International Business Machines Corporation

Activision Publishing, Inc.

Michael J Osias

Christopher J Dawson

Brian W Sledge

Donna N Dillenberger

Casimer M DeCusatis

Rick A Hamilton, Ii

Mark Francis Hulber

Robert M Greenberg

Biran W Sledge

A system and method to visualize activities through the use of avatars. The system includes a display engine configured to display at least one automated activity as an avatar. The system also includes a management system configured to monitor the progress of the at least one automated activity and alter at least one of an appearance and a movement of the avatar in relation to the progress of the at least one automated activity.

System and method to visualize activities through the use of avatars

A storage area network (SAN) includes operational switches that contain zone databases of the SAN. A parsing logic parses the zone databases into a relational database that has descriptions of nodes and edges of the SAN. A graphic rendering engine operating on the relational database presents an undirected graph of the SAN. A structuring logic structures the undirected graph into a layout using one or more pre-defined algorithms, wherein the one or more pre-defined algorithms identify potentially problematic zones in the SAN. A metrics calculator calculates metrics of inbetweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and eccentricity of the SAN from the layout, wherein the metrics are applied as indicators to the layout to highlight problematic zones in the SAN. A display presents the layout with the indicators to enable optimization operations on the SAN.

Storage area network zone optimization

The present invention re-renders data center visualizations at different levels of abstraction based on roles or activities of an avatar. Morphing of data center objects is accomplished by either combining or decomposing existing data center objects in a manner that will result in a new object that maintains its relationship to the original objects. An example of this would be when creating an application object by combining an existing infrastructure objects (e.g., a server, a network and storage) used to support the application object runtime environment. This allows for the avatar to not only relate the application object to the supporting infrastructure objects, but also provides a view of how the application object is impacted whenever the supporting infrastructure objects change or break.

Morphing a data center in a virtual world

Under the present invention, polling code is generated on a server and sent to a client in response to a transaction request received on the server from the client. The polling code includes a set of parameters such as a delay time and a polling count. After expiration of the delay time, the client will poll the server to request the status of the requested transaction. If the transaction is complete, the client will be redirected to a completion page. If the transaction is incomplete, and a polling count limit has not been reached, new polling code will be generated that includes the delay time and a new polling count. The new polling count is generated by incrementing the old polling count by one. The polling cycle is repeated until the transaction is complete, or the polling count limit is reached.

Providing a status of a transaction with an application on a server

The invention generally relates to virtual environments, and more particularly to systems and methods for communicating in virtual environments. A method of providing communication in a virtual universe (VU) includes instantiating and assigning an information channel to a first client of the VU, associating at least one additional client of the VU to the information channel, and conveying data placed on the information channel to the first client and the at least one additional client.

Use of information channels to provide communications in a virtual environment

The present invention provides a system and method for building collaboration work environments within the virtual world through computer generated (and possibly controlled) avatars and other three dimensional (3D) objects. It provides a solution to a problem where computer generated avatars and objects visually represent the execution, progress and output of a collaboration project. It provides the system and method for quickly visualizing collaboration activities and outputs to allow people to quickly and easily track progress of said activities. Visually representing collaboration activities allows observers to identify the number and different types of collaboration activities which are currently occurring, the progress of each collaboration activity, the system or component that the collaboration activity is creating or any problems or issues identified during activities supporting the collaboration work effort.

Performing interactive collaboration within a virtual world

A solution for implementing a holographic enterprise network is provided. The solution can provide an interface between an operations center and a three dimensional (3D) virtual simulator system capable of rendering holographic images of the operations center. A holographic enterprise interface can translate standard enterprise data associated with the operations center and 3D holographic data. Parallel communications between the holographic enterprise interface and a 3D data processing infrastructure having a holographic bus also can be managed.

Holographic enterprise network

Servers attached to a data communications network, such as a wavelength division multiplexed network, are made aware of events on the network, such as a protection switch for scheduled maintenance to reduce latency and improve performance, etc. Switching data paths on the data communications network is no longer transparent to the server. A message from the network equipment is received and decoded by a holographic enterprise interface coupled to the server and to a virtual network operation centers. The network equipment reports network switch conditions to the holographic enterprise interface and other connected servers. In response to the network switch conditions, the holographic enterprise interface may automatically reprovision data traffic on the network quickly enough to prevent server timeouts and workload interruptions. The switching is then shown in real time in the virtual network operations center.

Network protection switching

An interface coupled to a virtual network operations center and coupled to a data communications network having at least one optical channel. Equipment on the data communications network is identified by the interface wherein the interface coordinates and correlates communications between the I/O interfaces of a server coupled to the network so that data rates and data protocols are managed properly. The interface receives commands from and transmits commands to the data communications network and translates the commands to be further transmitted and used in the virtual network operations center coupled to the server. The data communications network is represented in a three dimensions virtual world in the virtual network operations center so that events on the network can be represented in real-time in the virtual network operations center.

Provisioning and commissioning a communications network with a virtual network operations center and interface

A system and method to interact with business systems through the use of automated agents and provide context for an automated agent to service multiple avatars within a virtual universe. The system comprises a chat engine, a communications subsystem, and a channelizer configured to mediate one or more communications between the chat engine and the communications subsystem. The channelizer is further configured to map at least one channel to an application.

Providing context for an automated agent to service multiple avatars within a virtual universe

A virtual network operating center (VNOC) automatically and in real time obtains and validates the configuration of a data communications network, such as a wavelength division multiplexed network. The VNOC acquires network configuration data using SNMP commands and server configuration information from the hardware management console. The VNOC collates this data and validates configuration requirements for working and backup fiber paths, client protocols, data rates, regeneration requirements, and other considerations. Both ends of a network can be automatically provisioned and commissioned from a single location wherein the ends may be separated by 100 kilometers or more.

Validation of the configuration of a data communications network using a virtual network operations center

A virtual network operating center and a virtual command interface synchronize events occurring on a wavelength division multiplexed network with processing events in a connected server. Should a disaster or other interruption of the network occur, the virtual command interface synchronizes events which occur on the network and any attached servers or server clusters with a reference clock coupled to the server. An event queue connected to the virtual command interface preserves the order of messages having a time stamp and compares the timestamps with the reference clock coupled to the server which is used to determine data integrity. The queued events may be encoded as XML device call to update the representation of the network or portions thereof in the virtual network operation center.

Growing community of inventors

Westtown, NY, United States of America

Michael J Osias