International Business Machines Corporation

Netapp, Inc.

Douglas Michael Pase

Rickard Edward Faith

Marcus Lathan Kornegay

Matti Antero Vanninen

Chris Dombrowski

Thomas Basilio Genduso

A storage system tracks statistical behavior of client read requests directed to a storage device to form prediction about data that the client will require next. The storage system collects the size of read sequences for various streams into a data structure, which summarizes past behavior of read requests. This data structure reports the number of streams in each equivalence class of stream sizes that is tracked. The data structure is then used to determine expected size of a selected read stream. The data structure is also used to improve predictions about an expected size computed by a known technique.

Mechanism for determining read-ahead length in a storage system

Example embodiments provide various techniques for initiating read-ahead requests. A rate at which applications is requesting data from a data storage device is identified. Additionally, a length of time in retrieving or servicing the data from the data storage device is also identified. The identified rate and length of time in retrieving the data are used to determine when read-ahead requests should be sent to pre-fetch data.

Initiation of read-ahead requests

A system and method of improved task switching in a data processing system. First, a first-level cache memory casts out an invalidated page table entry and an associated first page directory base address to a second-level cache memory. Then, the second-level cache memory determines if a task switch has occurred. If a task switch has not occurred, first-level cache memory sends the invalidated page table entry to a current running task directory. If a task switch has occurred, first-level cache memory loads from the second-level cache directory a collection of page table entries related to a new task to enable improved task switching without requiring access to a page table stored in main memory to retrieve the collection of page table entries.

System and method of improving task switching and page translation performance utilizing a multilevel translation lookaside buffer

A connection assembly comprising a receptacle portion and a probe portion. The receptacle portion is suitable for attaching to an adapter card. The receptacle may include a cylindrical housing with a longitudinal axis oriented perpendicular to the plane of the card. The receptacle includes a set of contact structures that extend within the interior of the receptacle housing. The set of contact structures are embedded within an electrically insulating contact block and preferably define one or more lines of contact structures extending perpendicularly to the plane of the adapter card. Each contact structure is electrically connected to a corresponding cable or wire. The probe portion may include a probe cover and a probe body configured to be received within the probe cover. The probe cover preferably comprises first and second elements that are separated by a gap that extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the receptacle. The probe body includes a row of contact elements where each contact element is connected to a corresponding wire or cable. The probe body is preferably rotatable 90&#xb0; with respect to the probe cover when the probe assembly is inserted in the receptacle. The probe body may be rotatable from a first position, in which the contact elements are covered by the probe cover, to a second position, in which the contact elements are aligned with the probe cover gap(s) and further aligned with corresponding contact structures on the interior surface of the receptacle.

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Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Douglas Michael Pase