Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Blanche E. Schiller, Esq.
  • Patent number: 6625638
    Abstract: A logical partition includes at least one dedicated logical processor and at least one shared logical processor. The dedicated processor is a different type of processor than the shared processor, and/or the dedicated processor executes a different dispatching procedure than the shared processor. The use of the shared processor automatically ramps up, as the arrival rate of requests forwarded to the logical partition increases. Furthermore, the use of, the shared processor automatically ramps down, as the arrival rate decreases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey Paul Kubala, John Charles Nagy, Jeffrey Mark Nick, Ira Glenn Siegel
  • Patent number: 6615373
    Abstract: A coupling facility is coupled to one or more other coupling facilities via one or more peer links. The coupling of the facilities enables various functions to be supported, including the duplexing of structures of the coupling facilities. Duplexing is performed on a structure basis, and thus, a coupling facility may include duplexed structures, as well as non-duplexed or simplexed structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David A. Elko, Steven N. Goss, Michael J. Jordan, Jeffrey M. Nick, Douglas Westcott, Wendell W. Wilkinson
  • Patent number: 6595786
    Abstract: To obtain connector connecting structure that makes it easy to connect connectors when a mounted part is mounted in a part-receiving part. In a keyboard unit mounted in a PC body of a notebook PC, a connector implemented on a flexible cable is movably supported through a cushion, which is made of urethane rubber and is fixed on a installation side 14B of the keyboard unit, and a support plate fixed to the cushion. Owing to this, by just mounting the keyboard unit in the PC body, the connector is connected to the connector in the PC body side, and hence connection becomes simple. Therefore, even if the misalignment between the connectors and arises, the connector moves according to an amount of the misalignment, and hence adequate connection can be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuo Horiuchi, Kenshin Yonemochi
  • Patent number: 6594667
    Abstract: Storage structures of a shared storage processor of a computing environment are modified. One or more target maximum counts are specified, which are to be used in modifying a storage structure of the shared storage processor. The one or more target maximum counts are then used to modify the storage structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis J. Dahlen, David A. Elko, Jeffrey M. Nick, David H. Surman
  • Patent number: 6587938
    Abstract: Central processing unit (CPU) resources are managed within a computing environment. When the allocation of CPU resources to a partition of the computing environment is to be adjusted, the allocation is adjusted dynamically. This dynamic adjustment is across at least two partitions of the computing environment. The adjusting includes modifying processor weights associated with the partitions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Catherine K. Eilert, Jeffrey P. Kubala, Jeffrey M. Nick, Peter B. Yocom
  • Patent number: 6584554
    Abstract: Storage structures are allocated within a shared storage processor of a computing environment. One or more target maximum counts are specified, which are to be used in allocating a storage structure of the shared storage processor. The one or more target maximum counts are then used to allocate the storage structure. The newly allocated structure can have the same characteristics as a previously allocated structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis J. Dahlen, David A. Elko, Jeffrey M. Nick, David H. Surman
  • Patent number: 6546414
    Abstract: Lock structures of a shared storage processor of a computing environment are copied. A copy operation for a lock structure of the shared storage processor is initiated. Although the lock structure is owned by an exploiter of the lock structure, one or more objects of the lock structure are copied via an operating system of the computing environment. The one or more objects are copied from the lock structure to another lock structure of the computing environment. Both lock structures may be located within the same shared storage processor or within different shared storage processors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis J. Dahlen, David A. Elko, Jeffrey M. Nick, David H. Surman, Douglas Westcott, Ruth A. Allen, Mark A. Brooks
  • Patent number: 6546466
    Abstract: Cache structures of a shared storage processor of a computing environment are copied. A copy operation for a cache structure of the shared storage processor is initiated. Although the cache structure is owned by an exploiter of the cache structure, one or more objects of the cache structure are copied via an operating system of the computing environment. The one or more objects are copied from the cache structure to another cache structure of the computing environment. Both cache structures may be located within the same shared storage processor or within different shared storage processors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David A. Elko, Jeffrey M. Nick, David H. Surman, Wendell W. Wilkinson, Ruth A. Allen, Mark A. Brooks
  • Patent number: 6542970
    Abstract: List structures of a shared storage processor of a computing environment are copied. A copy operation for a list structure of the shared storage processor is initiated. Although the list structure is owned by an exploiter of the list structure, one or more objects of the list structure are copied via an operating system of the computing environment. The one or more objects are copied from the list structure to another list structure of the computing environment. Both list structures may be located within the same shared storage processor or within different shared storage processors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Dennis J. Dahlen, David A. Elko, Jeffrey M. Nick, David H. Surman, Douglas Westcott, Ruth A. Allen, Mark A. Brooks
  • Patent number: 6539495
    Abstract: Coupling facility store-in cache structures are duplexed in order to improve data availability. That is, once duplexing is established, selective data is written to both a primary structure instance and a secondary structure instance. Thus, if one of the structure instances fails, then the other structure instance is used in order to prevent data from being lost. Duplexing can be started manually and/or automatically by the operating system. Further, a structure may be removed from duplex mode and enter simplex mode, if duplexing is not desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Arlen Elko, Steven Bruce Jones, Jeffrey W. Josten, Inderpal Singh Narang, Jeffrey M. Nick, Kelly B. Pushong, David Harold Surman, James Zu-Chia Teng
  • Patent number: 6496840
    Abstract: Write requests are performed against one or more resources of a resource group in a persistent and atomic manner. When a write request is received, a backup resource group is updated to reflect data in a current resource group. Thereafter, the write request is performed against the backup resource group. After successfully performing the write operation(s), the backup resource group and the current resource group are swapped in an atomic, consistent manner, such that the backup resource group is now the new current resource group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Rosario A. Uceda-Sosa, Steven R. Champagne, Kailash N. Marthi, Gregory D. Laib
  • Patent number: 6452764
    Abstract: Magnetoresistive devices are disclosed which include a changeable magnetic region within which at least two magnetic states can be imposed. Upon magnetoresistive electrical interaction with the device, the relative orientation of the magnetic states of the changeable magnetic region, and a proximate reference magnetic region, can be sensed thereby providing a binary data storage capability. The present invention limits the electrical interaction to only a preferred portion of the changeable magnetic region, e.g., the portion within which the two magnetic states can be dependably predicted to be substantially uniform, and opposite of one another. Structures for limiting the electrical interaction to this preferred portion of the changeable magnetic region are disclosed, and include smaller interaction regions, and alternating areas of insulation and conductive, interaction regions, disposed proximate the changeable magnetic region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David William Abraham, Philip Edward Batson, William Joseph Gallagher, Stuart Parkin, John Slonczewski, Philip Louis Trouilloud
  • Patent number: 6438654
    Abstract: Castout processing for duplexed data structures. A selective data item is written from a primary instance of a data structure to at least one storage medium. A determination is made as to whether the selective data item can be deleted from a secondary instance of the data structure. If the selective data item can be deleted, it is deleted from the secondary instance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Arlen Elko, Steven Bruce Jones, Jeffrey W. Josten, Inderpal Singh Narang, Jeffrey M. Nick, Kelly B. Pushong, David Harold Surman, James Zu-Chia Teng
  • Patent number: 6385701
    Abstract: In a computing environment having clients with different semantics or protocols, a capability is provided that enables those clients to share the same data or files. A token management function is provided that allows clients that did not previously support token management to use the token management function to access the shared files. These capabilities are provided without requiring modifications to the client software.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Timothy Peter Krein, Scott Thomas Marcotte
  • Patent number: 6353548
    Abstract: In order to provide a more efficient method and system for data lookups, it is proposed to provide the known CAM (100) with an additional comparator (301). The comparator (301) does not comprise a memory circuit and therefore allows a faster comparison of input data (D0 to D31) with compare data (C0 to C31) than the known compare circuit (106). In addition, it is proposed to temporarily inhibit forwarding of the output signal of the specific CAM circuit into which the input data (D0 to D31) are written, in order to avoid forwarding of a wrong match signal to the data processing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Klaus Helwig, Hans-Werner Tast, Friedrich-Christian Wernicke
  • Patent number: 6345280
    Abstract: Managing a log stream of a computer system. An entry of a log stream, desired to be removed from the log stream, but not eligible for removal, is logically deleted. Logical deletion keeps the entry on the log stream and indicates that the entry can be removed from the log stream when it is eligible. When the entry is eligible, it is removed. If a desired entry remains at the tail of the log stream for a given period of time, thus not all owing the removal of one or more undesired entries, the desired entry is rewritten to the head of the log stream and deleted from the tail. Thereafter, other logically deleted entries eligible for deletion are removed from the log stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Carl Edward Clark, Steven Jay Greenspan, Hiren Ramlal Shah
  • Patent number: 6338151
    Abstract: Error recovery is performed when an error rate for a subsystem of a computer environment (e.g., an Input/Output (I/O) subsystem) is greater than a predefined value and a critical resource of the computer environment (e.g., storage) is experiencing a shortage. Error recovery may include slowing down activity of the devices associated with the subsystem and/or simulating errors for the subsystem. The simulation of the errors does not require a large block of additional storage, and thus, the shortage situation is not exacerbated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Harry Morris Yudenfriend, John Andrew Staubi, Michael G. Fitzpatrick
  • Patent number: 6338145
    Abstract: Error recovery is performed when an error rate for a subsystem of a computer environment (e.g., an Input/Output (I/O) subsystem) is greater than a predefined value and a critical resource of the computer environment (e.g., storage) is experiencing a shortage. Error recovery may include slowing down activity of the devices associated with the subsystem and/or simulating errors for the subsystem. The simulation of the errors does not require a large block of additional storage, and thus, the shortage situation is not exacerbated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Harry Morris Yudenfriend, John Andrew Staubi, Michael G. Fitzpatrick
  • Patent number: 6336193
    Abstract: Error recovery is performed when an error rate for a subsystem of a computer environment (e.g., an Input/Output (I/O) subsystem) is greater than a predefined value and a critical resource of the computer environment (e.g., storage) is experiencing a shortage. Error recovery may include slowing down activity of the devices associated with the subsystem and/or simulating errors for the subsystem. The simulation of the errors does not require a large block of additional storage, and thus, the shortage situation is not exacerbated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Harry Morris Yudenfriend, John Andrew Staubi, Michael G. Fitzpatrick
  • Patent number: 6332200
    Abstract: A complete and consistent set of checkpoint files is captured and identified for use in restarting a parallel program. When each process of a parallel program takes a checkpoint, it creates a checkpoint file. The checkpoint file is named, and a part of that name includes a version number for the checkpoint file. When a parallel program is to be restarted, each process of the parallel program identifies its most current valid checkpoint file. It provides the version number of this file to a coordinating process. The coordinating process then decides which version of the checkpoint files is valid and complete for all of the processes of the parallel program participating in restart. Once this version number is determined, it is forwarded to the processes and the processes restore themselves using its corresponding checkpoint file having that particular version number.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Kalman Zvi Meth, Adnan M. Agbaria