International Business Machines Corporation

Robert Anthony Storey

Thomas James Freund

James Thomas Rayfield

Avraham Leff

Donald Francis Ferguson

Glyn Normington

Stephen James Cocks

Andrew John Bainbridge

Roger Lee Haskin

Simon Antony Holdsworth

Thomas J Freund

Iain Stuart Houston

Dean S Daniels

In a data processing environment where a client requests a server to perform part of its processing, a method of updating the client's version of server-related data without requiring the client to be a server, includes steps of: receiving, at a control point server, a first request from the client requesting that server-related data be transferred from the control point server to the client; and in response to the first request, sending the server-related data from the control point server to the client, along with a unique bind token identifying a version number of the server-related data such that each time the server-related data changes a new unique bind token is associated with the data, where the client uses the server-related data to form a second request for the server to perform part of the client's processing, and where the client sends said bind token to the server as part of the second request.

Updating server-related data at a client

A method of performing workload management within an object-oriented client/server computing environment wherein one of a plurality of servers is chosen to satisfy a client request based on at least one workload management policy, said method, which takes place within the client, includes steps of: deciding whether a client application program has issued a request for a server to do some work; forming an extended object reference based on said request, said extended object reference having, in addition to a server address field and an object key field, at least one additional field; accessing workload management policy data based on said extended object reference; and selecting one of said plurality of servers based on said accessed workload management policy data.

Workload management in a client-server network with distributed objects

A method and system for implementing a Restart Service for the Object Transaction Service are described. The present invention provides a method and system which trigger restart of an OTS instance upon system recovery or upon system failure. The Restart Service runs independently of the client or server processes which it restarts. When a client or server enters a pending state for a transaction, a permanent record containing information to allow the OTS instance to be restarted is stored in a Restart Repository. In the event of system recovery being needed, or of a system failure, a Restart Daemon reads information from the Restart Repository and recreates the process context. The Recovery Service is initialized and log data replayed to a Transaction Manager to determine the outcome of pending transactions. Failed objects and instances of the OTS are restarted.

Restart and recovery of OMG-compliant transaction systems

The invention provides a mechanism to integrate differing transaction protocols by augmenting an existing Resource Manager to act as both a Transaction Manager and a Resource Manager within a system which also contains a standards-based Transaction Manager which has overall transaction management responsibility. The Transaction Manager within the Resource Manager acts as an interface to provide specific mappings between the Transaction Manager which has overall transaction management responsibility and a proprietary transaction processing system which it manages. The interface is required to map different transaction identification specifications, record appropriate state information and have procedures to effect failure and restart scenarios.

Heterogeneous operations with differing transaction protocols

The invention allows the participation of a resource manager in a transaction which is coordinated by a transaction manager with which the resource manager's protocols are not compatible. More particularly, a mapper records a connection reference which the application program obtains from the resource manager and a transaction reference which the application program obtains from the transaction manager. The resource manager stores recovery information in an associated log file.

Operating a transaction manager with a non-compliant resource manager

A mechanism is provided which allows transparent transaction processing to occur between distributed networks using the AIX or SNA protocols. The present invention will convert between the AIX standard of Two Phase Commit/Presumed Abort (2PC/PA) and the SNA standard of Two Phase Commit/Presume Nothing (2PC/PN). The Presumed Abort Protocol will optimize operations by reducing the number of messages between sites participating in the transaction, and the amount of transaction state information maintained at a site. Thus, any messages needed will be generated and transaction status information will be maintained in order to satisfy a Standard 2PC/PN protocol, when sites within a SNA network are participating in an AIX transaction. Further, the present invention will discard, or ignore any extraneous messages which are received while sites within an AIX network are participating in a SNA transaction.

Growing community of inventors

Southampton, United Kingdom

Robert Anthony Storey