Marathon Technologies Corporation

Glenn A Tremblay

Thomas D Bissett

Paul A Leveille

James D McCollum

Richard D Fiorentino

Diane T McCauley

Robert M Glorioso

Erik Muench

Mario Troiani

Martin J Fitzgerald, V

Jerry Melnick

Satoshi Watanabe

Ted M Lin

Angel L Pagan

Charles H Kaman

Keiichi Koyama

Stephen S Corbin

Gairy Grannum

Martin J V Fitzgerald

A computer system configured to provide fault tolerance includes a first host system and a second host system. The first host system is programmed to monitor a number of portions of memory of the first host system that have been modified by a guest running on the first host system and, upon determining that the number of portions exceeds a threshold level, determine that a checkpoint needs to be created. Upon determining that the checkpoint needs to be created, operation of the guest is paused and checkpoint data is generated. After generating the checkpoint data, operation of the guest is resumed while the checkpoint data is transmitted to the second host system.

Fault tolerant computing systems using checkpoints

A symmetric multiprocessing fault-tolerant computer system controls memory access in a symmetric multiprocessing computer system. To do so, virtual page structures are created, where the virtual page structures reflect physical page access privileges to shared memory for processors in a symmetric multiprocessing computer system. Access to shared memory is controlled based on physical page access privileges reflected in the virtual paging structures to coordinate deterministic shared memory access between processors in the symmetric multiprocessing computer system. A symmetric multiprocessing fault-tolerant computer system may use duplication or continuous replay.

Symmetric multiprocessor fault tolerant computer system

Producing a mirror copy using incremental-divergence is performed in a computer system in which write requests are each associated with a reference label. A mirror set may be restored to a state in which the data storage devices contain identical data by copying from the data storage device having &ldquo;good&rdquo; data only portions of data which have not been stored on the data storage device having divergent data. Incremental-divergence copying may be accomplished by keeping track of the changes made after a point in which the data storage devices are known to contain identical data.

Producing a mirrored copy using incremental-divergence

Data transfer to computing elements is synchronized in a computer system that includes the computing elements and controllers that provide data from data sources to the computing elements. A request for data made by a computing element is intercepted and transmitted to the controllers. At least a first controller responds by transmitting requested data to the computing element and by indicating how a second controller will respond to the intercepted request.

Fault resilient/fault tolerant computing

In a first aspect, a method of synchronizing at least two computing elements that each have clocks that operate asynchronously of the clocks of the other computing elements includes selecting one or more signals, designated as meta time signals, from a set of signals produced by the computing elements, monitoring the computing elements to detect the production of a selected signal by one of the computing elements, waiting for the other computing elements to produce a selected signal, transmitting equally valued time updates to each of the computing elements, and updating the clocks of the computing elements based on the time updates. In a second aspect, fault resilient or fault tolerant computers are produced by designating a first processor as a computing element, designating a second processor as a controller, connecting the computing element and the controller to produce a modular pair, and connecting at least two modular pairs to produce a fault resilient or fault tolerant computer. Each computing element of the computer performs all instructions in the same number of cycles as the other computing elements. Computer systems include one or more controllers and at least two computing elements. Means are provided for intercepting I/O operations by the computing elements and transmitting them to the one or more controllers.

Fault resilient or fault tolerant computers are produced by designating a first processor as a computing element, designating a second processor as a controller, connecting the computing element and the controller to produce a modular pair, and connecting at least two module pairs to produce a fault resilient or fault tolerant computer. Each computing element of the computer performs all instructions in the same number of cycles as the other computing element. The controllers provide input/output processings for the computing elements, as well as monitor their operations to detect errors, and control operation of the computing elements in response to the detected errors.

Synchronized execution is maintained by compute elements processing instruction streams in a computer system including the compute elements and a controller. Each compute element includes a clock that operates asynchronously with respect to clocks of the other compute elements. Each compute element processes instructions from an instruction stream and counts the instructions processed. Upon processing a quantum of instructions from the instruction stream, the compute element initiates a synchronization procedure and continues to process instructions from the instruction stream and to count instructions processed from the instruction stream. The compute element halts processing of instructions from the instruction stream after processing an unspecified number of instructions from the instruction stream in addition to the quantum of instructions. Upon halting processing, the compute element sends a synchronization request to the controller and waits for a synchronization reply.

Loosely-coupled, synchronized execution

A mirror set copy from a first storage device to a second storage device is performed in a computer system in which write requests are each associated with a reference label. Write requests and a mirror read request are received at the first storage device, and the write requests also are received at the second storage device. The write requests are processed at the first storage device processes. Data is read from the first storage device in response to the mirror read request. The first storage device then sends the data to the second storage device along with a reference label of a write request received at the first storage device prior to sending the data. Thereafter, the second storage device writes the data. Finally, the second storage device processes write requests until the second storage device encounters a write request having the same reference label as that sent with the data.

Producing a mirrored copy using reference labels

The effects of I/O race conditions caused by asynchrony between processors concurrently executing the same software and I/O devices are eliminated by executing an application program and a first associated operating system with firs processors, and executing an I/O processing program and a second associated operating system with an I/O processor. Memory requests from the application program or the first associated operating system are processed with the first processors, and memory requests from the application program to memory addresses associated with I/O devices are trapped and transmitted to the I/O processor. The I/O processor then performs the trapped memory requests with the I/O processing program after waiting for the identical request to be received from each of the first processors to eliminate the effects of race conditions caused by asynchrony between processors concurrently executing the application program or the first associated operating system and I/O devices. I/O requests may be trapped and performed by the I/O processor for the same purpose.

Method for executing I/O request by I/O processor after receiving

In a first aspect, a method of synchronizing at least two computing elements that each have clocks that operate asynchronously of the clocks of the other computing elements includes selecting one or more signals, designated as meta time signals, from a set of signals produced by the computing elements, monitoring the computing elements to detect the production of a selected signal by one of the computing elements, waiting for the other computing elements to produce a selected signal, transmitting equally valued time updates to each of the computing elements, and updating the clocks of the computing elements based on the time updates. In a second aspect, fault resilient or fault tolerant computers are produced by designating a first processor as a computing element, designating a second processor as a controller, connecting the computing element and the controller to produce a modular pair, and connecting at least two modular pairs to produce a fault resilient or fault tolerant computer. Each computing element of the computer performs all instructions in the same number of cycles as the other computing elements. Computer systems include one or more controllers and at least two computing elements. System is provided for intercepting I/O operations by the computing elements and transmitting them to the one or more controllers.

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Upton, MA, United States of America

Glenn A Tremblay