Patent ID: 12218810

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

A cloud service can provide a service or resource over a network, such as the Internet. Cloud services can include Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“PaaS”), or Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”). SaaS can include a software distribution model in which an application can be hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over the network. PaaS can include the delivery of an operating system and associated services of the network without downloading or installing the operating system. IaaS can include outsourcing equipment used to support operations, including storage, hardware, servers and network components, which can be access over the network.

Cloud services can provide useful facilities for client devices (or end users) by scaling the resources to match or correspond to the usage of the end user client devices. This can distribute the usage of fixed computing resources more evenly. For example, a cloud based email service can improve the capability of the service by increasing the storage space allocated to an end user to accommodate a temporary increase in incoming email with large attachments. In another example embodiment, a cloud based web service can improve the response of a web site by increasing the network bandwidth allocated to the site during a time of peak utilization, such as in response to a sale on an e-commerce site.

Cloud services can provide services in a multi-tenanted fashion, where a single machine can provide the same service to multiple groups of end users in such a way that each group is unaware of the others and has exclusive access to one complete instance of the cloud service. This multi-tenancy can be implemented natively, where the cloud service itself can be designed to present multiple isolated instances of the service. Multi-tenancy can be implemented using multiple virtual machines, where each virtual machine can run a separate instance of the cloud service. In either implementation, the multiple instances of the cloud service used by multiple tenants can share resources of the underlying physical machine while still maintaining the independence of the instances. This can be implemented by having separate configuration and state information for each instance of the cloud service. For example, each instance of a cloud based email service can have a different set of mailboxes (state information) and a different email domain (configuration information). It can also be beneficial to have a global set of configuration and state information that can control the operation of the cloud service, independent of any particular instance. For example, a cloud based email service can have a log file for system level errors (state information) and a setting for the target maximum memory usage (configuration information).

Multi-tenancy can be advantageous for utilizing the resources of a machine more efficiently, since the peak usages of resources can be different for different tenants. For example, two tenants using a cloud based email service can both have employees that check their email when they arrive in the morning, creating a peak load for the first hour of the work day, but the two tenants can have employees that are mostly in two different time zones, so the machine resources can be utilized for first one tenant, then the other. In another example embodiment, two tenants can be using a cloud based customer support system, but one tenant can be a travel agent with peak customer interaction during the summer vacation months, and another tenant can be a tax accountant with peak customer interaction during March and April, leading up to the Federal Tax filing deadline. In both cases, the staggering of peak resource usage can be helpful in utilizing the machine resources efficiently with the same resources handling both peak requirements instead of a separate set of resources for each peak.

In order to take advantage of the multi-tenancy properly, it can be necessary to adjust the configuration of the cloud service. To continue the email cloud service example embodiment previously, it can be necessary to set up a schedule that increases the total number of incoming email connections allowed for each tenant during the morning hour for that tenant's time zone. The configuration can take the form a resource allocation; to continue the customer support cloud service example embodiment described previously, it can be necessary to increase the overall maximum number of connections for both tenants, even though both tenants are not likely to use the entire allocation of the connection resource at the same time.

The state information and resource utilization that characterize a cloud service can be measured with improved accuracy compared to those of a service running on a corresponding physical machine. Similarly, the execution environment of a cloud service can be controlled more precisely that that of a service running on a corresponding physical machine. This can apply in both the case where a multi-tenanted cloud service is run natively on a machine, or in the case where virtual machines are used to manage multiple instances of a cloud service. In one example embodiment, in a cloud service that is multi-tenanted using multiple virtual machines, it can be possible to use an application programming interface (API) to the hypervisor to get a direct measurement of the network bandwidth utilization of each virtual machine, and therefore each tenant, separately, whereas the network driver on a physical machine may not be able to report per-process utilization, and may therefore not be able to provide network utilization for multiple tenants. On the control side, the hypervisor can provide an API to control CPU throttling of individual virtual machines, which can enable equitable resource sharing based on allocation, where in a physical machine, the operating system scheduler may not provide such fine grained control on a per-process level. This information and control can be used to improve the performance of the cloud service by applying configuration updates and resource allocations, based on the improved measurements, and utilizing the improved control features to apply those updates and resource allocations. The improved measurements can be used to more accurately predict the operation of the cloud service and can correspondingly improve the selection of the configuration updates and resource allocations. To continue the email cloud service example embodiment described previously, a review of the CPU utilization of the tenants can reveal peak CPU usage for two tenants at two different morning hours, resulting from the two tenants being in two different time zones, and it can be possible to allocate a higher CPU limit to each tenant during their peak operation time, providing a more efficient overall utilization of the machine CPU resource.

The improvement to the cloud service can rely on real-time access to information that is not available to the separate tenants, and may instead only be available to the cloud service itself. For example, the two tenants in the previous example can be legally obligated to prevent disclosure of their operations to each other, and may therefore not be able to coordinate the staggered increased CPU limit, but the neutral third party running the cloud service may be able to make this determination without reference to the details of the operations of either tenant.

In some cases, the software can have the ability to store data in a central “cloud storage” data repository. This facility can also be managed online. Payment, which can also be an ongoing subscription fee, can be provided through an e-commerce transaction. The cost can be usage-based, so that the amount is a function of how much storage is used.

The computing hardware to run the software can also be provided in a central facility, which can also be managed online, and can also be provided for payment that is an ongoing subscription fee. The two ways of providing this are as a standard machine and operating system configuration, called “infrastructure as a service” (IaaS), or as a higher level API interface to an underlying compute engine, called “platform as a service” (PaaS).

When all three of the software, storage, and hardware are provided online, usually for a subscription fee, the combination is a “cloud service”. Cloud services have become increasingly popular as a way to manage information technology (IT) costs in a predictable way.

Many companies outsource their IT services to outside IT service providers. This can be more economical for the companies because they may not have enough ongoing need to support a full time IT support technician. The IT service provider can share the time of one technician across multiple companies and efficiently provide service to smaller companies in this way. In addition, with economies of scale, an IT service provider can afford to hire technicians with expertise in specific areas and be more efficient in providing service in those areas. IT service providers often use software tools to help manage their own support business, and the tools can help to automate the monitoring, service, and configuration of their customers.

The shift toward cloud services has not eliminated the need for outsourced IT support. Cloud service software has all the same requirements for installation, setup, configuration, monitoring, support, and maintenance as its non-cloud-service predecessor, often called “shrink-wrap software”. In addition, the maintenance of cloud service software includes managing the billing of the subscription of the different components that are involved. This can be complicated by the fact that different vendors of the different components can have different billing requirements and cycles. In addition, the vendor can provide discounts to the IT service provider in exchange for billing the service provider directly, and allowing the service provider to resell the cloud service to the end customer.

Since the cloud service components are available online, the end customers would like to have the freedom to shop online for software components, services, and configurations, and purchase them for use. They would like to be able to do this quickly and easily, without having to wait for the IT service provider to be involved in the installation, setup, and configuration of the new software components. The IT service provider would also like to provide this convenience to the end customers, but also does not want the customers to set up new components incorrectly, causing service calls, or even worse, set up incompatible new components that interfere with the operation of existing components, causing even bigger problems if a critical existing component fails. Ideally, the IT service provider would like end customers to have the ability to set up new components, services, and configurations, which provides both more customer satisfaction and more revenue for the service provider, but do so in a controlled way that avoids problems and support calls, and also do so in an automated way that does not involve action on the part of the service provider.

Systems and methods of the present disclosure can provide this capability using one or more components, including, for example, a validation component, a packaging component, a deployment component, and a deployment or management component. In addition, the disclosure provides scripting support, which is used to implement all three of the major functions. The disclosure can manage the resource utilization of the cloud service and, in some cases, reduce the resource consumption by preventing or blocking certain automatic configuration updates.

The implementation using a high-level scripting language designed for the purpose of implementing these functions simplifies the addition of new components, services, and configurations to the cloud management system that is used by the IT service provider. These can be done by the company supplying the cloud management system, or by the IT service provider if a specific function is needed immediately and the IT service provider has the capability to create and test the function.

The validation component can check to see if the current configuration of the end customer will support the addition of the newly requested component, service, or configuration, and if not, what kinds of changes would be required to support the new request. For example, the new request can require other components that are not present, or version upgrades to existing components that are present, or configuration changes to existing components. The new request can come from a new third-party vendor, and can therefore require a new account to be created. The new request can require a billing change with an existing vendor, such as adding more users to an existing account. The new request can require a capacity increase in the services from an existing vendor, such as adding more storage capacity or more computing capability.

The validation component can use information about the current configuration of the cloud services of the customer. If the customer has been managed by the same IT service provider from the beginning, then this information can be available in a configuration database that is maintained by the provider, but service providers often “inherit” existing configurations, or a customer may find a way to modify a configuration without using the service provider tools, so it can be desirable to determine the current configuration from the existing cloud service software itself. This can be done using APIs provided by the cloud service software, or by using an agent that is part of the cloud management system running on the cloud platform, or by a combination of the two. This function to determine the current configuration can be controlled by the scripting language mentioned previously, in order to make it easier to add the ability to detect new kinds of configurations.

The packaging component can use the results from the validation function to assemble the software components needed to make all the required changes to the cloud service platform of the end customer in order to add the requested component, service, or configuration. This can require including scripts, software components, licensing keys, and account information in the package. For example, if an existing component needs to be upgraded to a new version, and the new component is from a new vendor, the packaging function can prepare a package that includes a script to upgrade the existing component, the software with the new version of the existing component, the software for the new component, the license key for the new component, the account information at the new vendor, a script to install the new component, and a script to configure the new component. The packaging function can be controlled by the scripting language mentioned previously, in order to make it easier to add the ability to manage the installation, setup, and configuration of new kinds of components, services, and configurations.

The deployment component can apply the package to the cloud service platform in order to actually provide the requested component, service, or configuration. The deployment component can run scripts, download software, apply licenses, access accounts, and sequence operations serially or in parallel as required. These operations can be done using APIs provided by the cloud service software, or by using an agent that is part of the cloud management system running on the cloud platform, or by a combination of the two. The deployment component can be controlled by the scripting language mentioned previously, in order to make it easier to add the ability to perform new kinds of operations. The deployment component can also provide notifications and status updates on its progress to the end customer, the service provider, or both.

An interface can include a management component or management function. The interface can provide a user interface that provides a convenient way to access the cloud service management capabilities. The interface can be different for end customers and the service provider. The end customers can also have different capabilities depending on the user account being used to access the interface. For example, administrators at a customer can have the ability to add, remove, or modify components, services, and configurations that affect other users at the customer, but individual users may only be able to make configuration changes for their own account on the cloud services that have been set up for them by an administrator.

The end customer interface can show the cloud service components that have been selected by the service provider, and allow searching and browsing by category, keywords, ratings, popularity, price, and other parameters. The interface can allow rating and commenting on the components. The validation component can be used to show which components can be used by the customer, and which ones are not available. The interface can provide a mechanism for adding a new component for the customer, changing a configuration of an existing component, or removing an existing component, or for selecting a subset of the users at the customer and adding, removing, or modifying the component for that subset. The users at a customer can be organized into groups, and can be accessed using searching and browsing by user name, group, keywords, and other parameters. The interface can also provide access to billing and reporting functions to allow auditing, report generation, payments, and so on.

The service provider interface can provide the same services, but can provide the capability to apply the operations to multiple customers, or groups of users in multiple customers. The customers can also be organized into groups, and can be accessed using searching and browsing by customer name, group, keywords, and other parameters. The interface can also provide functions to add, remove, and update cloud service components, services, and configurations, which can involve adding, removing, and modifying relationships, accounts, and authentication with third party vendors. The interface can also provide access to billing and reporting functions to allow auditing, report generation, distribution of billing to customers, payment collection from customers, payments to vendors, and so on.

In a representative example, an IT service provider wants to make a new spam filtering service from a new third party vendor available as an add-on to an existing email service, and as a reseller for the spam filtering vendor. The service provider uses the management interface to create a new account at the vendor, set up a volume discount license pack with the vendor, download the software from the vendor, and download the set of support scripts from the supplier of the cloud service management system. The service provider then adds the offering to the list of cloud services available, and uses the interface to send an email announcement to the administrators at all of the customers.

One of the administrators has been getting complaints about the increase in spam and reads the email with interest. The administrator accesses the management interface and looks at the new feature. The validation function determines that this customer will need to upgrade to a new version of the email service in order to use the feature, then sees that the upgrade will require a new version of the email database, and sees that the new database will require some changes to the configuration of the underlying platform. The validation function reports in the interface that the new feature is available but will require 15 minutes of downtime of the email service in order to install. The administrator uses the interface to order the new feature, and schedule the installation at 9 PM that evening.

Using the result of the validation function, the packaging function assembles the scripts required to modify the platform configuration, install the new email database, backup the email data, transfer the email data from the old database to the new database, remove the old database, install the new feature, and configure the new feature. It also interacts with the third party vendor, using the account information to create the licenses required for all the existing users, and provide those licenses to the script for configuring the new feature. It sets up the sequence for the upgrade, using a schedule that starts at 9 PM. The packaging function assembles these components into a package.

The deployment component notes the downtime requirement and schedule in the package and sends a notification to the users of the email service regarding the expected downtime. At 9 PM, it manages running the scripts to apply the upgrade, logging any exception conditions and errors that arise. When the upgrade is complete, it sends a notification to the administrator and to the service provider, including the logs for diagnosis of any exception conditions. The relatively complex upgrade desired by the end customer has been implemented at customer request without intervention by the service provider.

In another representative example, an IT service provider is managing an email cloud service for a customer, and the employees at the customer site are the target of a coordinated marketing campaign that delivers a large volume of spam email to those employees through the email cloud service. The resulting surge of incoming email causes the processor and disk space utilization of the cloud machine to increase rapidly. In this example, an automatic scaling process on the cloud service initiates the request to increase the processor and disk resources, rather than a manual request through the management interface, but the process is similar.

The IT service provider knows that this customer is cost sensitive, and wants to pre-approve any changes to the cloud service that will incur a recurring expense, and as a result, has set up the cloud management service to assist with that process. The validation function determines that the automated scaling process is about to modify the configuration of the cloud service. Using the result of the validation function, the packaging function assembles a script to disable the automatic scaling function, at least temporarily, and to enter a ticket into a support system for review.

The deployment component applies the package, which disables the automatic scaling function and enters the ticket. The IT service provider sees the ticket on the support dashboard, and reviews the nature of the email triggering the automatic scaling operation. Upon seeing that the email is a one-time transient surge that is likely to be filtered or discarded, the IT service provider declines the automatic scaling operation. After a brief slowdown, the email service returns to its normal service level with no additional need for resources. In this example, the script created by the package can have additional options, such as re-enabling the automatic scaling operation after a certain delay, or providing the IT service provider with an option to re-enable the automatic scaling operation.

In an illustrative example, an email cloud service can exceed the threshold of connections. The email cloud service can be configured with an automatic scaling function to automatically increase the quota for email connections by a fixed amount (for example, 20%), and limiting the number of such automatic increases to a fixed rate (for example, once per month). However, the device of the present disclosure can monitor the amount of email connection and determine that the utilization of the email cloud service exceeds the threshold or can exceed the threshold. The device can determine that the email cloud service is exceeding the threshold due to unwanted emails, spam, or fraudulent communications, and block the automatic scaling function of the email cloud service. The device can then generate a support ticket indicating the increased utilization, and transmit it to an electronic dashboard that can assign the ticket to a support agent to resolve the issue. For example, the support agent can transmit an IP filter to block emails from certain IP addresses in order to reduce the resource utilization of the email cloud service, thereby avoiding the need to increase a capacity (e.g., memory, processor, etc.) of the email cloud service.

Referring now toFIG.1, an illustrative block diagram of an example embodiment of a system to manage resource utilization in cloud service infrastructure. In brief overview, the system100can include a resource utilization system (“RUS”)102. The system100can include, access or interact with one or more of a cloud service provider device122, customer support system126, client device132, and third party device134. The system100can include one or more component or function of system200, system400or the system or components depicted inFIGS.6A-6D.

The cloud service device122(e.g., executed by cloud608depicted inFIG.6B) can provide services124to an end user of a client device132(e.g., a client device602a-602ndepicted inFIGS.6A-6B) who can access it using a network (e.g., network105or network604depicted inFIG.6A). The cloud service122can run on a server (e.g., server606a-606ndepicted inFIG.6A) that is accessible to the end user132. The cloud service122can contain state information that can store control parameters that control the operation of the cloud service122and can also store data that indicates the results of the operation of the cloud service122.

The cloud service122can provide one or more resources or services124over a network, such as the Internet. Cloud services can include Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“Paas”), or Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”). SaaS can include a software distribution model in which an application can be hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over the network. PaaS can include the delivery of an operating system and associated services of the network without downloading or installing the operating system. IaaS can include outsourcing equipment used to support operations, including storage, hardware, servers and network components, which can be access over the network.

The cloud service122can be configured to scale the resources to match or correspond to the usage of the end user client devices. The cloud service122, or individual services124, can be configured to automatically scale based on various conditions. Scaling a service or resource can distribute the usage of fixed computing resources more evenly. For example, a cloud based email service124can improve the capability of the service by increasing the storage space allocated to an end user to accommodate a temporary increase in incoming email with large attachments. In another example embodiment, a cloud based web service124can improve the response of a web site by increasing the network bandwidth allocated to the site during a time of peak utilization, such as in response to a sale on an e-commerce site.

A cloud service provider122can provide services124in a multi-tenanted fashion, where a single machine can provide the same service to multiple groups of end users in such a way that each group is unaware of the others and has exclusive access to one complete instance of the cloud service. This multi-tenancy can be implemented natively, where the cloud service itself can be designed to present multiple isolated instances of the service. Multi-tenancy can be implemented using multiple virtual machines (e.g., virtual machines402depicted inFIG.4), where each virtual machine402can run a separate instance of the cloud service404. In either implementation, the multiple instances of the cloud service used by multiple tenants can share resources of the underlying physical machine while still maintaining the independence of the instances. This can be implemented by having separate configuration and state information for each instance of the cloud service. For example, each instance of a cloud based email service can have a different set of mailboxes (state information) and a different email domain (configuration information). It can also be beneficial to have a global set of configuration and state information that can control the operation of the cloud service, independent of any particular instance. For example, a cloud based email service can have a log file for system level errors (state information) and a setting for the target maximum memory usage (configuration information).

The system100can include, access or interact with a customer support system126. The customer support system126can include or be referred to as a ticketing system. The customer support system126can receive ticket data and generate tickets130. The customer support system126can process ticket data to prioritize tickets130and assign tickets130to support agents (e.g., support agents202depicted inFIG.2). In some cases, the customer support system126can automatically prioritize and assign tickets to support agents (e.g., support agents202). The customer support system126can, in some cases, automatically respond to tickets or resolve tickets. For example, a customer support system126can include or be configured with one or more packages or script that the customer support system126can provide to a client device132or other third party device134in response to a ticket130. Resolving the ticket, either automatically or via forwarding the ticket to a support agent202, can result in improving the performance of the cloud service124or fixing a technical problem of the cloud service124or component associated with, or interacting with, the cloud service124. The customer support system126can generate a notification based on a new ticket130or an existing ticket130, and the notification can be sent to the client device132, third party device134, or RUS102. The support agent202can refer to a customer support representative, a support technician, a device of a customer support representative or technician, or an agent executed by a processor of a device.

The client device132can be referred to as an end user device. The client device132can receive services or support from the customer support system126. The client device132can be a customer of the cloud service provider122. The client device132can be a customer of the RUS102. The client device132can access or utilize services124provided by the cloud service provider device122via network105.

The third party device134can include or refer to third parties that may or may not be affiliated with client device132. In some cases, third party devices134can refer to a third party that may send an email to a client device132. The email can be received by the email service124provided by cloud service provider122on behalf of the client device132.

The system100can include a resource utilization system102. The RUS102can include a data processing system. The RUS102can communicate, interface, or otherwise interact with one or more of the cloud service provider122, customer support system126, client device132or third party device134via network105. In some cases, the RUS102may not interact with third party device134. The network105can include computer networks such as the Internet, local, wide, metro, or other area networks, intranets, satellite networks, and other communication networks such as voice or data mobile telephone networks. The network can include or refer to network604depicted inFIG.6A.

The RUS102can include, interface with or otherwise communication with at least one interface104, at least one monitoring component106, at least validation component108, at least one packaging component110, at least one deployment component112, at least one ticket generation component136and at least one data repository114. The data repository114can include one or more data structure, data bases, or data files, such as a threshold data structure116, historical data data structure118, and an instructions data file120.

The interface104, monitoring component106, validation component108, packaging component110, deployment component112, and ticket generation component136can each include at least one processing unit or other logic device such as programmable logic array engine, or module configured to communicate with the database repository or database114. The interface104, monitoring component106, validation component108, packaging component110, deployment component112, and ticket generation component136and data repository114can be separate components, a single component, or part of the RUS102. The system100and its components, such as a RUS102, can include hardware elements, such as one or more processors, logic devices, or circuits.

The RUS102includes an interface104. The interface104can include any type of interface configured to facilitate communication between one or more component, system or device of system100. The interface104can be configured to facilitate communication or interaction between components or elements of the resource utilization system102. The interface104can provide a graphical user interface or other user interface to facilitate user interaction with the RUS102.

The interface104can include, communicate with or execute one or more application programming interfaces (“APIs”). The APIs can be configured to interact or interface with a cloud service provider device122, cloud service124, customer support system126, or client device132. The interface104can include or utilize one or more cloud application programming interfaces. The interface can include or be based on, for example, a cloud API, Open Cloud Computing Interface (“OCCI”), or representation state transfer (“REST”). Responses and requests can be received or transmitted via the interface104using one or more protocol or language, such as, e.g., XML, HTML, JSON, HTTP, or SSL. The interface104can communicate with or API138of the cloud service provider122. The interface104can communicate with API138to modify a configuration of one or more cloud services124. For example, the cloud service provider device122can include or execute API138that is configured to allow the RUS102to interact with one or more cloud services124. The API138can include or be based on, for example, a cloud API, Open Cloud Computing Interface (“OCCI”), or representation state transfer (“REST”). Responses and requests can be received or transmitted via the interface104using one or more protocol or language, such as, e.g., XML, HTML, JSON, HTTP, or SSL.

The RUS102can be intermediary to the client device132and one or more servers (e.g., cloud service provider device122) that provide the cloud services124. For example, the RUS102can interact directly with the cloud service provider device122, and the client device132can interact with the RUS102. The RUS102can be intermediary in the sense that the RUS102does not have to go through the client device132in order to interact with the cloud service provider device122. In some cases, the client device132can interact with the cloud service provider device122via the RUS102.

The RUS102can include a monitoring component106. The monitoring component106can monitor, via a cloud application programming interface, a cloud service124provided by the one or more servers of cloud service provider122. The monitoring component106can identify state information and resource utilization of the cloud service124. The cloud service124can be configured with an automatic scaling function based on a threshold. For example, the automatic scaling function can be to automatically increase a bandwidth allocation, memory allocation, disk capacity, processor capacity, storage capacity, or other resource used by the cloud service124.

The monitoring component106can transmit a request to the cloud service provider device122using the cloud API104. The monitoring component106can transmit a request for utilization information for the cloud service124. The request can include, for example, an indication or identification of the cloud service124, client device132, or customer account of the client device132. The request can include authentication information or other credentials associated with the customer account (e.g., an account of the client device132). The RUS102can store account identifiers, account credentials, or other account authorization information in data repository114. The request can include an identification of the cloud service124for which utilization information is requested. The request can include an indication of a time interval for which the utilization information is requested. For example, the time interval can be a start time stamp and an end time stamp or a start time stamp and a duration. The request can include an indication of the type of utilization information being requested (e.g., bandwidth utilization, a memory utilization, a processor utilization, or input/output utilization). For example, the request can include the following data fields: {customer account identifier, cloud service identifier, utilization information requested, time stamp}.

In some cases, the RUS102can establish a secure communication session with the cloud service provider122using interface104and the credentials, tokens or identifiers associated with the customer account. The RUS102can undergo a handshaking process with the cloud service provider122to establish the secure communication session. During a secure communication session, the RUS102may not need to re-authenticate for each transmission.

Using the connection, the RUS102can transmit, via the cloud application programming interface, a request for utilization information of the cloud service and threshold information for the cloud service. The RUS102can transmit the request based on a time interval (e.g., periodically, every 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 2 hours, 3 hours, or other time interval), a condition (e.g., responsive to receiving a certain number of emails, an alert, notification, or trigger) or upon a user request.

The RUS102can receive, in response to the request, a utilization value for the cloud service124. The utilization value can indicate, for example, a bandwidth utilization, a memory utilization, a processor utilization, or input/output utilization. The utilization value can include a numeric value, an absolute value, a relative value, or a percentage. For example, the utilization value can be a percentage of the customer's capacity or allocation for the time period or some other time period that includes the current time period. The utilization value can be a percentage of a historical utilization.

In some cases, the monitoring component106can include, access or utilize a remote monitoring and management (RMM) system to implement the measurement of the state information, measurement of resource utilization, update of state information, and update of resource allocation of the cloud service. For example, the RMM system can be designed, constructed or manufactured by LABTECH of Tampa, Florida may be used for these functions. The RMM system can perform these measurement and control operations by communicating directly with an API for the cloud service124itself. The RMM system can perform these measurement and control operations using an API to the hypervisor that is managing the virtual machine where the cloud service is running. The RMM system can perform these measurement and control operations using a local agent that is running on the virtual machine. The local agent can be in communication with the RMM system to receive commands and data from the RMM system, and return status and data to the RMM system. The LABTECH RMM system can install a local agent on the virtual machine running the cloud service124, and can use the local agent to read the state information of the virtual machine that represents state information of the cloud service, measure the resource usage of the virtual machine that represents the resource usage of the cloud service, update the state information of the virtual machine that controls the state of the cloud service, and update the operating system of the virtual machine to control the resource allocation for the cloud service. For example, the local agent may interact with the WINDOWS registry to measure and control state, and it may interact with the WINDOWS operating system API to measure resource utilization and control resource related allocation. In one embodiment, the local agent can be in communication with the RMM system indirectly through a remote agent that is running on a second machine; the second machine may be a virtual machine that uses the same physical machine as the cloud service, a second physical machine, or a virtual machine on a second physical machine. The RMM can implement the measurement and control operations using a script. In an example embodiment, the RMM system may be running LABTECH scripts.

The RUS102can further identify a threshold. The RUS102can retrieve the threshold from threshold data structure116stored in data repository114. The RUS102can perform a lookup in data repository114for the threshold. The RUS102can perform the lookup using the customer account identifier, cloud service124identifier, or other factors. The RUS102can select a threshold from a plurality of thresholds stored in data repository114. The RUS102can select a threshold that is predetermined or assigned for a specific type of resource, time period, customer account or client device132. The RUS102can request the threshold from the cloud service provider122. The cloud service122may determine the threshold based on billing information associated with the customer account of client device132. The cloud service provider122can provide the threshold, such as a dynamic threshold. The cloud service provider122can establish the dynamic threshold.

The threshold can be a fixed or static threshold, or a dynamic threshold. For example, the threshold can be dynamic in that the threshold may vary for a customer account based on one or more factors, such as time period, season, day of the week, time of day, month, or geographic region (e.g., users of the cloud service124located in different geographic zones or regions can have different thresholds). In some cases, the threshold can vary based on current events, sports, news, or weather. For example, during a major sporting event, political event, or other current event, there may be an increase in a number of server hits or requests for a cloud service124. The system102or cloud service provider122may identify that the current event based on an news feed or RSS feed, or based on input from an administrator of the system102or cloud service provider122. The system102or cloud service provider122may then set a higher threshold to allow the increased utilization.

The RUS102can include a validation component108designed and constructed to determining that a utilization value of the cloud service during a time interval satisfies (e.g., less than, equal to, or exceeds) the threshold. The validation component108can compare the utilization value of the cloud service124during the time interval with the threshold to determine that the utilization value is greater than or equal to the threshold. For example, the utilization value for a video streaming cloud service124may be 500 Mbps. The threshold for the cloud service124for the customer account associated with client device132may be 500 Mbps. The RUS102can determine that the current utilization value equals the threshold.

In some cases, the RUS102can determine that the current utilization value is a certain percentage of the threshold, and determine to disable auto scaling. For example, the threshold may indicate a tier increase or pricing increase for the customer's cloud service plan. To avoid the tier or pricing increase, the RUS102can identify when the utilization of the cloud service is approaching the threshold so as not to exceed the threshold or to disable auto scaling prior to exceeding the threshold. In some cases, the RUS102can set a threshold that is lower than a threshold that triggers a billing or tier increase. By using a threshold that is lower than the threshold that triggers a billing or tier increase, the RUS102can determine that the utilization value equals the threshold and disable auto scaling prior to the tier or billing increase.

The RUS102can determine the utilization value as an average utilization value over one or more time periods, mean utilization value over one or more time periods, mode utilization value over one or more time periods, or other statistical value indicative of the utilization value over one or more time periods. The RUS102can store or retrieve historical data in the historical data database118in data repository114. The RUS102can determine a historical utilization of the cloud service124by the client device132(e.g., by the customer account associated with the client device132). The RUS102can predict, based on the historical utilization, an estimated utilization value for the time interval. For example, the cloud service124may have a high utilization during working hours, such as 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, and low utilization outside those hours as compared to during working hours. The cloud service124can predict, based on the historical utilization on Monday at 10 AM (or the past 10 Mondays at 10 AM), an estimated utilization value for the time interval (e.g., 10 AM to 11 AM on Monday).

The validation component108can apply a policy to determine whether to disable the automatic scaling function of the cloud service. The policy can be retrieved from data repository114. The policy can include conditional statements, events, thresholds, or triggers. For example, policies can include: if the utilization value is equal to the threshold, disable the auto scaling function; if the utilization value is greater than the threshold, disable the auto scaling function; if the utilization value is less than the threshold, disable the auto scaling function; if the utilization value is equal to or greater than a percentage (e.g., 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 99%) of the threshold, disable the auto scaling function; if the rate of increase of the utilization value over one or more time intervals is at least a percentage (e.g., 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, 90%, 100%, 150% or more), then disable the auto scaling function.

The RUS102can determine, based on the policy and a comparison of the utilization value and the threshold, to generate instructions to disable the auto scaling function of the cloud service124. In some cases, the RUS102can determine, based on the policy and a comparison of the estimated utilization value and the utilization value, to generate the instruction to disable the automatic scaling function of the cloud service124.

The validation component108can determine that the one or more servers providing the cloud service are configured to automatically modify a configuration of the cloud service to increase capacity based on the utilization value. The validation component108can then determine to disable the auto scaling feature based on the threshold and policy. For example, a packaging component110can assemble, responsive to determining to disable the automatic scaling function of the cloud service, a script to disable the automatic scaling function for the cloud service.

The RUS102can include a packaging component110designed and constructed to generate, compile, obtain, or otherwise provide instructions to the cloud service124to disable the auto scaling function. The packaging component110can receive an instruction from the validation component108to disable the auto scaling function for a particular cloud service124for a particular customer account or client device132. The packaging component110can obtain or retrieve one or more instructions or scripts from the instructions data folder120stored in data repository114.

The packaging component110can use the results from the validation component108to assemble the software components to make configuration changes to the cloud service124of the end customer in order to disable the auto scaling function, add a component, service, or configuration, or make another change. The packaging component110can assemble scripts, software components, licensing keys, and account information in the instructions package. For example, if an existing component needs to be upgraded to a new version, and the new component is from a new vendor, the packaging function can prepare an instructions package that includes a script to upgrade the existing component, the software with the new version of the existing component, the software for the new component, the license key for the new component, the account information at the new vendor, a script to install the new component, and a script to configure the new component. The packaging component110can be controlled by a scripting language, in order to make it easier to add the ability to manage the installation, setup, and configuration of new kinds of components, services, and configurations.

The RUS102can include a deployment component112designed and constructed to transmit the instructions (or instructions package or package) to the one or more servers of the cloud service provider122. The RUS102can transmit the instructions via a cloud application programming interface104. In some cases, the RUS102can transmit the instructions using the same interface protocol as compared to the interface protocol used to monitor the utilization of the cloud service124, while in some cases, the RUS102can transmit the instructions using a different interface protocol as compared to the interface protocol used to monitor the utilization of the cloud service124.

The deployment component112can apply the package (or instruction package or instructions) to the cloud service124in order to actually provide the requested component, service, or configuration (e.g., configuration to disable the auto scaling function). The deployment component112can run scripts, download software, apply licenses, access accounts, and sequence operations serially or in parallel as required. These operations can be done using APIs provided by the cloud service software, or by using an agent that is part of the cloud management system running on the cloud platform, or by a combination of the two. The deployment component112can be controlled by the scripting language, in order to make it easier to add the ability to perform new kinds of operations. The deployment component112can also provide notifications and status updates on its progress to the end customer, the service provider, or both.

The RUS102can include a ticket generation component136designed and constructed to generate a service ticket data structure with an indication of the utilization value and the time interval. The ticket generation component136can provide the service ticket data structure to an electronic board128of a customer support system126to cause the electronic board128to process the service ticket data structure and assign a service ticket130to a support agent202.

The ticket generation component136can compile, aggregate or otherwise obtain information that can facilitate generating a ticket. A ticket can refer to a ticket data structure that includes information that can facilitate resolving a technical problem associated with the cloud service124. For example, the ticket data structure can include a cloud service identifier, a customer account identifier, a utilization value, time stamps associated with the utilization value, a utilization type, a threshold, client device identifier, network logs, or traffic data. The ticket information can include information to facilitate prioritizing and assigning the tickets to support agents, or place the ticket in a ticketing queue.

For example, the support ticket information can indicate a likely customer support situation, and as a result, an API to the customer support system126may be used to generate a support ticket indicating that a 90% threshold has been exceeded 3 times in 1 hour, along with information about the tenant (customer associated client device132) that is affected, the number of connections that were observed, the allocation of connection resources, the times when the connections exceeded the threshold, the overall performance of the physical machine at that time, and so on. If a support ticket for this tenant and condition already exists, it may be preferable to update the existing support ticket with this additional information, rather than creating a new support ticket.

The customer support system126can generate notifications based on the support tickets. For example, the customer support system126can alert a customer service representative or support agent that the threshold has been exceeded for the number of connections, so that the customer service representative can contact the customer to discuss the situation and decide whether to take corrective action. The customer support system126can notify the customer directly to make them aware of the situation. Multiple individuals may be notified, and the notification may use multiple channels, such as text message, email, voice message, social media posting, chat, and so on.

The support tickets and notifications for cloud service issues may be generated in addition to the application of configuration and resource allocation updates for improving the cloud service, reducing the resource utilization, or the application of updates may be contingent on an interaction with the support system. For example, the increase in connection resources may imply an increased cost, and the customer may desire or require sign-off on disabling the auto scaling function, or the system can automatically disable the auto scaling function to block or prevent the increase in the connection resources. The support system can facilitate the automation of the customer sign-off and approval of the application of the update, the RUS102can automatically disable the auto scaling function.

Thus, the RUS102can communicate with the cloud service provider device122to obtain the state information about the cloud service124. The RUS102can use the collected state information prepare a configuration update to be applied to the cloud service124. The resulting collected state information can also be used by the RUS102to interface with a customer support system126through a ticket generation component136. The ticket generation component136can communicate directly with the customer support system126and in this way, can create a new support ticket130or update an existing support ticket130. The RUS102can use the ticket generation component136along with the collected state information to create a new ticket130or update an existing ticket130with information from the collected state information. The ticket130may be a result of a configuration update (e.g., disable auto scaling function responsive to a threshold) generated by the RUS102. The customer support system126can also generate a configuration update and use the RUS102to apply the configuration update to the cloud service122. The cloud service122can also update the state information directly. This configuration update may reduce the resource utilization of the cloud service122as a result. The customer support system126can generate a notification based on a new ticket130or an existing ticket130, and the notification can be sent to the client device132.

The RUS102can determine utilization values for one or more time intervals, for one or more cloud services124, or for one or more customer accounts or tenants. The RUS102can determine to disable the auto scaling function in a first time interval, and enable the auto scaling function in a second time interval. The RUS102can determine to enable or disable the auto scaling function for a first resource, and disable the auto scaling function for a second resource. Resources can include, for example, processor, number of processors, number of threads per processor, memory, disk storage, I/O ports, or bandwidth.

For example, the RUS102can determine that a second utilization value of the cloud service124during a second time interval exceeds the threshold. The RUS102can determine, however, to enable the automatic scaling function of the cloud service124for the second time interval. The RUS102can determine to enable the auto scaling function based on the policy. For example, in the second time interval, the rate of increase of the utilization may indicate a desired resource utilization, or the increased utilization may be correlated with a current event, which may indicate a desired increase in resource utilization. Thus, the RUS102can determine to enable the auto scaling function in the second time interval.

In some cases, the RUS102can analyze the historical utilization to determine to enable the auto scaling function in the second time interval. For example, the RUS102can determine that a second utilization value of the cloud service during a second time interval exceeds the threshold. The RUS102can determine a historical utilization of the cloud service124by the customer account of the client device132. The RUS102(e.g., via the validation component108) can predict, based on the historical utilization, an estimated utilization value for the second time interval. The RUS102can determine, based on the policy and a comparison of the estimated utilization value and the second utilization value, to generate an instruction to enable the automatic scaling function of the cloud service.

The RUS102can monitor multiple cloud services124provider by one or more cloud service providers122. For example, the RUS202can monitor a second cloud service124provided by a second one or more servers of a second cloud service provider122different from the first one or more servers of the first cloud service provider122. The second cloud service124can be configured with automatic scaling function based on a second threshold. The RUS102can determine, based on the second threshold and a second utilization value of the second cloud service during a second time interval, to disable the automatic scaling function of the second cloud service. The RUS102can transmit an instruction to the second one or more servers via a third cloud application programming interface104to disable the automatic scaling function of the second cloud service124. Thus, the RUS102can interface and interact with multiple cloud services124provided by multiple cloud service providers122that can be different from another, thereby providing a central resource utilization system102for the customer of client device132.

Referring now toFIG.2, an illustrative block diagram of an example embodiment of a system200in operation to manage resource utilization in cloud service infrastructure is shown. The system200can include one or more component or function of system100, system400or the system or components depicted inFIGS.6A-6D. The third party device134and client device132can access or interact with services124provided by the cloud service provider122. While one or more third party devices134or client devices132interact with the one or more cloud services124, the resource utilization system102can request resource utilization information at act204. At act206, the cloud service provider122can transmit resource utilization information to the RUS102. The RUS102can receive the utilization information. The RUS102can process the received resource utilization information. At act208, the RUS102can transmit a package, such as an instruction package, with configuration update information to, for example, disable an auto scaling function.

Referring now toFIG.3, an illustrative flow chart of an embodiment of a system operating to manage resource utilization in cloud service infrastructure is shown. The flow chart can be performed by one or more component, element or system depicted inFIGS.1,2,4and6A-6D. For example, the flow300can be performed by a resource utilization system. At302, the system can monitor cloud services to determine one or more utilization values for one or more resources used by the one or more cloud services. At304, the system can determine a threshold for the utilization of a resource. At306, the system can compare the utilization value of the cloud service with the threshold. If the utilization is less than the threshold (or otherwise does not satisfy the threshold) at308, the system can return to block302and continue to monitor the utilization of the cloud services.

If the utilization satisfies the threshold (e.g., greater than or equal to the threshold) at block310, the system can proceed to block312to determine whether an auto scaling function for the resource corresponding to the utilization value is enabled. The system can make this determination by transmitting request for information via an API to the cloud service provider device, or parsing a configuration file with this information. If the system determines that auto scaling is disabled at block314, the system can return to monitoring cloud services at block302. If, at block316, the system determines that auto scaling is enabled for the cloud service and for the resource corresponding to the utilization value that exceeds the threshold, ad determined at block310, the system can proceed to block318to package scripts to disable the auto scaling function in order to reduce resource utilization. The system can then transmit the package scripts at block320to the cloud service platform. Further, the system can proceed, in serial or parallel, to block322and compile support ticket data to facilitate the generation of a support ticket. The system can proceed to block324and transmit the support ticket data to a customer support system.

FIG.4is an illustrative block diagram of an example embodiment of a system for collecting state information and resource utilization of a cloud service using a remote monitoring and management (RMM) system. The system400can include one or more component, system or functionality depicted inFIGS.1-3and6A-6D. A cloud service404(e.g., cloud service124ofFIG.1) running on a virtual machine402may allow even more fine grained control over the measurement and update of state information406for the cloud service404, which can include control information for the cloud service404. The hypervisor405of the virtual machine402may have direct access to the memory and storage of the cloud service404or the state information406itself, and may have access to the operating system of the virtual machine402that controls many of the operational aspects of the cloud service404. A collector418that is monitoring the cloud service404can then have access to the hypervisor405through an API412. Additionally, a remote monitoring and management (RMM) system420may install a local agent408on the virtual machine. The local agent408can run as a separate process on the virtual machine402and may have access to the cloud service404, the state information406, and the operating system of the virtual machine402, in much the same way as the hypervisor405. However, since the local agent408is running as a process inside the virtual machine402, it may have some capabilities that are more complete or more convenient than those of the hypervisor405. Accordingly, the collector418may be able to retrieve additional useful information about the cloud service404, or even control the cloud service404, through the local agent408under the direction of the RMM system420. It may be that direct access to the local agent408is difficult or impossible, for example, due to security concerns, but it may be reasonable to access the local agent408from another instance of the agent that acts as a remote agent416running on a second machine414. In this case, the collector may be able to retrieve additional useful information about the cloud service404, or even control the cloud service404, through the remote agent416running on the second machine414, under the direction of the RMI system420.

Referring toFIG.5, an illustrative block diagram of an example embodiment of a method500of managing resource utilization in cloud service infrastructure is shown. The method500can be performed by one or more system or component depicted inFIGS.1,2,4and6A-6D. For example, method500can be performed by a device intermediary to a cloud service provider and a customer's client device, such as a resource utilization system. In brief overview, the method500includes monitoring cloud services at502. At504, the method500includes determining a utilization value for a resource used by the cloud service. At506, the method500includes generating and transmitting an instruction. At508, the method500includes generating and providing service ticket data.

Still referring toFIG.5, and in further detail, the method500includes monitoring cloud services at502. For example, a device intermediary to a client device and one or more servers that provide cloud services can monitor the utilization of cloud services. The device can monitor the cloud service using a cloud application programming interface. The cloud service can be provided by the one or more servers of a cloud service provider. The cloud service configured with an automatic scaling function based on a threshold. For example, the cloud service provider may automatically increase a resource allocation based on a utilization of the resource exceeding or approaching a threshold.

At504, the device can determine a utilization value for a resource used by the cloud service. The device can determine the utilization value based on the monitoring. The device can determine that the utilization value of the cloud service exceeds the threshold during a time interval.

At506, the method500includes generating and transmitting an instruction. The instruction can include an instruction package to update, change, modify or otherwise change the cloud service. The device can determine to generate the instruction based on a policy, the utilization value, and the threshold. For example, the policy may be to disable the auto scaling function if the current utilization value exceeds the threshold. The device can transmit the instruction to the one or more servers via a cloud application programming interface.

At508, the method500includes generating and providing service ticket data. The device can determine to generate and provide the service ticket data responsive to the policy (e.g., the policy may indicate to provide service ticket responsive to determining to disable a function or feature of the cloud service). The device can generate a service ticket data structure with an indication of the utilization value and the time interval, and provide the service ticket data structure to an electronic board to cause the electronic board to process the service ticket data structure and assign a service ticket to a support agent.

Referring toFIG.6A, an embodiment of a network environment that can be used in connection with the methods and systems described herein is depicted. In brief overview, the network environment includes one or more clients602a-602n(also generally referred to as local machine(s)602, client(s)602, client node(s)602, client machine(s)602, client computer(s)602, client device(s)602, endpoint(s)602, or endpoint node(s)602) in communication with one or more servers606a-606n(also generally referred to as server(s)606, node606, or remote machine(s)606) via one or more networks604. In some embodiments, a client602has the capacity to function as both a client node seeking access to resources provided by a server and as a server providing access to hosted resources for other clients602a-602n.

AlthoughFIG.6Ashows a network604between the clients602and the servers606, the clients602and the servers606may be on the same network604. In some embodiments, there are multiple networks604between the clients602and the servers606. In one of these embodiments, a network604′ (not shown) may be a private network and a network604may be a public network. In another of these embodiments, a network604may be a private network and a network604′ a public network. In still another of these embodiments, networks604and604′ may both be private networks.

The network604may be connected via wired or wireless links. Wired links may include Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), coaxial cable lines, or optical fiber lines. The wireless links may include BLUETOOTH, Wi-Fi, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), an infrared channel or satellite band. The wireless links may also include any cellular network standards used to communicate among mobile devices, including standards that qualify as 1G, 2G, 3G, or 4G. The network standards may qualify as one or more generation of mobile telecommunication standards by fulfilling a specification or standards such as the specifications maintained by International Telecommunication Union. The 3G standards, for example, may correspond to the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specification, and the 4G standards may correspond to the International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) specification. Examples of cellular network standards include AMPS, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, Mobile WiMAX, and WiMAX-Advanced. Cellular network standards may use various channel access methods e.g. FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, or SDMA. In some embodiments, different types of data may be transmitted via different links and standards. In other embodiments, the same types of data may be transmitted via different links and standards.

The network604may be any type and/or form of network. The geographical scope of the network604may vary widely and the network604can be a body area network (BAN), a personal area network (PAN), a local-area network (LAN), e.g. Intranet, a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet. The topology of the network604may be of any form and may include, e.g., any of the following: point-to-point, bus, star, ring, mesh, or tree. The network604may be an overlay network which is virtual and sits on top of one or more layers of other networks604′. The network604may be of any such network topology as known to those ordinarily skilled in the art capable of supporting the operations described herein. The network604may utilize different techniques and layers or stacks of protocols, including, e.g., the Ethernet protocol, the internet protocol suite (TCP/IP), the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) technique, the SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking) protocol, or the SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) protocol. The TCP/IP internet protocol suite may include application layer, transport layer, internet layer (including, e.g., IPv6), or the link layer. The network604may be a type of a broadcast network, a telecommunications network, a data communication network, or a computer network.

In some embodiments, the system may include multiple, logically-grouped servers606. In one of these embodiments, the logical group of servers may be referred to as a server farm38or a machine farm38. In another of these embodiments, the servers606may be geographically dispersed. In other embodiments, a machine farm38may be administered as a single entity. In still other embodiments, the machine farm38includes a plurality of machine farms38. The servers606within each machine farm38can be heterogeneous—one or more of the servers606or machines606can operate according to one type of operating system platform (e.g., WINDOWS NT, manufactured by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Washington), while one or more of the other servers606can operate on according to another type of operating system platform (e.g., Unix, Linux, or Mac OS X).

In one embodiment, servers606in the machine farm38may be stored in high-density rack systems, along with associated storage systems, and located in an enterprise data center. In this embodiment, consolidating the servers606in this way may improve system manageability, data security, the physical security of the system, and system performance by locating servers606and high performance storage systems on localized high performance networks. Centralizing the servers606and storage systems and coupling them with advanced system management tools allows more efficient use of server resources.

The servers606of each machine farm38do not need to be physically proximate to another server606in the same machine farm38. Thus, the group of servers606logically grouped as a machine farm38may be interconnected using a wide-area network (WAN) connection or a metropolitan-area network (MAN) connection. For example, a machine farm38may include servers606physically located in different continents or different regions of a continent, country, state, city, campus, or room. Data transmission speeds between servers606in the machine farm38can be increased if the servers606are connected using a local-area network (LAN) connection or some form of direct connection. Additionally, a heterogeneous machine farm38may include one or more servers606operating according to a type of operating system, while one or more other servers606execute one or more types of hypervisors rather than operating systems. In these embodiments, hypervisors may be used to emulate virtual hardware, partition physical hardware, virtualize physical hardware, and execute virtual machines that provide access to computing environments, allowing multiple operating systems to run concurrently on a host computer. Native hypervisors may run directly on the host computer. Hypervisors may include VMware ESX/ESXi, manufactured by VMWare, Inc., of Palo Alto, California; the Xen hypervisor, an open source product whose development is overseen by Citrix Systems, Inc.; the HYPER-V hypervisors provided by Microsoft or others. Hosted hypervisors may run within an operating system on a second software level. Examples of hosted hypervisors may include VMware Workstation and VIRTUALBOX.

Management of the machine farm38may be de-centralized. For example, one or more servers606may comprise components, subsystems and modules to support one or more management services for the machine farm38. In one of these embodiments, one or more servers606provide functionality for management of dynamic data, including techniques for handling failover, data replication, and increasing the robustness of the machine farm38. Each server606may communicate with a persistent store and, in some embodiments, with a dynamic store.

Server606may be a file server, application server, web server, proxy server, appliance, network appliance, gateway, gateway server, virtualization server, deployment server, SSL VPN server, or firewall. In one embodiment, the server606may be referred to as a remote machine or a node. In another embodiment, a plurality of nodes290may be in the path between any two communicating servers.

Referring toFIG.6B, a cloud computing environment is depicted. A cloud computing environment may provide client602with one or more resources provided by a network environment. The cloud computing environment may include one or more clients602a-602n, in communication with the cloud608over one or more networks604. Clients602may include, e.g., thick clients, thin clients, and zero clients. A thick client may provide at least some functionality even when disconnected from the cloud608or servers606. A thin client or a zero client may depend on the connection to the cloud608or server606to provide functionality. A zero client may depend on the cloud608or other networks604or servers606to retrieve operating system data for the client device. The cloud608may include back end platforms, e.g., servers606, storage, server farms or data centers.

The cloud608may be public, private, or hybrid. Public clouds may include public servers606that are maintained by third parties to the clients602or the owners of the clients. The servers606may be located off-site in remote geographical locations as disclosed above or otherwise. Public clouds may be connected to the servers606over a public network. Private clouds may include private servers606that are physically maintained by clients602or owners of clients. Private clouds may be connected to the servers606over a private network604. Hybrid clouds608may include both the private and public networks604and servers606.

The cloud608may also include a cloud based delivery, e.g. Software as a Service (SaaS)610, Platform as a Service (PaaS)612, and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)614. IaaS may refer to a user renting the use of infrastructure resources that are needed during a specified time period. IaaS providers may offer storage, networking, servers or virtualization resources from large pools, allowing the users to quickly scale up by accessing more resources as needed. Examples of IaaS include AMAZON WEB SERVICES provided by Amazon.com, Inc., of Seattle, Washington, RACKSPACE CLOUD provided by Rackspace US, Inc., of San Antonio, Texas, Google Compute Engine provided by Google Inc. of Mountain View, California, or RIGHTSCALE provided by RightScale, Inc., of Santa Barbara, California PaaS providers may offer functionality provided by IaaS, including, e.g., storage, networking, servers or virtualization, as well as additional resources such as, e.g., the operating system, middleware, or runtime resources. Examples of PaaS include WINDOWS AZURE provided by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, Google App Engine provided by Google Inc., and HEROKU provided by Heroku, Inc. of San Francisco, California SaaS providers may offer the resources that PaaS provides, including storage, networking, servers, virtualization, operating system, middleware, or runtime resources. In some embodiments, SaaS providers may offer additional resources including, e.g., data and application resources. Examples of SaaS include GOOGLE APPS provided by Google Inc., SALESFORCE provided by Salesforce.com Inc. of San Francisco, California, or OFFICE 365 provided by Microsoft Corporation. Examples of SaaS may also include data storage providers, e.g. DROPBOX provided by Dropbox, Inc. of San Francisco, California, Microsoft SKYDRIVE provided by Microsoft Corporation, Google Drive provided by Google Inc., or Apple ICLOUD provided by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California.

Clients602may access IaaS resources with one or more IaaS standards, including, e.g., Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Open Cloud Computing Interface (OCCI), Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface (CIMI), or OpenStack standards. Some IaaS standards may allow clients access to resources over HTTP, and may use Representational State Transfer (REST) protocol or Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Clients602may access PaaS resources with different PaaS interfaces. Some PaaS interfaces use HTTP packages, standard Java APIs, JavaMail API, Java Data Objects (JDO), Java Persistence API (JPA), Python APIs, web integration APIs for different programming languages including, e.g., Rack for Ruby, WSGI for Python, or PSGI for Perl, or other APIs that may be built on REST, HTTP, XML, or other protocols. Clients602may access SaaS resources through the use of web-based user interfaces, provided by a web browser (e.g. GOOGLE CHROME, Microsoft INTERNET EXPLORER, or Mozilla Firefox provided by Mozilla Foundation of Mountain View, California). Clients602may also access SaaS resources through smartphone or tablet applications, including, e.g., Salesforce Sales Cloud, or Google Drive app. Clients602may also access SaaS resources through the client operating system, including, e.g., Windows file system for DROPBOX.

In some embodiments, access to IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS resources may be authenticated. For example, a server or authentication server may authenticate a user via security certificates, HTTPS, or API keys. API keys may include various encryption standards such as, e.g., Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Data resources may be sent over Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

The client602and server606may be deployed as and/or executed on any type and form of computing device, e.g. a computer, network device or appliance capable of communicating on any type and form of network and performing the operations described herein.FIGS.6C and6Ddepict block diagrams of a computing device600useful for practicing an embodiment of the client602or a server606. As shown inFIGS.6C and6D, each computing device600includes a central processing unit621, and a main memory unit622. As shown inFIG.6C, a computing device600may include a storage device628, an installation device616, a network interface618, an I/O controller623, display devices624a-624n, a keyboard626and a pointing device627, e.g. a mouse. The storage device628may include, without limitation, an operating system, software, and a software of or associated with SCS100. As shown inFIG.6D, each computing device600may also include additional optional elements, e.g. a memory port603, a bridge670, one or more input/output devices630a-630n(generally referred to using reference numeral630), and a cache memory640in communication with the central processing unit621.

The central processing unit621is any logic circuitry that responds to and processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit622. In many embodiments, the central processing unit621is provided by a microprocessor unit, e.g.: those manufactured by Intel Corporation of Mountain View, California; those manufactured by Motorola Corporation of Schaumburg, Illinois; the ARM processor and TEGRA system on a chip (SoC) manufactured by Nvidia of Santa Clara, California; the POWER7 processor, those manufactured by International Business Machines of White Plains, New York; or those manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, California. The computing device600may be based on any of these processors, or any other processor capable of operating as described herein. The central processing unit621may utilize instruction level parallelism, thread level parallelism, different levels of cache, and multi-core processors. A multi-core processor may include two or more processing units on a single computing component. Examples of a multi-core processors include the AMD PHENOM IIX2, INTEL CORE i5 and INTEL CORE i7.

Main memory unit622may include one or more memory chips capable of storing data and allowing any storage location to be directly accessed by the microprocessor621. Main memory unit622may be volatile and faster than storage628memory. Main memory units622may be Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or any variants, including static random access memory (SRAM), Burst SRAM or SynchBurst SRAM (BSRAM), Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), Extended Data Output RAM (EDO RAM), Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM), Burst Extended Data Output DRAM (BEDO DRAM), Single Data Rate Synchronous DRAM (SDR SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Direct Rambus DRAM (DRDRAM), or Extreme Data Rate DRAM (XDR DRAM). In some embodiments, the main memory622or the storage628may be non-volatile; e.g., non-volatile read access memory (NVRAM), flash memory non-volatile static RAM (nvSRAM), Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), Phase-change memory (PRAM), conductive-bridging RAM (CBRAM), Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (SONOS), Resistive RAM (RRAM), Racetrack, Nano-RAM (NRAM), or Millipede memory. The main memory622may be based on any of the above described memory chips, or any other available memory chips capable of operating as described herein. In the embodiment shown inFIG.6C, the processor621communicates with main memory622via a system bus650(described in more detail below).FIG.6Ddepicts an embodiment of a computing device600in which the processor communicates directly with main memory622via a memory port603. For example, inFIG.6Dthe main memory622may be DRDRAM.

FIG.6Ddepicts an embodiment in which the main processor621communicates directly with cache memory640via a secondary bus, sometimes referred to as a backside bus. In other embodiments, the main processor621communicates with cache memory640using the system bus650. Cache memory640typically has a faster response time than main memory622and is typically provided by SRAM, BSRAM, or EDRAM. In the embodiment shown inFIG.6D, the processor621communicates with various I/O devices630via a local system bus650. Various buses may be used to connect the central processing unit621to any of the I/O devices630, including a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, or a PCI-Express bus, or a NuBus. For embodiments in which the I/O device is a video display624, the processor621may use an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) to communicate with the display624or the I/O controller623for the display624.FIG.6Ddepicts an embodiment of a computer600in which the main processor621communicates directly with I/O device630bor other processors621′ via HYPERTRANSPORT, RAPIDIO, or INFINIBAND communications technology.FIG.6Dalso depicts an embodiment in which local busses and direct communication are mixed: the processor621communicates with I/O device630ausing a local interconnect bus while communicating with I/O device630bdirectly.

A wide variety of I/O devices630a-630nmay be present in the computing device600. Input devices may include keyboards, mice, trackpads, trackballs, touchpads, touch mice, multi-touch touchpads and touch mice, microphones, multi-array microphones, drawing tablets, cameras, single-lens reflex camera (SLR), digital SLR (DSLR), CMOS sensors, accelerometers, infrared optical sensors, pressure sensors, magnetometer sensors, angular rate sensors, depth sensors, proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, gyroscopic sensors, or other sensors. Output devices may include video displays, graphical displays, speakers, headphones, inkjet printers, laser printers, and 3D printers.

Devices630a-630nmay include a combination of multiple input or output devices, including, e.g., Microsoft KINECT, Nintendo Wiimote for the WII, Nintendo WII U GAMEPAD, or Apple IPHONE. Some devices630a-630nallow gesture recognition inputs through combining some of the inputs and outputs. Some devices630a-630nprovides for facial recognition which may be utilized as an input for different purposes including authentication and other commands. Some devices630a-630nprovides for voice recognition and inputs, including, e.g., Microsoft KINECT, SIRI for IPHONE by Apple, Google Now or Google Voice Search.

Additional devices630a-630nhave both input and output capabilities, including, e.g., haptic feedback devices, touchscreen displays, or multi-touch displays. Touchscreen, multi-touch displays, touchpads, touch mice, or other touch sensing devices may use different technologies to sense touch, including, e.g., capacitive, surface capacitive, projected capacitive touch (PCT), in-cell capacitive, resistive, infrared, waveguide, dispersive signal touch (DST), in-cell optical, surface acoustic wave (SAW), bending wave touch (BWT), or force-based sensing technologies. Some multi-touch devices may allow two or more contact points with the surface, allowing advanced functionality including, e.g., pinch, spread, rotate, scroll, or other gestures. Some touchscreen devices, including, e.g., Microsoft PIXELSENSE or Multi-Touch Collaboration Wall, may have larger surfaces, such as on a table-top or on a wall, and may also interact with other electronic devices. Some I/O devices630a-630n, display devices624a-624nor group of devices may be augment reality devices. The I/O devices may be controlled by an I/O controller623as shown inFIG.6C. The I/O controller may control one or more I/O devices, such as, e.g., a keyboard626and a pointing device627, e.g., a mouse or optical pen. Furthermore, an I/O device may also provide storage and/or an installation medium616for the computing device600. In still other embodiments, the computing device600may provide USB connections (not shown) to receive handheld USB storage devices. In further embodiments, an I/O device630may be a bridge between the system bus650and an external communication bus, e.g. a USB bus, a SCSI bus, a FireWire bus, an Ethernet bus, a Gigabit Ethernet bus, a Fibre Channel bus, or a Thunderbolt bus.

In some embodiments, display devices624a-624nmay be connected to I/O controller623. Display devices may include, e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCD), thin film transistor LCD (TFT-LCD), blue phase LCD, electronic papers (e-ink) displays, flexile displays, light emitting diode displays (LED), digital light processing (DLP) displays, liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) displays, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, liquid crystal laser displays, time-multiplexed optical shutter (TMOS) displays, or 3D displays. Examples of 3D displays may use, e.g. stereoscopy, polarization filters, active shutters, or autostereoscopy. Display devices624a-624nmay also be a head-mounted display (HMD). In some embodiments, display devices624a-624nor the corresponding I/O controllers623may be controlled through or have hardware support for OPENGL or DIRECTX API or other graphics libraries.

In some embodiments, the computing device600may include or connect to multiple display devices624a-624n, which each may be of the same or different type and/or form. As such, any of the I/O devices630a-630nand/or the I/O controller623may include any type and/or form of suitable hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software to support, enable or provide for the connection and use of multiple display devices624a-624nby the computing device600. For example, the computing device600may include any type and/or form of video adapter, video card, driver, and/or library to interface, communicate, connect or otherwise use the display devices624a-624n. In one embodiment, a video adapter may include multiple connectors to interface to multiple display devices624a-624n. In other embodiments, the computing device600may include multiple video adapters, with each video adapter connected to one or more of the display devices624a-624n. In some embodiments, any portion of the operating system of the computing device600may be configured for using multiple displays624a-624n. In other embodiments, one or more of the display devices624a-624nmay be provided by one or more other computing devices600aor600bconnected to the computing device600, via the network604. In some embodiments software may be designed and constructed to use another computer's display device as a second display device624afor the computing device600. For example, in one embodiment, an Apple iPad may connect to a computing device600and use the display of the device600as an additional display screen that may be used as an extended desktop. One ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize and appreciate the various ways and embodiments that a computing device600may be configured to have multiple display devices624a-624n.

Referring again toFIG.6C, the computing device600may comprise a storage device628(e.g. one or more hard disk drives or redundant arrays of independent disks) for storing an operating system or other related software, and for storing application software programs such as any program related to the software620for the experiment tracker system. Examples of storage device628include, e.g., hard disk drive (HDD); optical drive including CD drive, DVD drive, or BLU-RAY drive; solid-state drive (SSD); USB flash drive; or any other device suitable for storing data. Some storage devices may include multiple volatile and non-volatile memories, including, e.g., solid state hybrid drives that combine hard disks with solid state cache. Some storage device628may be non-volatile, mutable, or read-only. Some storage device628may be internal and connect to the computing device600via a bus650. Some storage device628may be external and connect to the computing device600via a I/O device630that provides an external bus. Some storage device628may connect to the computing device600via the network interface618over a network604, including, e.g., the Remote Disk for MACBOOK AIR by Apple. Some client devices600may not require a non-volatile storage device628and may be thin clients or zero clients602. Some storage device628may also be used as a installation device616, and may be suitable for installing software and programs. Additionally, the operating system and the software can be run from a bootable medium, for example, a bootable CD, e.g. KNOPPIX, a bootable CD for GNU/Linux that is available as a GNU/Linux distribution from knoppix.net.

Client device600may also install software or application from an application distribution platform. Examples of application distribution platforms include the App Store for iOS provided by Apple, Inc., the Mac App Store provided by Apple, Inc., GOOGLE PLAY for Android OS provided by Google Inc., Chrome Webstore for CHROME OS provided by Google Inc., and Amazon Appstore for Android OS and KINDLE FIRE provided by Amazon.com, Inc. An application distribution platform may facilitate installation of software on a client device602. An application distribution platform may include a repository of applications on a server606or a cloud608, which the clients602a-602nmay access over a network604. An application distribution platform may include application developed and provided by various developers. A user of a client device602may select, purchase and/or download an application via the application distribution platform.

Furthermore, the computing device600may include a network interface618to interface to the network604through a variety of connections including, but not limited to, standard telephone lines LAN or WAN links (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, Gigabit Ethernet, Infiniband), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet, Ethernet-over-SONET, ADSL, VDSL, BPON, GPON, fiber optical including FiOS), wireless connections, or some combination of any or all of the above. Connections can be established using a variety of communication protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, Ethernet, ARCNET, SONET, SDH, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac CDMA, GSM, WiMax and direct asynchronous connections). In one embodiment, the computing device600communicates with other computing devices600′ via any type and/or form of gateway or tunneling protocol e.g. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS), or the Citrix Gateway Protocol manufactured by Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The network interface618may comprise a built-in network adapter, network interface card, PCMCIA network card, EXPRESSCARD network card, card bus network adapter, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter, modem or any other device suitable for interfacing the computing device600to any type of network capable of communication and performing the operations described herein.

A computing device600of the sort depicted inFIGS.6B and6Cmay operate under the control of an operating system, which controls scheduling of tasks and access to system resources. The computing device600can be running any operating system such as any of the versions of the MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating systems, the different releases of the Unix and Linux operating systems, any version of the MAC OS for Macintosh computers, any embedded operating system, any real-time operating system, any open source operating system, any proprietary operating system, any operating systems for mobile computing devices, or any other operating system capable of running on the computing device and performing the operations described herein. Typical operating systems include, but are not limited to: WINDOWS 2000, WINDOWS Server 2012, WINDOWS CE, WINDOWS Phone, WINDOWS XP, WINDOWS VISTA, and WINDOWS 7, WINDOWS RT, and WINDOWS 8 all of which are manufactured by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington; MAC OS and iOS, manufactured by Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, California; and Linux, a freely-available operating system, e.g. Linux Mint distribution (“distro”) or Ubuntu, distributed by Canonical Ltd. of London, United Kingom; or Unix or other Unix-like derivative operating systems; and Android, designed by Google, of Mountain View, California, among others. Some operating systems, including, e.g., the CHROME OS by Google, may be used on zero clients or thin clients, including, e.g., CHROMEBOOKS.

The computer system600can be any workstation, telephone, desktop computer, laptop or notebook computer, netbook, ULTRABOOK, tablet, server, handheld computer, mobile telephone, smartphone or other portable telecommunications device, media playing device, a gaming system, mobile computing device, or any other type and/or form of computing, telecommunications or media device that is capable of communication. The computer system600has sufficient processor power and memory capacity to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the computing device600may have different processors, operating systems, and input devices consistent with the device. The Samsung GALAXY smartphones, e.g., operate under the control of Android operating system developed by Google, Inc. GALAXY smartphones receive input via a touch interface.

In some embodiments, the computing device600is a gaming system. For example, the computer system600may comprise a PLAYSTATION 3, or PERSONAL PLAYSTATION PORTABLE (PSP), or a PLAYSTATION VITA device manufactured by the Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a NINTENDO DS, NINTENDO 3DS, NINTENDO WII, or a NINTENDO WII U device manufactured by Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, an XBOX 360 device manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington.

In some embodiments, the computing device600is a digital audio player such as the Apple IPOD, IPOD Touch, and IPOD NANO lines of devices, manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, California Some digital audio players may have other functionality, including, e.g., a gaming system or any functionality made available by an application from a digital application distribution platform. For example, the IPOD Touch may access the Apple App Store. In some embodiments, the computing device600is a portable media player or digital audio player supporting file formats including, but not limited to, MP3, WAV, M4A/AAC, WMA Protected AAC, AIFF, Audible audiobook, Apple Lossless audio file formats and .mov, .m4v, and .mp4 MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) video file formats.

In some embodiments, the computing device600is a tablet e.g. the IPAD line of devices by Apple; GALAXY TAB family of devices by Samsung; or KINDLE FIRE, by Amazon.com, Inc. of Seattle, Washington In other embodiments, the computing device600is a eBook reader, e.g. the KINDLE family of devices by Amazon.com, or NOOK family of devices by Barnes & Noble, Inc. of New York City, New York.

In some embodiments, the communications device602includes a combination of devices, e.g. a smartphone combined with a digital audio player or portable media player. For example, one of these embodiments is a smartphone, e.g. the IPHONE family of smartphones manufactured by Apple, Inc.; a Samsung GALAXY family of smartphones manufactured by Samsung, Inc; or a Motorola DROID family of smartphones. In yet another embodiment, the communications device602is a laptop or desktop computer equipped with a web browser and a microphone and speaker system, e.g. a telephony headset. In these embodiments, the communications devices602are web-enabled and can receive and initiate phone calls. In some embodiments, a laptop or desktop computer is also equipped with a webcam or other video capture device that enables video chat and video call.

In some embodiments, the status of one or more machines602,606in the network604can be monitored as part of network management. In one of these embodiments, the status of a machine may include an identification of load information (e.g., the number of processes on the machine, CPU and memory utilization), of port information (e.g., the number of available communication ports and the port addresses), or of session status (e.g., the duration and type of processes, and whether a process is active or idle). In another of these embodiments, this information may be identified by a plurality of metrics, and the plurality of metrics can be applied at least in part towards decisions in load distribution, network traffic management, and network failure recovery as well as any aspects of operations of the present solution described herein. Aspects of the operating environments and components described above will become apparent in the context of the systems and methods disclosed herein.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs, e.g., one or more circuits of computer program instructions, encoded on one or more computer storage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially generated propagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or more separate components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices).

It should be understood that the systems described above may provide multiple ones of any or each of those components and these components may be provided on either a standalone machine or, in some embodiments, on multiple machines in a distributed system. The systems and methods described above may be implemented as a method, apparatus or article of manufacture using programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. In addition, the systems and methods described above may be provided as one or more computer-readable programs embodied on or in one or more articles of manufacture. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass code or logic accessible from and embedded in one or more computer-readable devices, firmware, programmable logic, memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, SRAMs, etc.), hardware (e.g., integrated circuit chip, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.), electronic devices, a computer readable non-volatile storage unit (e.g., CD-ROM, floppy disk, hard disk drive, etc.). The article of manufacture may be accessible from a file server providing access to the computer-readable programs via a network transmission line, wireless transmission media, signals propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc. The article of manufacture may be a flash memory card or a magnetic tape. The article of manufacture includes hardware logic as well as software or programmable code embedded in a computer readable medium that is executed by a processor. The computer-readable programs can be implemented in a programming language, such as LISP, PERL, C, C++, C#, PROLOG, or in any byte code language such as JAVA. The software programs may be stored on or in one or more articles of manufacture as object code.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can be integrated in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

References to “or” may be construed as inclusive so that any terms described using “or” may indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures may be performed in any order. In certain embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any subject matter of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations of the subject matter. Certain features described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.