Patents by Inventor George Henry Ahrens, Jr.

George Henry Ahrens, Jr. 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: 7756048
    Abstract: A method in a data processing system for monitoring for errors on a network. Responsive to detecting a change in a state of the network, determine whether the change in state is a loss of a communications link to a remote data processing system. If the change in state is a loss of the communications link, determine whether the communications link was established for at least a first period of time to be considered an acceptable connection to the remote data processing system; and create a new serviceable event, if a second period of time passes without reestablishing the communications link to the selected data processing system. Repeat occurrences of identical outages are tracked and multiple detected instances of an outage for different partitions are counted as a single failure in the examples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Patrick J. Callaghan, Stephen V. Feustel, Robert Keith Overton, Richard Jeffrey Planutis, Alan David Seid
  • Patent number: 7565424
    Abstract: A data processing system, method, and computer program product are disclosed for reporting a loss of a service application to a particular system administrator. The data processing system includes a logically partitioned computer system and a hardware management console. The hardware management console is a stand-alone system separate from the computer system. A service application is executable by the hardware management console for managing service of and placing service calls for the logically partitioned computer system. The logically partitioned computer system includes a service partition. A service processor included in the logically partitioned computer system monitors a presence of the service application, and reports the absence of the service application to the service partition. In response to an absence of the service application, the service partition reports the absence of the service application to a system administrator of the service partition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Chetan Mehta
  • Patent number: 7339885
    Abstract: A method in a data processing system for monitoring for errors on a network. Responsive to detecting a change in a state of the network, determine whether the change in state is a loss of a communications link to a remote data processing system. If the change in state is a loss of the communications link, determine whether the communications link was established for at least a first period of time to be considered an acceptable connection to the remote data processing system; and create a new serviceable event, if a second period of time passes without reestablishing the communications link to the selected data processing system. Repeat occurrences of identical outages are tracked and multiple detected instances of an outage for different partitions are counted as a single failure in the examples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Patrick J. Callaghan, Stephen V. Feustel, Robert Keith Overton, Richard Jeffrey Planutis, Alan David Seid
  • Patent number: 7234085
    Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product are disclosed for hierarchically encoding indicators used to identify an instance of a device. Multiple nodes are included. Each node includes an implemented instance of a device. Multiple hierarchical indicators and multiple identity indicators are provided. Each one of the hierarchical indicators is associated with a different one of the nodes. Each one of the identity indicators is associated with a different one of the devices. One of the hierarchical indicators and one of the identity indicators are used for identifying an instance of one of the devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Gerald J. Fahr
  • Patent number: 7103789
    Abstract: A method, system, and product are disclosed for indicating a power status of multiple devices using hierarchically encoded indicators. Multiple nodes are included within a data processing system. Each node includes a different implementation of the devices. Each one of a first level of power indicators are associated with a different one of the nodes. Each one of a second level of power indicators is associated with a different one of the devices. A power status of each node is indicated utilizing one of the first level of power indicators. A power status of each device is indicated utilizing the second level of power indicators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Steven Mark Thurber, Ronald Stanley Wesely
  • Patent number: 6792564
    Abstract: A method, system, and product in a computer system are described for reporting error events which occur within the computer system. The computer system includes multiple logical partitions. Each of the logical partitions includes a different one of multiple, different operating systems. A format is specified for reporting error events. An error event occurring within one of the logical partitions is detected. Information about the error event is formatted according to the specified format. Each operating system utilizes this format to report error events.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Douglas Marvin Benignus, Leo C. Mooney, Arthur James Tysor
  • Patent number: 6745147
    Abstract: A data processing system, method, and computer program product for automatically tracking insertions of integrated circuit devices into receptacle devices. An insertion of an integrated circuit device is automatically detected utilizing the data processing system. An insertion count that is associated with the integrated circuit device is automatically incremented in response to a detection of an insertion of the integrated circuit device. The insertion count is used to track insertions of the integrated circuit device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Susan L. Caunt, Alongkorn Kitamorn, Leo C. Mooney
  • Patent number: 6281860
    Abstract: A method and implementing apparatus is provided which include a plurality of perceptible indicia devices which are mounted on an I/O drawer of a computer system server equipment rack. In the exemplary embodiment, the indicia devices include a light-emitting diode in combination with an alphanumeric display device. Various states of a system initialization process are indicated by different combinations of possible states of the LED and the display device such that the sequencing of a system initialization process can be traced by visual inspection of the status of the perceptible indicia devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Mike Conrad Duron, Robert Allan Faust, Forrest Clifton Gray, Kurt Paul Szabo
  • Patent number: 5790431
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining the availability of a workstation in a distributed network. Availability is determined using an Availability Measurement System having a Downtime unit, an Availability Disable unit, and a Calculation unit. During the initialization of the workstation, a heartbeat monitor daemon is created to store, at predetermined time intervals, timestamps of the network. Once the workstation becomes unavailable, the recording of the timestamps ceases, thus, allowing an accurate representation of when the workstation became unavailable. Upon the return of the workstation to the status of available, the Downtime unit reads the current time of the network and the stored timestamp to calculate the duration of the unavailability of the workstation. The duration is then stored for later calculation of availability of the workstation for a defined interval of time using the Calculation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: George Henry Ahrens, Jr., Arun Chandra, Conrad William Schneiker