Profile-based placement of clients

A management server for a distributed computer system comprising:

• memory and
• a processor configured to:
• receive profile parameters from a user, wherein at least some of the profile parameters have importance settings that are set to a highest importance level, a lower importance level and a lowest importance level, wherein the highest importance level indicates that a first profile parameter is required by the user in a corresponding requirement profile, the lower importance level indicates that a second profile parameter is not required by the user but is desirable by the user in the corresponding requirement profile and the lowest importance level indicates that a third profile parameter is less important to the user in the corresponding requirement profile than the second profile parameter;
• automatically create multiple requirement profiles with different priorities for the client using the profile parameters provided by the user, each of the multiple requirement profiles including at least some of the profile parameters, the multiple requirement profiles including at least a first requirement profile with a highest priority and a second requirement profile with a lowest priority, the first requirement profile with the highest priority including at least one profile parameter not included in the second requirement profile with the lowest priority, wherein the at least one profile parameter is not required by the user but is desirable by the user in the first requirement profile with the highest priority;
• determine whether any host computer in the distributed computer system satisfies resource requirements of the client and also matches the profile parameters in one of the multiple requirement profiles, including successively applying the multiple requirement profiles with different priorities in an order from the first requirement profile with the highest priority to the second requirement profile with the lowest priority if no host computer in the computer cluster matches the profile parameters of one or more applied requirement profiles until at least one host computer that matches the profile parameters for one of the multiple requirement profiles is found, wherein a requirement profile with a lower priority includes fewer profile parameters than a requirement profile with a higher priority, and wherein each of the requirement profiles with the different priorities includes the profile parameters with the importance settings set at the highest importance level;
• and
• identify a host computer in the distributed computer system as a suitable host computer to place the client if the host computer satisfies the resource requirements of the client and also matches the profile parameters in the requirement profile.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing program instructions for placement of a client in a distributed computer system, wherein execution of the program instructions by one or more processors of a computer system causes the one or more processors to perform steps comprising:

• receiving profile parameters from a user, wherein at least some of the profile parameters have importance settings that are set to a highest importance level, a lower importance level and a lowest importance level, wherein the highest importance level indicates that a first profile parameter is required by the user in a corresponding requirement profile, the lower importance level indicates that a second profile parameter is not required by the user but is desirable by the user in the corresponding requirement profile and the lowest importance level indicates that a third profile parameter is less important to the user in the corresponding requirement profile than the second profile parameter;
• automatically creating multiple requirement profiles with different priorities for the client using the profile parameters provided by the user, each of the multiple requirement profiles including at least some of the profile parameters, the multiple requirement profiles including at least a first requirement profile with a highest priority and a second requirement profile with a lowest priority, the first requirement profile with the highest priority including at least one profile parameter not included in the second requirement profile with the lowest priority, wherein the at least one profile parameter is not required by the user but is desirable by the user in the first requirement profile with the highest priority;
• determining whether any host computer in the distributed computer system satisfies resource requirements of the client and also matches the profile parameters in one of the multiple requirement profiles, including successively applying the multiple requirement profiles with different priorities in an order from the first requirement profile with the highest priority to the second requirement profile with the lowest priority if no host computer in the computer cluster matches the profile parameters of one or more applied requirement profiles until at least one host computer that matches the profile parameters for one of the multiple requirement profiles is found, wherein a requirement profile with a lower priority includes fewer profile parameters than a requirement profile with a higher priority, and wherein each of the requirement profiles with the different priorities includes the profile parameters with the importance settings set at the highest importance level;
• and
• identifying a host computer in the distributed computer system as a suitable host computer to place the client if the host computer satisfies the resource requirements of the client and also matches the profile parameters in the requirement profile.