International Business Machines Corporation

Yiyu L Chen

Martin L Schmatz

Robert Birke

Navaneeth Rameshan

Patricia Maria Sagmeister

Mitch Gusat

Cyriel Johan Minkenberg

Mircea R Gusat

Kenneth Michael Valk

Fredy Daniel Neeser

Nikolaos Chrysos

Rolf Clauberg

Antonius Paulus Engbersen

Mathias Bjoerkqvist

William Joseph Piazza

Richard Edwin Harper

Patrick M Bland

Alessandro Cevrero

Angela Beth Dalton

Sebastiano Spicuglia

Danilo Ansaloni

Joel Vallone

Cheng Wang

Amitayu Das

Ji Xue

Thomas Scherer

Mathias Björkqvist

A plurality of requests are received for computing processing. At least some of the plurality of requests are replicated. The requests are replicated based on a fractional replication factor. Each received request and each replicated request are transmitted to a computer resource for processing. At least some embodiments provide the capability for meeting tail latency targets with improved performance and reduced cost.

Optimizing tail latency via workload and resource redundancy in cloud

In a computer-implemented method for providing obfuscated data to users, first, a user request to access data is received; then, an authorization level associated with the request received is identified. Next, obfuscated data is accessed in a protected enclave, which data corresponds to the request received. The data accessed has been obfuscated with an obfuscation algorithm that yields a level of obfuscation compatible with the authorization level identified. Finally, the obfuscated data accessed is provided to the user, from the protected enclave. Related systems and computer program products are also disclosed.

Secure, multi-level access to obfuscated data for analytics

The present disclosure relates to a method of managing requests to a key-value database. A non-limiting example of the method includes receiving a request that includes a number of keys. The number of keys can be compared with a first threshold number and second threshold number. If the number of keys exceeds the first threshold number, the request can be split. If the number of keys is smaller than the second threshold number, the request can be merged with at least one previous or subsequent request. Requests resulting from the splitting and merging steps can be submitted to the key-value database for further processing of the submitted requests.

Dynamically slicing datastore query sizes

A computer-implemented method of controlling communication resources and computation resources of a computerized system includes continually monitoring dual observables. The dual observables include one or more communication observables pertaining to one or more communication channels of the system, and one or more compute observables pertaining to a computational workload execution by a processor of the system. The method also includes jointly adjusting dual resources of the system based on the dual observables monitored, where the dual resources include communication resources for the one or more communication channels, and computation resources for the computational workload execution. Such a method can be used for sprinting both communication and computational resources, in a consistent way, for the system to best cope with temporary situations, in terms of both workload execution and data traffic. The invention is further directed to related systems and computer program products.

Joint control of communication and computation resources of a computerized system

A computer-implemented method manages cryptographic objects in a hierarchical key management system including a hardware security module (HSM), which institutes a key hierarchy extending from a ground level l. Clients interact with the HSM to obtain cryptographic objects. A request is received from one of the clients for an object at a given level lof the hierarchy (above the ground level l). A binary representation of the object is accessed as a primary bit pattern p, at the HSM and said pattern is scrambled via a bitwise XOR operation. The latter operates, on the one hand, on the primary bit pattern pand, on the other hand, on a control bit pattern pthat is a binary representation of an access code of the same length as said primary bit pattern p. The pattern pis obtained based on that given level lof the hierarchy.

Hierarchical key management based on bitwise XOR operations

Embodiments of the invention provide a computer-implemented method for managing cryptographic objects in a key management system. This system comprises a set of one or more hardware security modules (HSMs), as well as clients interacting with the HSMs on behalf of users who interact with the clients. The method comprises monitoring, for each HSM of the set, an entropy pool and/or a load at each HSM. The entropy pool of a HSM is the entropy that is available at this HSM for generating cryptographic objects. The load induced at a HSM is the load due to the users interacting with the clients to obtain cryptographic objects. Cryptographic objects are generated, at each HSM, according to the monitored entropy pool and/or load. The extent to which such objects are generated depends on the monitored entropy pool and/or load.

Postponing entropy depletion in key management systems with hardware security modules

A method for coordinating cache and memory reservation in a computerized system includes identifying at least one running application, recognizing the at least one application as a latency-critical application, monitoring information associated with a current cache access rate and a required memory bandwidth of the at least one application, allocating a cache partition, a size of the cache partition corresponds to the cache access rate and the required memory bandwidth of the at least one application, defining a threshold value including a number of cache misses per time unit, determining a reduction of cache misses per time unit, in response to the reduction of cache misses per time unit being above the threshold value, retaining the cache partition, assigning a priority of scheduling memory request including a medium priority level, and assigning a memory channel to the at least one application to avoid memory channel contention.

Coordination of cache and memory reservation

A computer-implemented method for preventing the occurrence of performance tickets in a computing system comprising a plurality of virtual machines hosted by a host computing system. The method comprising the steps of: monitoring a resource usage parameter associated with the workload of a virtual machine in order to obtain historic resource usage information; determining information regarding certain dependencies within the historic resource usage information; selecting partial information from the historic resource usage information based on said determined information regarding certain dependencies; estimating the future workload of the virtual machines based on said selected partial information; and resizing the computational resources of one or more virtual machines based on the estimated future workload such that a usage threshold of a computational resource is below a given threshold in order to avoid the generation of a performance ticket.

Method and system for performance ticket reduction

A computing system comprises one or more multicore processor(s) comprising a set of multiple processing units each operable at a variable frequency, and a main memory operable at a variable frequency. A feedback controller is configured to control the frequency of each processing unit of the set and the frequency of the main memory dependent on a measure representative of a current performance of an application running on one or more of the multiple processing units of the set.

Controlling power consumption

The present invention is notably directed to systems and methods for detecting resource contention on a computerized system collocation of computer processes. Most basically, such methods comprise: monitoring data produced by each computer process of a set of computer processes co-located on the computerized system; detecting in the monitored data a change in a behavior of data produced by a given computer process of the set of computer processes; and throttling other computer processes of the set than said given computer process to detect potential resource contention at said given computer process. Such systems and methods advantageously apply to co-located virtual machines.

Detection of resource contention on computerized systems using co-located computer processes such as virtual machines

A device is described. The device includes a daughterboard having a first distinct side and a second distinct side. A first connector on the first distinct side is attached to a first baseboard. A second connector on the second distinct side is attached to a second baseboard. A method for attaching a daughterboard to a second device is described. Connectors are included on opposing distinct sides of the daughterboard. The second device includes baseboards mechanically secured in parallel by lead screw actuators. As part of the method, the lead screw actuators are actuated so as to move the baseboards away from each other. A first connector is attached to one of the baseboards. The lead screw actuators are again actuated so as to move the baseboards toward each other until a second connector is brought into attachment with the other of the baseboards.

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Rueschlikon, Switzerland

Yiyu L Chen