International Business Machines Corporation

Terry Lyle Schardt

David Otto Lewis

Daniel Charles Birkestrand

Randall Lane Grimm

Lynn Allen McMahon

Paul F Olsen

Viktors Berstis

Leon Edward Gregg

James Gregory Ranweiler

William C Richardson

Gerald John Balm

Gary F Aberle

Kuang-Chi Hu

Charles T Watson

A cloud capacity on demand manager manages capacity on demand for servers in a server cloud. The cloud capacity on demand manager may borrow capacity from one or more servers and lend the capacity borrowed from one server to a different server in the server cloud. When the server cloud is no longer intact, capacity borrowed from servers no longer in the server cloud is disabled, and servers no longer in the server cloud reclaim capacity that was lent to the server cloud.

Managing capacity on demand in a server cloud

Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for on-demand access to computerized resources. A resource-time value includes a resource-identifying component and a usage limit component. The resource-identifying component specifies a given type of a resource and the usage limit component defines a maximum allowable usage value of the resource on the basis of time and quantity. Upon verifying the resource-time value, a quantity of the resource is enabled. The enabled resources may then be placed into service for specified time periods, wherein the quantity of resources placed into service and the time periods are delimited by the usage limit component.

Method to provide on-demand resource access

Apparatus and article of manufacture for disabling on-demand access to computerized resources on a computerized apparatus are disclosed. The method comprises receiving a disablement code; validating the disablement code; and disabling an on-demand resource if the validating is successful, thereby rendering the disabled on-demand resource unavailable for use by users of the computerized apparatus, wherein the disabled on-demand resource is a hardware resource of the computerized apparatus. Another embodiment includes receiving a disablement code comprising encrypted data, validating the disablement code, disabling at least one on-demand resource if the validating is successful. The validating includes generating a first key using system information unique to the computerized apparatus; decrypting the encrypted data using a second key to produce decrypted data; encrypting a value to produce an encrypted value; decrypting the encrypted value to produce a decrypted value; and comparing the value to the decrypted value.

Disabling on/off capacity on demand

A capacity manager provides temporary resources on demand in a manner that assures the temporary resources may be recovered when the specified resource-time expires. Access to minimum resource specifications corresponding to the logical partitions is controlled to prevent the sum of all minimum resource specifications from exceeding the base resources on the system. By assuring the sum of minimum resource specifications for all logical partitions is satisfied by the base resources on the system, the temporary resources may always be recovered when required.

Assuring recovery of temporary resources in a logically partitioned computer system

An apparatus, program product and method for determining unreturned standby resource usage. Unreturned standby resource data is monitored and stored separately from other standby resource data for billing and other accounting purposes.

System for determining unreturned standby resource usage

Methods, systems, and media to expand resources available to logical partition associated with a client are contemplated. Embodiments may associate the logical partition with a grid that retains a list of resources, referred to as grid resources, available for allocation to logical partitions. The grid resources may include resources from, e.g., other logical partitions within the logically partitioned system, logical partitions from other logically partitioned systems, another type of system, a cluster, and the like. Further, one or more of the systems associated with the grid may include on-demand resources that are also available to supplement resources based upon the demands of the client. Embodiments may also monitor resource usage by the client and meter billable usage of the grid resources and/or on-demand resources based upon agreements between service providers and clients.

Methods, systems, and media to expand resources available to a logical partition

An apparatus and method provides the capability of metering temporary capacity on demand in a computer system. A resource-time is specified, such as processor-days. The actual usage of the resource is monitored, and the customer is charged for only the actual usage of the resource. In this manner a customer may purchase a specified resource-time, and is only charged for the time that the resource is actually used. The preferred embodiments extend to metering temporary capacity on demand in a logically partitioned computer system. If a resource is shared, the actual usage of the resource is monitored, and the customer is only billed for actual usage that exceeds a predetermined non-zero threshold.

Method of providing metered capacity of temporary computer resources

Apparatus and method for assuring recovery of temporary resources in a logically partitioned computer system

Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for disabling on-demand access to computerized resources on a computerized apparatus. The method comprises receiving a disablement code; validating the disablement code; and disabling an on-demand resource if the validating is successful, thereby rendering the disabled on-demand resource unavailable for use by users of the computerized apparatus, wherein the disabled on-demand resource is a hardware resource of the computerized apparatus. Another embodiment includes receiving a disablement code comprising encrypted data, validating the disablement code, disabling at least one on-demand resource if the validating is successful. The validating includes generating a first key using system information unique to the computerized apparatus; decrypting the encrypted data using a second key to produce decrypted data; encrypting a value to produce an encrypted value; decrypting the encrypted value to produce a decrypted value; and comparing the value to the decrypted value.

Method to disable on/off capacity in demand

A look-aside buffer in a computer system has a memory containing at least a first type of data ans a second type of data stored in a page format. The look-aside buffer is arranged to retain at least two different real addresses as resolved by the system which indicate pages containing the different types of data. One of the addresses is indicated as least recently used by a marker and such address is deleted when a further different address is resolved by the system unless the address being resolved is an address corresponding to the first type of data. In such a case, the marker is not changed such that the second type of data addresses are not deleted from the look-aside buffer as a result of resolution of a first type data page address by the system.

Look-aside buffer LRU marker controller

A serialization apparatus for a data processing system wherein access restrictions are automatically enforced: (1) in behalf of individual machine instructions in order to maintain object integrity; and (2) at each user's discretion in order to maintain synchronization among all concurrent users of any given object. Various types of restrictions can be enforced in behalf of both machine instructions and users, allowing concurrent access to objects at various levels where appropriate.

Growing community of inventors

Oronoco, MN, United States of America

Terry Lyle Schardt