Methods and arrangements for managing automated switching

An arrangement in a computing environment for automatically creating a complete first data path between a user interface device (UID) and a system device on a network, said UID and said system device being coupled to a set of heterogeneous UID switches, comprising:

• a set of protocol modules associated with said set of heterogeneous UID switches, individual one of said set of protocol modules including switch-specific information that is specific to respective one of said set of heterogeneous UID switches, wherein said set of protocol modules may include command structure for enabling data path management between said set of heterogeneous UID switches;
• at least an automated profile, said automated profile including at least defining a set of non-human initiated triggering conditions and listing corresponding automatic action;
• an event listener, said event listener being configured for at least monitoring said computing environment to detect an event corresponding to said set of non-human initiated triggering conditions;
• and
• a hardware switch command server (SCS), said hardware SCS being in electronic communication with said set of UID switches, said hardware SCS being configured for
• handling said set of non-human initiated triggering conditions as a request for connectivity between said user interface device and said system device, wherein said non-human initiated triggering condition includes a switch/location agnostic connectivity indication (SLACI), said SLACI being generic with respect to switch-specific command syntax, said SLACI being received from a SLACI-origination device that is location agnostic with respect to said set of heterogeneous UID switches, said SLACI indicating an identity of said UID and an identity of said system device, said SLACI further indicating a desire to provide a complete data path between said UID and said system device
• establishing data path connectivity between said UID and said system device automatically without human intervention using at least one of said set of heterogeneous UID switches,
• performing network discovery to manage said data path connectivity, said network discovery being performed without human intervention, wherein said network discovery includes identifying at least one of internal backbone structures of said set of heterogeneous UID switches, hardware presence on said computer environment, internal-external connections between said hardware and said set of heterogeneous UID switches, and current state of said internal-external connections, and
• performing protocol negotiation automatically without requiring human intervention using said SLACI, to ascertain said available data path between said UID and said system device after at least one of said non-human initiated triggering conditions is triggered.

An article of manufacturing comprising a program storage medium having computer readable code embodied therein, said computer readable code is configured for automatically creating a complete first data path between a user interface device (UID) and a system device on a network, said UID and system device being coupled to a set of heterogeneous UID switches in a computing environment, comprising:

• computer readable code for providing a switch command server (SCS), said SCS being in electronic communication with said set of UID switches, said SCS being configured at least for managing requests for connectively between said UID and said system device and establishing data path connectivity between said UID and said system device using at least one of said set of UID switches without requiring a user of said UID to manually perform discovery to establish viable data paths between said set of UID switches, wherein said discovery includes identifying at least one of internal backbone structures of said set of UID switches, at least one of said set of internal-external UIDs, hardware presence on said network, internal-external connections between said hardware and said set of UID switches, and current state of said internal-external connections;
• computer readable code for receiving at said SCS a switch/location agnostic connectivity indication (SLACI), said SLACI being generic with respect to system device-specific command syntax, said SLACI being received from a SLACI-origination device that is location agnostic with respect to said set of UID switches, said SLACI indicating an identity of said UID and an identity of said system device, said SLACI further indicating a desire to provide said complete first data path between said UID and said system device;
• computer readable code for creating and storing at least an automated profile, said automated profile including at least defining at least a non-human initiated triggering condition and instructions for automatically executing commands corresponding to said non-human initiated triggering condition;
• computer readable code for monitoring said computing environment for said non-human initiated triggering condition as defined in said automated profile;
• and
• computer readable code for transmitting, automatically in response to said non-human initiated triggering condition, a first set of commands from said SCS to said set of UID switches, said first set of commands being configured to instruct said set of UID switches to connect, upon executing said first set of commands, said UID and said system device along an available data path to form said complete first data path.