Leveraging microservice containers to provide tenant isolation in a multi-tenant API gateway

A system can host APIs for a plurality of different tenants and receive requests from many different client devices. As requests are received, an associated tenant can be identified, and a router can determine if a container instance is available to service the request. A container instance may be an empty container instance including an internal endpoint, a Web server, and a runtime environment. An empty container instance can be unassociated with a particular tenant. To associate a container instance with a tenant, a data store, such as a key-value data store can retrieve configuration files that turn the agnostic container instance into a container instance that is associated with particular tenant and includes configuration code to perform the requisite API functions. The pool of empty and populated containers can be managed efficiently.

BACKGROUND

An application programming interface (API) gateway is a fully managed service that allows developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs for public consumption. Tenants can define APIs and publish them to these public API gateways, such as cloud platforms, that can then be made available to client devices. In large-scale API gateways, the environment may include a multi-tenant environment where a plurality of different tenants host APIs that are made available through the same hosted service.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments, a method of isolating tenants using containers to service requests in a multi-tenant environment may include receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant; selecting an empty container in the multi-tenant environment; loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container; servicing the first request from the container; receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant; flushing the first configuration from the container; and servicing the second request from the container.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations including receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant; selecting an empty container in the multi-tenant environment; loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container; servicing the first request from the container; receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant; flushing the first configuration from the container; and servicing the second request from the container.

In some embodiments, a system may include one or more processors and one or more memory devices including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant; selecting an empty container in the multi-tenant environment; loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container; servicing the first request from the container; receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant; flushing the first configuration from the container; and servicing the second request from the container.

In any embodiments, any or all of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. The container may be one of a plurality of containers in the multi-tenant environment that are instantiated to service requests from client devices. The first configuration may include a size of a heap in memory that can be used by the first service. After flushing the first configuration from the container, the container may include a runtime process with an embedded server and an internal endpoint. The internal endpoint may be called by a router in the multi-tenant environment to service the second request. The first configuration may include a plurality of actions that are chained together to service requests. The multi-tenant environment may prevent the container from simultaneously servicing requests associated with different tenants. The multi-tenant environment may allow the container to simultaneously service requests associated with a single tenant. The method/operations may also include receiving a third request for the second service provided by the second tenant, and servicing the third request from the container without flushing the second configuration from the container. The first service may include a public API that is made available through the multi-tenant environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein, are embodiments for managing an API Gateway. A cloud system can host APIs for a plurality of different tenants and receive requests from many different client devices. As requests are received, an associated tenant can be identified, and a router can determine if a container instance is available to service the request. A container instance may be an empty container instance including an internal endpoint, a Web server, and a runtime environment. An empty container instance can be unassociated with a particular tenant. To associate a container instance with a tenant, a data store, such as a key-value data store can retrieve configuration files that turn the agnostic container instance into a container instance that is associated with particular tenant and includes configuration code to perform the requisite API functions. When the API in the container finishes servicing the request (or multiple requests for a single tenant), runtime state information can be saved back to the data store, and the contents of the container instance can be flushed. This guarantees isolation between tenant data in a multi-tenant environment while still allowing container reuse and efficient management of pooled resources. The data store can maintain a service registry to enable the routers in the system to allocate new container instances when needed and deallocate container instances when they are not being used. The data store can also store runtime state information, configurations, and applications for tenant APIs that can be distributed to any container in an on-demand basis.

FIG. 1illustrates a simplified block diagram of a system for handling requests in a multi-tenant environment, according to some embodiments. Throughout this disclosure, an example of an API gateway may be used. However, the embodiments described herein are not so limited. Instead, the functions described for handling requests for the API gateway can be implemented in any system that has an interface for receiving requests.

A plurality of client devices102(e.g., smart phones, laptops, tablet computers, workstations, servers, etc.) can send requests to a public interface104, which may include a Load Balancer as a Service (LBaaS) interface. These requests may be associated with a specific tenant of the multi-tenant environment, and may reference a specific service provided by the tenant, such as an API function. For example, a request received from one of the client devices102may include information such as “Tenant:ACME, API:ProcessInvoice.” The public interface104can funnel the request to one or more routers106.

The routers106can communicate with a data store112both periodically and in real-time to determine one or more containers that are assigned to the tenant and able to process particular requests. In the example ofFIG. 1, a request for Tenant2would have three different container instances from which the routers106can choose. Within the set of container instances that are assigned to Tenant2, the routers106can select one or more container instances that are loaded with configurations and/or applications that service the request. For example, the routers106can select one of the three container instances assigned to “Tenant:ACME” that is loaded with a configuration for handling “API:ProcessInvoice.” If no instances are already loaded with this configuration, the routers106can select an existing empty container or instantiate a new empty container. The routers106can then cause the data store112to transfer a configuration specific to “API:ProcessInvoice” into the existing/new empty container to create a containerized service that can handle the specific request for “Tenant:ACME.”

Once the containerized service handles the request and (if necessary) returns a response to the client device, the containerized service can be either reused to service additional requests for that specific tenant/service combination, or the container can be flushed of its contents can be made available to other tenants. When a container is flushed and reassigned to a different tenant, runtime information that needs to be saved in the container can be sent back to the data store112. This ensures that the next time that specific application or API is instantiated in an empty container, the runtime information can be transferred and used by the new container to continue execution where it left off.

A registration service114can be used to enroll new tenants into the multi-tenant environment. New tenants can use an interface of the registration service114to generate a new tenant entry in the data store112and to define parameters for their usage of the multi-tenant environment. These parameters may include maximum, minimum, average, and expected numbers of container instances that are available to that particular tenant. Additionally, new tenants can select numbers and types of routers to service the request, different configuration services that may be available, different configurations of runtime container pools, and other aspects of the registration process.

A configuration service110may provide Web-based user interfaces that allow tenants to define configurations and select applications that can be made available through the public interface. For example, some embodiments may provide a series of web forms and drop-down boxes that allow tenants to select from a plurality of different microservices, applications, functions, and so forth, to build an API. Some embodiments may also allow tenants to select applications that can be run, such as applications to limit a number of times an API can be called within a predetermined time limit. After configurations and applications are selected/defined through the configuration service110, these can be stored in the data center112for placement into empty containers in the system.

Note that a given gateway can cater to more than one tenant concurrently. In some embodiments, multiple gateways can exist which are completely isolated and running on different availability domains or data centers. For example, there may be a gateway for Chicago and a gateway for Phoenix. However, both of these gateways may still serve the same tenant. The end-user may still deploy APIs to one or any combination of the multiple gateways using unique gateway IDs. In some embodiments, each gateway may have its own unique key-value data store for storing configurations, applications, and so forth.

The following figures walk through one example of how a request can be processed by the system. These examples are not meant to be limiting.FIG. 2illustrates a diagram of container instances108being prepared to service requests for tenants, according to some embodiments. At this stage, the router106has received a request to be serviced. First, the router106can work in conjunction with the data store112to determine whether an available container instance is operating and available to service the request. The data store112can include a service registry214that catalogs each of the available instances in the system. The service registry214can also track which APIs and tenants are assigned to each instantiated container. When new containers are instantiated or existing containers are removed, the service registry214can be updated in real-time by the data store112. The router106can keep a local copy at least a portion of the service registry214. The data store112can intermittently update the router106with a list of changes to the service registry214. In some embodiments, the data store112can update the router106with a list of available container instances that can receive requests. In some embodiments, only changes or portions of the service registry214are transmitted to the router106because the total list of instances in the system may be very large.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, some embodiments may include a plurality of routers106. One of the routers106-2can be designated as a master router. The master router106-2can be designated as the only one of the routers106that is allowed to instantiate new container instances when needed. Therefore, if the router106inFIG. 2is designated as the master router, it can freely instantiate a new container instance if needed to service a request for a particular tenant. The master router106-2can analyze the settings provided by the tenant during registration to ensure that the number of container instances assigned to the tenant in the pool is within the minimum/maximum numbers for that particular tenant. If one of the routers106is handling a request that requires a new container to be instantiated, the router106-1can forward the request to the master router106-2, and the master router106-2can determine whether or not to instantiate a new container. By only allowing the master container106-2to instantiate new containers, this helps to guarantee that the size of the container pool is managed efficiently. For example, if six different routers all received simultaneous requests for a particular service for particular tenant, each of these routers could independently decide to instantiate new containers when a single instantiated container would suffice. Funneling each of these requests to the master router106-2ensures that only the minimum number of new containers is instantiated.

Conversely, if the router106and/or the data store112determine that a tenant is assigned a number of container instances that are not being used, or that a number of unassigned containers are available in the container pool, a determination can be made that one or more of these unused containers can be eliminated from the system, thereby freeing memory and processing power for existing containers to operate. This provides for a dynamic pool of container instances that can service requests. This pool can dynamically grow/shrink based on how heavy the received request traffic is at any given time. As will be described below, flushing container contents allows containers to be reused between different tenants while still ensuring that tenants are isolated from each other.

One technical advantage achieved by these embodiments is the efficient management of the size of the container pool. A runtime pool may be a collection of runtime instances that all share common properties. Runtime instances in the pool of containers may be sequentially numbered starting with index 0 such that a given runtime instance is uniquely identified by a pair of values: {pool name, instance index}. Pool management may depend on the particular container environment used by each embodiment. For example, a Java class may be used to implement pool functionality using a Docker daemon REST API to create/start/stop runtime containers as needed. This class may allow the environment to set a name for the pool, numbers for the port(s), numbers for the debug ports, timeout values for container state transitions (described in detail below), and so forth. Some embodiments may also allow this class to specify a “minSize” value representing a number of running container instances that are not bound to any tenants that will be available for servicing requests. Additionally, a “maxSize” value may specify a maximum number of runtime container instances in the container pool.

Once a service is assigned to a container in the gateway, the service may perform a periodic “heartbeat” as an indication to other services that it is alive and functioning properly. For example, when a service is loaded into a container, it may perform a heartbeat to let the router(s) know that it is available to service requests. Performing a heartbeat may include updating a corresponding entry in the service registry of the data store112. These heartbeat transmissions can be used to determine the lifecycle of a container in the gateway. For example, some embodiments may use a time-to-live (TTL) interval after which a service may be considered inactive. Alternatively, some embodiments may specify a number of heartbeats that are allowed to be skipped/missed before the service is considered inactive. Heartbeats may occur regularly, such as every 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and so forth.

In the example ofFIG. 2, the router106can identify an empty container108-3that is not currently assigned to a particular tenant, or is assigned to the tenant of the request but not populated with a configuration to run the specific API of the request. Note that container108-1and container108-2are populated with configurations and assigned to specific tenants. Because they operate in separate containers from container108-3, the data and operations of these three containers may be strictly isolated from each other.

FIG. 3illustrates a block diagram of how an empty container instance can be populated with files from the data store112, according to some embodiments. Continuing with the example ofFIG. 2, the empty container108-3can be assigned to handle the request304for the particular tenant. First, the container108-3can be assigned to that tenant such that no other tenant's requests can be serviced through the container108-3. Next, the tenant and API information from the request304can be used to look up configuration, application, and runtime information in the data store112. In some embodiments, the data store112may be a key-value data store. Some embodiments may also allow the data store112to be distributed onto different systems in the multi-tenant environment or across different platforms. For example, the tenant and/or API from the request304can be used as a key to look up a value in the data store112that returns the configuration202, an application204, and/or any runtime state information.

In some embodiments, the key-value data store112may be used to persist tenant-specific configurations to disk. Additionally, the key-value data store can provide the central service registry214such that all running micro services “register” themselves so that other services can locate and invoke them. For example, a distributed key-value data store such as Etcd® may be used to store state information such as: configurations fetched from a management service (e.g., policies, APIs, applications, plan metadata, etc.); runtime container states in the service registry214; container pool configurations (e.g., minimums, maximums, strategies, timeout intervals, etc.); tenant registration statuses (e.g., tenant, tenant-pool binding, etc.); rate-limiting configurations, real-time states, and so forth.

The configuration202may include a pipeline of actions206that have been defined in the configuration service110ofFIG. 1. These actions206may be chained together to form an API or other service to process data. Each of the actions206may include things such as receiving a request, parsing the payload in the request, processing data in the payload, changing data in the payload, calling another service to acquire information, writing information to a file or database, and/or generating a response. In some embodiments, the configuration202can handle multiple requests at the same time. Thus, a single container populated with the configuration202can handle a plurality of requests for that specific API and that specific tenant. Generally, configurations are stateless (e.g., RESTful), and are very efficient at processing information and generating responses quickly.

In addition to returning a configuration202, the data store112can return one or more applications204that may also run in the container alongside the API configuration202. For example, the application204may be a bandwidth limiting application that limits the number of times a particular API can be called within a predetermined time interval (e.g., only 100 requests can be serviced every hour). In contrast to the configuration202, the application204may require runtime state information to be saved between executions of the application. InFIG. 3, the application204may not have run in the past, so it is possible that no state runtime information is saved for the application204in the data store112. The container108-3may now represent a microservice that is assigned to a single tenant for the purpose of processing a particular API request. Once the container108-3is bound to a tenant, the instance can load all of the new configuration information, such as API definitions, applications, plans, subscriptions, in an on-demand fashion from the data store112.

The empty container can be a software container such as a Docker® container, and the multi-tenant environment can include an orchestrated container platform, such as Kubernetes®. Instantiating a new empty container may include generating an empty container from a container image and populating it with a minimal number of software processes that will be common to any configuration used in the system. For example, some embodiments may designate an empty container as a Docker® container that includes a runtime environment212such as a Java Runtime Environment® (JRE), a web server210such as an HTTP server, and an internal endpoint208. The internal endpoint208can be exposed to the routers106and can be used by the routers106to send a request to the container108-3. In some embodiments, other container environments may be used other than Docker® containers. For example, some embodiments may use UNIX processes to start/stop runtime containers.

When the empty container is populated, the data store112can transfer the configuration202and the application204to the container108-3. If runtime state data302was available in the data store112, it would also be transferred to the container108-3in this case, runtime state data302is generated by the application as it runs and is stored in the container108-3. For example, the application204may record the number of requests received within a given time interval. This information can be saved in the runtime state302and transferred back to the data store112when this container108-3is flushed. Generally, transferring a configuration202, application204, and/or runtime state302to an empty but instantiated container108-3is a relatively lightweight process that can be done very quickly and efficiently to handle requests without appreciable delay.

FIG. 4illustrates how the populated container108-3can service the request, according to some embodiments. The container108-3can service any requests for this tenant for the API defined by the configuration202. In some cases, this may include only processing the single request that caused the configuration202to be transferred to the container108-3. In other cases, this may include processing a plurality of similar requests sent to the routers106for the same tenant. After all the requests have been processed and the responses (if any) have been sent back to the requesting client devices, the container108-3can become idle, or passive. While the container108-3is still assigned or bound to the specific tenant, it is not currently being used to process any requests. After predetermined time interval, the container108-3can be unassigned from that particular tenant and placed back into the pool of available containers108-3awaiting assignment to a new tenant with new configurations.

Before the container108-3is flushed and reassigned to a different tenant, any runtime state information302that was generated or updated by the application204running on the container108-3can be saved in the data store112. The runtime state information302can then be transmitted to a different container when the configuration202and/or application204is reassigned to a new container to service future requests.

FIG. 5illustrates a simplified block diagram of a container108-3being placed back into the pool of available containers, according to some embodiments. After the runtime state information302is transferred back to the data store112, the container108-3can be flushed of the configuration202, the application204, and/or the runtime state302. The empty container108-3can now be reassigned by the router106to a different tenant to service a different API call. Although only container108-3is shown to be empty inFIG. 5, actual deployments may typically include a plurality of empty containers. The router106can use different strategies to assign requests to one of the plurality of available empty containers, such as a round-robin strategy. As described above, if the container108-3is not assigned to a new tenant/API within a predetermined time interval, the container108-3can be removed from the multi-tenant environment to preserve memory and/or computing resources.

As described above, the data store112facilitates these operations by distributing configurations, applications, and runtime states to various containers operating in the multi-tenant environment. The data store112may also receive configuration information from tenants at initial registration and even at runtime. The data store112also maintains the service registry214that monitors the state of the container pool at any time. The data store112uses this service registry214to communicate with the routers106to determine when the pool of available containers should grow and/or shrink.

FIG. 6Aillustrates a state diagram of the lifecycle of a container in the multi-tenant environment, according to some embodiments. At an initial state602, the container does not exist. At state604, the container has been instantiated with the set of processes described above (e.g., web server, endpoint, etc.), but the container is unbound or unassigned to a particular tenant and empty. When servicing a request, the container can enter state606where it is bound or assigned to a particular tenant and populated with a configuration, application, and/or runtime state information. State606is referred to as active because the container may be actively servicing requests received from the routers106. In state608, the container may still be bound or assigned to the particular tenant, but is passive, in that it is not actively processing any requests with its internally stored configuration. After sitting idle for a predetermined time interval, the container can be unassigned or unbound in state610. When a container is no longer bound to a particular tenant, the internal configuration, application, and/or runtime state can be flushed. In some embodiments, an unbound container does not need to flush its internal contents until it is reassigned to a new tenant. If the container is not assigned to a new tenant, then the container can be removed in state612.

FIG. 6Billustrates another view of the state diagram fromFIG. 6Aillustrating the lifecycle of a container in a multi-tenant environment, according to some embodiments. At the initial state602, the container does not yet exist or has been deleted from the container environment. When a container instance has been created it may be unbound in state604. If the container is idle for a predetermined time interval, referred to as an “unbound timeout,” then the container can be deleted from the environment and move back to state602. Alternatively, the container can be assigned to a tenant and loaded with a configuration, application, state information, etc., in state606. From the bound and active state606, the container can be removed from the environment if the router shrinks the size of the pool of containers and thus transition back to state602. The container can also be released from the tenant, have its tenant-specific contents flushed, and be returned to the unbound pool of containers in state604. Furthermore, a bound and active container in state606can become passive in state608if it remains idle without servicing any client requests for a predetermined time interval referred to as an “idle tenant timeout.” From the bound and passive state608, a “passive timeout” interval can expire and cause the container to transition from the bound and passive container state608to the unbound pool of containers in state604. This container lifecycle can transition between states as long as the container exists.

FIG. 7illustrates a flowchart of a method of isolating tenants using containers to service requests in a multi-tenant environment. The method may include receiving a first request for a first service provided by a first tenant (702). The method may also include selecting an empty container in the multi-tenant environment (704). The method may additionally include loading a first configuration that implements the first service into the container (706). The method may further include servicing the first request from the container (708). The method may also include receiving a second request for a second service provided by a second tenant (710). The method may additionally include flushing the first configuration from the container (712). The method may further include servicing the second request from the container (714). Some embodiments may include a system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories that perform these method steps. Other embodiments may include non-transitory, computer readable mediums that store instructions that cause one or more processors to execute these method steps.

In any embodiments, one or more of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. The container may be one of a plurality of containers in the multi-tenant environment that are instantiated to service requests from client devices. After flushing the first configuration from the container, the container may include a runtime process with an embedded server and an internal endpoint. The internal endpoint may be called by a router in the multi-tenant environment to service the second request. The first configuration may include a plurality of actions that are chained together to service requests. The multi-tenant environment may prevent the container from simultaneously servicing requests associated with different tenants. The multi-tenant environment may allow the container to simultaneously service requests associated with a single tenant. The method may also include receiving a third request for the second service provided by the second tenant, and servicing the third request from the container without flushing the second configuration from the container. The first service may include a public API that is made available through the multi-tenant environment.

It should be appreciated that the specific steps illustrated inFIG. 7provide particular methods of isolating tenants using containers to service requests in a multi-tenant environment according to various embodiments of the present invention. Other sequences of steps may also be performed according to alternative embodiments. For example, alternative embodiments of the present invention may perform the steps outlined above in a different order. Moreover, the individual steps illustrated inFIG. 7may include multiple sub-steps that may be performed in various sequences as appropriate to the individual step. Furthermore, additional steps may be added or removed depending on the particular applications. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations, modifications, and alternatives.

FIG. 8illustrates a flowchart of a method of managing runtime states and service configurations for containers in a multi-tenant environment, according to some embodiments. The method may include receiving an indication that a request has been received for a service provided in the multi-tenant environment (802). The method may additionally include identifying a configuration that implements the service, wherein the configuration is stored in a data store (804). The method may also include sending the configuration to a container in the multi-tenant environment to service the request (806). The method may further include receiving a runtime state from the container (808). The method may also include storing the runtime state in the data store, where the configuration is flushed from the container (810). Some embodiments may include a system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories that perform these method steps. Other embodiments may include non-transitory, computer readable mediums that store instructions that cause one or more processors to execute these method steps.

In any embodiments, one or more of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. The configuration may be provided by a tenant of the multi-tenant environment prior to runtime. The data store may include a key-value data store. The key-value data store may include a distributed key-value data store. An identity of a tenant associated with the service may be a key in the key-value data store, and the configuration and runtime state may be a value in the key-value data store. The data store may also store a registry of containers that are available in the multi-tenant environment. The data store may update one or more routers in the multi-tenant environment when new containers become available in the multi-tenant environment based on the registry of containers.

It should be appreciated that the specific steps illustrated inFIG. 8provide particular methods of managing runtime states and service configurations for containers in a multi-tenant environment according to various embodiments. Other sequences of steps may also be performed according to alternative embodiments. For example, alternative embodiments of the present invention may perform the steps outlined above in a different order. Moreover, the individual steps illustrated inFIG. 8may include multiple sub-steps that may be performed in various sequences as appropriate to the individual step. Furthermore, additional steps may be added or removed depending on the particular applications. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations, modifications, and alternatives.

FIG. 9illustrates a flowchart of a method of efficiently allocating a pool of containers for servicing requests in a multi-tenant environment, according to some embodiments. The method may include assigning a plurality of containers to a first tenant in the multi-tenant environment (902). The method may also include identifying one or more containers in the plurality of containers that are assigned to the first tenant but that are not being used by the first tenant (904). The method may additionally include flushing the contents of the one or more containers (906). The method may further include reassigning the one or more containers to a second tenant in the multi-tenant environment (908). Some embodiments may include a system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories that perform these method steps. Other embodiments may include non-transitory, computer readable mediums that store instructions that cause one or more processors to execute these method steps.

In any embodiments, one or more of the following features may be included in any combination and without limitation. After flushing the contents of the one or more containers, the one or more containers need not be assigned to any tenant for a first time interval before being reassigned to the second tenant. The method may also include identifying second one or more containers in the plurality of containers that are assigned to the first tenant but that are not being used by the first tenant; determining that no other tenants need the second one or more containers; and removing the second one or more containers from the multi-tenant environment. The method may additionally include determining that the first tenant is receiving more requests than can be serviced by the plurality of containers. The method may further include instantiating a new plurality of containers; and assigning the new plurality of containers to the first tenant. The method may also include assigning containers that were previously assigned to another tenant to the first tenant. A gateway of the multi-tenant environment may reassign the one or more containers to the second tenant in the multi-tenant environment.

It should be appreciated that the specific steps illustrated inFIG. 9provide particular methods of efficiently allocating a pool of containers for servicing requests in a multi-tenant environment according to various embodiments. Other sequences of steps may also be performed according to alternative embodiments. For example, alternative embodiments of the present invention may perform the steps outlined above in a different order. Moreover, the individual steps illustrated inFIG. 9may include multiple sub-steps that may be performed in various sequences as appropriate to the individual step. Furthermore, additional steps may be added or removed depending on the particular applications. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations, modifications, and alternatives.

Each of the methods described herein may be implemented by a computer system. Each step of these methods may be executed automatically by the computer system, and/or may be provided with inputs/outputs involving a user. For example, a user may provide inputs for each step in a method, and each of these inputs may be in response to a specific output requesting such an input, wherein the output is generated by the computer system. Each input may be received in response to a corresponding requesting output. Furthermore, inputs may be received from a user, from another computer system as a data stream, retrieved from a memory location, retrieved over a network, requested from a web service, and/or the like. Likewise, outputs may be provided to a user, to another computer system as a data stream, saved in a memory location, sent over a network, provided to a web service, and/or the like. In short, each step of the methods described herein may be performed by a computer system, and may involve any number of inputs, outputs, and/or requests to and from the computer system which may or may not involve a user. Those steps not involving a user may be said to be performed automatically by the computer system without human intervention. Therefore, it will be understood in light of this disclosure, that each step of each method described herein may be altered to include an input and output to and from a user, or may be done automatically by a computer system without human intervention where any determinations are made by a processor. Furthermore, some embodiments of each of the methods described herein may be implemented as a set of instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory storage medium to form a tangible software product.

FIG. 10depicts a simplified diagram of a distributed system1000for implementing one of the embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, distributed system1000includes one or more client computing devices1002,1004,1006, and1008, which are configured to execute and operate a client application such as a web browser, proprietary client (e.g., Oracle Forms), or the like over one or more network(s)1010. Server1012may be communicatively coupled with remote client computing devices1002,1004,1006, and1008via network1010.

In various embodiments, server1012may be adapted to run one or more services or software applications provided by one or more of the components of the system. In some embodiments, these services may be offered as web-based or cloud services or under a Software as a Service (SaaS) model to the users of client computing devices1002,1004,1006, and/or1008. Users operating client computing devices1002,1004,1006, and/or1008may in turn utilize one or more client applications to interact with server1012to utilize the services provided by these components.

In the configuration depicted in the figure, the software components1018,1020and1022of system1000are shown as being implemented on server1012. In other embodiments, one or more of the components of system1000and/or the services provided by these components may also be implemented by one or more of the client computing devices1002,1004,1006, and/or1008. Users operating the client computing devices may then utilize one or more client applications to use the services provided by these components. These components may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. It should be appreciated that various different system configurations are possible, which may be different from distributed system1000. The embodiment shown in the figure is thus one example of a distributed system for implementing an embodiment system and is not intended to be limiting.

Although exemplary distributed system1000is shown with four client computing devices, any number of client computing devices may be supported. Other devices, such as devices with sensors, etc., may interact with server1012.

Server1012may be composed of one or more general purpose computers, specialized server computers (including, by way of example, PC (personal computer) servers, UNIX® servers, mid-range servers, mainframe computers, rack-mounted servers, etc.), server farms, server clusters, or any other appropriate arrangement and/or combination. In various embodiments, server1012may be adapted to run one or more services or software applications described in the foregoing disclosure. For example, server1012may correspond to a server for performing processing described above according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, server1012may include one or more applications to analyze and consolidate data feeds and/or event updates received from users of client computing devices1002,1004,1006, and1008. As an example, data feeds and/or event updates may include, but are not limited to, Twitter® feeds, Facebook® updates or real-time updates received from one or more third party information sources and continuous data streams, which may include real-time events related to sensor data applications, financial tickers, network performance measuring tools (e.g., network monitoring and traffic management applications), clickstream analysis tools, automobile traffic monitoring, and the like. Server1012may also include one or more applications to display the data feeds and/or real-time events via one or more display devices of client computing devices1002,1004,1006, and1008.

Distributed system1000may also include one or more databases1014and1016. Databases1014and1016may reside in a variety of locations. By way of example, one or more of databases1014and1016may reside on a non-transitory storage medium local to (and/or resident in) server1012. Alternatively, databases1014and1016may be remote from server1012and in communication with server1012via a network-based or dedicated connection. In one set of embodiments, databases1014and1016may reside in a storage-area network (SAN). Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to server1012may be stored locally on server1012and/or remotely, as appropriate. In one set of embodiments, databases1014and1016may include relational databases, such as databases provided by Oracle, that are adapted to store, update, and retrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.

FIG. 11is a simplified block diagram of one or more components of a system environment1100by which services provided by one or more components of an embodiment system may be offered as cloud services, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, system environment1100includes one or more client computing devices1104,1106, and1108that may be used by users to interact with a cloud infrastructure system1102that provides cloud services. The client computing devices may be configured to operate a client application such as a web browser, a proprietary client application (e.g., Oracle Forms), or some other application, which may be used by a user of the client computing device to interact with cloud infrastructure system1102to use services provided by cloud infrastructure system1102.

It should be appreciated that cloud infrastructure system1102depicted in the figure may have other components than those depicted. Further, the embodiment shown in the figure is only one example of a cloud infrastructure system that may incorporate an embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments, cloud infrastructure system1102may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure, may combine two or more components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement of components.

Client computing devices1104,1106, and1108may be devices similar to those described above for1002,1004,1006, and1008.

Although exemplary system environment1100is shown with three client computing devices, any number of client computing devices may be supported. Other devices such as devices with sensors, etc. may interact with cloud infrastructure system1102.

Network(s)1110may facilitate communications and exchange of data between clients1104,1106, and1108and cloud infrastructure system1102. Each network may be any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can support data communications using any of a variety of commercially-available protocols, including those described above for network(s)1010.

Cloud infrastructure system1102may comprise one or more computers and/or servers that may include those described above for server1012.

In various embodiments, cloud infrastructure system1102may be adapted to automatically provision, manage and track a customer's subscription to services offered by cloud infrastructure system1102. Cloud infrastructure system1102may provide the cloud services via different deployment models. For example, services may be provided under a public cloud model in which cloud infrastructure system1102is owned by an organization selling cloud services (e.g., owned by Oracle) and the services are made available to the general public or different industry enterprises. As another example, services may be provided under a private cloud model in which cloud infrastructure system1102is operated solely for a single organization and may provide services for one or more entities within the organization. The cloud services may also be provided under a community cloud model in which cloud infrastructure system1102and the services provided by cloud infrastructure system1102are shared by several organizations in a related community. The cloud services may also be provided under a hybrid cloud model, which is a combination of two or more different models.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system1102may also include infrastructure resources1130for providing the resources used to provide various services to customers of the cloud infrastructure system. In one embodiment, infrastructure resources1130may include pre-integrated and optimized combinations of hardware, such as servers, storage, and networking resources to execute the services provided by the PaaS platform and the SaaS platform.

In certain embodiments, a number of internal shared services1132may be provided that are shared by different components or modules of cloud infrastructure system1102and by the services provided by cloud infrastructure system1102. These internal shared services may include, without limitation, a security and identity service, an integration service, an enterprise repository service, an enterprise manager service, a virus scanning and white list service, a high availability, backup and recovery service, service for enabling cloud support, an email service, a notification service, a file transfer service, and the like.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system1102may provide comprehensive management of cloud services (e.g., SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS services) in the cloud infrastructure system. In one embodiment, cloud management functionality may include capabilities for provisioning, managing and tracking a customer's subscription received by cloud infrastructure system1102, and the like.

In one embodiment, as depicted in the figure, cloud management functionality may be provided by one or more modules, such as an order management module1120, an order orchestration module1122, an order provisioning module1124, an order management and monitoring module1126, and an identity management module1128. These modules may include or be provided using one or more computers and/or servers, which may be general purpose computers, specialized server computers, server farms, server clusters, or any other appropriate arrangement and/or combination.

In exemplary operation1134, a customer using a client device, such as client device1104,1106or1108, may interact with cloud infrastructure system1102by requesting one or more services provided by cloud infrastructure system1102and placing an order for a subscription for one or more services offered by cloud infrastructure system1102. In certain embodiments, the customer may access a cloud User Interface (UI), cloud UI1112, cloud UI1114and/or cloud UI1116and place a subscription order via these UIs. The order information received by cloud infrastructure system1102in response to the customer placing an order may include information identifying the customer and one or more services offered by the cloud infrastructure system1102that the customer intends to subscribe to.

After an order has been placed by the customer, the order information is received via the cloud UIs,1112,1114and/or1116.

At operation1136, the order is stored in order database1118. Order database1118can be one of several databases operated by cloud infrastructure system1118and operated in conjunction with other system elements.

At operation1138, the order information is forwarded to an order management module1120. In some instances, order management module1120may be configured to perform billing and accounting functions related to the order, such as verifying the order, and upon verification, booking the order.

At operation1140, information regarding the order is communicated to an order orchestration module1122. Order orchestration module1122may utilize the order information to orchestrate the provisioning of services and resources for the order placed by the customer. In some instances, order orchestration module1122may orchestrate the provisioning of resources to support the subscribed services using the services of order provisioning module1124.

In certain embodiments, order orchestration module1122enables the management of business processes associated with each order and applies business logic to determine whether an order should proceed to provisioning. At operation1142, upon receiving an order for a new subscription, order orchestration module1122sends a request to order provisioning module1124to allocate resources and configure those resources needed to fulfill the subscription order. Order provisioning module1124enables the allocation of resources for the services ordered by the customer. Order provisioning module1124provides a level of abstraction between the cloud services provided by cloud infrastructure system1100and the physical implementation layer that is used to provision the resources for providing the requested services. Order orchestration module1122may thus be isolated from implementation details, such as whether or not services and resources are actually provisioned on the fly or pre-provisioned and only allocated/assigned upon request.

At operation1144, once the services and resources are provisioned, a notification of the provided service may be sent to customers on client devices1104,1106and/or1108by order provisioning module1124of cloud infrastructure system1102.

At operation1146, the customer's subscription order may be managed and tracked by an order management and monitoring module1126. In some instances, order management and monitoring module1126may be configured to collect usage statistics for the services in the subscription order, such as the amount of storage used, the amount data transferred, the number of users, and the amount of system up time and system down time.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system1100may include an identity management module1128. Identity management module1128may be configured to provide identity services, such as access management and authorization services in cloud infrastructure system1100. In some embodiments, identity management module1128may control information about customers who wish to utilize the services provided by cloud infrastructure system1102. Such information can include information that authenticates the identities of such customers and information that describes which actions those customers are authorized to perform relative to various system resources (e.g., files, directories, applications, communication ports, memory segments, etc.) Identity management module1128may also include the management of descriptive information about each customer and about how and by whom that descriptive information can be accessed and modified.

FIG. 12illustrates an exemplary computer system1200, in which various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. The system1200may be used to implement any of the computer systems described above. As shown in the figure, computer system1200includes a processing unit1204that communicates with a number of peripheral subsystems via a bus subsystem1202. These peripheral subsystems may include a processing acceleration unit1206, an I/O subsystem1208, a storage subsystem1218and a communications subsystem1224. Storage subsystem1218includes tangible computer-readable storage media1222and a system memory1210.

Processing unit1204, which can be implemented as one or more integrated circuits (e.g., a conventional microprocessor or microcontroller), controls the operation of computer system1200. One or more processors may be included in processing unit1204. These processors may include single core or multicore processors. In certain embodiments, processing unit1204may be implemented as one or more independent processing units1232and/or1234with single or multicore processors included in each processing unit. In other embodiments, processing unit1204may also be implemented as a quad-core processing unit formed by integrating two dual-core processors into a single chip.

In various embodiments, processing unit1204can execute a variety of programs in response to program code and can maintain multiple concurrently executing programs or processes. At any given time, some or all of the program code to be executed can be resident in processor(s)1204and/or in storage subsystem1218. Through suitable programming, processor(s)1204can provide various functionalities described above. Computer system1200may additionally include a processing acceleration unit1206, which can include a digital signal processor (DSP), a special-purpose processor, and/or the like.

Computer system1200may comprise a storage subsystem1218that comprises software elements, shown as being currently located within a system memory1210. System memory1210may store program instructions that are loadable and executable on processing unit1204, as well as data generated during the execution of these programs.

Storage subsystem1200may also include a computer-readable storage media reader1220that can further be connected to computer-readable storage media1222. Together and, optionally, in combination with system memory1210, computer-readable storage media1222may comprehensively represent remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information.

Communications subsystem1224provides an interface to other computer systems and networks. Communications subsystem1224serves as an interface for receiving data from and transmitting data to other systems from computer system1200. For example, communications subsystem1224may enable computer system1200to connect to one or more devices via the Internet. In some embodiments communications subsystem1224can include radio frequency (RF) transceiver components for accessing wireless voice and/or data networks (e.g., using cellular telephone technology, advanced data network technology, such as 3G, 4G or EDGE (enhanced data rates for global evolution), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 family standards, or other mobile communication technologies, or any combination thereof), global positioning system (GPS) receiver components, and/or other components. In some embodiments communications subsystem1224can provide wired network connectivity (e.g., Ethernet) in addition to or instead of a wireless interface.

In some embodiments, communications subsystem1224may also receive input communication in the form of structured and/or unstructured data feeds1226, event streams1228, event updates1230, and the like on behalf of one or more users who may use computer system1200.

Communications subsystem1224may also be configured to output the structured and/or unstructured data feeds1226, event streams1228, event updates1230, and the like to one or more databases that may be in communication with one or more streaming data source computers coupled to computer system1200.

In the foregoing description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.