System for generic service management in a distributed and dynamic resource environment, providing constant service access to users

A service controller installed on one or more computing devices, the service controller for centralized management of services in a distributed computing environment, the distributed computing environment having a computing resource supply manager for managing the supply of computing resources in the distributed computing environment,

• wherein the service controller is provided with a service definition which defines the required computing resources which are necessary to run a service and wherein the service controller requests the required computing resources through the computing resource supply manager,
• wherein the computing resource supply manager determines the availability of computing resources according to resource allocation policies and provides allocated computing resources to the service controller,
• wherein the service controller is operable to initiate an instance of the service to be run on the allocated computing resources,
• wherein the service controller is operable to monitor the status of the instance of the service,
• wherein the service controller is operable to take action upon failure of the instance of the service,
• wherein the service controller comprises a service director component operable to record or track the location of the computing resources on which an instance of the service is running,
• wherein the service director component is further operable to publish the location of the computing resources on which the instance of the service is running, and
• wherein such publishing allows an end-user of the service to access the service.

A method for centralized management of services in a distributed computing environment, comprising the steps of:

• loading a service definition for a service on a service controller installed on one or more computing devices, wherein the service definition defines the required computing resources which are necessary to run the service;
• requesting, by the service controller, the required computing resources from a computing resource supply manager distinct from the service controller for managing the supply of computing resources in the distributed computing environment, wherein the computing resource manager determines the availability of the required computing resources according to resource allocation policies;
• providing, by the resource supply manager, allocated computing resources to the service controller where the required computing resources are available;
• initiating, by the service controller, a service instance of the service to be run on the allocated computing resources;
• recording, by the service controller through a service director component of the service controller, the location of the computing resources on which each service instance of the service is running;
• and
• publishing, by the service controller through the service director component of the service controller, the location of the computing resources on which each service instance of the service is running, wherein such publishing allows an end-user of the service to access the service.