International Business Machines Corporation

Chakkalamattam Jos Paul

Steven Michael French

Bradford Allen Stern

Marc-Arthur Pierre-Louis

James Richard Schoech

Javier A Guajardo, Jr

Vijay Kumar Aggarwal

Vaijayanthimala K Anand

Puthukode G Ramachandran

Adam Reudeau Holley

Scott Stephen Dickerson

Aidon Paul Jennery

Glenn E Brew

Brian Keith Howe

James Corvin Fletcher

Robert Thomas Uthe

Stanley Alan Smith

Andrew Neil Trossman

Randy George

Arnaud Airy Mathieu

Khoa D Huynh

Edward D Whitehead

Sockalingam Radhakrishnan

Julie Hong-Van Tran

Aspects include methods, systems, and computer programs to identify changes in a plurality of resources in a collaborative effort system, comprising receiving, by the collaborative effort system, an input of a suspect resource, generating, by a processor, a list of identified resources based on the suspect resource, generating a list of changes of the identified resources, and displaying, by a user interface of the collaborative effort system, the list of the changes of the identified resources.

Identifying changes in multiple resources related to a problem

A method, system or computer usable program product for scheduling a software update affecting vehicle functionality based on usage patterns including tracking usage patterns of a vehicle; automatically determining a time window for scheduling a software update that affects vehicle functionality to the vehicle based on the tracked usage patterns; and applying software updates to the vehicle during the scheduled time window.

Automated software update scheduling

An information technology services management product is provided with a change management component that identifies conflicts based on a wide range of information. When a change on a configuration item is scheduled, the change management component identifies, for example, affected business applications, affected service level agreements, resource availability, change schedule, workflow, resource dependencies, and the like. The change management component warns the user if a conflict is found. The user does not have to consult multiple sources of information and make a manual determination concerning conflicts. The change management component may also suggest a best time to schedule a change request based on the information available. The change management component provides a constrained interface such that the user cannot schedule a change request that violates any of the above requirements. The change management component also applies these requirements when changing an already scheduled change request.

Method and system to identify conflicts in scheduling data center changes to assets utilizing task type plugin with conflict detection logic corresponding to the change request

The present invention is directed to a system that initiates specific maintenance and diagnostic boot images on remote computers. The system is used to select a particular remote device over a network. A particular new boot image is also selected, and that boot image is tailored to operate a maintenance or diagnostic function on the target machine. The new boot image is downloaded to the target, and the target is rebooted with the new boot image. The new boot image is selected from other specific boot images. Upon reboot, the new boot image performs the diagnostic or maintenance routines on the remote target machine. At some predetermined point, the original boot image is swapped back, and the machine rebooted once again. This returns the machine to its original image.

Implementing a diagnostic or correction boot image over a network connection

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for processing tasks. A set of one or more tasks is presented on a user interface, wherein the set of tasks are part of a process. A set of one or more policies are associated. Each respective policy is associated with one or more of the set of tasks in which at least one of the tasks in the set of tasks is associated with a policy restricting modification of the task. The set of tasks and set of policies are sent to a flow engine, wherein the flow engine enforces performance of the set of tasks according to the set of policies.

Method and apparatus to modify a task within a set of tasks

A method and a system are presented for facilitating a PXE-compliant (Preboot Execution Environment) remote boot process between clients and multiple servers. All clients are initially directed to the address of the central boot server when they initially request remote boot service. The central boot server returns the same small initial bootstrap program to every client, which is then executed by the client's embedded boot program. The received initial bootstrap program contains only enough logic to have the client request and receive a list of alternate boot server addresses. The list may be ordered to present to the client a series of best-available boot servers, or the client may search the list to determine an address of an alternate boot server that can efficiently continue the remote boot process. The client selects a boot server from the list and requests the next program from the selected boot server.

Method and system for dynamic redistribution of remote computer boot service in a network containing multiple boot servers

A method and system for monitoring computational resources within a data processing system is presented. A monitoring service receives a non-application-specific request to perform a monitoring operation in order to gather information about the usage of a computational resource within a data processing system. The monitoring service automatically selects a monitoring application from a set of monitoring applications in which the selected monitoring application is able to perform the monitoring operation on the computational resource. The monitoring service then sends to the selected monitoring application an application-specific request that identifies the computational resource and indicates the monitoring operation to be performed on the computational resource.

Method and system for virtualized health monitoring of resources

A method and system are presented for facilitating a PXE-compliant (Preboot Execution Environment) remote boot process between clients and multiple available servers on a network. Each server device can respond to a PXE-extended DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Request message from any client device on the network. Each client can receive responses from the alternate servers, select a server from one of those responses, and be directed by that response to complete the remote boot process from the same server. Each server also employs a self-throttling process to prevent the server from responding to new PXE-extended DHCP request messages from additional clients while the server has insufficient resources to remote boot additional clients with the required quality of service. This automatically redirects those additional clients to other servers that can provide the required quality of service without affecting the remote boot of clients already being serviced by the server.

Method and system for fault-tolerant remote boot in the presence of boot server overload/failure with self-throttling boot servers

Method and system for implementing a diagnostic or correction boot image over a network connection

A method, system, and program is provided to redirect a client computer to an appropriate boot server after it has been directed to any initial boot server by preboot execution environment (PXE) or similar services. An apparatus includes a data file containing a set of addresses of managed boot servers in any syntax and a program file containing a network bootstrap program (NBP) that interprets the syntax of the data file. These files are placed on every initial boot server. The NBP requests a file from the initial boot server whose name is identified with the client computer. The initial boot server will not return that file if it is not an appropriate server for booting the client. In that case, the NBP requests the data file containing the boot server addresses. The NBP then polls each of those boot servers by requesting the client's unique file. A boot server that returns the file is an appropriate boot server for the client computer. The data file containing boot server addresses is changed to reflect current boot server load balancing requirements without involving the configuration or affecting the availability of PXE or similar services.

Method, apparatus, and program for server based network computer load balancing across multiple boot servers

System for implementing a diagnostic or correction boot image over a network connection

A method, apparatus and program for updating client computers with user specific application enablement are provided. The invention involves creating a component control file on a network server, which defines the actions to be performed to install an enablement component needed to run an application on a client and creating an installation control file which contains a list of the enablement components needed to run the set of applications that have been assigned to a user. The enablement components are changes to the operating system's configuration. When a user logs onto a client computer, a mechanism in the client reads the user's installation control file from the server and then installs the necessary enablement components on the client operating system, if those components are not already installed. In one embodiment, the user receives a prompt before the components are installed, in case the user does not want to use the entire set of assigned applications.

Mechanism to dynamically update a windows system with user specific application enablement support from a heterogeneous server environment

A method of booting a plurality of target devices in communication with a network based on at least one target device definition is provided. A server in communication with the plurality of target devices receives a request for a boot file from at least one target device. A boot server in communication with the plurality of target devices is contacted. The boot server determines if the target device is defined. If the target device is not defined, the target device definition for the target device is created at the boot server. A bootstrap is executed at the target device, the bootstrap corresponding to the target definition. Systems and programs for using the method are also provided.

System and method for creating a definition for a target device based on an architecture configuration of the target device at a boot server

A method of booting at least one target device in communication with a network, comprising is provided. A bootstrap program is requested from a loading device in communication with the target device. A boot delay response is received from the loading device at the target device, so that the target device does not time out. The bootstrap program is received at the target device after the boot delay response is received.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Chakkalamattam Jos Paul