System and Method for Determining and Visualizing Efficiencies and Risks in Computing Environments

Abstract

A method comprises displaying indicators based on a corresponding score quantifying efficiencies and/or risks associated with computing entities; wherein each indicator is positioned in a graphical representation according to the corresponding score such that the positioned indicator shows in a spatial manner, relative efficiencies and/or risks for the corresponding entity by positioning the indicator in one of: (i) a first portion indicative of risk associated with having infrastructure in the computing environment that cannot service workload demands and meet criteria specified in at least one operational policy, (ii) a second portion indicative of an amount of infrastructure in the computing environment that can service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy, or (iii) a third portion indicative of inefficiencies associated with having more than the required amount of infrastructure in the computing environment to service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy.

1 . A method performed by a processor in a computing system, the method comprising:
 displaying an indicator for at least one of a plurality of computing entities in a graphical representation based on a corresponding score quantifying efficiencies and/or risks associated with that computing entity;   wherein each indicator is positioned in the graphical representation according to the corresponding score such that the positioned indicator shows in a spatial manner, relative efficiencies and/or risks for the corresponding entity by positioning the indicator in one of:
 (i) a first portion indicative of risk associated with having infrastructure in the computing environment that cannot service workload demands and meet criteria specified in at least one operational policy, 
 (ii) a second portion indicative of an amount of infrastructure in the computing environment that can service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy, or 
 (iii) a third portion indicative of inefficiencies associated with having more than the required amount of infrastructure in the computing environment to service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a set of one or more recommended actions to mitigate inefficiencies and risks.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 re-computing the scores based on a predictive model of the impact of implementing the recommended actions.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising generating a new graphical representation based on the recomputed scores generated based on the recommended actions. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more recommended actions are determined prior to displaying the graphical representation. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more recommended actions are determined subsequent to displaying the graphical representation. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising generating a plurality of new graphical representations based on a plurality of sets of recomputed scores based on iteratively determined recommended actions to move the entities toward the second portion of the graphical representation. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for: i) a single computing environment; or ii) multiple computing environments. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for one or more computing environments for multiple time frames. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for one or more historical timeframes. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for one or more projected timeframes. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indicator for each of the computing entities is computed by:
 obtaining resource utilization or performance data pertaining to a plurality of computing entities in a computing environment, and capacity data specifying resource capacities for the plurality of computing entities in the computing environment;   obtaining at least one operational policy defining criteria to determine whether the utilization or performance of an entity is in an acceptable range relative to its capacity or performance limits;   computing at least one score quantifying efficiencies and/or risks associated with corresponding ones of the entities in the computing environment, based on the resource utilization or performance data, the capacity data, and the at least one operational policy; and   associating the at least one score with a corresponding indicator.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one score is generated using factors specific to a corresponding one of a plurality of entity types, wherein the plurality of entity types comprise any one or more of a workload, a virtual machine or physical computing system, a cluster of computing systems, and the computing environment. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation displays the scores spatially relative to each other, for each computing entity in the computing environment by placing each indicator in a corresponding portion of the graphical representation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the portions of the graphical representation are arranged to create a spectrum. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising displaying the one or more recommended actions in the graphical representation. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions for:
 displaying an indicator for at least one of a plurality of computing entities in a graphical representation based on a corresponding score quantifying efficiencies and/or risks associated with that computing entity;   wherein each indicator is positioned in the graphical representation according to the corresponding score such that the positioned indicator shows in a spatial manner, relative efficiencies and/or risks for the corresponding entity by positioning the indicator in one of:
 (i) a first portion indicative of risk associated with having infrastructure in the computing environment that cannot service workload demands and meet criteria specified in at least one operational policy, 
 (ii) a second portion indicative of an amount of infrastructure in the computing environment that can service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy, or 
 (iii) a third portion indicative of inefficiencies associated with having more than the required amount of infrastructure in the computing environment to service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy. 
   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , further comprising instructions for:
 determining a set of one or more recommended actions to mitigate inefficiencies and risks.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , further comprising instructions for re-computing the scores based on a predictive model of the impact of implementing the recommended actions. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 19 , further comprising instructions for generating a new graphical representation based on the recomputed scores generated based on the recommended actions. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more recommended actions are determined prior to displaying the graphical representation. 
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more recommended actions are determined subsequent to displaying the graphical representation. 
     
     
         23 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , further comprising instructions for generating a plurality of new graphical representations based on a plurality of sets of recomputed scores based on iteratively determined recommended actions to move the entities toward the second portion of the graphical representation. 
     
     
         24 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for: i) a single computing environment; or ii) multiple computing environments. 
     
     
         25 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for one or more computing environments for multiple time frames. 
     
     
         26 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for one or more historical timeframes. 
     
     
         27 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the graphical representation displays indicators for one or more projected timeframes. 
     
     
         28 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the indicator for each of the computing entities is computed by:
 obtaining resource utilization or performance data pertaining to a plurality of computing entities in a computing environment, and capacity data specifying resource capacities for the plurality of computing entities in the computing environment;   obtaining at least one operational policy defining criteria to determine whether the utilization or performance of an entity is in an acceptable range relative to its capacity or performance limits;   computing at least one score quantifying efficiencies and/or risks associated with corresponding ones of the entities in the computing environment, based on the resource utilization or performance data, the capacity data, and the at least one operational policy; and   associating the at least one score with a corresponding indicator.   
     
     
         29 . A system for analyzing efficiencies and risks in a computing environment, the system comprising a processor and at least one memory, the memory comprising computer executable instructions for:
 displaying an indicator for at least one of a plurality of computing entities in a graphical representation based on a corresponding score quantifying efficiencies and/or risks associated with that computing entity;   wherein each indicator is positioned in the graphical representation according to the corresponding score such that the positioned indicator shows in a spatial manner, relative efficiencies and/or risks for the corresponding entity by positioning the indicator in one of:
 (i) a first portion indicative of risk associated with having infrastructure in the computing environment that cannot service workload demands and meet criteria specified in at least one operational policy, 
 (ii) a second portion indicative of an amount of infrastructure in the computing environment that can service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy, or 
 (iii) a third portion indicative of inefficiencies associated with having more than the required amount of infrastructure in the computing environment to service workload demands based on the at least one operational policy.