Methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing cloud visibility

1. A method for providing cloud visibility, the method comprising:

obtaining at least one correlation profile for indicating effects of workload configurations on hardware and/or software measurements of a reference server, wherein the reference server includes components for measuring hardware and/or software performance, wherein the components include a source measure unit and a dedicated measurement framework circuit board including a physical processor and/or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) usable for offloading at least some processing associated with measuring hardware and/or software performance;

configuring the reference server, wherein the reference server is one of a plurality of servers in a cloud-based environment for executing a workload, wherein each of the plurality of servers executes at least a portion of the workload;

receiving, from the reference server, measurements associated with executing at least the portion of the workload; and

generating information regarding the cloud-based environment using the measurements from the reference server and the at least one correlation profile.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the at least one correlation profile includes:

testing the reference server using different workload configurations;

analyzing measurements from the reference server associated with the testing; and

generating the at least one correlation profile based on the analysis.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein testing the reference server includes:

testing the reference server or related hardware using a basic input/output system (BIOS) or firmware;

testing the reference server using a cloud-focused operating system with multiple configurations;

testing the reference server using multiple cloud stack configurations involving various stack components; and

testing the reference server using multiple customer software configurations.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the at least one correlation profile includes identifying a predetermined correlation profile from a plurality of predetermined correlation profiles based on characteristics of the reference server and the workload to be implemented.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the characteristics of the reference server and the workload to be implemented include the location of the reference server, a speed of a component, a performance metric of a component, an amount of a network bandwidth, a workload performance metric, a number of compute resources available in the cloud-based environment, a number of storage resources available in the cloud-based environment, a number of compute resources available in the cloud-based environment, an amount of input and/or output operations expected for the workload, an amount of processing operations expected for the workload, an amount of storage operations expected for the workload, or an amount of required network bandwidth expected for the workload.

6. The method of claim 1 where generating the information regarding the cloud-based environment includes identifying the execution of potentially malicious code based on detected measurements and the at least one correlation profile, identifying potential security issues based on detected measurements and the at least one correlation profile indicating memory leaks, and identifying power consumption of components within the reference server during execution of the workload based on detected measurements and the at least one correlation profile.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of servers includes at least a second reference server.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the components include a software based sensor, a hardware based sensor, a probe, a memory monitor, a storage monitor, a processor monitor, a communication interface or bus monitor, a processor measurement units (PMUs) monitor, a memory module containing at least one sensor, an operating system for obtaining measurements, or a network card for obtaining measurements.

9. A system for providing cloud visibility, the system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a controller implemented using the at least one processor, wherein the controller is configured for:

obtaining at least one correlation profile for indicating effects of workload configurations on hardware and/or software measurements of a reference server, wherein the reference server includes components for measuring hardware and/or software performance, wherein the components include a source measure unit and a dedicated measurement framework circuit board including a physical processor and/or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) usable for offloading at least some processing associated with measuring hardware and/or software performance;

configuring the reference server, wherein the reference server is one of a plurality of servers in a cloud-based environment for executing a workload, wherein each of the plurality of servers executes at least a portion of the workload;

receiving, from the reference server, measurements associated with executing at least the portion of the workload; and

generating information regarding the cloud-based environment using the measurements from the reference server and the at least one correlation profile.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein obtaining the at least one correlation profile includes:

testing the reference server using different workload configurations;

analyzing measurements from the reference server associated with the testing; and

generating the at least one correlation profile based on the analysis.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein testing the reference server includes:

testing the reference server or related hardware using a basic input/output system (BIOS) or firmware;

testing the reference server using a cloud-focused operating system with multiple configurations;

testing the reference server using multiple cloud stack configurations involving various stack components; and

testing the reference server using multiple customer software configurations.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein obtaining the at least one correlation profile includes identifying a predetermined correlation profile from a plurality of predetermined correlation profiles based on characteristics of the reference server and the workload to be implemented.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the characteristics of the reference server and the workload to be implemented include the location of the reference server, a speed of a component, a performance metric of a component, an amount of a network bandwidth, a workload performance metric, a number of compute resources available in the cloud-based environment, a number of storage resources available in the cloud-based environment, a number of compute resources available in the cloud-based environment, an amount of input and/or output operations expected for the workload, an amount of processing operations expected for the workload, an amount of storage operations expected for the workload, or an amount of required network bandwidth expected for the workload.

14. The system of claim 9 where generating the information regarding the cloud-based environment includes identifying the execution of potentially malicious code based on detected measurements and the at least one correlation profile, identifying potential security issues based on detected measurements and the at least one correlation profile indicating memory leaks, and identifying power consumption of components within the reference server during execution of the workload based on detected measurements and the at least one correlation profile.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein the plurality of servers includes at least a second reference server.

16. The system of claim 9 wherein the components include a software based sensor, a hardware based sensor, a probe, a memory monitor, a storage monitor, a processor monitor, a communication interface or bus monitor, a processor measurement units (PMUs) monitor, a random access memory (RAM) module containing at least one sensor, an operating system for obtaining measurements, or a network card for obtaining measurements.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by at least one processor of a computer cause the computer to perform steps comprising:

obtaining at least one correlation profile for indicating effects of workload configurations on hardware and/or software measurements of a reference server, wherein the reference server includes components for measuring hardware and/or software performance, wherein the components include a source measure unit and a dedicated measurement framework circuit board including a physical processor and/or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) usable for offloading at least some processing associated with measuring hardware and/or software performance;

configuring the reference server, wherein the reference server is one of a plurality of servers in a cloud-based environment for executing a workload, wherein each of the plurality of servers executes at least a portion of the workload;

receiving, from the reference server, measurements associated with executing at least the portion of the workload; and

generating information regarding the cloud-based environment using the measurements from the reference server and the at least one correlation profile.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 wherein obtaining the at least one correlation profile includes:

testing the reference server using different workload configurations;

analyzing measurements from the reference server associated with the testing; and

generating the at least one correlation profile based on the analysis.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18 wherein testing the reference server includes:

testing the reference server or related hardware using a basic input/output system (BIOS) or firmware;

testing the reference server using a cloud-focused operating system with multiple configurations;

testing the reference server using multiple cloud stack configurations involving various stack components; and

testing the reference server using multiple customer software configurations.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 wherein obtaining the at least one correlation profile includes identifying a predetermined correlation profile from a plurality of predetermined correlation profiles based on characteristics of the reference server and the workload to be implemented.