Abstract: A method for enforcing a model deployment specification for a software application in execution in a virtualised computing environment, the method comprising: retrieving a compliance characteristic for the application, the compliance characteristic having associated a compliance criterion; receiving a model deployment specification for the compliance characteristic, the model deployment specification including an identification of a set of model resources being selected to, when instantiated, satisfy the compliance criterion; identifying a set of instantiated resources as resources instantiated for execution of the application; in response to a determination that the set of model resources includes absent resources as resources outside the set of instantiated resources, modifying the set of instantiated resources by instantiating the absent resources for execution of the application such that the absent resources are included in the set of instantiated resources.

Abstract: A software compliance assessment apparatus for determining a level of compliance of a software application in execution in a virtualised computing environment, the apparatus comprising: an identifier component operable to identify resources instantiated for execution of the application; a retriever component operable to retrieve a compliance characteristic for the application, the compliance characteristic being retrieved based on the identified resources, and the compliance characteristic having associated a compliance criterion based on a formal parameter; a selector component operable to select a software component for providing an actual parameter corresponding to the formal parameter, the actual parameter being based on data concerning at least one of the resources; an evaluator component operable to evaluate the compliance criterion using the actual parameter; and a detector component operable to detect a change to one or more of the resources, wherein the identifier component, selector component and ev

Abstract: A method for categorising a state of operation of a software application in execution in a virtualised computing environment, the application having associated a set of software components being operable to access data associated with the application, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a set of software application state definitions, each state definition including a definition of an application characteristic having associated criteria based on one or more formal parameters; identifying a set of hypothetical states for the application from the set of state definitions based on the data, wherein the data is used to formulate a set of one or more actual parameters corresponding to formal parameters for criteria associated with one or more of the states in the set of hypothetical states; for each of the states in the set of hypothetical states, in response to a determination that criteria associated with a current state is fully evaluable in the negative, removing the current state from the set of hy

Abstract: An apparatus for enforcing a compliance requirement for a software application in execution in a virtualised computing environment, the apparatus comprising: an identifier component operable to identify a resource instantiated for execution of the application; a retriever component operable to retrieve a compliance characteristic for the application, the compliance characteristic being retrieved based on the identified resource and having associated a compliance criterion based on a formal parameter, the compliance criterion defining a set of compliant resource states; a first selector component operable to select a software component for providing an actual parameter corresponding to the formal parameter, the actual parameter being based on data concerning the resource; an evaluator component operable to evaluate the compliance criterion using the actual parameter; an application modifier component operable to, in response to a determination that the resource is outside the set of compliant resource states,

Abstract: A method of augmenting a deployment specification for a software application to determine a level of compliance of the application with a compliance characteristic, the deployment specification being suitable for identifying a resource required to execute the software application in a virtualised computing environment, the method comprising: receiving a definition of the compliance characteristic as a set of compliance criteria concerning the resource, wherein satisfaction of the compliance criteria during execution of the software application is suitable for determining the level of compliance of the software application with the compliance characteristic; selecting at least one software component from a library of components based on the definition of the compliance characteristic, the software component being operable to determine a state of satisfaction of at least a subset of the set of criteria for the compliance characteristic; and modifying the deployment specification to identify the at least one sel