SBIR Phase I: Automated Configuration Management for Open Source Applications

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the challenges of installation, configuration, and management for open source applications. Open source software can provide significant business value, but there is a very high barrier to entry due to the technical challenges of installing and managing heterogeneous, independently-developed components with complex inter-dependencies. GenForma is developing a unified framework to automate this process, replacing the labor-intensive, error-prone scripting and manual solutions used currently. Genforma's solution is based on technology that models the configuration settings and dependencies of application components declaratively and uses scalable constraint solving to find optimal installation configurations. In particular, it provides solutions (1) to determine a set of compatible components for an open source stack, (2) to obtain these components, (3) to install them across multiple machines, (4) to adjust configuration settings to make the components work together, and (5) to manage the resulting application. A graphical user interface allows a non-expert user drive this process. This technology allows existing software to be easily deployed to cloud computing and virtualization infrastructure and also to run it on local hardware as if it was in the cloud. Genforma's technology addresses the full software management life cycle (SMLC) including selection, deployment, install, configuration, and management. The company will bring the technology to market via prepackaged solutions for popular open source applications. Open source software is a significant and growing market: popular blog, content management, email, CRM, and ERP applications can have more than 200,000 installations. If successful, the Genforma platform will allow a new class of enterprise applications to be developed and deployed based primarily on open-sourced technology.