Facilitating performance of node management actions in a computing infrastructure having diverse node interfaces

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12284079-B2
Application number	US-202117302822-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2021
Priority date	Dec 3, 2020
Publication date	Apr 22, 2025
Grant date	Apr 22, 2025

Abstract

An aspect of the present disclosure facilitates performance of node management actions in a computing infrastructure having diverse node interfaces. In one embodiment, a configuration data is maintained, the configuration data specifying plugins designed to communicate with different node interfaces installed on the nodes of a computing infrastructure. The plugins are corresponding implementations of a common client interface. Upon receiving from the client application, via the common client interface, a management action to be performed on a desired node, the configuration data is inspected to identify a specific plugin corresponding to the node interface installed on the desired node. The node management action is then performed on the desired node using the identified specific plugin. Accordingly, the client application can be implemented agnostic to the specific node interfaces installed on a node.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method implemented in a server system, the method comprising:
maintaining a configuration data specifying a plurality of plugins, each plugin able to communicate with a corresponding node interface of a plurality of node interfaces of a computing infrastructure,
wherein each plugin of the plurality of plugins is a respective implementation of a common client interface provided to client applications, wherein the common client interface is a base plugin comprising a common set of virtual functions,
wherein each plugin comprises a set of functions implementing said common set of virtual functions, wherein each function of the set of functions upon invocation performs a corresponding node management action,
wherein each node interface requires a corresponding set of credentials to be provided for performance of node management actions on the corresponding node;
receiving from a client application executing on a client system, a request for credentials for a first node of the computing infrastructure;
generating, by communicating with a first node interface installed on the first node, a first set of credentials for a new user;
providing the first set of credentials to the client application;
receiving from the client application, a first indication to access the first node of the computing infrastructure, wherein the first set of credentials are received along with the first indication from the client application;
in response to the first indication received from the client application:
inspecting the configuration data to identify a first plugin, wherein the first plugin is contained in the plurality of plugins and is indicated in the configuration data to correspond to the first node interface installed on the first node of the computing infrastructure;
maintaining an association between the client application and the first plugin in view of the first indication and the inspecting identifying the first plugin;
sending to the client application, data representing the common client interface to the client application, wherein the data comprises details for invocation of the common set of virtual functions;
receiving from the client application, using the common client interface, invocation of a first virtual function representing a first node management action to be performed on the first node;
determining, in response to receiving the invocation from the client application and based on the association, that the first plugin is to be used for communicating with the first node interface for performance of the first node management action; and
performing, by invoking a first function of the first plugin, wherein the first function is an implementation of the first virtual function in the first plugin for communicating with the first node interface installed on the first node, the first node management action on the first node of the computing infrastructure, the performing comprising sending the first set of credentials and the first node management action to the first node interface installed on the first node.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a second node interface is installed on the first node at a second time instance following the performing of the first node management action, the method further comprising:
receiving from the client application after the second time instance, a second indication to access the first node of the computing infrastructure;
inspecting, in response to the second indication, the configuration data to identify a second plugin, wherein the second plugin is contained in the plurality of plugins and is indicated in the configuration data to correspond to the second node interface installed on the first node of the computing infrastructure;
updating the association as being between the client application and the second plugin in view of the second indication and the inspecting identifying the second plugin;
receiving from the client application using the common client interface, invocation of the first virtual function representing the first node management action to be performed on the first node;
determining, in response to receiving from the client application and based on the updated association, that the second plugin is to be used for communicating with the first node interface; and
performing, by invoking a second function of the second plugin, wherein the second function is an implementation of the first virtual function in the second plugin for communicating with the first node interface installed on the first node, the first node management action on the first node of the computing infrastructure.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first node interface is provided by a first vendor and the second node interface is provided by a second vendor.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first node interface is an older version of the node interface provided by a first vendor and the second node interface is a newer version of the node interface provided by the first vendor.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein each of the first indication and the second indication comprises an IP address of the first node.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising retrieving from the first node, in response to the first indication, details of the first node interface installed in the first node, wherein the inspecting is performed after the retrieving.

7. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more instructions by one or more processors contained in a digital processing system causes the digital processing system to perform the actions of:
maintaining a configuration data specifying a plurality of plugins designed to communicate with a corresponding plurality of node interfaces of a computing infrastructure,
wherein each plugin of the plurality of plugins is a respective implementation of a common client interface provided to client applications, wherein the common client interface is a base plugin comprising a common set of virtual functions,
wherein each node interface requires a corresponding set of credentials to be provided for performance of node management actions on the corresponding node, and
wherein each plugin comprises a set of functions implementing said common set of virtual functions, wherein each function of the set of functions upon invocation performs a corresponding node management action;
receiving from a client application executing of a client system, a request for credentials for a first node of the computing infrastructure;
generating, by communicating with a first node interface installed on the first node, a first set of credentials for a new user, wherein the communicating comprises requesting the first node interface to create the new user with the first set of credentials in the first node;
upon successful creation of the new user with the first set of credentials in the first node, providing the first set of credentials to the client application;
receiving from the client application, a first indication to access the first node of the computing infrastructure, wherein the first set of credentials are received along with the first indication from the client application;
in response to the first indication, inspecting the configuration data to identify a first plugin of the plurality of plugins corresponding to the first node interface installed on the first node of the computing infrastructure for performance of the first node management action;
maintaining an association between the client application and the first plugin in view of the first indication and the inspecting identifying the first plugin;
receiving from the client application, via the common client interface, a first node managemen

Assignees

• Nutanix Inc

Inventors

• Huang Tsai Chun
• Sharma Manish
• S G Manjegowda
• Kumar Amit
• Kumar Vishal
• Sidhartha Kumar
• Nanda Kumar N

Classifications

• G06F21/45

  Structures or tools for the administration of authentication · CPC title

• G06F9/44526

  Plug-ins; Add-ons · CPC title

• H04L41/085

  Retrieval of network configuration; Tracking network configuration history · CPC title

• H04L41/0866 Primary

  Checking the configuration · CPC title

• H04L41/082 Primary

  the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality · CPC title