The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 29, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 24, 1997
Nortel Networks Corporation, Montreal, CA;
Abstract
A software sparing process and apparatus to reduce the likelihood of software failures is provided. Software sparing provides software entities, called spares, which take over and provide similar functionality as the failed system to the clients of the failed entity. They also permit the introduction of new software versions with no loss in service during the switch over period. These spare entities, which may be located on different nodes in a system, communicate using a standard interface protocol. Sparing is done at the software 'chunk' level instead of at the hardware box level, which is the common practice, resulting in lower costs and improved reliability. A computer readable storage medium containing a program element to direct a processor of a computer to implement the software sparing process described earlier is also provided.