International Business Machines Corporation

Lenovo (singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Michael H Nolterieke

William Gabriel Pagan

Fred Allison Bower, Iii

Mark Edward Molander

David Benson Rhoades

Norman Clark Strole

Devon D Snyder

Todd Michael Eischeid

Gregory William Dake

David Bryan Roberts

John K Whetzel

John Paul Franks

Jeffery Michael Franke

Warren D Bailey

Paul Brian Tippett

Phuong Thanh Nguyen

Albert Andre Asselin

Torez Smith

Paul K Scrutton

Nicolae-Marian Alexandrescu

Updating a firmware package including receiving an update package for the firmware package, the firmware package including currently installed components supporting one of a plurality of software layers, the update package including update components that correspond to the currently installed components; retrieving information describing a state of the currently installed components; comparing the information describing the state of the currently installed components to information describing a state of the corresponding update components; constructing a revised update package that includes only update components having a state more recent than the state of the corresponding currently installed components; and updating the currently installed components with corresponding update components of the revised update package.

Updating a firmware package

Administering a remote session between a target computing device and a remote computing device, including: identifying, by a remote session administration module, a confidentiality level of content displayed by a target computing device, the target computing device engaged in a remote session with remote computing device, the remote session carried out by software executed by the target computing device, software executed by the remote computing device, and an active data communication link between the target computing device and the remote computing device; and controlling, by the remote session administration module, the remote session in dependence upon the confidentiality level of content displayed by the target computing device.

Administering a remote session between a target computing device and a remote computing device

Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and computer program product for dynamic time out determination during a microcontroller driven firmware update. In an embodiment, the method includes selecting by a processor of a server a firmware update to be applied by a microcontroller to firmware of the server and computing a timeout value according to a function based upon a date of production of the server. The method also includes transmitting a request to the microcontroller to apply the selected firmware update to the firmware. Finally, the method includes determining a failure state responsive to detecting a lapse in time from the request beyond the timeout value without response by the microcontroller.

Dynamic timeout determination for microcontroller management of firmware updates

Methods and systems for managing tunneled endpoints are provided. One method includes preventing a user from accessing an endpoint that was previously accessed by the user via a first URL including an address with a first port designation, creating a constructive bookmark to the previously accessed endpoint, and establishing a tunnel to the previously accessed endpoint based on the constructive bookmark. Another method includes preventing a user from bookmarking a URL to an endpoint. A system includes a processor coupled to a memory a module for managing tunneled endpoints that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform one or more of the above methods.

Bookmarking support of tunneled endpoints

Data associated with a workload is stored in a first composite array of data storage devices, and is automatically stored in a second composite array in response to predicting failure of one of the data storage devices in the first composite array. The data may be stored in the second composite array by either converting the first composite array or migrating the data to the second composite array. One of the data storage devices may predict its own failure and issue a predictive failure alert.

Dynamic use of RAID levels responsive to predicted failure of a data storage device

In one embodiment, a computer system has a plurality of chassis interconnected by cables. Each cable initially connects a unique port pair consisting of a port of one chassis and a port of another chassis. The disconnection of cables is monitored, including electronically recording a disconnection sequence in which the port pairs are disconnected by removing each cable from at least one port of the respective port pair. Visual guidance is provided for re-cabling the computer system by sequentially identifying the port pairs in a reversal of the disconnection sequence, wherein identifying each port pair includes illuminating visual indicators associated with the ports of each port pair with a matching illumination pattern.

Electronic guidance for restoring a predetermined cabling configuration

Propagating firmware updates in a peer-to-peer network including identifying, that one or more nodes in the network have firmware that is uplevel with respect to the downlevel node; broadcasting an update request requesting an update to the firmware; receiving a plurality of portions of the update, metadata describing each portion of the update received, and metadata describing the firmware installed on each of the plurality of nodes having firmware uplevel with respect to the downlevel node; determining, in dependence upon the metadata describing each portion of the update received and the metadata describing the firmware installed on each of the plurality of nodes having firmware uplevel with respect to the downlevel node, whether the portions of the update received comprise an entire update; and updating the firmware if the portions of the update received comprise the entire update.

Propagating firmware updates in a peer-to-peer network environment

Alert event notifications may be provided by: displaying a first user interface layer including at least one user interface element configured to provide an alert event notification; displaying a second user interface layer such that at least a portion of the second user interface layer overlays the at least one user interface element configured to provide an alert event notification; detecting an alert event; and at least partially displaying the at least one user interface element configured to provide an alert event notification in an area where the at least a portion of the second user interface layer overlays the at least one user interface element configured to provide an alert event notification.

Alert event notification

Data associated with a workload is stored in a first composite array of data storage devices that meets first data storage requirements of the workload, and is automatically stored in a second composite array in response to detecting second data storage requirements of the workload, wherein the second composite array of data storage devices meets the second data storage requirements. The data may be stored in the second composite array by either converting the first array or migrating the data to another array that more closely meets the current data storage requirements of the workload. Alternatively, the array conversion or the data migration may be performed in response to a predictive failure alert from one of the data storage devices in the first composite array.

Dynamic use of raid levels responsive to workload requirements

Method and system for configuring a device that has failed to obtain a network address. In one aspect of the invention, a method for remotely configuring a device includes attempting to obtain a network address from a network server over a network, and receiving a valid network address over the network from a remote device connected to the network in response to failing to obtain the network address from the network server.

Method and system for configuring a device that has failed to obtain network address

Content presentation using on-demand user interfaces is provided. One embodiment comprises detecting position of a pointer by a user relative to a content element in a graphical user interface displayed on an electronic display screen; displaying a popup window at a location on the graphical user interface while the pointer hovers over the content element, wherein the popup window includes a bump zone indicating that the popup window is moveable; detecting proximity of the pointer relative to the bump zone while the pointer hovers over the content element; and transitioning the popup window to a new location on the graphical user interface based on the detected proximity and movement of the pointer relative to the bump zone.

Content presentation utilizing moveable fly-over on-demand user interfaces

Managing firmware in a computing system storing a plurality of different firmware images for the same firmware includes: calculating, for each firmware image in dependence upon a plurality of predefined factors, a preference score; responsive to a failure of a particular firmware image, selecting a firmware image having a highest preference score; and failing over to the selected firmware image.

Firmware management in a computing system

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed to failover to a standby server when a primary server is under broadcast storm or denial-of-service ('DoS') attack. A primary attack sensing module is included to monitor a rate of incoming data from a computer network to a primary server and to determine if the rate of incoming data is above a primary data rate threshold. A standby contact module is included to request a standby data rate status from a standby server in response to the primary attack module determining that the rate of incoming data to the primary server is above the primary data rate threshold. The standby server is connected to the primary server over a private network. The standby data rate status includes a determination by the standby server of whether a rate of data received by the standby server is above a standby data rate threshold. A standby receiver module is included to receive a standby data rate status from the standby server over the private network. A switchover module is included to deactivate the primary server and to send a command to activate the standby server as a primary server in response to the received standby data rate status indicating that the rate of data received by the standby server has not exceeded the standby data rate threshold.

Apparatus, system, and method for server failover to standby server during broadcast storm or denial-of-service attack

In one embodiment, a fixed chassis power budget is dynamically allocated to a plurality of servers inserted into a multi-server chassis. An inserted server may be inventoried by sequentially identifying server components, categorically-defined component power limits, and actual component power requirements of the inventoried components. A power permission may be granted to the inserted server prior to completion of the inventory, based on power-related information inferred from a chassis and server specification or from the inventoried components.

Growing community of inventors

Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Michael H Nolterieke