International Business Machines Corporation

William H Tetzlaff

Gerald P Bozman

James J Myers

Alexander S Lett

Robert Baird

Asit Dan

Dinkar Sitaram

Frederick Douglis

Joel Leonard Wolf

John Davis Palmer

Elizabeth Suzanne Richards

Jay H Unger

David Tao

George Eisenberger

Philip Shi-lung Yu

Kirsten Weale Hildrum

Martin G Kienzle

Nikhil Bansal

Lisa Karen Fleischer

Akshay Kumar Reddy Katta

Murthy V Devarakonda

Ajay Mohindra

Sam Sampson Lightstone

Joseph L Hellerstein

Nagui Halim

John Michael Tracey

John Timothy Robinson

Paul Hodges

Apratim Purakayastha

Kay Schwendimann Anderson

Richard Roland Guyette

Carolyn Haibt Norton

Aaron B Brown

Pong-sheng Wang

Pawan Goyal

Deborra Jean Zukowski

Tsz-Kin Lau

Robert R Berbec

Peter K L Shum

Jay G Unger

John J McAssey

Albert Kamerman

Thomas Beretvas

Perwez Shahabuddin

David Michael Shofi

Techniques are disclosed for combining multiple benchmarks for use in assessing characteristics of a computing system. For example, a method for configuring and running multiple benchmarks includes the following steps. A multiple benchmark specification is obtained. The multiple benchmark specification includes multiple individual benchmark specifications and a multiple benchmark workflow describing an ordering according to which the multiple individual benchmarks are to be configured and run. The multiple benchmarks are configured and run according to the ordering identified in the multiple benchmark workflow. Results of the multiple benchmark runs are recorded. One or more specifications or results associated with at least one of the multiple benchmarks are utilized as part of a benchmark specification for at least another of the multiple benchmarks so as to provide consistency between at least the one and the other of the multiple benchmarks.

Method and system for combining multiple benchmarks

A storage system includes a plurality of data vats, and a processor including an optimizing unit that optimizes a value of data stored in the storage system. The optimizing unit optimizes the value by computing and implementing an optimal decision for allocating new data to a first data vat of the plurality of data vats, moving existing data from at least a second data vat of the plurality of data vats to the first data vat, and deleting existing data from the first data vat, based on an amount of data in each of the plurality of data vats.

System and method for optimizing data in value-based storage system

A method (and system) of storing data in a value-based storage system, includes optimizing a value of data stored in the value-based storage system.

A system and method for optimizing a storage system to support short data object lifetimes and highly utilized storage space are provided. With the system and method, data objects are clustered based on when they are anticipated to be deleted. When an application stores data, the application provides an indicator of the expected lifetime of the data, which may be a retention value, a relative priority of the data object, or the like. Data objects having similar expected lifetimes are clustered together in common data structures so that clusters of objects may be deleted efficiently in a single operation. Expected lifetimes may be changed by applications automatically. The system automatically determines how to handle these changes in expected lifetime using one or more of copying the data object, reclassifying the container in which the data object is held, and ignoring the change in expected lifetime for a time to investigate further changes in expected lifetime of other data objects.

Optimizing a storage system to support short data lifetimes

The invention provides a storage system that includes a policy manager. The policy manager has a user interface and a policy engine which encodes performance and workload requirements of tablespaces in a policy that is based on user input received through the user interface. Databases are connected to the policy manager and tablespaces are connected to the databases. The databases create the tablespaces, and the databases establish a storage allocation for the tablespace based on the policy. The policy manager detects if the tablespace is out of storage and automatically extends the storage allocation for the tablespace based on the policy, when the tablespace is out of storage.

System for automated storage management for databases

A computerized method, system and computer program product for managing an object store is disclosed. An exemplary method includes the the steps of: collecting performance statistics about storage repositories from which an object(s) can be retrieved; retrieving an object from a storage repository, in response to an object reference; determining a reference probability (RFP) for the object; determining and associating a replacement penalty (RPP) with the object wherein the RPP is based on the one or more performance statistics and the RFP; and storing the object and an associated RPP for the object. The storage repositories could be locally attached devices, network sites, and/or remotely attached devices. If there is insufficient space in the object store for a new object, an object(s) can be replaced with the new object based on the associated RPP of the cached objects. Alternatively, the resolution of one or more objects in the object store can be reduced until sufficient space is available. The RPP determination is preferably based on the RFP for the object and performance and/or usage statistics. Examples of the performance statistics include: availability; size; latency; and bandwidth. An example of the usage statistics includes statistics on time delays (D) associated with abort requests made via the Internet, for example, using a browser. The RPP could include an annoyance function for a specific requester or set of requesters by instrumenting the browser STOP function and analyzing time interval statistics associated with its usage.

Managing an object store based on object replacement penalties and reference probabilities

A system and method wherein a mobile user, or a user interacting with a mobile program, can at any time initiate a program status request. The program status request initiates the sequence of events whereby the current location of the program is determined and/or the current user location is made available to the program without the necessity of either entity changing location. Further, the agent script for the program maintains a composite data structure which includes an input buffer for storing input variables, an output buffer for storing output values to be displayed to the user, a program state data structure, and an optional bag buffer for temporarily storing input variables which the program will need in the course of future execution. By maintaining such a composite data structure, it is assured that all necessary information can be provided at a program location regardless of whether the program or the user has relocated.

Method and apparatus for enabling location-independent and location-transparent interaction between a program and a user

A system and method for use in a distributed video-on-demand system of a type wherein at least one node provides blocks of video data to clients and wherein at least some of the blocks of video data are replicated on multiple nodes. Observed response characteristics for other nodes are recorded at least a given one of the nodes which serves a client requesting a replicated block. The given one of the nodes also records response characteristics reported to it by the other nodes. The node from which to fetch the replicated data block is selected based on which nodes include a copy of the replicated data block and based on at least one of the observed response characteristics and the reported response characteristics.

Recording observed and reported response characteristics at server

The functionality of Web clients (e.g. browser) is enhanced using a WebFilter Manager (WFM) that allows i) easy integration of individual WebFilters operating on ingoing or outgoing messages between the browser and web servers, ii) arbitrary and dynamic ordering of WebFilters operating on a message stream, iii) splitting, combining, modifying and processing of message streams by WebFilters. The same methodology can also be applied in any client server environment for extending the functionality of the client or server.

System for providing custom functionality to client systems by

A method and apparatus for providing a network computer with secure remote swapping to avoid transmitting active memory resident entities (such as data structures, pages, and segments) containing sensitive data in the clear. When a memory resident entity is created, it is entered in a Table of Secure Entities (TSE) if it requires security. The memory manager of the network computer checks the TSE for an entity before swapping it out to a network server. If the entity is in the TSE, the memory manager encrypts the contents of the entity using the public key from the network computer's SmartCard device. When reloading the entity, the memory manager uses the private key from the SmartCard to decrypt the contents of the entity.

Method and apparatus for secure, remote swapping of memory resident

A system and method for scheduling the number of channels in video-on-demand servers so as to deal with time varying load. The scheduling process is hierarchical. A higher level scheduler controls the rate of channel consumption based on anticipated load, and a lower level scheduler selects the waiting client requests to be served when a channel is allocated by the higher level scheduler.

Channel conservation for anticipated load surge in video servers

A system and method are provided for determining load capacity of a system. Physical components of the system and their interconnection are identified. The physical components are converted into logical components such that at least one logical component is created by grouping a plurality of the physical components and such that a load on the logical component will result in an approximately fixed proportional load on the plurality of physical components. Links between the logical components and a proportion of the load placed on each link between a source and destination pair are determined. A model of the logical components and interconnection of the logical components in is then stored in an electronically accessible data structure formed in a memory. A system and method for determining a path for routing data between a source and a destination pair in a system are also provided. An interconnection model of logical system components and logical links is provided wherein the model reflects the saturation capacity of each of the logical system components and each of the logical links. The bandwidth required for providing the data is determined. Then, by reference to the model, a path between the source and destination pair is selected that would not saturate any of the logical system components and logical links when providing the data. System capacity is then reserved by altering the model to reflect the load on the system components that would be required by providing the data from the source to the destination by way of the selected path.

Method for determining load capacity by grouping physical components

A method for dynamically detecting loss of map integrity in a form of system-managed storage (SMS). In SMS, maps are used to define access paths to data and to allocate and reallocate storage resources among applications running thereon. The method steps include incorporating as an indivisible part of an overwriting commmand the duplication of map information by appending a portion of it to each data block in store, and detecting loss of map integrity as a function of a comparison mismatch between the portion stored with a counterpart data block and the map upon each read/write access.

Method for verification and restoration of directories in CPU system

A computer implemented method for robustly copying pages to system managed storage in order to maintain data in a consistent state and in order to provide continuous access availability of the pages to executing applications. The method achieves data consistency by atomically shadow copying application referenced pages and amending directories in a failure independent medium on (1) an access path interrupt as well as on (2) a page update basis. Availability is enhanced by duplexing the pages and directories as part of the atomic shadow copying step.

Highly available fault tolerant relocation of storage with atomicity

A method for managing concurrency using a serializing token as a supplement to locks for accessing the same page by different processes and ensuring coherence between data caches and a shared access backing store supporting the processes defined onto multiple processors. A shared lock and a new token are issued by a local lock manager (LLM) and local cache manager (LCM) in response to a page read request from a process. An exclusive lock, an invalidation of all cache resident copies of the page, a cache write through to backing store of the changed page, a copyback of a new token, and lock release are responsive to a page write/update request from a process where the token issued to the process during a prior request matches the token stored with a cache resident copy of the page. Otherwise, a write request fails and the process must first issue a read request to the page of interest.

Concurrency management using version identification of shared data as a

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Mount Kisco, NY, United States of America

William H Tetzlaff