Red Hat, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

David Patrick Huff

James Michael Ferris

Norman Lee Faus

Bryan Michael Kearney

Joseph Boggs

William Kress Bodin

Derral Charles Thorson

Bryan William Clark

Michael S Karasick

Wojciech T Stryjewski

John Richard Del Pizzo, Jr

Tomislav Vujec

Albert Chung-Chee Kwok

Embodiments relate to instantiating and operating a virtual appliance monitor in a network cloud environment. A method includes receiving, by a virtual appliance monitor executing in a network cloud system, appliance state information representing an execution state of a virtual appliance of a set of virtual appliances instantiated in the network cloud system that the virtual appliance monitor is to monitor, wherein the virtual appliance monitor is instantiated by a cloud management server device managing the network cloud system, managing, by the virtual appliance monitor, the set of virtual appliances in view of the receiving appliance state information, and terminating, by the cloud management server device, the virtual appliance monitor and the set of virtual appliances monitored by the virtual appliance monitor when a subscription period for the virtual appliance monitor and the set of virtual appliances expires.

Management of virtual appliances in cloud-based network

Managing a software appliance is disclosed. A described method includes receiving from a user, a request specifying functionality of a custom software appliance and searching a repository, in view of the functionality, a pre-built software appliance, a recipe and a software component. The method also includes building the custom software appliance in view of the pre-built software appliance, the recipe and the software component. The custom software appliance includes information of the user. The method further includes providing an interface for the custom software appliance and an application to perform a function and a portion of an operating system to provide an execution platform for the application. The custom software appliance includes a management tool, which is embedded within the custom software appliance and provides the interface to receive a management request to cause the management tool to manage the application, and the portion of the operating system.

Managing a software appliance

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for managing third-party application programming interfaces in a collaboration space. A collaboration space, such as a wiki site, can host a set of collaboration tools and resources, including, for example, content tools, communication tools, and other resources for the users of the space. The collaboration space can also incorporate and expose a set of application programming interfaces, such as command and data-passing structures to permit users to invoke third-party applications and/or services from within the wiki site or other collaboration space. The set of applications/services be hosted on a remote server or co-hosted on the collaboration server, and can include, for instance, database, spreadsheet, media content, or other applications or services. The invoked applications/services can return data to the requesting user via the collaboration space. Users can subscribe to different applications and/or services available via the collaboration space.

Managing an application programming interface in a collaboration space

A system and method of assisting a user include displaying a status of a configuration. A point of progress is detected before completion of a web based configuration. Data associated with the point of progress is sent to a server to perform a query of a knowledgebase with the data to identify information associated with the point of progress. Information is received from the server in response to the server performing the query of the knowledgebase and provided to a user to assist the user with completing the web based configuration.

Configuration assistance using a knowledgebase

Broadcasts identifying executed execution states and configurations of a plurality of virtual machines may be received. Each of the broadcasts may be received from a client system of a plurality of client systems. At least two of the virtual machines may be installed on each of the plurality of client systems. A determination may be made as to whether a first virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines that is installed on a first client system of the plurality of client systems is unauthorized in view of an execution state of the first virtual machine and a configuration of a second virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machine. A control action for the first client system may be generated when the first virtual machine is determined to be unauthorized.

Software appliance management using broadcast technique

Updating of a software object is described. A first version of a software object is instantiated. User-inputted data used by the first version of the software is received from a user, and a current configuration state and the user-inputted data are registered. A second version of the software object is instantiated and the current configuration state and the user-inputted data of the first version of the software object are exported to the second version of the software object.

Updating software objects

A management tool can be included in a software appliance. The management tool can be configured to provide control, management, and maintenance of the software appliance. The management tool can be utilized in order to start/stop, configure, repair, and update a software appliance. The management tool can be configured to provide an interface for management of the software appliance. The interface allows for management of the software appliance and the individual components of the software appliance.

An appliance support module can be configured to receive a request to build a demo software appliance from a user. The appliance support module can be configured to build the demo appliance and to include configuration data in demo software appliance. The appliance support module can be configured to receive a request to migrate the demo software appliance to a production software appliance. The appliance support module can be configured to migrate the demo software appliance by modifying the configuration data in order to provide full functionality to the demo software appliance that was previously limited. The appliance support module can also receive a request to scale the production software appliances. The appliance support module can scale the production software appliance by dividing the applications contained in the production software appliances into separate software appliance.

Providing a demo appliance and migrating the demo appliance to a production appliance

An embodiment relates to a method of providing certification. The method includes providing for a software application and applying a set of certification metatags to the software application. The set of certification metatags configured to provide at least one parameter to become certified with the software application. The method also includes querying the set of certification metatags by a second application to determine whether the second application can be certified with the software application.

Software application certification service

An appliance support module can be configured to build software appliances for use in a hosted environment. The appliance support module can be configured to build the hosted appliances based on a request by a user for the hosted appliances. The appliance support module can be configured to receive a request to migrate the hosted appliances to an on-premise system. To migrate the hosted appliance, the appliance support module can be configured to convert the hosted appliances into a format capable of being supported by the on-premise systems.

Providing a hosted appliance and migrating the appliance to an on-premise environment

An appliance support module can be configured to update and upgrade the software incrementally. To achieve this, the appliance support module can be configured to receive a request to update or upgrade a software appliance. The request can include the update or upgrade requested and information describing the software appliance to upgrade or update. Based on the request, the appliance support module can be configured to determine alterations to make to a original binary image of the software appliance to upgrade or update.

Incrementally updating a software appliance

An appliance module can provide software appliances to users. The appliance module can provide the software appliances in view of a role desired by the users. The role can be the desired functionality to be provided by the software appliance. To achieve this, the appliance module can receive a request for a software appliance. In view of the request, the appliance module can determine a software appliance that includes one or more applications that meets the role set forth in the request and just enough operating system to support the one or more applications. The appliance module can provide the software appliance to the requesting user.

Providing a software appliance based on a role

Systems and methods for managing software appliances using a broadcast mechanism, embodiments of which incorporate a centralized appliance monitor that collects software appliance state information from a community of clients having software appliance installations. Software appliances can include a reduced-component operating system combined with pre-configured application(s), for instance distributed via optical disc or Web download. When a software appliance instantiates on a client in the network or at other times, the identity and execution state of the application is broadcast to an appliance monitor. The appliance monitor aggregates the appliance state information for all clients in the network, and manages their deployment and execution on the network. The appliance monitor can for example transmit an appliance control instruction to a client to terminate or otherwise manage an uncertified or unapproved appliance, or take other network management action.

Software appliance management using broadcast data

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for managing application programming interfaces in a collaboration space. A collaboration space, such as a wiki site, can host a set of collaboration tools and resources, including, for example, content tools, communication tools, and other resources for the users of the space. The collaboration space can also incorporate and expose a set of application programming interfaces, such as command and data-passing structures to permit users to invoke applications and/or services from within the wiki site or other collaboration space. The set of applications/services be hosted on a remote server or co-hosted on the collaboration server, and can include, for instance, database, spreadsheet, media content, or other applications or services. The invoked applications/services can return data to the requesting user via the collaboration space. Users can subscribe to different applications and/or services available via the collaboration space.

Managing application programming interfaces in a collaboration space

A system and method of providing a user with a post installation configuration file include providing a user with a list of software applications that are available for installation. At least one software application selection from the list of applications is received by the system. At least one post installation configuration script associated with the use selected software application is retrieved, the at least one post installation configuration script using a common user interface for a plurality of software application from the list of software applications. The at least one post installation configuration script associated with the use selected software application and the at least one user selected software application are packaged into a user package.

Growing community of inventors

Raleigh, NC, United States of America

David Patrick Huff