International Business Machines Corporation

Eugene P Hefferon

Steven G Glassen

Bruce H Ratcliff

Arthur James Stagg

Michael E Baskey

Stephen R Valley

Leslie W Wyman

Frank William Brice

Harry M Yudenfriend

Allan Samuel Meritt

Anthony R Sager

Daniel Francis Casper

Jeffrey Paul Kubala

Kenneth J Oakes

Frank W Brice

Donald W Schmidt

Marten J Halma

Charles W Gainey, Jr

William J Rooney

Janet R Easton

Richard P Tarcza

Casper A Scalzi

Carol B Hernandez

Martin W Sachs

Charles E Shapley

Richard Cwiakala

John R Flanagan

Dale Francis Riedy, Jr

Brent Cameron Beardsley

Gustav E Sittmann, Iii

Scott M Carlson

John S Trotter

Tan Lu

Joseph C Elliott

Kenneth J Fredericks

Paul J Brown

Allen H Preston

David E Stucki

Kenneth R Lynch

Hans-Helge Lehmann

Lloyd R Shipman, Jr

Kenneth M Trowell

Karl H Hoppe

Robert J Gallagher

Francis E Johnson

Mark C Snedaker

Michael C Cox

Gerald T Moffitt

Gary A Fisher, Sr

Ugochukwu Njoku-Charles

Roberto J Sanchez

Susan Marie Wethington

Stephen W Schimke

Peter I Kania

Jean-Louis Fava

Rodney Allen Paul

In an environment employing a fabric, such as a cascading switch network, a predictable input/output (I/O) configuration is provided. The I/O configuration explicitly specifies the one or more peripheral units accessible by a program, such as an operating system. Other peripheral units not specified in the I/O configuration are not accessible, thus, providing a secure environment.

Predictably defining input/output configurations for environments employing fabrics

An input/output subsystem is configured as a plurality of input/output subsystem images, each of which appears to a program as an independent input/output subsystem. One or more input/output subsystem images of the plurality of input/output subsystem images are managed. An aspect of this management includes managing an input/output (I/O) configuration of an input/output subsystem image. This management may be performed dynamically.

Managing configurations of input/output system images of an input/output subsystem, wherein a configuration is modified without restarting the input/output subsystem to effect a modification

An apparatus for providing direct data processing access in a network computing system environment. The system environment has a main storage which can be connected to one or more application servers and is in processing communication with an interface element. The interface element has at least one adapter and can be connected to one or more application user(s). One or more queues are established in the main storage that can handle data without causing interrupts in the running programs. Incoming data is received using the adapter and as data is received or modified, the status of the network computing system will be updated to reflect the new data or change. Data is then processed in the main storage after interrogating the multiple existing queues in the main storage simultaneously and forwarding them in turn to their appropriate destination or application server after a determination has been made by interrogating these queues.

Apparatus for providing direct data processing access using a queued direct input-output device

The utilization of various individual components of a channel is determined in order to learn which portion of a channel is busy and to what extent that portion is busy. The determination of a component's utilization is dependent on the type of component, as well as the operational characteristics of that component.

Measuring utilization of individual components of channels

This invention describes a method and system for virtualizing an internal capability of a computing system; specifically, the invention describes a method and system for establishing a virtual machine containing a programmed hardware-machine function that is normally executed natively as proprietary internal code in its own hardware environment, a Central Electronics Complex (CEC) or logical partition of a CEC. The code resides in a separate hardware domain of the CEC called the Service Element (SE). The IBM VM/ESA (VM) operating system requests the SE to transfer a copy of the code into a virtual machine that VM has initialized, where the machine function is provided (in the current embodiment) as an isolated and encapsulated part of a virtual Parallel Sysplex system comprising multiple virtual CECs in a testing environment.

Method and system for providing a hardware machine function in a protected virtual machine

A method and apparatus for determining common usage of elements among at least two channels in a data processing system having an arbitrary hardware element hierarchy including multiple channel paths over which data is transmitted. An internally executed initialization program builds a bit mask for channel paths to be compared wherein the bit masks describe the hierarchy of the hardware elements in the channel paths to be compared. A compare program provides a comparison result whose value reflects the impact of the failure of hardware elements that are common to the channel path being compared. The comparison results contains multiple bits, with set bits representing each element which is common to the hardware element common to the channel paths being compared. The impact of a failure of a common hardware element is greater the more significant the bit position of that component resides in the comparison results.

Determination of the degree of common usage for elements of a data processing system

An exemplary embodiment is a method for creating and identifying different kinds of groups of cooperating system images within a single machine, a single central processor complex (CPC) where each kind of group has a different functional purpose. Such a collection of cooperating system images is referred to as a logical partition cluster (LPC). An LPC is created or identified using a diagnose instruction. The diagnose instruction includes a subcode field designating a function to be performed and a logical partition cluster type field indicating the type of logical partition cluster said function is to be performed on.

Method and apparatus for creating and identifying logical partition clusters

A method of transferring data in a network computing environment having a controlling program and a main storage in processing communication with an interface element including one or more adapters. A queuing mechanism is first established in the main storage for asynchronous transmittal of data between the program and said interface element. At least one queue-set is dedicated to input data and another queue-set to output data in the queuing mechanism. Queuing priorities both for said input and output queue-sets are then determined according to importance of data to be processed or transferred or other internal dependencies and a queue-description record is established by passing a QDIO queue command. From this the priority and number of the output queue are provided by order in which the order specified in the queue descriptor record relative to any other output queues described in that record. Data is then transferred and received according to the queuing priority by interrogating multiple queues in the mechanism simultaneously and determining appropriate location to which data has to be stored to or transferred from.

Method of transferring data using an interface element and a queued direct input-output device

A method of providing direct data processing access in a network computing system environment. The system environment has a main storage which can be connected to one or more application servers and is in processing communication with an interface element. The interface element has at least one adapter and can be connected to one or more application user(s). One or more queues are established in the main storage that can handle data without causing interrupts in the running programs. Incoming data is received using the adapter and as data is received or modified, the status of the network computing system will be updated to reflect the new data or change. Data is then processed in the main storage after interrogating the multiple existing queues in the main storage and forwarding them in turn to their appropriate destination or application server after a determination has been made by interrogating these queues.

Method of providing direct data processing access using a queued direct input-output device

An apparatus for transferring data in a network computing environment having a controlling program and a main storage in processing communication with an interface element including one or more adapters. A queuing mechanism is first established in the main storage for asynchronous transmittal of data between the program and said interface element. At least one queue-set is dedicated to input data and another queue-set to output data in the queuing mechanism. Queuing priorities both for said input and output queue-sets are then determined according to importance of data to be processed or transferred or other internal dependencies and a queue-description record is established by passing a QDIO queue command. From this the priority and number of the output queue are provided by order in which the order specified in the queue descriptor record relative to any other output queues described in that record. Data is then transferred and received according to the queuing priority by interrogating multiple queues in the mechanism simultaneously and determining appropriate location to which data has to be stored to or transferred from.

Apparatus for transferring data using an interface element and a queued direct input-output device

A computer program device and product is provided for timely processing of data. The computer program device comprises a program storage device readable by a digital processing apparatus and a program means including instructions executable by the digital processing apparatus by designating at least one set of queues in the queuing mechanism as input queues and another as output queues; issuing a signal adapter instruction to provide initiative to check content of any or all queues in the queuing mechanism; specifying initiate-output or initiate-input appropriately by means of said signal adapter instruction to cause associated adapter to asynchronously process said output or input queues; and causing synchronization by means of said signal adapter instruction by signaling the associated data queues to update all entries in order to render them current. The computer program product is for use with a computer system and has a main storage in processing communication with an interface element having adapters for storing a queuing mechanism storing data. It comprises of a data storage device including a computer usable medium having computer readable program means for ensuring proper and timely processing of data, for dedicating at least one set of queues of the queuing mechanism as input queues and another set as output queues and for generating a signal adapter instruction designated to provide initiative to check content of any or all queues in said queuing mechanism.

Computer program device and product for timely processing of data using a queued direct input-output device

A method and an apparatus for timely and accurate processing of data in a network computing environment controlled by a running program and having a queuing mechanism established in a main storage. The main storage is in processing communication with an interface element having one or more adapters. At least one set of queues in the queuing mechanism is designated for input and another set for output. A signal adapter instruction can be issued to provide initiative to check content of any or all queues in the mechanism. With the help of the signal adapter an initiate-output can be specified when appropriate and the associated adapter can then asynchronously process the input or the output queues. A synchronize option is also available to signal the associated data queues to update all entries in order to render them current as observed by both the adapter and the controlling running program.

Method and apparatus for ensuring accurate and timely processing of data using a queued direct input-output device

A method and apparatus for exchanging data in a network computing system having a main storage capable of connecting to at least one application server and an interface element with at least one adapter capable of establishing processing communication with at least one application user(s). A state change signalling protocol is used for transfer of data between the main storage and said adapter. In addition a queuing mechanism is established in the main storage having a plurality of queues each with a plurality of buffers. Some of these queues are dedicated to be input and others as output queues. By applying the protocol each input and output data buffer is associated with each of the active input and output queues. In this manner the input and output buffers are managed by placing the buffers into various states which are maintained in a special location that is set aside and is associated with each buffer. After complete transmission of data, the state of each such buffer is changed in order to make it buffer available for reuse.

Method and apparatus for exchanging data using a queued direct input-output device

A queuing method and apparatus for transfer or incoming and outgoing data in a network environment having a main storage is presented. A plurality of queue sets are provided in the main storage with at least one or more sets being dedicated for input and output. The queues can share access to a plurality of devices in the network across a plurality of communication stacks. Various network resources are mapped to the queues in order to facilitate resource allocation and dynamic configuration by providing initialization of a plurality of configuration parameters. In this way dynamic expanding and contracting of the number of queues in each set as dictated by traffic patterns and feedback indicators is provided.

Queuing method and apparatus for providing direct data processing access using a queued direct input-output device

A computer program device and an apparatus for proper processing of data requests. The apparatus determines which device is able to handle data requests in a computing network environment comprising a main memory having a queuing mechanism with a plurality of queues in processing communication with an adapter and a plurality of devices and/or processors. The format and attributes of devices in said the environment is determined as well as the size and attributes of the queues. When a request for data processing is received from at least one input/output device capable of attaching to the computing environment, the characteristics of any processors or device capable of processing the data is determined. A special store subchannel command is issued specifying which device or processor the request can be sent to after analyzing all information about the size, characteristics and attributes previously gathered. In this way information is provided about which processor or device can process the information using the special store subchannel command. The computer program storage device is readable by a digital processing apparatus and has program means for performing essentially the same tasks.

Computer program device and an apparatus for processing of data requests using a queued direct input-output device

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Poughkeepsie, NY, United States of America

Eugene P Hefferon