Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Markus Horstmann

Debi P Mishra

Mark H Lucovsky

Bharat Shah

David E Kays, Jr

Daniel F Plastina

Shannon J Chan

Gregory A Jensenworth

Michael J Cherry

David Wortendyke

Travis Muhlestein

David E Kays

Clemens Friedrich Vasters

William D Devlin

Jason L Zander

Ullattil Shaji

Justin Grant

Corina Eva Feuerstein

Alan Geoffrey Boshier

Radu Rares Palanca

Nagalinga Durga Prasad Sripathi Panditharadhya

Varsha Jayasimha

Girish Nagaraja

Wenjun Qiu

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for implementing a tenant provisioning system in a multi-tenancy architecture using a single provisioning master in the architecture, and a data center provisioner in each data center in the architecture. The provisioning master receives user requests to provision a tenant of a service and routes such requests to an appropriate data center provisioner. Each service in the multi-tenancy architecture implements a common interface by which the corresponding data center provisioner can obtain a common indication of load from each different service deployed in the data center thus facilitating the selection of a scale unit on which a tenant is provisioned. The common interface also enables a service to dynamically register (i.e. without redeploying the tenant provisioning system) with the provisioning master as a multi-tenancy service by registering an endpoint address with the provisioning master.

Provisioning tenants to multi-tenant capable services

A method and system for managing and deploying applications across a computer network by assigning and publishing applications to user and computer policy recipients. Assigned applications are automatically applied via a script to the policy recipients, thereby ensuring that the recipient has an administrator-specified workstation configuration. Assigned applications are advertised so as to appear available to the user, by adding an application shortcut to the start menu, and by populating the machine registry with appropriate application information. Other applications may be published to users, whereby those applications are optionally available for use by users. Published application information is maintained in a centralized store of information on the network. Assigned and published applications may be installed on demand, such as when the application is activated.

Method and system for assigning and publishing applications

An instrumentation client API is provided within a managed code runtime environment for accessing instrumentation data that resides outside of the managed code runtime environment. The instrumentation client API provides access to instrumentation data in a manner that is consistent with the classes and models provided by the runtime environment, raises exceptions in a manner that is compatible with the runtime environment, and is secure. The instrumentation client API wraps, or translates, calls to and from an instrumentation data source external to the runtime environment. The API interacts with an interface provided by the instrumentation data source to provide functionality and connectivity that is not otherwise provided by the instrumentation data source. The API also provides access to instrumentation data in a manner that is consistent with the models and classes provided by the runtime platform. The classes defined by the API return collections and exceptions in a way that is consistent with the managed code runtime platform.

Method and apparatus for accessing instrumentation data from within a managed code environment

A method and system for installing software implementations such as applications and COM classes as they are needed from an external source, such as a centralized network store. When a software implementation is needed, the system and method first look to the local system (e.g., registry) for that software implementation, and if found, returns the information such as a local path needed to use the software implementation. If the implementation is not found locally, the present invention dynamically looks to a centralized class store of a network, to locate the needed implementation. When located, the implementation is downloaded and locally installed in a manner that is essentially transparent to the user. Software implementations such as application products may be divided into features and components to improve on-demand installation thereof.

Method and system for on-demand installation of software implementations

A method for installing and registering a COM component objects within a registration datastore of a computing system. The method comprising checking the COM component object to determine whether it contains a set of self-describing data, and if the COM component contains the set of self-describing data, perform a sequence of operations. These operations begin by extracting the self-describing data from the COM component. Next the operations register the COM component using the extracted self-describing data by storing registration data within the registration datastore. Finally the operations end after deriving additional registration data using the extracted self-describing data and storing the additional registration data within the registration datastore. The self-describing COM component comprises a first data field containing data representing a dynamic link library. A second data field derived from the first data field comprising a reserve word module. A third data field derived from the second data field comprising one or more self-describing component data elements. A fourth data field functioning to indicate the end of the self-describing COM component object, wherein the one or more self-describing component data elements are extracted by the system registrar module to generate data stored within the registration datastore.

Self-describing components within a software catalog

A schema that facilitates the centralized management and deployment of applications, components and services across a computer network. Centralized class stores are provided under policies associated with a directory container such as a site, domain or organizational unit. Class stores include definition, state and location information for applications and components, such that applications and components are centrally available as needed. For example, via the class store, updates to components or applications for users under an organizational unit are performed once in a centralized location, whereby users or machines may automatically obtain new versions of applications as they become available, or software implementations as needed from a centralized repository. Class stores may be configured to contain packages of component and application information according to functional areas, level of security access, or other criteria as determined by an administrator. Component categories (e.g., spreadsheet, word processor, and so on) may also be maintained, whereby a suitable application may be located by its function. For customized administration and programmatic query or installation of specific components and packages, the class store also includes a manager object that offers a set of interfaces and APIs.

Class store schema

An improved registration datastore comprises a datastore containing the database coupled to a data table object structure to present the data to a registration system in the form of an abstract table of data. The use of a data table structure between the registration system and the datastore provides storage location and format independence as the data table object presents the registration data to a calling object in the form of a data level table, a collection of configuration data items. The improved registration system permits one or more objects to be simultaneously installed into the registration database by different sources. The new registration system utilizes a database versioning and aging mechanism to permit multiple calling objects to operate using a version of the database known to be valid when its operations began.

Transactional configuration store and runtime versus administration isolation with version snapshots and aging

Growing community of inventors

Redmond, WA, United States of America

Markus Horstmann