Patent ID: 7340513

Claim:
In a data processing structure with a distributed architecture including a plurality of subject entities and at least one authority entity, a resource management method for consistently self-configuring the plurality of subject entities, each subject entity in the plurality of subject entities controlling an instance of at least one resource and belonging to at least one logic category of a plurality of logic categories and to at least one physic category of a plurality of physic categories, the at least one authority entity defining a target state of the at least one resource, wherein the method includes the steps of: publishing a plurality of rules by the at least one authority entity, at least one rule of the plurality of rules including an indication of the target state of the at least one resource for the at least one logic category of each subject entity and at least a further rule of the plurality of rules including the indication of the target state of the resource for the at least one physic category of each subject entity, and for each subject entity: determining if a current state of the at least one resource on the subject entity corresponds to the target state; responsive to the current state failing to correspond to the target state, enforcing a management action to bring the current state of the at least one resource to the target state; responsive to the current state corresponding to the target state, retrieving a first set of rules from the plurality of rules corresponding to the at least one logic category of the subject entity; configuring the subject entity according to the target state by applying the first set of rules; retrieving a second set of rules from the plurality of rules corresponding to the at least one physic category of the subject entity; and configuring the subject entity according to the target state by applying the second set of rules.