Systems and methods for customizing and programming a cloud-based management server

1. A system configured to manage Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provided by a cloud of one or more virtual machines, the system comprising a processor and a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions for:

in response to supporting a new function of a software application by the cloud, receiving, by a management system having a management application, a feature package from an agent application executing in a virtual machine in the cloud, wherein the agent program is re-programmed with the new function, the feature package is associated with the new function, and the one or more virtual machines are created based on a virtual machine template;

integrating, by the management system, the feature package into the management application;

extracting, by the management system, an executable module from the feature package in a run-time execution environment within the management system and with restrictive access to resources of the management system;

invoking execution of the executable module, by the management system, to generate a first command; and

transmitting, by the management system, the first command to the virtual machine to invoke execution of a first operation of the agent application, wherein the first operation is associated with the new function.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions for:

receiving, by the management system from the virtual machine, a message associated with an operating condition of the virtual machine;

generating, by the management system, a second command based on the feature package and the message; and

transmitting, by the management system, the second command to the virtual machine to invoke execution of a second operation of the agent application, wherein the second operation is associated with the new function.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the integrating the feature package further comprises:

extracting an user interface from the feature package, wherein the user interface is configured to provide an interface for the executable module; and

installing the user interface as a component of the management application.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions for:

displaying, by the management application, the user interface; and

receiving an instruction via the user interface for issuing the first command.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first operation and the second operation are associated with a thread configured to run in the agent application.

6. The system of claim 2 , wherein the first operation and the second operation are associated with a first thread and a second thread, respectively, and the first thread and the second thread are configured to run concurrently in the agent application.

7. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium embodying computer software, the computer software causing a management system having a management application to perform a method to manage Software-as-a-Service provided by a cloud of one or more virtual machines, the method comprising

in response to supporting a new function of a software application by the cloud, receiving, by the management system, a feature package from an agent application executing in a virtual machine in the cloud, wherein the agent program is re-programmed with the new function, the feature package is associated with the new function, and the one or more virtual machines are created based on a virtual machine template;

integrating, by the management system, the feature package into the management application;

extracting, by the management system, an executable module from the feature package in a run-time execution environment within the management system and with restrictive access to resources of the management system;

invoking execution of the executable module, by the management system, to generate a first command; and

transmitting, by the management system, the first command to the virtual machine to invoke execution of a first operation of the agent application, wherein the first operation is associated with the new function.

8. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as recited in claim 7 , wherein the method further comprising:

receiving, by the management system from the virtual machine, a message associated with an operating condition of the virtual machine;

generating, by the management system, a second command based on the feature package and the message; and

transmitting, by the management system, the second command to the virtual machine to invoke execution of a second operation of the agent application, wherein the second operation is associated with the new function.

9. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as recited in claim 7 , wherein the integrating the feature package further comprises:

extracting an user interface from the feature package, wherein the user interface is configured to provide an interface for the executable module; and

installing the user interface as a component of the management application.

10. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as recited in claim 8 , wherein the integrating the feature package further comprises:

extracting a workflow from the feature package, wherein the workflow defines the first command and the second command, and the management system is configured to process the workflow and generate the first command.

11. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium as recited in claim 10 , wherein the management system is further configured to process the workflow and generate the second command based on the message received from the virtual machine.