Systems and methods for infrastructure validation

Inventors

Gibson, Gregory A. • Wood, Daniel V.

Assignees

Andrei Iancu Under Secretary Of Commerce For Intellectual Property And Director Of United States Patent And Trademark Office And Successors Thereto • Ashley Moody Florida Office Of Attorney General And Successors Thereto • Heuer Joan D • Jeanette Nunez Lieutenant Governor Of Florida And Successors Thereto • Laurel M Lee Florida Secretary Of State And Successors Thereto • Steven Mnuchin United States Secretary Of Treasury And Successors Thereto • Bureau of the Fiscal Service

Abstract

Systems and method are provided for testing an infrastructure. The infrastructure may include one or more computers connected by a network. Moreover, each of the computers may include an agent. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving, at a controller, a test request to perform at least one of a plurality of predetermined tests, the predetermined test including one or more parameters associated with performing the predetermined test and one or more expected results from performing the predetermined test. The method further includes determining whether the predetermined test is available at one of the computers. The method also includes sending, by the controller, the predetermined test to one of the computers based on the results of the determining step, such that the agent at the computer performs the predetermined test sent by the controller. Furthermore, the method includes receiving, at the controller, one or more results of the predetermined test performed by the agent at the computer.

Core Innovation

The invention provides systems and methods for testing an infrastructure comprising one or more computers connected by a network, with each computer including an agent configured to perform predetermined tests. The method involves receiving at a controller a test request containing one or more predetermined tests with associated parameters and expected results, determining whether the predetermined tests are available at the computers, sending the tests to appropriate agents for execution, and receiving the results back at the controller for validation.

The problem being addressed is the complexity and manual nature of infrastructure testing associated with business applications deployed within enterprises. Such infrastructure may span multiple computers, operating systems, networks, devices, and applications, some of which may be outside enterprise control, making testing challenging and error-prone. Traditional testing methods are unique to each application and labor-intensive, lacking automation or reuse, which impedes timely and reliable deployment of business applications.

The invention addresses these challenges by enabling automated, reusable, and configurable infrastructure testing independent of the business application itself. It provides a mechanism for remotely controlling distributed agents to perform tests with parameters and expected results, organizing tests into reusable components, supporting dependencies between tests, and allowing the storage and reuse of test requests and results. This allows infrastructure validation before, during, or after business application deployment and aids in troubleshooting by isolating infrastructure from application issues.

Claims Coverage

The patent includes multiple independent claims covering methods, systems, computer-readable media, means for performing steps, and user interfaces for infrastructure testing. Below are the main inventive features extracted from these claims.

The independent claims collectively cover a distributed infrastructure testing solution involving user-initiated test requests with configurable dependencies, remote execution by agents based on capability discovery, result collection and validation at a controller, and user interface integration for test management and result display.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications