Abstract: An adaptive system for dynamically provisioning a shared computing infrastructure among a plurality of software applications and a plurality of types of software application servers providing run-time environments for the software applications. The system includes computing engines assigned to execute instances of the software applications, clients accessing the computing engines to request and receive services from the software applications, and a broker device that dynamically allocates engines domains for executing the software applications. The broker device includes an optimization module for allocating the computing engines to the domains, and a configuration manager for configuring the engines. The configuration manager reconfigures a computing engine by halting a current instance of a first software application, and by loading and starting an instance of a second software application.

Abstract: A social network built around objects viewed over the Internet. A user interacts with a web page presenting a recognizable object (for example, a book, a restaurant or a stock quote). A plug-in in the user's browser extracts information from the web page, creates an identifier for the object, and records the interaction at a network node for the object and a network node for the user. The plug-in further creates a toolbar that is displayed with the web page, which identifies other viewers who recently viewed the object on the Internet and, in particular, other viewers who have been selected by the user as friends. The user may view a profile for any of the other viewers that provides links to the web page where the selected viewer viewed the object, to other objects viewed by that viewer and to other viewers linked to the viewer.

Abstract: A shared computing infrastructure includes a plurality of computing engines, applications servers, and computing domains. A broker component executes a method for dynamically allocating the computing engines among the computing domains. The allocation method begins with the step of determining an expected number of computing engines to be allocated to each of the computing domains as a function of a predetermined service policy and a predicted demand for the domain While fewer than the expected number of computing engines has been allocated to each domain, the computing domains are sequentially selecting as a function of predetermined domain priorities. Unallocated computing engines are identified, and the unallocated computing engines are allocated to each selected computing domain according to predetermined selection rules for the domain. During an allocation improvement step, allocations among the computing domains are further adjusted to maximize a fitness statistic computed for the allocations.

Abstract: An adaptive system for dynamically provisioning a shared computing infrastructure among a plurality of software applications and a plurality of types of applications servers providing run-time environments for the software applications. The system includes computing engines assigned to execute instances of the software applications, clients accessing the computing engines to request and receive services from the software applications, and a broker device that dynamically allocates engines domains for executing the software applications. The broker device includes an optimization module for allocating the computing engines to the domains, and a configuration manager for configuring the engines. The configuration manager reconfigures a computing engine by halting a current instance of a first software application, and by loading and starting an instance of a second software application.

Abstract: A shared computing infrastructure includes a plurality of computing engines, applications servers, and computing domains. A broker component executes a method for dynamically allocating the computing engines among the computing domains. The allocation method begins with the step of determining an expected number of computing engines to be allocated to each of the computing domains as a function of a predetermined service policy and a predicted demand for the domain While fewer than the expected number of computing engines has been allocated to each domain, the computing domains are sequentially selecting as a function of predetermined domain priorities. Unallocated computing engines are identified, and the unallocated computing engines are allocated to each selected computing domain according to predetermined selection rules for the domain. During an allocation improvement step, allocations among the computing domains are further adjusted to maximize a fitness statistic computed for the allocations.