International Business Machines Corporation

Thomas James Fox

Eric Richard Kern

Fred Allison Bower, Iii

Richard Edwin Harper

David Bryan Roberts

Ketan K Shah

Rodney Hugh Brown

Tushar Dasharath Fadale

Michael Scott Rollins

Celia Anne Schreiber

William Bradley Schwartz

Edward Victor Zorek, Sr

Charles Christian Queen

Aspects of a distributed computing environment with remote data collection management include a management server, and a plurality of computer systems networked to and managed by the management server. Each of the plurality of computer systems includes a listening agent to receive process code from a management server and to control the periodic execution of the process code to collect data from the plurality of computer systems. The periodic execution occurs without requiring a connection to be maintained between the plurality of computer systems and the management server. Further, the data collected includes data collected from problem determination activities.

Distributed computing environment with remote data collection management

A method of providing diagnostic service for a data processing system includes retrieving product data identifying a data processing element in response to an alert generated by the element. The retrieved product data is forwarded to a networked diagnostic site. A diagnostic package is retrieved, the diagnostic package including diagnostic code appropriate for the alerting element. The diagnostic package is forwarded to the data processing system. The diagnostic code is then installed and executed to perform diagnostic testing of the element. Results generated during execution of the diagnostic code may then be used to take machine initiated corrective action. After the results have been generated, the diagnostic software is uninstalled from the data processing system.

Automated diagnostic service

A system, method, and computer program product for reporting and recovering from an internal processor error in a multiprocessor system supporting system management mode. In accordance with the method of the present invention one or more replacement agents are allocated such as during system startup within the multiprocessor system. Machine specific error-reporting registers are monitored for one or more active processor agents during system operation. In response to detecting a faulty agent via the monitoring, a system management interrupt (SMI) request is issued to one or both the faulty agent and a selected replacement agent. In response to receiving the SMI request, the operating state of the faulty agent is copied to the selected replacement agent in system management mode. Operating system processing is then resumed using the replacement agent.

System and method for predictive processor failure recovery

A method and system for ordering and aggregating log streams. Log streams for events from different sources are received. If different sources have different recording cycles, or time epochs, that lead to different temporal granularities, then all of the log streams are combined into a single time epoch that is equal to the longest time epoch. Log streams from sources having shorter time epochs continue to retain information about their original time epochs, in order to retain information about the order of the events in those log streams. The log streams are re-ordered, both before and after being integrated into the aggregate log, by acquiring additional data from the different sources, thus permitting the likely cause/effect relationship between events.

Identifying temporal ambiguity in an aggregated log stream

A method and system for ordering and aggregating log streams. Log streams for events from different sources are received. If different sources have different recording cycles, or time epochs, that lead to different temporal granularities, then all of the log streams are combined into a single time epoch that is equal to the longest time epoch. Log streams from sources having shorter time epochs continue to retain information about their original time epochs, in order to retain information about the order of the events in those log streams. The log streams are reordered, both before and after being integrated into the aggregate log, by acquiring additional data from the different sources, thus permitting the likely cause/effect relationship between events.

Identifying temporal ambiguity in a aggregated log stream

A method and system for dynamically replacing a failing processor in a server system configured with IA-32 architecture without requiring hardware changes to the IA-32 architecture or administrative effort. At least one processor of the multiprocessor system (MP) is initially provided as a reserve (or hot-spare) processor that remains in an idle, off, or low-power mode. While in that mode, the OS is prevented from initially utilizing the hot-spare processor. When a processor failure is detected, SMI code running on a good processor instructs the OS to hold off allocating processes to the failing processor. Contemporaneously, the SMI (and OS) activates and completes an initialization of the hot-spare processor to prepare it to begin receiving the held-off processes. Control is then returned to the OS, which updates the 'active' processor list and allocates the threads that were running on the failing processor to the hot-spare processor.

Autonomous fail-over to hot-spare processor using SMI

A modem structure for connection to a line carrying both DSL signals and CTS signals, and a method of operation thereof, are provided. The modem structure includes a DSL modem connectable through a filter to remove the CTS frequencies on said line, and connected to network port. A diagnostic device is connected to the DSL modem to diagnose problems stored with the DSL modem. An analog modem is also provided that is connectable to said wire through a filter that filters out DSL signals on the line, and selectively connectable to said diagnostic device to read information in the diagnostic device and transmit the readings, In operation, the network port is continuously connected to DSL signals to operate network devices at high frequency, and said diagnostic device is selectively connected to the CTS device for diagnostic purposes using low frequency signals.

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Apex, NC, United States of America

Thomas James Fox