Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for dynamically building a set of compute nodes to host a user's workload. An administrative server receives workload definitions that include the types of workloads that are to be run in a cloud group as well as a number of instances of each workload the cloud group should support. These workload definitions are used to determine the virtual machine demands that the cloud group will place on the cloud environment. The administrative server further receives the demand constraints, placement constraints and license enforcement policies. The administrative server identifies a set of compute nodes to host the user's workload based on the virtual machines demands, the demand constraints, the placement constraints and the license enforcement policies. In this manner, a set of compute nodes is dynamically built for consideration in forming a cloud group without the user requiring knowledge of the cloud's composition.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for managing hardware components in a cloud computing environment. Each hardware component in a data center of the cloud computing environment detects and identifies other hardware components within a communication range of the hardware component using a wireless protocol. Furthermore, each hardware component determines its actual location as well as its relative location with respect to the detected hardware components, such as based on a triangulation of the wireless signals. Such information is transmitted to an administrative server. An inventory of the hardware components in the data center, including their current location, is then compiled by the administrative server. In this manner, a hardware component can be more easily located after being relocated in the data center. Furthermore, the administrative server will be able to balance a workload across these hardware components based on their location.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for managing hardware components in a cloud computing environment. Each hardware component in a data center of the cloud computing environment detects and identifies other hardware components within a communication range of the hardware component using a wireless protocol. Furthermore, each hardware component determines its actual location as well as its relative location with respect to the detected hardware components, such as based on a triangulation of the wireless signals. Such information is transmitted to an administrative server. An inventory of the hardware components in the data center, including their current location, is then compiled by the administrative server. In this manner, a hardware component can be more easily located after being relocated in the data center. Furthermore, the administrative server will be able to balance a workload across these hardware components based on their location.

Abstract: At least one master overloaded virtual image is deployed, by a virtual image configuration device, to a hypervisor cloud that includes a group of servers, each of the group of servers configured based upon a hypervisor platform to support at least one virtual machine. A service solution is instantiated as a group of virtual machines associated with at least one of the group of servers, based upon at least one master overloaded virtual image, where the service solution includes a platform agnostic pattern independent of the hypervisor platform. Startup is initiated for each of the instantiated group of virtual machines.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for managing and deploying physical and virtual environments across multiple hardware platforms. A single unit, referred to herein as a cloud construction block, contains both the hardware and software components used to build a cloud computing environment. By having such a single unit contain both the hardware and software components needed to build a cloud computing environment, the user no longer needs to purchase and integrate different hardware and software components. Furthermore, the cloud construction block contains modular pieces of hardware, such as compute hardware, memory hardware, storage hardware and network hardware, that are integrated with management software configured to manage both the hardware and the cloud computing environment in a seamlessly integrated package. Since there is a single management system, the management software allows the user to manage the modular pieces of hardware via a single user interface.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for managing and deploying physical and virtual environments across multiple hardware platforms. A single unit, referred to herein as a cloud construction block, contains both the hardware and software components used to build a cloud computing environment. By having such a single unit contain both the hardware and software components needed to build a cloud computing environment, the user no longer needs to purchase and integrate different hardware and software components. Furthermore, the cloud construction block contains modular pieces of hardware, such as compute hardware, memory hardware, storage hardware and network hardware, that are integrated with management software configured to manage both the hardware and the cloud computing environment in a seamlessly integrated package. Since there is a single management system, the management software allows the user to manage the modular pieces of hardware via a single user interface.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for performing maintenance operations on a cloud computing node. An administrative server receives an indication that a maintenance operation is to be performed on a cloud computing node. The administrative server identifies which virtual machine(s) on the cloud computing node will be affected by the maintenance operation. The administrative server relocates the virtual machine(s) to be affected by the maintenance operation to other suitable cloud computing node(s) prior to the maintenance operation being performed. The administrative server then performs the maintenance operation on the cloud computing node. The virtual machine(s) may be relocated back to the cloud computing node after the maintenance operation is completed in response to a need to rebalance resources in such a manner. In this manner, maintenance operations may be performed on a cloud computing node without requiring to stop all the virtual machines in the node.

Abstract: When a virtual machine writes to a page that is being shared across VMs, a share value is calculated to determine how different the page would be if the write command were implemented. If the share value is below a predefined threshold (meaning that the page would not be “too different”), then the page is not copied (as it would be in a standard copy-on-write operation). Instead, the difference between the contents of the pages is stored as a self-contained delta. The physical to machine memory map is updated to point to the delta, and the delta contains a pointer to the original page. When the VM needs to access the page that was stored as a delta, the delta and the page are then fetched from memory and the page is reconstructed.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present disclosure a method and technique for automatically configuring a set of resources for deployment as a computing environment is disclosed.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for dynamically building a set of compute nodes to host a user's workload. An administrative server receives workload definitions that include the types of workloads that are to be run in a cloud group as well as a number of instances of each workload the cloud group should support. These workload definitions are used to determine the virtual machine demands that the cloud group will place on the cloud environment. The administrative server further receives the demand constraints, placement constraints and license enforcement policies. The administrative server identifies a set of compute nodes to host the user's workload based on the virtual machines demands, the demand constraints, the placement constraints and the license enforcement policies. In this manner, a set of compute nodes is dynamically built for consideration in forming a cloud group without the user requiring knowledge of the cloud's composition.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for performing maintenance operations on a cloud computing node. An administrative server receives an indication that a maintenance operation is to be performed on a cloud computing node. The administrative server identifies which virtual machine(s) on the cloud computing node will be affected by the maintenance operation. The administrative server relocates the virtual machine(s) to be affected by the maintenance operation to other suitable cloud computing node(s) prior to the maintenance operation being performed. The administrative server then performs the maintenance operation on the cloud computing node. The virtual machine(s) may be relocated back to the cloud computing node after the maintenance operation is completed in response to a need to rebalance resources in such a manner. In this manner, maintenance operations may be performed on a cloud computing node without requiring to stop all the virtual machines in the node.

Abstract: When a virtual machine writes to a page that is being shared across VMs, a share value is calculated to determine how different the page would be if the write command were implemented. If the share value is below a predefined threshold (meaning that the page would not be “too different”), then the page is not copied (as it would be in a standard copy-on-write operation). Instead, the difference between the contents of the pages is stored as a self-contained delta. The physical to machine memory map is updated to point to the delta, and the delta contains a pointer to the original page. When the VM needs to access the page that was stored as a delta, the delta and the page are then fetched from memory and the page is reconstructed.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method, system and/or computer program product manage software maintenance software in a computer system. A first snapshot is taken of first system states of a computer system. The first snapshot is mapped to a first maintenance software, which is further mapped to a specific user. The computer system is instructed to install the first maintenance software in response to an installation request from the specific user. If the specific user subsequently requests that the first maintenance software be removed from the computer system, then the mappings of the first snapshot and the first maintenance software are used to revert the computer system back to the first system states.

Abstract: Detecting leaky memory during the execution of an application in a data processing system. A memory controller identifies a leaky section of memory and delegates to an allocation component to allocate more memory. An isolator component isolates the memory section and further divides the memory section into subsections. Each section and each subsection are tested to determine if memory resources are strained to identify an application or its component causing the strain. Each section and subsection are further divided and isolated until the leaky portion of memory is identified, and as a result, the software component causing the leak can also be identified.

Abstract: At least one master overloaded virtual image is deployed, by a virtual image configuration device, to a hypervisor cloud that includes a group of servers, each of the group of servers configured based upon a hypervisor platform to support at least one virtual machine. A service solution is instantiated as a group of virtual machines associated with at least one of the group of servers, based upon at least one master overloaded virtual image, where the service solution includes a platform agnostic pattern independent of the hypervisor platform. Startup is initiated for each of the instantiated group of virtual machines.

Abstract: At least one master overloaded virtual image is deployed, by a virtual image configuration device, to a hypervisor cloud that includes a group of servers, each of the group of servers configured based upon a hypervisor platform to support at least one virtual machine. A service solution is instantiated as a group of virtual machines associated with at least one of the group of servers, based upon at least one master overloaded virtual image, where the service solution includes a platform agnostic pattern independent of the hypervisor platform. Startup is initiated for each of the instantiated group of virtual machines.

Abstract: A composable software bundle is created by retrieving a semantic representation of a set of software modules. A functional representation of a set of operations is retrieved. Each operation in the set of operations is to be performed on the set of software modules during at least one virtual image life-cycle phase in a set of virtual image life-cycle phases. A set of artifacts including a set of executable instructions associated with the set of operations is identified. The semantic representation, the functional representation, and the set of artifacts, are stored in a composable software bundle.

Abstract: A virtual image is created by receiving a selection of at least one composable software bundle. The at least one composable software bundle includes a first set of metadata and a first set of artifacts comprising a first set of executable instructions associated with a first set of operations. A virtual image asset is selected and received. The virtual image asset includes one or more virtual image disks, a second set of metadata, and a second set of artifacts including a second set of executable instructions associated with a second set of operations. A new virtual image asset is created based on the at least one composable software bundle and the virtual image asset. The new virtual image asset includes a third set of metadata that is based on the first set of metadata and the second set of metadata.

Abstract: At least one master overloaded virtual image is deployed, by a virtual image configuration device, to a hypervisor cloud that includes a group of servers, each of the group of servers configured based upon a hypervisor platform to support at least one virtual machine. A service solution is instantiated as a group of virtual machines associated with at least one of the group of servers, based upon at least one master overloaded virtual image, where the service solution includes a platform agnostic pattern independent of the hypervisor platform. Startup is initiated for each of the instantiated group of virtual machines.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method, system and/or computer program product manage software maintenance software in a computer system. A first snapshot is taken of first system states of a computer system. The first snapshot is mapped to a first maintenance software, which is further mapped to a specific user. The computer system is instructed to install the first maintenance software in response to an installation request from the specific user. If the specific user subsequently requests that the first maintenance software be removed from the computer system, then the mappings of the first snapshot and the first maintenance software are used to revert the computer system back to the first system states.