Method and apparatus for detecting dependability vulnerabilities

1. A method for detecting a dependability vulnerability in a production information technology environment, the method comprising:

injecting at least one synthetic disturbance into the production information technology environment, where the production information technology environment is a deployed, functioning information technology environment;

observing a response of the production information technology environment to the at least one synthetic disturbance; and

generating a report indicative of one or more dependability vulnerabilities in the production information technology environment, the one or more dependability vulnerabilities being exposed via a response of the production information technology environment to the at least one synthetic disturbance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the injecting is performed automatically in accordance with a defined schedule.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the injecting is performed periodically.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one synthetic disturbance mimics at least one of: a hardware failure, a software failure, a firmware component failure, resource exhaustion, an unusual workload pattern, a shift in an applied load, a configuration error, a malicious attack, a software installation, a software removal, a hardware installation, a hardware removal, or a human operator error.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the observing comprises:

collecting data relating to an impact of the at least one synthetic disturbance on the production information technology environment; and

correlating the data with the injecting in order to detect the existence of one or more dependability vulnerabilities.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the data relates to at least one of: a workload that the production information technology environment is experiencing or an extent to which the production information technology environment is providing a desired level of functionality, integrity, performance and quality of service.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

containing one or more effects of the at least one synthetic disturbance on the production information technology environment.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the containing is achieved in accordance with at least one of: virtualization technology, network partitioning, recoverable snapshots, change logging, or reverse execution.

9. A computer readable storage medium containing an executable program for detecting a dependability vulnerability in a production information technology environment, the program causing a processor to perform the steps of:

injecting at least one synthetic disturbance into the production information technology environment, where the production information technology environment is a deployed, functioning information technology environment;

observing a response of the production information technology environment to the at least one synthetic disturbance; and

generating a report indicative of one or more dependability vulnerabilities in the production information technology environment, the one or more dependability vulnerabilities being exposed via a response of the production information technology environment to the at least one synthetic disturbance.

10. A system for detecting a dependability vulnerability in a production information technology environment, the system comprising:

means for injecting at least one synthetic disturbance into the production information technology environment, where the production information technology environment is a deployed, functioning information technology environment;

means for observing a response of the production information technology environment to the at least one synthetic disturbance; and

means for generating a report indicative of one or more dependability vulnerabilities in the production information technology environment, the one or more dependability vulnerabilities being exposed via a response of the production information technology environment to the at least one synthetic disturbance.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the means for injecting is implemented automatically in accordance with a defined schedule.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the means for injecting is implemented periodically.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the means for injecting is configured to inject at least one synthetic disturbance mimicking at least one of: a hardware failure, a software failure, a firmware component failure, resource exhaustion, an unusual workload pattern, a shift in an applied load, a configuration error, a malicious attack, a software installation, a software removal, a hardware installation, a hardware removal, or a human operator error.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the system wraps around the production information technology environment.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the means for observing comprises:

means for collecting data relating to an impact of the at least one synthetic disturbance on the production information technology environment; and

means for correlating the data with the injecting in order to detect the existence of one or more dependability vulnerabilities.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the data relates to at least one of: a workload that the production information technology environment is experiencing or an extent to which the production information technology environment is providing a desired level of functionality, integrity, performance and quality of service.

17. The system of claim 10 , further comprising:

means for containing one or more effects of the at least one synthetic disturbance on the production information technology environment.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the containing is achieved in accordance with at least one of: virtualization technology, network partitioning, recoverable snapshots, change logging, or reverse execution.