International Business Machines Corporation

Giovanni Lanfranchi

Claudio Marinelli

Luigi Pichetti

Scot MacLellan

Arcangelo Di Balsamo

Alessandro Donatelli

Alex Donatelli

Rosario Gangemi

Pietro Iannucci

Salvatore D'Alo

Salvatore D'Alo'

Salvatore D'Alo′

Kristof R Kloeckner

David Bruce Lindquist

Antonio Perrone

Fabio Benedetti

Bala Rajaraman

Marco De Santis

Carl Shawn Kessler

Salvadore D'Alo

Scot Maclellan

A method and system for processing a request. Extracted elements of the request are categorized in accordance with an ontology model, thereby generating ontology components assigned to the extracted elements. A knowledge base includes data indicative of solutions for requests. The solutions for requests in the knowledge base are categorized in accordance with the ontology model. Categorizing the elements includes for each element: determining a concept of the element wherein the element is an instance or a class of the determined concept and determining relations between the elements, wherein the ontology components include the determined concepts, instances and relations. The knowledge base is searched using the generated ontology components, thereby identifying solutions for the request. The identified solutions are provided.

Processing a request

A method and system for processing a request document including a request. The request document is processed using a question analysis function of a question answering system, thereby extracting elements of the request. The question answering system has multiple functions including the question analysis function. The extracted elements are categorized in accordance with an ontology model, thereby generating ontology components assigned to the extracted elements. A knowledge base includes data indicative of solutions for requests. The solutions for requests in the knowledge base are categorized in accordance with the ontology model. The knowledge base is searched using the generated ontology components, thereby identifying solutions for the request. The identified solutions are provided.

Processing request documents

A solution for running a software application on a computing machine is provided, which includes registering a capability of a delegation component to execute at least one action on the computing machine, each one defined by at least one characteristic thereof, receiving a request for executing the at least one action from the software application by the delegation component, the request being bound to the delegation component at run-time according to the capability registration thereof, and delegating, by the delegation component, the execution of the at least one action to at least one local component of the computing machine being capable of executing at least part of the at least one action and/or to at least one remote component of at least one remote computing machine being capable of executing at least part of the at least one action according to an availability of the at least one local component.

Running software application with dynamic action delegation

A solution is proposed for managing a plurality of data processing mobile devices. A corresponding method comprises the step of downloading management data onto each one of the mobile devices for application thereof on the mobile device, wherein for at least a first one of the mobile devices the management data is downloaded from a data processing central system, each mobile device wherein the management data has already been downloaded defining an inclusive mobile device; in the solution according to an embodiment of the invention, the step of downloading management data comprises electing a set of inclusive mobile devices temporarily as service mobile devices according to characteristic information of the inclusive mobile devices being based at least on a current position thereof, and causing at least a second one of the mobile devices to download the management data from a selected one of the service mobile devices in proximity thereof.

Management of mobile devices leveraging location based cooperation

A solution is proposed for managing a plurality of data processing mobile devices. A corresponding system is configured for downloading management data onto each one of the mobile devices for application thereof on the mobile device, wherein for at least a first one of the mobile devices the management data is downloaded from a data processing central system, each mobile device wherein the management data has already been downloaded defining an inclusive mobile device; in the solution according to an embodiment of the invention, the step of downloading management data comprises electing a set of inclusive mobile devices temporarily as service mobile devices according to characteristic information of the inclusive mobile devices being based at least on a current position thereof, and causing at least a second one of the mobile devices to download the management data from a selected one of the service mobile devices in proximity thereof.

A method is presented for executing complex operations. The method may include providing basic packages that include execution instructions for at least partially executing a complex operation. Each basic package may also include combination instructions for combining the execution instructions with execution instructions of another basic package. Several basic packages may be selected. The complex operation may then be executed according to the execution instructions and the combination instructions associated with the selected basic packages.

Complex operation execution tool

A method, computer program product and network management server for distributing software. The network management server receives a request to deploy an application on a designated target client station at a designated scheduled time. The network management server determines whether to deploy the application on the designated target client station at the designated time based on the resource state of the systems involved in the deployment of the software (e.g., processor usage of the network management server, processor usage of the target client station) as well as the environmental conditions (e.g., bandwidth usage, time of day pricing for connectivity at scheduled time, work orders on the target client station). By taking into consideration the dynamic resource state of the systems involved in the deployment of the software as well as the environmental conditions, software may be deployed on the client stations by the network management server more effectively.

Distribution of software based on scheduled time to deploy software dynamic resource state of systems involved in deployment of software and based upon environmental conditions

Methods, systems, and computer program products for aggregating service components in a data processing system according to predefined aggregation rules. The method includes providing a plurality of visual elements, each visual element representing a corresponding service component; selecting a new visual element for addition to an aggregation structure; determining a set of eligible visual elements of eligible service components among the instantiated service components; associating a visual cue with the eligible visual elements; and aggregating the new service component to a selected eligible service component in the aggregation structure. The new service component is compatible for aggregation with each eligible service component according to the aggregation rules. The aggregation structure includes an aggregation of instantiated visual elements of instantiated service components to define an aggregated service according to the aggregation of the instantiated service components.

Aggregating service components

A solution for metering usage of services&#x2014;for example, in a SOA Framework&#x2014;is proposed. For this purpose, the submission of any invocation of a provider service by a consumer service is intercepted by a license manager; a corresponding request is then submitted to a dedicated licensing service, which returns an entitlement code when the consumer service is entitled to submit the service invocation. The service invocation is decorated with this entitlement code and actually submitted to the provider service. The (decorated) service invocation addressed to the provider service is likewise intercepted by another license manager; a request is then submitted to the licensing service for verifying the received entitlement code. The running of the provider service is then enabled only if the entitlement code is correct.

Meeting usage of services in a environment

A self-adaptive resource management method and a corresponding system. An authority publishes multiple rules into a corresponding repository. Each rule defines a desired target configuration for a category of subjects. Some rules are also associated with a corresponding stage in a predefined flow of application of the rules. A supervisor publishes the value of a current stage into a workflow repository. Each subject retrieves and applies the rules for its category and corresponding to the current stage. Information about the compliance of the subjects with the corresponding rules is published in a membership data repository. The supervisor detects the completion of the current stage when the subjects are compliant with the corresponding rules, and updates the value of the current stage to start a further stage.

Adaptive management method with workflow control

In an autonomic management method for self-configuring a subject entity in a data processing system, the subject entity retrieves, from a set of rules published by an authority entity, one or more rules corresponding at least one category of the subject entity. Each rule defines a desired state for a category, and at least one retrieved rule includes at least one formal parameter defining a correlation with at least one further category. For each retrieved rule, the subject entity resolves each formal parameter included in the retrieved rule by associating each further category specified in the formal parameter with at least one further subject entity belonging to the further category. The subject entity also applies the retrieved rule to configure the subject entity according to the desired state specified in the retrieved rule.

Automatic management method and system with category-based correlations

A self-adaptive resource management method and a corresponding system are proposed. In the solution of the invention, an authority () publishes multiple rules into a corresponding repository (). Each rule defines a desired target configuration for a category of subjects (). Some of the rules can be conditioned to an authorization for their application on the subjects (by means of an optional enabling code). Whenever a generic subject tries to apply a conditioned rule, a test is made to verify whether the application of the rule has been authorized for the subject; if not, the subject is considered not compliant with the rule for a lack of authorization. A supervisor () authorizes each enabling code in an asynchronous way (with respect to the application of the corresponding rules); for example, the supervisor can authorize the enabling code for specific subjects, for a group of subjects (defined either statically by a list of subjects or dynamically by their characteristics), or for all the subjects. In this way, the application of the rules on the different subjects can be controlled centrally (for example, during a transition from a resource management system based on the enforcement model) without impairing the self-adaptive model.

Adaptive management method with authorization control

A resource management method () and a corresponding system are proposed. In the solution of the invention, an authority publishes () multiple rules, each one defining a desired target configuration for a category of subjects (without any information about their dependencies). Each subject retrieves () the rules corresponding to its category in a random order. The rules are then applied () on the subject according to a trial-and-fail approach. Particularly, the application of any failed rule is continually repeated (), until all the rules are successfully applied () or a deadlock condition is detected (). In this way, any dependency is automatically resolved on the subject at run time. Moreover, as soon as all the rules have been successfully applied the compliance of the subject to the rules is verified () again; should the subject be not compliant to one or more rules any longer, an infinite loop condition is detected ().

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Rome, Italy

Giovanni Lanfranchi