System and method for controlling cloud and virtualized data centers in an intelligent workload management system

Abstract

The system and method for controlling cloud and virtualized data centers described herein may include a computing environment having a model-driven, service-oriented architecture for creating collaborative threads to manage workloads, and further to creating cloud images having embedded management agents and identity services for validating the cloud images prior to deployment into the cloud and virtualized data centers and controlling, monitoring, and auditing activity associated with the cloud images following deployment into the cloud and virtualized data centers.

1 . A system for controlling cloud and virtualized data centers in an intelligent workload management system, comprising:
 at least one software installation having an embedded management agent;   an authentication server that embeds an identity service in the at least one software installation, wherein the embedded identity service includes an authentication token defining authorizations or permissions for a unique identity assigned to the software installation;   an image management system that stores a virtual machine image created from the software installation in a shared repository;   a cloud image repository that stores a cloud image created from the virtual machine image in the shared repository, wherein the cloud image created from the virtual machine image includes the embedded management agent and the embedded identity service; and   an image deployment system that deploys the cloud image with the embedded management agent and the embedded identity service into a cloud computing environment.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a licensed software repository that stores licensed software; and   a source code repository that stores software source code, wherein the at least one software installation is created from at least one of the licensed software stored in the licensed software repository or the software source code stored in the source code repository.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one software installation includes at least one of a virtual machine installation or an auto build installation that includes the virtual machine image created from the software installation. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one software installation includes a hardware installation that includes software installed directly over one or more physical hardware resources, and wherein the system further comprises a migration system that creates the virtual machine image from the software installed directly over the one or more physical hardware resources. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the image management system includes:
 a testing engine that runs a plurality of operational integrity tests against the virtual machine image created from the software installation and releases the virtual machine image to the shared repository in response to the virtual machine image passing the plurality of operational integrity tests; and   a validation engine that restricts releasing the virtual machine image to the shared repository in response to the virtual machine image failing one or more of the plurality of operational integrity tests, wherein the validation engine restricts releasing the virtual machine image to the shared repository until a validation workload controlled by the embedded management agent and the embedded identity service results in the virtual machine image passing the plurality of operational integrity tests.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , further comprising a discovery engine that creates the cloud image from the virtual machine image in response to detecting that the virtual machine image has been released to the shared repository, or in response to receiving an event advertising that the virtual machine image has been released to the shared repository. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the discovery engine converts the virtual machine image into an image format associated with the cloud computing environment to create the cloud image from the virtual machine image. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the image deployment system includes an impact analysis engine that determines whether deploying the cloud image into the cloud computing environment will create one or more potential adverse impacts in an information technology infrastructure, and wherein the image deployment system is configured to:
 deploy the cloud image into the cloud computing environment in response to the impact analysis engine determining that deploying the cloud image will not create any potential adverse impacts in the information technology infrastructure; and   deploy the cloud image into the cloud computing environment in response to the impact analysis engine determining that deploying the cloud image will create one or more potential adverse impacts in the information technology infrastructure and resolving the one or more potential adverse impacts.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the image deployment system creates a clone of the cloud image deployed into the cloud computing environment and embeds a new or aggregated identity service in the clone of the cloud image, wherein the new or aggregated identity service embedded in the clone of the cloud image records a lineage for the cloud image. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the cloud computing environment includes an audit service and a privileged user management service that interact with the management agent and the identity service embedded in the cloud image to control, monitor, and audit activity that occurs in the cloud image following deployment to the cloud computing environment. 
     
     
         11 . A method for controlling cloud and virtualized data centers in an intelligent workload management system, comprising:
 creating at least one software installation having an embedded management agent;   embedding, by an authentication server, an identity service in the at least one software installation, wherein the embedded identity service includes an authentication token defining authorizations or permissions for a unique identity assigned to the software installation;   storing, by an image management system, a virtual machine image created from the software installation, wherein the image management system stores the virtual machine image created from the software installation in a shared repository;   storing, in a cloud image repository, a cloud image created from the virtual machine image, wherein the cloud image created from the virtual machine image includes the embedded management agent and the embedded identity service; and   deploying, by an image deployment system, the cloud image with the embedded management agent and the embedded identity service into a cloud computing environment.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 storing licensed software in a licensed software repository; and   storing software source code in a source code repository, wherein the at least one software installation is created from at least one of the licensed software stored in the licensed software repository or the software source code stored in the source code repository.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one software installation includes at least one of a virtual machine installation or an auto build installation that includes the virtual machine image created from the software installation. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one software installation includes a hardware installation that includes software installed directly over one or more physical hardware resources, and wherein the method further comprises creating, by a migration system, the virtual machine image from the software installed directly over the one or more physical hardware resources. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 running, by a testing engine, a plurality of operational integrity tests against the virtual machine image created from the software installation;   releasing the virtual machine image to the shared repository in response to the virtual machine image passing the plurality of operational integrity tests, wherein a validation engine restricts releasing the virtual machine image to the shared repository in response to the virtual machine image failing one or more of the plurality of operational integrity tests; and   releasing the virtual machine image to the shared repository in response to a validation workload controlled by the embedded management agent and the embedded identity service resulting in the virtual machine image passing the plurality of operational integrity tests.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 creating the cloud image from the virtual machine image in response to a discovery engine detecting the release of the virtual machine image to the shared repository; and   creating the cloud image from the virtual machine image in response to the discovery engine receiving an event advertising the release of the virtual machine image to the shared repository.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein creating the cloud image from the virtual machine image includes converting the virtual machine image into an image format associated with the cloud computing environment. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising determining, by an impact analysis engine, whether deploying the cloud image into the cloud computing environment will create one or more potential adverse impacts in an information technology infrastructure, wherein deploying the cloud image into the cloud computing environment includes:
 deploying the cloud image into the cloud computing environment in response to the impact analysis engine determining that deploying the cloud image will not create any potential adverse impacts in the information technology infrastructure; and   deploying the cloud image into the cloud computing environment in response to the impact analysis engine determining that deploying the cloud image will create one or more potential adverse impacts in the information technology infrastructure and resolving the one or more potential adverse impacts.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 creating, by the image deployment system, a clone of the cloud image deployed into the cloud computing environment; and   embedding, by the image deployment system, a new or aggregated identity service in the clone of the cloud image, wherein the new or aggregated identity service embedded in the clone of the cloud image records a lineage for the cloud image.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the cloud computing environment includes an audit service and a privileged user management service that interact with the management agent and the identity service embedded in the cloud image to control, monitor, and audit activity that occurs in the cloud image following deployment to the cloud computing environment.