Cloud metadata discovery API

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10244051-B2
Application number	US-201615135884-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 22, 2016
Priority date	Dec 13, 2015
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

Embodiments provide an API that provides metadata about a cloud service's endpoints in response to a single query. This allows a cloud service to advertise each of its endpoints through a common endpoint. The common endpoint may be present in each of a plurality of cloud services, thereby allowing each cloud service automatically discover metadata for other cloud services.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, implemented at a local distributed computing system comprising one or more processors, for identifying endpoint metadata for a plurality of endpoints, the method comprising:
identifying a remote distributed computing system associated with the local distributed computing system;
automatically sending, from the local distributed computing system, an endpoint query to the remote distributed computing system according to an address preconfigured within the local distributed computing system, wherein the endpoint query is a single request for endpoint address metadata associated with the remote distributed computing system;
receiving, at the local distributed computing system, a response to the endpoint query from the remote distributed computing system, the response comprising endpoint metadata information for a plurality of endpoints associated with management or authentication services that are available on the remote distributed computing system, wherein the endpoint metadata information comprises at least an address for at least one endpoint that is usable by the local distributed computing system to access the at least one endpoint from the local distributed computing system; and
automatically obtaining, based on the endpoint metadata information, at the local distributed computing system, authentication tokens for the remote distributed computing system to allow access to the plurality of endpoints on the remote distributed computing system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the endpoint metadata information further comprises addresses for endpoints required to access, resource services on the remote distributed computing system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the endpoint metadata information comprises a list of all available endpoints on the remote distributed computing system.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first distributed computing system and the remote distributed computing system provide separate cloud computing services.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the response comprises one or more of an authentication endpoint, a resource manager resource identifier, a gallery or marketplace endpoint, a graph or directory endpoint, a management portal endpoint, and a resource manager endpoint.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
saving endpoint metadata information for one or more remote distributed computing system associated with a user of the local distributed computing system.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a directory service on the distributed computing system determines when a user has logged on to the local distributed computing system.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the directory service sends the endpoint query to the remote distributed computing system.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the response from the remote distributed computing system further comprises a list of endpoints and addresses that are required to interact with the second cloud.

10. A remote distributed computing system for providing authentication tokens to a local distributed computing system for accessing a plurality of remote endpoints associated with the local distributed computing system, the system comprising:
a directory service configured to authenticate and authorize local distributed computing systems at the remote distributed computing system;
a subscription storage comprising information identifying available services to the local distributed computing system, the available services comprising both local services available on the local distributed computing system and remote services available on one or more remote cloud systems;
a local endpoint metadata storage comprising endpoint metadata information associated with management or authentication services on the local distributed computing system; and
a remote endpoint metadata storage comprising endpoint metadata information associated with management or authentication services on the one or more remote cloud systems,
wherein, upon receiving a single endpoint query request automatically sent from the local distributed computing system, the directory service provides endpoint metadata information to the local distributed computing system, the endpoint metadata information including at least:
a plurality of remote endpoints that are identified, using the subscription storage, with management or authentication services available to the local distributed computing system; and
an address for accessing at least one remote endpoint of the plurality of remote endpoints that is available to the local distributed computing system;

wherein the directory service provides authentication tokens, automatically obtained based on the endpoint metadata information at the local distributed computing system, for the at least one remote endpoint that is available to the local distributed computing system to allow the local distributed computing system to access the at least one remote endpoint.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the directory service is configured to identify a remote cloud system associated with a user of the local distributed computing system and to send an endpoint query to the remote cloud system.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the directory service is configured to receive a response from a remote cloud system associated with a user of the local distributed computing system, wherein the response comprises endpoint metadata information associated with the remote cloud system.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the directory service is further configured to save the endpoint metadata information to the remote endpoint metadata storage.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the endpoint metadata information associated with services on the one or more remote cloud systems further comprises addresses for resource services on the remote cloud system.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the directory service is further configured to respond to requests for endpoint metadata information received at the distributed computing system.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the response comprises a list of all available endpoints on the distributed computing system that are stored in the local endpoint metadata storage.

17. A method, implemented at a remote distributed computing system, for providing authentication tokens for accessing a plurality of remote endpoints, the method comprising:
receiving, automatically sent from a local distributed computing system, a single endpoint query request comprising a request for endpoint address metadata associated with remote endpoints accessible through the remote distributed computing system;
based on an identity associated with the local distributed computing system, identifying a plurality of remote endpoints available to the local distributed computing system; and
transmitting to the local distributed computing system a response to the single endpoint query request, the response comprising at least:
endpoint metadata information for a plurality of remote endpoints available on the remote distributed computing system that are associated with management or authentication services that are available to the local distributed computing system; and
at least one address for accessing at least one remote endpoint of the plurality of remote endpoints that are available to the local distributed computing system;

providing one or more authentication tokens, automatically obtained based on the endpoint metadata information at the local distributed computing system, that allow the local distributed computing system to access

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Natarajan Shriram
• Pogrebinsky Vladimir
• Jones Ryan

Classifications

• G06F11/07

  Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance · CPC title

• H04L67/1097 Primary

  for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS] · CPC title

• H04L61/1541

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L61/1582

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L61/1505

  Electricity · mapped topic