Abstract: A data management process determines, from user-implemented provisional reservations (400) for data processing resources, a projected total capacity requirement for each said data processing resource, by maintaining a record (9, 90, 91) recording previous such reservations made by each user and comparing each reservations with records (87, 88, 89) of the actual resources used, to provide an estimate of resources required to meet the projected capacity requirement, and to provide data for a demand management processor (2), which control associated configurable data processing equipment (1) to provide the resources required to meet the estimated capacity required. The process takes account of over- and under-ordering of capacity by comparing each reservation (400) with the use actually made (600), and includes a record (10) of ad-hoc (unreserved) usage.

Abstract: A method for designating a class of data content for determining how the content will be handled by a content delivery network (CDN) into one of: a transport designation by which content is transported from an entrance node to one or more edge nodes; a caching designation by which the content is stored at one or more edge nodes; and a hybrid designation by which content is stored at a node in the CDN for subsequent transport to one or more edge nodes in the CDN, the method comprising: determining a set of one or more transport designation options; determining a set of one or more caching designation options; determining a set of one or more hybrid designation options; determining a normalised measure resource requirement for each of the transport, caching and hybrid designation options; and selecting one designation option for the class of content from all of the transport, caching and hybrid designation options by an optimisation function for selecting the designation option based on the determined normalise

Abstract: A user request for a service to be provided by a cloud-based data network is provisioned by identifying a plurality of data centers capable of providing the service required by the user, analyzing a plurality of characteristics of paths connecting nodes in the network by which the user and the respective data centers may communicate, identifying a set of such paths whose characteristics are optimized for predetermined service objective criteria and, presenting the user with a choice of paths including bandwidth, latency, etc., allowing a path between the user and a data center to be set up appropriate to a selection made by the user.

Abstract: An optimum configuration of resources in a network function virtualisation data network is identified by assembling candidate configurations of resources (243), each configuration being an arrangement of the resources into clusters selected such that each cluster provides one or more required services, (212, 213) and assessing the candidate configurations (step 400) to identify an optimum configuration, the assessment of each configuration including measurement of latency (195) in physical links between the resources and, for each candidate configuration, determination of the total latency between the resources within each cluster of the configuration, for a predicted level and pattern of traffic associated with the required service to be operated by each cluster.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for signalling congestion being caused by data items such as packets, received at a network element such as a router, in a communications network such as the Internet, or being caused by items otherwise requiring service or capacity from a shared resource. Preferred embodiments of the method involve identifying whether or not received data items received at a network element are capable of carrying congestion indications such as ECN marks, and for those that are capable, assigning congestion indications to the data items in dependence on a queue length characterization based on a substantially current, instantaneous measurement of the length of the queue, whereas for those that are not capable, a sanction such as dropping may be applied in dependence on a different queue length characterization based on a weighted moving average of current, recent, and less recent measurements of the length of the queue.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for signalling congestion being caused by data items such as packets, received at a network element such as a router, in a communications network such as the Internet, or being caused by items otherwise requiring service or capacity from a shared resource. Preferred embodiments of the method involve identifying whether or not received data items received at a network element are capable of carrying congestion indications such as ECN marks, and for those that are capable, assigning congestion indications to the data items in dependence on a queue length characterisation based on a substantially current, instantaneous measurement of the length of the queue, whereas for those that are not capable, a sanction such as dropping may be applied in dependence on a different queue length characterisation based on a weighted moving average of current, recent, and less recent measurements of the length of the queue.