said support request is transmitted via HTTP protocol in XML format.

23. The system according to claim 21, wherein said local support agent returns said support request if said mini data center cannot execute said support request.

24. The system according to claim 21, wherein said support requests are chosen from the group consisting of: collecting installed software, setting collection schedules, invoking complete configuration collections, invoking local security checks, and setting registry values to designated values.