Executing a debugging operation during deployment of a blueprint within a cloud system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9667746-B2
Application number	US-201313743146-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2013
Priority date	Jan 16, 2013
Publication date	May 30, 2017
Grant date	May 30, 2017

Abstract

Tools are provided to assist users of cloud computing systems to create, monitor, and debug the resource instances they need. Specifically, resource instances are created in a cloud computing system based on a blueprint that is provided to a blueprint processor. The blueprint declaratively defines the resources that the user needs to have created in the cloud. Based on the information contained in blueprint, the blueprint processor causes the cloud to orchestrate the creation of resource instances, doing so in parallel when possible, and to configure those resource instances as specified in blueprint. Techniques are described for generating a timeline to convey status during the deployment process, and for performing debugging operations.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, at a blueprint processor, a command to create a target system based on a blueprint;
wherein the blueprint defines a plurality of cloud resource objects for the target system;
in response to the command, the blueprint processor processing the blueprint to create an instance of the target system;
wherein, before the blueprint processor processes the blueprint, no instances of the plurality of cloud resource objects exist for the instance of the target system;
wherein, after the blueprint processor processes the blueprint, instances exist for each of the plurality of cloud resource objects for the instance of the target system;
wherein processing the blueprint includes causing creation, within a cloud system, of a plurality of resource instances that correspond to the plurality of cloud resource objects that are defined within the blueprint;
wherein the plurality of resource instances includes a first resource instance and a second resource instance;
while the blueprint processor is processing the blueprint, after the first resource instance has been created and before the second resource instance has been created, executing a debugging operation that performs at least one of:
evaluates a path or expression that appears in the blueprint; or
sets a value of an attribute associated with one of the plurality of cloud resource objects that is defined within the blueprint;

after the debugging operation, the blueprint processor causing creation of the second resource instance responsive to continuing to process the blueprint;
wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1 herein further comprising:
prior to executing the debugging operation, causing the blueprint processor to cease processing the blueprint.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein causing the blueprint processor to cease processing the blueprint includes causing the blueprint processor to cease performing operations for processing the blueprint based on a pause point command.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein causing the blueprint processor to cease processing the blueprint includes causing the blueprint processor to cease performing operations for processing the blueprint based on a breakpoint specified within the blueprint.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining, based on dependencies between the plurality of cloud resource objects defined by the blueprint, an order to create the plurality of resource instances; and
when processing the blueprint, creating the resource instances within the cloud system based on the order.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the order for creating the resource instances is not explicitly defined by the blueprint.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein determining the order includes determining that a first cloud resource instance should be created before a second cloud resource instance based on the first cloud resource instance producing information that is used by the second cloud resource instance.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the debugging operation is performed using an interactive cloud explorer; and
the method further includes using the interactive cloud explorer to perform a particular operation on a particular resource instance that is already created in the cloud system;
the particular operation is one of:
evaluating a path expression associated with the particular resource instance;
executing an expression, associated with the particular resource instance, that is written in a language supported by the blueprint processor; or
setting the value of an attribute of the particular resource instance.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the particular operation is evaluating a path expression print associated with the particular resource instance.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the debugging operation evaluates a path expression that appears in the blueprint.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the debugging operation evaluates an expression that appears in the blueprint.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the debugging operation sets a value of an attribute associated with one of the plurality of cloud resource objects.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the particular operation is setting the value of an attribute associated with the particular resource instance.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of a method comprising:
receiving, at a blueprint processor, a command to create a target system based on a blueprint;
wherein the blueprint defines a plurality of cloud resource objects for the target system;
in response to the command, the blueprint processor processing the blueprint to create an instance of the target system;
wherein, before the blueprint processor processes the blueprint, no instances of the plurality of cloud resource objects exist for the instance of the target system;
wherein, after the blueprint processor processes the blueprint, instances exist for each of the plurality of cloud resource objects for the instance of the target system;
wherein processing the blueprint includes causing creation, within a cloud system, of a plurality of resource instances that correspond to the plurality of cloud resource objects that are defined within the blueprint;
wherein the plurality of resource instances includes a first resource instance and a second resource instance;
while the blueprint processor is processing the blueprint, after the first resource instance has been created and before the second resource instance has been created, executing a debugging operation that performs at least one of:
evaluates a path or expression that appears in the blueprint; or
sets a value of an attribute associated with one of the plurality of cloud resource objects that is defined within the blueprint;

after the debugging operation, the blueprint processor causing creation of the second resource instance responsive to continuing to process the blueprint.

15. A system comprising:
one or more processors;
memory, operatively coupled to the one or more processors, storing instructions executable by the one or more processors;
wherein the instructions include instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause:
receiving, at a blueprint processor, a command to create a target system based on a blueprint;
wherein the blueprint defines a plurality of cloud resource objects for the target system;
in response to the command, the blueprint processor processing the blueprint to create an instance of the target system;
wherein, before the blueprint processor processes the blueprint, no instances of the plurality of cloud resource objects exist for the instance of the target system;
wherein, after the blueprint processor processes the blueprint, instances exist for each of the plurality of cloud resource objects for the instance of the target system;
wherein processing the blueprint includes causing creation, within a cloud system, of a plurality of resource instances that correspond to the plurality of cloud resource objects that are defined within the blueprint;
wherein the plurality of resource instances includes a first resource instance and a second resource instance;
while the blueprint processor is processing the blueprint, after the first resource instance has been created and before the second resource instance has been created, executing a debugging operation that performs at least one of:
evaluates a path or expression that appears in the bluepri

Assignees

• Oracle Int Corp

Inventors

• Bauer Jonathan Asher
• Vambenepe Guillaume Nicolas
• Carter Frederick H

Classifications

• H04L47/70

  Admission control; Resource allocation · CPC title

• H04L67/34 Primary

  involving the movement of software or configuration parameters  (network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416) · CPC title

• H04L67/36 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L67/75

  Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title