Abstract:
Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to plug-in deployment for component based applications in general and provide a method, system and computer program product for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment can be provided. The method can include adding a plug-in for a component based application to a plug-in repository for the component based application. The component based application itself can execute in a node provided by a server in a clustered computing environment. The method further can include directing replication of the added plug-in in the node to other plug-in repositories in other nodes provided by other servers in the clustered computing environment.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of dynamic component model deployment in a clustered environment and more particularly to plug-in provisioning for a clustered environment implementing a dynamic component model. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    The notion of a component model finds its modern origin in distributed computing and in particular, distributed applications composed of different distributed components accessible through the World Wide Web (the “Web”). The component models has proven an effective framework upon which distributed applications can be deployed by compartmentalizing bundles of logic externally described in separate meta-information so that application variants can be deployed on the fly without requiring custom software development and deployment for each variant. Further, code lifecycle maintenance can be simplified by allowing the replacement of different objects in a bundle on the fly without mandating a complete code rewrite of the entire application. 
         [0005]    Early component models resulted in technologies such as Java version 2.0 enterprise edition (“J2EE”) container based applications and, servlet oriented applications. More recently, the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGI) working group proposed and specified a dynamic component model defining an architecture for modular application development. OSGI applications or components as bundled for deployment, can be remotely installed, started, stopped, updated and uninstalled without requiring a reboot. OSGI further specified the management of packages and classes and life cycle management can be performed by way of an application programming interface (“API”) that allows for remote downloading of management policies. Finally, a service registry allows bundles to detect the addition of new services, or the removal of services, and to adapt accordingly. The OSGI specification original focused upon service gateways; however, more recently the OSGI specification has found widespread adoption in other applications including those integrating the Eclipse™ integrated development environment (IDE) provided by the Eclipse Foundation of Portland, Oreg., with the dynamic component model of the OSGI framework. 
         [0006]    Eclipse is a multi-language software development platform that provides an IDE and a plug-in system to extend the IDE. Eclipse enjoys widespread use to develop applications. Of note, Eclipse users can extend the capabilities of the Eclipse environment by installing plug-ins compliant with the Eclipse framework, such as development toolkits for other programming languages. Eclipse recently has formed the base environment for a number of end user applications including popular collaboration and messaging suites such as the Lotus Notes™ messaging client for a variety of computing platforms including the Windows™ platform and the OS X™ platform. Indeed, portions of the Eclipse codebase have been incorporated into the OS X platform. 
         [0007]    Provisioning plug-ins within the Eclipse environment is not without its challenges. In the context of OSGI, provisioning plug-ins, known in OSGI as “bundles” can be even more problematic. Specifically, the provisioning process must be manually repeated for each node in a target cluster. While a manual provisioning process can be acceptable if new features for the Eclipse based application embodied within the bundles are part of a new version of a server, the same is not true when the features for the Eclipse based application embodied within the bundles are supplied by the end user. In this regard, the end user generally expects the clustering replication process of the deployment manager and not the end user to update the nodes of the target cluster with the bundles embodying the new features for the Eclipse based application. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to plug-in deployment for component based applications in general and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment can be provided. The method can include adding a plug-in for a component based application to a plug-in repository for the component based application. The component based application itself can execute in a node provided by a server in a clustered computing environment. The method further can include directing replication of the added plug-in in the node to other plug-in repositories in other nodes provided by other servers in the clustered computing environment. 
         [0009]    In one aspect of the embodiment, adding a plug-in to the plug-in repository for the component based application can include receiving a plug-in for storage in the plug-in repository and identifying a location in the plug-in repository in which to store the received plug-in. Thereafter, the plug-in can be in the plug-in repository at the identified location. Alternatively, in another aspect of the embodiment, adding a plug-in to the plug-in repository for the component based application can include receiving a plug-in for storage in the plug-in repository by way of a restful state transfer (REST) service executing in a server remotely from the node. A location in the plug-in repository in which to store the received plug-in can be identified within the REST service and the plug-in can be stored by the REST service in the plug-in repository at the identified location. As yet another alternative, adding a plug-in to the plug-in repository for the component based application can include receiving a plug-in for storage in the plug-in repository by way of hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) over file transfer protocol (FTP) communications, file shares and the like, with a service executing in a server remotely from the node. 
         [0010]    Of note, in yet another aspect of the embodiment, directing replication of the added plug-in to the plug-in repository can include monitoring the plug-in repository for changes to the plug-in repository. An addition of the added plug-in to the plug-in repository can be detected and, in response to the detection, a replication function can be invoked in the clustered computing environment within the node for the added plug-in. Alternatively, directing replication of the added plug-in to the plug-in repository can include receiving from the REST service an invocation of a replication function in the clustered computing environment within the node for the added plug-in. 
         [0011]    In another embodiment of the invention, a data processing system can provide a clustered environment supporting plug-in deployment. The system can include different nodes in a clustered computing environment, each hosted by a server amongst a set of servers in the clustered computing environment. Further, each of the servers can be communicatively coupled to one another in the clustered computing environment. The system also can include a component based application executing separately in each of the nodes, each utilizing multiple different plug-ins disposed in a corresponding plug-in repository, for example a Web application archive (WAR) file. Importantly, a replication function can be provided by the clustered computing environment in each one of the nodes. Finally, the system can include user triggered plug-in provisioning logic. The logic can include program code executing in a computing system remotely from the nodes and enabled to add a plug-in to a plug-in repository stored in a primary one of the nodes at a location specified for the plug-in repository for replication by the primary one of the nodes to others of the nodes by way of the replication function. 
         [0012]    In various aspects of the foregoing embodiment, the component based application can be an Eclipse based application extended by the plug-ins disposed in the corresponding plug-in repository. Additionally, the replication function can be provided for each of the nodes by an OSGI framework implementation executing in each of the nodes. Optionally, a plug-in synchronizer can be included and can execute in each of the nodes. The plug-in synchronizer can include separate program code enabled to monitor a corresponding plug-in repository to detect changes to the corresponding plug-in repository and to invoke the replication function to replicate an added plug-in to other plug-in repositorys in other nodes in the clustered computing environment. Finally, a REST service executing in a server remote from the nodes can be configured to provide to a primary node amongst the nodes the plug-in to be added to the plug-in repository at a location in the plug-in repository specified by the REST service and to invoke the replication function. 
         [0013]    Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The aspects of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial illustration of a process for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a data processing system providing a clustered environment supporting plug-in deployment; and, 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an archive of plug-ins for a component based application executing in the primary node can be established in a primary node of a cluster of nodes in a clustered computing architecture. The plug-ins within the archive can be replicated to corresponding plug-in repositorys in respectively different, other nodes in the cluster. To provision a new plug-in to the cluster, the plug-in can be deployed to the plug-in repository in the primary node and, responsive to detecting the change in the plug-in repository, the primary node can replicate the newly added plug-in to the corresponding plug-in repositorys in the respectively different, other nodes in the cluster. In this way, the operation of plug-in deployment of plug-ins in a component based application can be integrated with the clustering of the component based application in a clustered environment to support the objectives of high-availability and resiliency. 
         [0019]    In further illustration,  FIG. 1  is a pictorial illustration of a process for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a clustered environment can be provided for a component based application such as that built upon the Eclipse environment. Each node  110 A,  110 B in the cluster can include a host server  120  with processor and memory supporting the execution of the component based application including one or more plug-ins  160  disposed within a plug-in repository such as a WAR file  150 . The clustered environment can be arranged in accordance with the OSGI framework  130  in order to provide distributed redundancy of the component based application in the nodes  110 A,  110 B. 
         [0020]    In operation, user triggered plug-in provisioning logic  300  executing in a computing system with processor and memory accessible by an end user through a requisite user interface can receive a selection of one or more plug-ins to be deployed to a primary node  110 A amongst the nodes  110 A,  110 B. Thereafter, a location within the WAR  150  of the primary node  110 A can be specified within the user interface and the logic  300  can deploy the selection of one or more plug-ins to the location in the WAR  150  of the primary node  110 A. Plug-In Synchronizer  140  executing in the memory by a processor of the server  120  of the primary node  110 A can detect a change to the WAR  150  and can trigger replication of the selection of one or more plug-ins to the WAR  150  of each of the other nodes  110 B in the clustered environment. In this way, the deployment of plug-ins to the component based application can be accomplished within a clustered environment in an automated fashion without requiring the tedious and error-prone manual deployment of the plug-ins to each node  110 A,  110 B in the clustered environment. 
         [0021]    The process described in connection with  FIG. 1  can be implemented within a data processing system providing a clustered environment and supporting plug-in deployment for a component based application. In specific illustration,  FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a data processing system providing a clustered environment supporting plug-in deployment. The system can include multiple different servers  240 A,  240 B communicatively coupled to one another over computer communications network  230 . Each of the servers  240 A,  240 B can host one or more nodes within which a component based application  250  such as an Eclipse application, executes utilizing plug-ins  260  disposed in a plug-in repository  270 . Further, each node in each of the servers  240 A,  240 B can include an OSGI framework implementation  290  in computer program code to form a clustered environment amongst the nodes of the servers  240 A,  240 B. (Of note, only server  240 A is shown to include a single node of the component based application  250 , the plug-ins  260  disposed within the plug-in repository  270  and the OSGI framework implementation  290  for illustrative simplicity). 
         [0022]    Importantly, a plug-in synchronizer  280  can execute in the node of the server  240 A. The plug-in synchronizer  280  can be configured to monitor the plug-in repository  270  for changes with respect to the plug-ins  260  disposed within the plug-in repository  270 . The plug-in synchronizer  280  further can be configured to respond to a detection of changes in the monitored plug-in repository  270  by invoking replication functionality  290 A in the OSGI framework implementation  290  to replicate the detected changes in the plug-in repository to plug-in repositorys residing in the other nodes of other servers  240 B. 
         [0023]    An end user computing system  210  also can be coupled to at least the server  240 A over the computer communications network  230 . The end user computing system  210  can provide a user interface  220  to the Eclipse application  250 . The end user computing system  210  also can include plug-in provisioning module  300  including computer program code fixed within a computer readable medium and executing in memory by a processor of the end user computing system  210 . It will be recognized by the skilled artisan, however, that the plug-in provisioning module  300  need not be stored in end user computing system  210  and can be provided into the memory of the end user computing system  210  by remotely disposed computing system such as the server  240 A. 
         [0024]    The program code of the plug-in provisioning module  300  can be enabled when executed by the end user computing system  210  to deploy a set of one or more plug-ins to a location specified for the plug-in repository  270  stored in the node of the server  240 A. In this regard, in one aspect of an embodiment of the invention, the set of one or more plug-ins, and the location in the plug-in repository  270  can be specified by an end user through the an input screen (such as a Web page) provided by the user interface  220 . Script logic included within or referenced by the input screen then can copy the set of one or more plug-ins to the specified location in the plug-in repository  270 . Concurrently, the plug-in synchronizer  280  can detect the changes to the plug-in repository and invoke the replication functionality  290 A of the OSGI framework implementation to replicate the changes to the plug-in repository  270  to the other nodes in the other servers  240 B. 
         [0025]    In an alternative aspect of the embodiment, a screen can be provided through which a directory in the plug-in repository can be specified along with the selection of one or more plug-ins. However, a restful (REST) service  200  subsequently can be invoked through a Web browser (not shown) executing in the end user computing system  210  to copy the plug-ins in the specified set to the specified location in the plug-in repository  270 . Additionally, without the assistance of the plug-in synchronizer  280 , the REST service  200  can invoke the replication functionality  290 A of the OSGI framework implementation  290  to cause the replication of the plug-ins in the set to corresponding plug-in repositorys in respective ones of the nodes of the servers  240 B. 
         [0026]    In even yet further illustration of  FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a process for plug-in deployment in a clustered environment. The process can begin with an end user in block  310  with the selection of a set of one or more plug-ins to be deployed for use in a component based application executing remotely and redundantly in a clustered environment. In block  320 , a location storing a plug-in repository for the component based application can be specified by the end user. Thereafter, in block  330  the plug-ins in the set can be copied to the specified location in the plug-in repository within a primary node of the clustered environment. 
         [0027]    In block  340 , the plug-in repository can be monitored within the primary node to detect changes in the plug-in repository. In decision block  350 , if changes are detected within the plug-in repository, in block  360  the changes to the plug-in repository, namely the addition of one or more plug-ins (or perhaps the removal of one or more plug-ins), can be identified. Subsequently, in block  370  at least one secondary node in the clustered environment can be selected and in block  380  the changes to the plug-in repository can be replicated to a corresponding plug-in repository in the secondary node—or instance, by invoking the replication functionality of a supporting OSGI framework implementation in the primary node of the clustered environment. Accordingly, the plug-in can be deployed into a number of nodes in the clustered environment without requiring a tedious and error-prone manual process of individually deploying the plug-ins to each component based application in each node of the clustered environment. 
         [0028]    Embodiments of the invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, and the like. Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. 
         [0029]    For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD. 
         [0030]    A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution. Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modem and Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters.