Abstract:
A computer installs an operating system. The computer receives, in a logical partition (LPAR) via a management network, a deploy program configured to download a disk image from an image repository and to write the disk image to a first direct access storage device (DASD) of the LPAR. The disk image includes an operating system, applications, and management components including an upgrade program. The computer receives, in the LPAR via a data network, the disk image, and writes, to the first DASD of the LPAR, the disk image. The computer boots the LPAR into the operating system of the disk image written to the first DASD, and determines whether the installed operating system is a deployment or an upgrade.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the creation, deployment, and upgrade of disk images, and more specifically to installation of such disk images onto logical partitions of a computing system. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    A logical partition (“LPAR”) may be created on a computer, such as a mainframe computer in a data center. An LPAR may be considered a virtual machine. Traditionally, an LPAR is created by allocating a processor, memory, dedicated input/output (“I/O”) devices, and at least one Direct Access Storage Device (“DASD,” e.g., a hard disk drive, etc.) that are within or that are physically attached to the computer. The computer includes enough physical resources to support a plurality of LPARs. An LPAR is booted from the DASD, which contains a disk image of an operating system that runs on the LPAR. 
         [0003]    An LPAR can be managed over a dedicated management network from a support element connected to the computer hosting the LPAR. The support element can be a second computer, such as a laptop computer, in the data center. Typically, the dedicated management network is separate from a general data network also connected to the computer hosting the LPAR. The general data network is used by an application executing in the LPAR for ordinary networking purposes, while the dedicated management network is utilized only for managing the computer from the support element. The general data network and the dedicated management network will typically have separate hardware network connections on the computer. 
         [0004]    Each LPAR on the computer is operated under a special management program called a hypervisor that resides on the “bare” computer. The hypervisor primarily carries out instruction emulation, memory management, I/O processing, and scheduling for each LPAR. Generally, the support element can communicate with the hypervisor via the dedicated management network, but the support element cannot directly communicate with an LPAR&#39;s resources (e.g., its processor, memory, I/O devices, or DASD, etc.). As such, the support element typically cannot write a disk image to an LPAR&#39;s DASD. From the opposite perspective, an LPAR typically cannot communicate with the support element or anything else reachable via the dedicated management network, and instead can only communicate with the “outside world” via the general data network. 
         [0005]    The creation, deployment, and upgrade of disk images used for booting up LPARs is required in various scenarios, such as the provisioning and managing of systems in a cloud computing environment. The deployment of a disk image, and the upgrade of a disk image, can each be regarded as the installation of a disk image. As stated above, the support element from which an administrator executes and controls all administrative actions, cannot typically access an LPAR&#39;s DASD. Instead, the only way to install (i.e., to deploy or to upgrade, etc.) a disk image is to manually provide a new DASD that already contains the desired disk image, assign the new DASD to an LPAR, and reboot the LPAR from the new DASD. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Embodiments of the present invention provide for a program product, system, and method in which A computer installs an operating system. The computer receives, in a logical partition (LPAR) via a management network, a deploy program configured to download a disk image from an image repository and to write the disk image to a first direct access storage device (DASD) of the LPAR. The disk image includes an operating system, applications, and management components including an upgrade program. The computer receives, in the LPAR via a data network, the disk image, and writes, to the first DASD of the LPAR, the disk image. The computer boots the LPAR into the operating system of the disk image written to the first DASD, and determines whether the installed operating system is a deployment or an upgrade. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a computing environment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a computing environment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart depicting steps performed to create and store a disk image in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are flowcharts depicting steps followed by a management program, a deploy program, and upgrade programs during one or both of a deployment or upgrade of an operating system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    Descriptions of various embodiments of the invention are herein presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. Terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. 
         [0013]    As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable medium(s) having computer-readable program code embodied thereon. 
         [0014]    Any combination of one or more computer-readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
         [0015]    A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium that is not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
         [0016]    Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
         [0017]    Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
         [0018]    Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor (i.e., a computing processor) of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0019]    These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0020]    The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a block diagram of computing environment  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Computing environment  100  includes support element  104 , computer  106 , image repository  108 , management network  110 , and data network  112 . As will be discussed in detail below, the creation, deployment, and upgrade of disk images used by logical partitions (“LPARs”) of computer  106  (e.g., LPAR  122 , etc.) is managed by support element  104 , from which administrator  102  executes and controls administrative actions affecting computer  106 , and is aided by image repository  108 , which stores disk image  134 . 
         [0022]    In various embodiments, each one of support element  104 , computer  106 , and image repository  108  can include a laptop, tablet, or netbook personal computer (“PC”), a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a smart phone, a mainframe computer, or a networked server computer. Further, each one of support element  104 , computer  106 , and image repository  108  can include computing systems utilizing clustered computers and components to act as single pools of seamless resources, or can represent one or more cloud computing datacenters. In particular, computer  106  can be a mainframe computer in a data center of computing environment  100 , and can support the creation of an LPAR by the allocation of a processor, memory, dedicated input/output (“I/O”) devices, and at least one Direct Access Storage Device (“DASD”) that are within or that are physically attached to computer  106 . Computer  106  typically includes enough physical resources to support a plurality of LPARs, which are each booted from a DASD. In general, each one of support element  104 , computer  106 , and image repository  108  can be any programmable electronic device as described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 5 . 
         [0023]    Each one of management network  110  and data network  112  can be, for example, a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired or wireless connections. In general, each one of management network  110  and data network  112  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communications via various channels in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Management network  110  is a dedicated management network for communication between hypervisor  120  of computer  106  and support element  104 , while data network  112  is a general data network for communication between LPAR  122  of computer  106  and image repository  108 , as well as between LPAR  122  and other network destinations, such as destinations on the Internet. 
         [0024]    Support element  104  includes management program  130  and deploy program  132 . Management program  130  can aid administrator  102  in the execution and control of administrative actions affecting computer  106 , and can also undertake the execution and control of administrative actions automatically, such as according to a predetermined schedule, for example. In particular, management program  130  can perform administration actions affecting computer  106  by sending instructions to hypervisor  120 , which carries out instruction emulation, memory management, I/O processing, and scheduling for each LPAR of computer  106  (e.g., LPAR  122 , etc.). Management program  130  can instruct hypervisor  120  to set up LPAR  122  by allocating to LPAR  122  processor  124 , memory  126 , dedicated I/O devices (e.g., a dedicated network connection between LPAR  122  and data network  112 , etc.), and DASD  128 , that are each within or physically attached to computer  106 . Management program  130  can also instruct hypervisor  120  to tear down LPAR  122  by deallocating such resources. Further, as will be discussed in more detail below, management program  130  can transfer deploy program  132  to LPAR  122 , where deploy program  132  executes and loads disk image  134  from image repository  108 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  depicts transaction  136  and transaction  138 . Transaction  136  can be initiated, for example, by administrator  102 , by a predetermined schedule available to management program  130 , or upon the receipt by management program  130  of an electronic notice that disk image  134  should be deployed to LPAR  122 . During transaction  136 , deploy program  132  is transferred by management program  130  to memory  126  of LPAR  122  via management network  110 . Deploy program  132 , an installation vehicle for disk image  134 , can unpack within memory  126  as a RAM disk, and can include an executable that can execute within LPAR  122 . In one embodiment, deploy program  132  is bootable, such that after receiving deploy program  132  in memory  126 , LPAR  122  is rebooted into deploy program  132 . Once executing within LPAR  122 , deploy program  132  can access the allocated resources of LPAR  122 , including processor  124 , memory  126 , dedicated I/O devices, and DASD  128 . Notably, deploy program  132  thus has greater access to the allocated resources of LPAR  122  than management program  130 . This is the case because, executing at the relatively remote location of support element  104 , management program  130  can interact with LPAR  122  only via hypervisor  120 , and therefore does not have access to, for example, DASD  128 . 
         [0026]    Following transaction  136 , deploy program  132  is executed within LPAR  122 . During execution, deploy program  132  initiates transaction  138 . Deploy program  132  can initiate transaction  138  by, for example, accessing a link to image repository  108  received from management program  130 . In one embodiment, both deploy program  132  and a link to image repository  108  are transferred to memory  126  during transaction  136 . During transaction  138 , deploy program  132  makes the network interface to data network  112  operational, and then downloads disk image  134  from image repository  108  via data network  112  through memory  126  into DASD  128 . While temporarily resident in memory  126 , disk image  134  can be processed by deploy program  132  in several ways. For example, in one embodiment, if disk image  134  is compressed for storage on image repository  108 , then deploy program  132  can decompress disk image  134  in memory  126  prior to storing disk image  134  on DASD  128 . Further, deploy program  132  can also verify (e.g., by cryptographic signature check, or by checksum check, etc.) disk image  134  while disk image  134  is temporarily resident in memory  126 . Additionally, prior to storing disk image  134  on DASD  128 , deploy program  132  can configure DASD  128  for block-level, or “raw,” access. 
         [0027]    Disk image  134  is a block-level disk image of an operating system that LPAR  122  can boot into, as well as of applications and management components including upgrade program  140 . Disk image  134  is a block-level disk image, rather than a file-level disk image, because DASD  128  typically does not include a filesystem to support receiving a copy of a file-level disk image. Instead, prior to transaction  138  DASD  128  is a bare device, such as a hard disk drive without a filesystem, such that DASD  128  can support receiving only a block-level disk image. After transaction  138 , disk image  134  has been written to DASD  128  block by block, such that DASD  128  then includes a filesystem, which includes an operating system that LPAR  122  can boot into, as well as applications and management components including upgrade program  140 . The operation of upgrade program  140  will be discussed in more detail in the context of  FIG. 2 , below. 
         [0028]    Disk image  134  can be created and stored on image repository  108  prior to transactions  136  and  138 . To create disk image  134 , an image is created as a block-level, or “raw,” copy of a temporary device to which the contents of the disk image (operating system, applications, and management components such as upgrade program  140 ) have been copied. The temporary device can be populated with the contents by pulling the contents from one or more additional DASDs on a different, operational LPAR (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). The creation of disk image  134  is addressed in more detail in the context of  FIG. 3 , below. 
         [0029]    After transactions  136  and  138 , an operating system included in disk image  134  has been deployed to DASD  128 . Upon the restart of LPAR  122 , LPAR  122  will boot into the deployed operating system. During the boot up process, the deployed operating system performs a check to determine what kind of installation it is the result of, i.e., to determine whether it is an actual deployment, performed according to the technique described above, or an upgrade, performed according to the technique discussed below. The check can be performed by, for example, checking the value of a deployment or upgrade flag stored in DASD  128 . Upon determining that the deployed operating system has resulted from an actual deployment, normal operation ensues. Subsequently, the operating system of LPAR  122  can be upgraded as discussed in detail below. 
         [0030]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram of computing environment  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Computing environment  100  includes support element  104 , computer  106 , image repository  108 , management network  110 , and data network  112 . As transactions  136  and  138  have been completed, DASD  128  includes upgrade program  140 , which was deployed to LPAR  122  along with the operating system of disk image  134 . Image repository  108  includes disk image  246 , which is different than disk image  134 . For example, disk image  246  can include a new, improved, or otherwise upgraded version of the operating system and applications included in disk image  134 . Disk image  246  also includes upgrade program  248 , which may be similarly improved with respect to the management components of upgrade program  140 . However, in one embodiment, upgrade program  248  may be the same as upgrade program  140 , such that the only difference between disk image  246  and disk image  134  is with respect to the operating systems and applications. 
         [0031]    In preparation for an operating system upgrade, management program  130  instructs hypervisor  120  to allocate to LPAR  122  additional DASD  242 , which is within or physically attached to computer  106 , or instructs hypervisor  120  to designate previously-allocated DASD  242  as a DASD that will participate in the upgrade. In one embodiment, management program  130  instructs upgrade program  140  to handle the allocation or designation of DASD  242 . Further, management program  130  instructs upgrade program  140  to extract configuration data  244  from the operating system of LPAR  122 , in anticipation of transaction  250 , transaction  252 , and transaction  254 . Extracted configuration data  244  includes all settings, preferences, or other configurations that will be preserved during the upgrade, and is stored temporarily on DASD  128 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 2  depicts transaction  250 , transaction  252 , and transaction  254 . Transaction  250  can be initiated, for example, by administrator  102 , by a predetermined schedule available to management program  130 , or upon the receipt by management program  130  of an electronic notice that LPAR  122  should be upgraded with disk image  246 . During transaction  250 , deploy program  132  is transferred by management program  130  to memory  126  of LPAR  122  via management network  110 . As discussed above in the context of  FIG. 1 , after receiving deploy program  132  in memory  126 , LPAR  122  is rebooted into deploy program  132 . 
         [0033]    Following transaction  250 , deploy program  132  is executed within LPAR  122 . During execution, deploy program  132  initiates transaction  252 . Deploy program  132  can initiate transaction  252  by, for example, accessing a link to image repository  108  received from management program  130 . Deploy program  132  downloads disk image  246  from image repository  108  via data network  112  through memory  126  into DASD  242 . While temporarily resident in memory  126 , disk image  246  can be processed by deploy program  132 , such as by optional decompression and verification. Prior to storing disk image  246  on DASD  242 , deploy program  132  can configure DASD  242  for block-level access. 
         [0034]    Disk image  246  is a block-level disk image of an operating system that LPAR  122  can boot into, as well as of applications and management components including upgrade program  248 . Disk image  246  can be created and stored on image repository  108  prior to transactions  250 ,  252 , and  254 . Disk image  246  is a block-level disk image, like disk image  134 , for reasons discussed above in the context of  FIG. 1 . After transaction  252 , disk image  246  has been written to DASD  242  block by block, such that DASD  242  then includes a filesystem, which includes an operating system that LPAR  122  can boot into, as well as applications and management components including upgrade program  248 . 
         [0035]    After transactions  250  and  252 , an operating system included in disk image  246  has been deployed to DASD  242 . Upon the restart of LPAR  122 , LPAR  122  will boot into the deployed operating system on DASD  242 . During the boot up process, the deployed operating system performs a check to determine what kind of installation it is the result of, i.e., to determine whether it is an actual deployment, performed according to the technique described in the context of  FIG. 1 , or an upgrade, performed according to the technique discussed in the context of  FIG. 2 . The check can be performed by, for example, checking the value of a deployment or upgrade flag stored in DASD  242 . Upon determining that the deployed operating system has resulted from an upgrade, the deployed operating system checks a boot parameter that provides the location of the previous operating system on DASD  128 . The boot parameter, as well as the deployment or upgrade flag, can be set by deploy program  132  at the conclusion of transaction  252 . Having determined that the deployed operating system has resulted from an upgrade and having checked the boot parameter, the upgrade process continues. 
         [0036]    To continue the upgrade process, the operating system of LPAR  122 , having just booted up from DASD  242 , executes upgrade program  248 , also resident on DASD  242 . Upgrade program  248  determines the location of the previous operating system, based on the boot parameter, as DASD  128 . Upgrade program  248 , in transaction  254 , retrieves configuration data  244  from DASD  128  and stores it on DASD  242 . In particular, the settings, preferences, and other configurations that have been preserved from the previous operating system are migrated and distributed to the newly-deployed operating system and stored on DASD  242  by upgrade program  248 . Having completed the upgrade process, normal operation ensues. In one embodiment, DASD  128  is then deallocated from LPAR  122 . 
         [0037]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , flowchart  300  depicting steps performed to create and store disk image  134  and disk image  246  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention are shown. In one embodiment, management program  130  performs the following steps. However, in another embodiment, another program, such as a program executing on an LPAR, can perform the steps. In step  310 , management program  130  copies operating system files to a temporary location, such as to an available DASD. In step  312 , management program  130  copies application files to the temporary location. In step  314 , management program  130  copies an upgrade program, such as upgrade program  140  or upgrade program  248 , to the temporary location. In step  316 , management program  130  configures the temporary location for block-level access. In step  318 , management program  130  generates a disk image, such as disk image  134  or disk image  246 , from the temporary location. In step  320 , management program  130  stores the disk image on an image repository, such as image repository  108 . 
         [0038]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , flowcharts  400   a  and  400   b  depicting steps followed by management program  130 , deploy program  132 , and upgrade programs  140  and  248  during one or both of a deployment or upgrade of an operating system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention are shown. In the following discussion, an actual deployment will be discussed in the context of flowchart  400   a . Subsequently, an upgrade will be discussed in the context of both flowcharts  400   b  and  400   a . A deployment, as well as an upgrade, can each be regarded as an installation, in the context of the techniques introduced herein. 
         [0039]    Turning to  FIG. 4A , in step  410 , management program  130  transfers deploy program  132  from support element  104  to memory  126  of LPAR  122  (transaction  136 ). In step  412 , deploy program  132  transfers disk image  134  from image repository  108  to DASD  128  via memory  126  (transaction  138 ). In step  414 , LPAR  122  is rebooted from the newly-deployed operating system on DASD  128 . In step  416 , the deployed operating system performs a check to determine what kind of installation it is the result of, i.e., to determine whether it is an actual deployment or an upgrade. In step  418 , the deployed operating system determines that it is an actual deployment, and normal operation ensues in step  424 . 
         [0040]    Turning to  FIG. 4B , an upgrade, such as an upgrade occurring after the performance of the steps of flowchart  400   a , will be discussed. As will be seen, an upgrade includes performance of steps from both flowcharts  400   b  and  400   a . In step  430 , management program  130  allocates additional DASD  242  to LPAR  122 , or designates previously-allocated DASD  242  of LPAR  122 , in anticipation of the upgrade. In step  432 , upgrade program  140  extracts configuration data  244  from the operating system of LPAR  122  on DASD  128 , and stores extracted configuration data  244  on DASD  128 . Following this, in step  410  of flowchart  400   a , management program  130  transfers deploy program  132  from support element  104  to memory  126  of LPAR  122  (transaction  250 ). In step  412 , deploy program  132  transfers disk image  246  from image repository  108  to DASD  242  via memory  126  (transaction  252 ). In step  414 , LPAR  122  is rebooted from the newly-deployed operating system on DASD  242 . In step  416 , the deployed operating system performs a check to determine what kind of installation it is the result of, i.e., to determine whether it is an actual deployment or an upgrade. In step  418 , the deployed operating system determines that it is an upgrade. In step  420 , the deployed operating system determines the location of the previous operating system on DASD  128 . In step  422 , upgrade program  248  retrieves configuration data  244  from DASD  128  and migrates and distributes it to the deployed operating system on DASD  242  (transaction  254 ). Upgrade program  248  can perform additional processing on configuration data  244  in order to make it usable by the deployed operating system. Following this, normal operation ensues in step  424 . 
         [0041]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , a block diagram of a computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Computer system  500  is only one example of a suitable computer system and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention described herein. Regardless, computer system  500  is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forth hereinabove. 
         [0042]    In computer system  500  there is computer  512 , which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with computer  512  include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. Each one of support element  104 , computer  106 , and image repository  108  can include or can be implemented as an instance of computer  512 . 
         [0043]    Computer  512  may be described in the general context of computer system executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer  512  may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices. 
         [0044]    As further shown in  FIG. 5 , computer  512  in computer system  500  is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of computer  512  may include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units  516 , memory  528 , and bus  518  that couples various system components including memory  528  to processing unit  516 . 
         [0045]    Bus  518  represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. 
         [0046]    Computer  512  typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer  512 , and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media. 
         [0047]    Memory  528  can include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)  530  and/or cache  532 . Computer  512  may further include other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storage media. By way of example only, storage system  534  can be provided for reading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, each can be connected to bus  518  by one or more data media interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below, memory  528  may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of the invention. 
         [0048]    Program  540 , having one or more program modules  542 , may be stored in memory  528  by way of example, and not limitation, as well as an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networking environment. Program modules  542  generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein. Each one of management program  130 , deploy program  132 , upgrade program  140 , and upgrade program  248  can be implemented as or can be an instance of program  540 . 
         [0049]    Computer  512  may also communicate with one or more external devices  514  such as a keyboard, a pointing device, etc., as well as display  524 ; one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer  512 ; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer  512  to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces  522 . Still yet, computer  512  can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter  520 . As depicted, network adapter  520  communicates with the other components of computer  512  via bus  518 . It should be understood that although not shown, other hardware and/or software components could be used in conjunction with computer  512 . Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc. 
         [0050]    The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.