Abstract: Aspects extend to methods, systems, and computer program products for configuring a cloud from aggregate declarative configuration data. A declarative language can be used to declare physical and logical topology as well as cloud operations commands at multiple topology hierarchies. Developers of different cloud components can declare roles and cloud operations in compliance with a declaration model. Compliance with the declaration model allows aggregation and cross-referencing among commands and topology elements declared by different developers. As such, dependencies between components can be efficiently identified and accounted for when implementing cloud operation commands. Declarative configuration data can also be used to onboard additional components to a cloud without code changes to an underlying configuration engine.

Abstract: Aspects extend to methods, systems, and computer program products for using declarative configuration data to resolve errors in cloud operation. A tool (e.g., a maintenance module) and a design model can be used for bootstrapping a cloud stack that enables an external media based deployment model. The deployment model allows provisioning of an entire cloud stack as well as reset of or recovery from a failure of an existing cloud deployment instance. In one aspect, a bootstrap command for a cloud, a recovery command for the cloud, and a reset command for the cloud are consolidated within declarative configuration data. The tool (e.g., the maintenance module) can refer to the declarative configuration data to implement any of the bootstrap command, the recovery command, or the reset command.

Abstract: Aspects extend to methods, systems, and computer program products for using declarative configuration data to manage cloud lifecycle. A declarative language can be used to declare physical and logical topology as well as lifecycle management commands at multiple topology hierarchies. Developers of different cloud components can declare roles and cloud operations in compliance with a declaration model. Compliance with the declaration model allows aggregation and cross-referencing among commands and topology elements declared by different developers. As such, dependencies between components can be efficiently identified and accounted for when implementing lifecycle management commands Declarative configuration data can also be used to onboard additional components to a cloud without code changes to an underlying lifecycle state manager.

Abstract: A testing and validating software program on a host computer is provided having a graphical user interface program, an engine communicating with a target device and responding to command from the graphical user interface, a plurality of test suites having at least one test for testing and validating at least one component of an operating system, and a protocol acknowledgment software package conducive to use with the target device, wherein the protocol acknowledgment software package uses an operating system-generated event handle as a member field of a protocol for releasing an execution thread which is waiting for an acknowledgment message from the target device, and wherein the event handle is placed in a header portion of an acknowledgment message packet and is sent back in the acknowledgment message, and wherein a receiving thread unblocks any send threads of execution which are waiting for the event handle in the acknowledgment message.