Method, system, and product for identifying provisioning operations via planning methods

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product are disclosed for automatically determining a valid ordering of provisioning operations, and their needed parameters, so that a provisioning system can configure a desired resource state. This is accomplished by formally describing the pre-conditions and effects of provisioning operations, the current state of managed resources and the desired final state. A planning algorithm is then used to determine the provisioning operations, a valid ordering and appropriate parameters to bring the system from the current state to the desired state.

1 . A method for ordering operations to achieve a desired state of the resources managed by the provisioning system, comprising the steps of: 
 identifying provisioning operations for a provisioning system;    defining preconditions and effects of the provisioning operations;    defining a state of resources managed by the provisioning system; and    applying a planning algorithm.    
   
   
       2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the applying includes ordering operations to determine a valid causal order for the provisioning system to configure the managed resources to implement a service or application.  
   
   
       3 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising the step of selecting an execution order consistent with an identified valid causal order.  
   
   
       4 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising the step of associating a cost with each provisioning operation to optimize the selection of a valid set of provisioning operations and the order.  
   
   
       5 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising the step of executing the provisioning operations in an order consistent with the valid causal order.  
   
   
       6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the executing of the provisioning operations is performed serially.  
   
   
       7 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the executing of the provisioning operations is performed in parallel.  
   
   
       8 . The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising the step of alternating the steps of identifying the provisioning operations and executing the provisioning operations until a desired goal is obtained.  
   
   
       9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the identifying provisioning operations is restricted to identify a subset of the provisioning operations to achieve a desired goal.  
   
   
       10 . A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium including a computer readable program for ordering operations, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the steps of: 
 identifying provisioning operations to achieve a desired state of the resources managed by a provisioning system;    defining preconditions and effects of the provisioning operations;    defining a state of resources managed by the provisioning system; and    applying a planning algorithm.    
   
   
       11 . A method for determining a set of provisioning operations and a valid order for their execution in a provisioning system, comprising the steps of: 
 storing configuration criteria and a mapping function in a configuration mechanism;    mapping content from a configuration repository into a form suitable for a planning algorithm by employing the mapping function; and    determining a workflow by employing the planning algorithm which receives as input an initial state and a goal state and plans a set of operations to achieve the goal state in accordance with the configuration criteria.    
   
   
       12 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the determining includes ordering the operations to determine a valid causal order for the provisioning system to configure managed resources to implement a service or application.  
   
   
       13 . The method according to  claim 12 , further comprising the step of associating a cost with each operation to optimize the selection of a valid set of provisioning operations and the order.  
   
   
       14 . The method according to  claim 12 , further comprising the step of executing the operations in an order consistent with the valid causal order.  
   
   
       15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the executing of the operations is performed serially.  
   
   
       16 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the executing of the operations is performed in parallel.  
   
   
       17 . The method according to  claim 14 , further comprising the step of alternating a step of identifying the operations in the workflow and executing the operations until the goal state is achieved.  
   
   
       18 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the operations selected for the workflow are restricted to a subset of operations.  
   
   
       19 . A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium including a computer readable program for determining a set of provisioning operations and a valid order for their execution in a provisioning system, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the steps of: 
 storing configuration criteria and a mapping function in a configuration mechanism;    mapping content from a configuration repository into a form suitable for a planning algorithm by employing the mapping function; and    determining a workflow by employing the planning algorithm which receives as input an initial state and a goal state and plans a set of provisioning operations to achieve the goal state in accordance with the configuration criteria.    
   
   
       20 . A system for determining a set of provisioning operations and a valid order for their execution in a provisioning system, comprising: 
 a configuration mechanism which stores configuration criteria and a mapping function;    a mapper which employs the mapping function to map content from a configuration repository into a form suitable for a planning algorithm; and    the planning algorithm receives information on an initial state and a goal state and plans a set of operations to achieve the goal state in accordance with the configuration criteria and outputs a workflow.    
   
   
       21 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , wherein the, configuration criteria includes definitions for predicates, actions, preconditions and effects for operations to be ordered and selected.  
   
   
       22 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , wherein the configuration repository includes a model schema which describes a configuration state of resources managed by the provisioning system.  
   
   
       23 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , wherein the mapping function transforms the content of the configuration repository to a domain state expressed over a set of predicates.  
   
   
       24 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , further comprising a controller which controls and manages components of the system.  
   
   
       25 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , further comprising a repository reader which reads the content from the configuration repository for the mapper.  
   
   
       26 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , wherein the planning algorithm includes a domain definition based on the configuration criteria and determines the configuration states of resources to be managed needed to achieve the goal state.  
   
   
       27 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , wherein the workflow includes a failure notice when the goal state can not be achieved.  
   
   
       28 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , further comprising editing tools employed to change resource configurations.  
   
   
       29 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , wherein the planning algorithm includes a cost module which assigns costs to operations to decide a valid workflow order.  
   
   
       30 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , wherein the goal state is input by a user.  
   
   
       31 . The system as recited in  claim 20 , further comprising a translator which translates the workflow from a planning modeler language to a language suitable for execution by the provisioning system.