Abstract: A system and a method to manage a data center, the method including, for example, retrieving a physical topology of a service; determining from the physical topology a concrete type of a resource for the service; and selecting an actual instance of the resource in the data center. The actual instance having the concrete type and the actual instance selected such that a consumption of the actual instance does not violate at least one of a constraint and a policy.

Abstract: Systems and methods for automated failure recovery of subsystems of a management system are described. The subsystems are built and modeled as services, and their management, specifically their failure recovery, is done in a manner similar to that of services and resources managed by the management system. The management system consists of a microkernel, service managers, and management services. Each service, whether a managed service or a management service, is managed by a service manager. The service manager itself is a service and so is in turn managed by the microkernel. Both managed services and management services are monitored via in-band and out-of-band mechanisms, and the performance metrics and alerts are transported through an event system to the appropriate service manager. If a service fails, the service manager takes policy-based remedial steps including, for example, restarting the failed service.