Patent ID: 8775601

Claim:
A method, in a data processing system comprising at least one computing device and a plurality of computing resources, for reserving computing resources of a data processing system, comprising: generating, by the at least one computing device, one or more computing environment entitlement contract (CEEC) data structures, each CEEC data structure defining terms of a business level agreement between a contracting party and a provider of computing resources of the data processing system, wherein the terms of the CEEC specify a set of computing resources having a specified configuration that are to be used by the contracting party for a specified purpose at a specified level and pattern of intensity for a specified period of time; associating, by the at least one computing device, a set of one or more computing resources with a CEEC data structure; and managing, by the at least one computing device, the set of one or more computing resources in accordance with the associated CEEC data structure, wherein, in response to the contracting party failing to utilize the set of one or more computing resources for the specified purpose at approximately the specified level and pattern of intensity during approximately the specified period of time specified in the CEEC data structure, logic of the at least one computing device nullifies the CEEC data structure; wherein the CEEC data structure comprises: a CEEC identifier field that specifies an identification of the CEEC; a contracting party identifier field that stores a contracting party identifier to uniquely identify a contracting party, or group of contracting parties, with which the CEEC data structure is associated; one or more computing resource identifier fields that uniquely identify the computing resource(s), computing resource cohorts, or other groups of computing resource(s) with which the CEEC data structure is associated; one or more business purpose fields that identify one or more specified business purposes for which the computing resource(s) identified in the one or more computing resource identifier fields may be used in accordance with the CEEC; one or more computing resource configuration fields that specify computing resource configuration requirements for satisfying the terms of the CEEC; and one or more utilization fields that specify a given level and pattern of intensity of utilization for a given period of time for which the contracting party is required to utilize the computing resources specified in one or more computing resource identifier fields.