Patents by Inventor Allen H. Preston

Allen H. Preston has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6675149
    Abstract: A method, system and program product for matching the an information technology enhancement project with the resource and priorities of an enterprise is presented herein. A set of objectives for the information technology resources is defined and prioritized as to their importance to the enterprise. The information technology resources for the enterprise are partitioned into segments along a predetermined common property such as geography or skill-base. Each segment is compared to a set of desire information technology characteristics and a score for each characteristic is assigned to each segment and summed providing a total characteristic score for each segment. The total characteristic score is weighted in light of the prioritized objects by virtue of a correlation created between the objectives and the characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Ruffin, Joseph L. Temple, III, Carlos A. Ordonez, Eva L. Yan, Allen H. Preston, Timothy I. Morrison
  • Patent number: 6526387
    Abstract: A method, system and program product for determining the value to an enterprise of a proposed technology modification is presented herein. The information technology resources of an enterprise are partitioned into segments along any number of various lines such as business process, geography, etc. The partitioning creates one or more sets of partitioned segments. Within a given segment the resources are profiled in accordance with the information technology priorities of the enterprise and mapped against the complexity of the proposed modification to derive an opportunity score. The opportunity scores for the profiled segments are examined to determine if the partitioning has been effective and if not, the process is repeated. Once an effective partitioning has been effected the opportunity scores of the segments indicate a measure of the respective value of the proposed modification within each segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Ruffin, Joseph L. Temple, III, Kristin R. Jayaram, Timothy I. Morrison, Allen H. Preston
  • Patent number: 6260020
    Abstract: A method, system and program product for sizing a programming effort associated with the migration of a computer program from a first to a second computer platform is described herein. The size of a computer program is estimated and an adjustment factor is applied to represent a base estimate of the programming effort required for the migration. Analysis of availability of required middleware, object and program libraries may further lead to modification of the estimate. An evaluation of scaling issues related to the migration and a comparison of the programming models for the first and second computer platform may additionally affect the estimate. If the migration port is to be made from a multiple system platform to a single system platform the re-architecting effort to reduce path lengths such as replacing network interfaces with direct file sharing must be added to the base estimate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Ruffin, Joseph L. Temple, III, Carlos A. Ordonez, Eva L. Yan, Allen H. Preston
  • Patent number: 6249769
    Abstract: The information technology environment and requirements of a business entity are evaluated via an interactive engagement process, system and program product to successively match the entity's needs to a set of information technology solutions so as to generate a business solution deliverables such as a formal solution proposal. The engagement entails the determination of the entity's ability to participate in the evaluation. The engagement next includes partitioning the entity's information technology infrastructure into segments along the lines of established business criteria, receiving profile information from the entity thereon and mapping the profiled segments to potential solutions creating an ordered listing of solutions. Ordered solutions may be selected for detailed investigation including a further profiling of the segment to which the solution is to be applied and a workload analysis of the proffered solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Ruffin, Kristin R. Jayaram, Ann C. Merenda, Timothy I. Morrison, Carlos A. Ordonez, Allen H. Preston, Joseph L. Temple, III, Eva L. Yan
  • Patent number: 5584042
    Abstract: For parallel, massively parallel and data server networks a zone relocation facility and dynamic I/O data address relocation facility which allows the relocation of memory space for partitions for on or more clients or guests while the client guest and one or more of the server/host or another client guest are actively executing I/O instructions. An I/O data address relocation facility includes an operation request block in the local storage of a client/guest with a second copy of the operation request block in a server/host located in the main store, and a comparator in the system channel subsystem. An application locates CCWs and IDAWS anywhere and the server/host will relocate data to its partition. The partition size can be expanded to allow dynamic response to a need for memory by changing the partition and moving data to the expanded partition while other activities are being processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 10, 1996
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Roger L. Cormier, Steven G. Glassen, Moon J. Kim, Allen H. Preston
  • Patent number: 5461721
    Abstract: Enables an I/O channel program to use IDAWs (indirect data address words) to control data transfers from/to an I/O (input/output) device to/from either or both of ES (expanded storage) and/or system MS (main storage), in which data moved to/from ES does not move through MS. ES and MS are plural electronic storage media in a data processing system, and the I/O device is any I/O device selectable by the system. Intermixing of data transfers between ES and MS may be controlled by a single IDAW list accessed by a channel control word (CCW) in a channel program in a data transfer direction indicated in the CCW without any channel mode change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1995
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Roger L. Cormier, Robert J. Dugan, Kenneth J. Fredericks, Peter H. Gum, Moon J. Kim, Allen H. Preston, Richard J. Schmalz, deceased, Charles F. Webb, Leslie W. Wyman
  • Patent number: 5371867
    Abstract: Enables a host (hypervisor) to access any location in any guest zone in a large memory, when host and guest operands have small addresses that cannot access locations outside of their own zones. System hardware/microcode provides a particular number of windows for host use. Each CPU in the system has one or more window access registers (WARs), and one or more window registers (WRs). The host uses a load WAR instruction to designate each page frame (PF) in the host zone to be used as a host window, and each PF is associated with a respective window number. When the host receives an interception signal requiring the host to access a guest location represented by a guest zone identifier and a guest small address, the host designates one of its window numbers for an access to this guest location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 6, 1994
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jonel George, Roger E. Hough, Moon J. Kim, Allen H. Preston, David E. Stucki, Charles F. Webb
  • Patent number: 5170472
    Abstract: A mechanism for changing the system I/O configuration definition in the channel subsystem of a data processing system without having to do a power on reset operation. The data processing system includes one or more central processing units, an I/O processor, a storage addressable by the central processors and the I/O processor, and a command mechanism for creating command-request blocks in the storage, each of which contains a requested command and data for the I/O Processor to add, delete or change elements of the I/O configuration definitions of the channel subsystem. Response-blocks are created in the storage for passing status information from the I/O processor to the central processing unit(s) indicating either successful execution of the requested command or that the I/O configuration definitions were unchanged by the command of the request-block, or when associated functions may have been performed in the execution of the command of the request-block by the I/O processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1991
    Date of Patent: December 8, 1992
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
    Inventors: Richard Cwiakala, Eugene P. Hefferon, Kenneth J. Oakes, Allen H. Preston, David E. Stucki, Leslie W. Wyman, Harry M. Yudenfriend