Master Server (MS)

The Master Server is the main processing engine of the N1 Service Provisioning System software . It is installed on a dedicated machine and provides the primary processing engine that drive the various provisioning software functions. The Master Server houses the database that defines all the objects, object attributes, and plans that define the tasks to be performed. The Master Server also runs a Command Line Interface (CLI) client to provide typed control over the N1 Service Provisioning System software and a web server that provides the HTML (graphical) interface.

The Master Server:

• A database identifying all hosts registered in the provisioning software

• A database of system objects, components, and plans

• Performs version control on the objects stored in the repository

• Authenticates IT operators and ensures that only authorized users perform specific operations

• Includes special purpose engines for performing tasks such as dependency tracking and deployments

• Provides both an HTML interface and a command-line interface for users

The N1 Service Provisioning System software repository stores components and plans in a secure, embedded SQL relational database accessible only to authorized users. The repository tracks the version of each component and each plan. For example, as part of a deployment, an IT operator can run plan version 5, which deploys version 3 of a Web server and a version 4 of a custom application.

In live data center operations, proposed changes to applications can come from many sources: from the original application development group, from the QA team, and from the IT team managing production servers. The provisioning software enables IT operators to capture configuration data from any of these sources and check these changes into the repository. IT operators can use the command line interface (CLI) to access any machine on the network and capture its configuration data. Alternatively, they can install a Remote Agent on a machine and then use the HTML interface to select resources from the machine that the provisioning software stores in the repository and combines with configuration data to create a component.