Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for generating an energy transaction plan to manage an electric vehicle charging transaction. The energy transaction planner identifies an electric vehicle associated with a charging station and a set of principals associated with a charging transaction for the electric vehicle. The charging transaction is a transaction associated with at least one of charging the electric vehicle, storing electric power in an electric storage mechanism associated with the electric vehicle, and de-charging the electric vehicle. The energy transaction planner receives charging transaction information. The charging transaction information comprises requirements, constraints, and preferences applicable to the charging transaction. The energy transaction planner generates an energy transaction plan based on the charging transaction information. The energy transaction plan comprises terms for governing all aspects of the charging transaction.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product is provided for managing network based preferences associated with charging transactions for electric vehicles. The network based energy preference service receives an identification of a principal associated with a first computing device using a network connection. The network based energy preference service receives a selection of preferences from the principal associated with the first computing device over the network connection to form a set of preferences for the principal. In response to receiving a request for a subset of preferences from the set of preferences for the principal from a preference requesting service, the network based energy preference service retrieves the subset of preferences from the set of preferences by the network based energy preference service and sends the subset of preferences to the preference requesting service.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for managing user preferences associated with charging transactions for electric vehicles. In one embodiment, a set of principals associated with a charging transaction for an electric vehicle is identified in response to receiving a request for a set of preferences from an energy transaction planner. The vehicle preference service is located on the electric vehicle. The set of preferences are retrieved from a plurality of preferences. The set of preferences comprises a subset of preferences for each principal in the set of principals. A preference in the set of preferences specifies a parameter of the charging transaction that is to be minimized, maximized, or optimized. The set of preferences are sent to an energy transaction planner.

Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for error checking addressable blocks in storage. Addressable blocks of data are stored in a storage in stripes, wherein each stripe includes a plurality of data blocks for one of the addressable blocks and at least one checksum block including checksum data derived from the data blocks for the addressable block. A write request is received to modify data in one of the addressable blocks. The write and updating the checksum are performed in the stripe having the modified addressable block. An indication is made to perform an error checking operation on the stripe for the modified addressable block in response to the write request, wherein the error checking operation reads the data blocks and the checksum in the stripe to determine if the checksum data is accurate. An error handling operation is initiated in response to determining that the checksum data is not accurate.

Abstract: A method for reading data from a data storage system is provided. The method comprises requesting a virtual data volume to access data from one or more data blocks in the data storage system; requesting a virtual protection information volume to access protection information associated with the data blocks; validating the data using the protection information; and providing the data to the host interface, in response to successful validation of the data. A method for writing data to a data storage system is also provided. The method comprises receiving data to be written to one or more data blocks in the data storage system, wherein the data is stored in a cache; generating protection information to be stored on a virtual protection information volume; requesting a virtual data volume to update the data blocks with the data; and requesting the virtual protection information volume to store the protection information.

Abstract: Illustrative embodiments manage an electric vehicle charging transaction. A set of principals associated with the electric vehicle charging transaction is identified. Electric vehicle charging information is retrieved from a set of sources. An energy transaction plan is generated using the electric vehicle charging information. A charging phase of the electric vehicle charging transaction is initiated for an electric vehicle connected to a charging station in accordance with the energy transaction plan. The charging phase comprises at least one of charging the electric vehicle with electricity, storing electricity in an electric storage mechanism associated with the electric vehicle, and removing electricity from the electric storage mechanism to de-charge the electric vehicle. In response to completion of the charging phase, the process then settles the financial obligations of a subset of principals in accordance with the energy transaction plan.

Abstract: A computer manages network based preferences associated with charging transactions for electric vehicles. A network based energy preference service receives a request for a set of preferences for an identified principal having an interest in the charging transaction and associated with a charging transaction for an electric vehicle from a preference requesting service over a network connection. The charging transaction is a transaction associated with at least one of charging the electric vehicle, storing electric power in an electric storage mechanism associated with the electric vehicle, and de-charging the electric vehicle. The network based energy preference service retrieves the set of preferences from a data storage device associated with the preference service. A preference in the set of preferences specifies a parameter of the charging transaction that is to be minimized, maximized, or optimized. A vehicle transaction planner sends the set of preferences to the preference requesting service.

Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present invention, a computer manages an electric vehicle charging transaction. A set of principals is identified associated with the charging transaction for an electric vehicle. A principal is an entity having an interest in the charging transaction. Electric vehicle charging information is retrieved from a set of sources. An energy transaction plan is generated during a pre-charge phase using the electric vehicle charging information and based on preferences of one or more principals to govern the charging transaction. The computer initiates a charging phase of the charging transaction for an electric vehicle connected to a charging station according to the energy transaction plan. The charging phase comprises charging the electric vehicle with electricity, storing electricity in the electric vehicle, and removing electricity to de-charge the electric vehicle. The computer settles financial obligations among principals according to the energy transaction plan.

Abstract: A method for validating data in a data storage system comprising associating a first data chunk with first check data and storing the first data chunk and the first check data on a first storage device. Additional associated data chunks of the first data and associated additional check data are stored on at least one of the first storage device or one or more additional storage devices. At least a portion of the first check data and at least a portion of the additional check data are stored to a second storage device, which is distinct from the first storage device and the additional storage devices. I/O access to the second storage device is minimized by retaining at least a portion of the first check data and at least a portion of the additional check data in a readily accessible storage medium, during servicing of a first I/O request.

Abstract: A set of disks in a plurality of disk arrays are configured to have one or more spare partitions. Upon detecting a faulty disk in a faulty array, the method involves the steps of: (a) migrating data in the faulty array containing the faulty disk to one or more spare partitions; (b) reconfiguring the faulty array to form a new array without the faulty disk; (c) migrating data from one or more spare partitions in the set of disks to the reconfigured new array; (d) monitoring to identify when overall spare capacity falls below a predetermined threshold; and when the predetermined threshold is exceeded, scheduling a service visit for replacement of the failed disks.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for automatically managing incentives associated with an electric vehicle charging transaction is provided. Incentives are received from a set of sources to form received incentives, by an incentive service. Applicable incentives are selected from the received incentives based on an identification of an electric vehicle, a charging station, and a set of principals associated with the electric vehicle charging transaction, by the incentive service. A set of selected incentives is identified from the received incentives for utilization in the electric vehicle charging transaction. The set of selected incentives is sent to an energy transaction planner, wherein the energy transaction planner incorporates the set of selected incentives into an energy transaction plan that is used to control the electric vehicle charging transaction.

Abstract: A fault-tolerant system for storage arrays that stored parity values both on separate disks from the data elements (horizontally aligned) and on the same disks as the data elements (vertically aligned), a so-called horizontal-vertical code or HoVer code. The fault-tolerant system has embodiments that are supported on a variety of array sizes and has significant flexibility in parameter selection. Certain embodiments can tolerate all combinations of T failed disks and, among those, some embodiments can tolerate many instances of more than T failures. The fault-tolerant system has efficient XOR-based encoding, recovery, and updating algorithms and has simple redundancy formulas.

Abstract: In one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle comprises: a consumable fuel powered engine, a battery and an electric motor powered by the battery. The battery is rechargeable both from an external electric power source (such as an electric power grid) and from the consumable fuel powered engine. A computer receives data as inputs and providing outputs, wherein the input data includes an expected state of the electric power source at a time when the vehicle is expected to be coupled to the electric power source. The outputs include control signals to control the state of charge of the battery during the time the vehicle is expected to be coupled to the electric power source.

Abstract: A method and system for cache-based dropped write protection in data storage systems are provided. An implementation involves detecting undetected write errors in a storage system, by writing data to a storage medium from a data cache; maintaining a copy of the data in the data cache until said data on the storage medium is validated or said data needs to be evicted from the data cache; and prior to eviction of said data from the data cache, maintaining metadata for said data in a metadata cache until the data written to the storage medium has been validated against the metadata.

Abstract: A system (and method) for a recovery of data from a lost sector in a storage system, which includes a set of readable and lost sectors in a plurality of disks in the storage system, includes identifying a lost sector of at least one disk of the storage system, determining whether the data from the lost sector is capable of being recovered, and, if the data from the lost sector is capable of being recovered, generating a recovery formula for the lost sector and recovering the data from the lost sector based on the recovery formula.

Abstract: A system (and method) for determining reconstruction formulas for partial strip reconstruction in a storage system in which a plurality of lost strips have been detected, includes using a combination of a direct reconstruction method and a sequential reconstruction method.

Abstract: A method for reading data from a data storage system is provided. The method comprises requesting a virtual data volume to access data from one or more data blocks in the data storage system; requesting a virtual protection information volume to access protection information associated with the data blocks; validating the data using the protection information; and providing the data to the host interface, in response to successful validation of the data. A method for writing data to a data storage system is also provided. The method comprises receiving data to be written to one or more data blocks in the data storage system, wherein the data is stored in a cache; generating protection information to be stored on a virtual protection information volume; requesting a virtual data volume to update the data blocks with the data; and requesting the virtual protection information volume to store the protection information.

Abstract: A method for validating data in a data storage system comprising associating a first data chunk with first check data and storing the first data chunk and the first check data on a first storage device. Additional associated data chunks of the first data and associated additional check data are stored on at least one of the first storage device or one or more additional storage devices. At least a portion of the first check data and at least a portion of the additional check data are stored to a second storage device, which is distinct from the first storage device and the additional storage devices. I/O access to the second storage device is minimized by retaining at least a portion of the first check data and at least a portion of the additional check data in a readily accessible storage medium, during servicing of a first I/O request.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for managing user preferences on remote computing device for utilization in electric vehicle charging transactions is provided. In one embodiment, in response to a determination that a set of preferences for an identified principal are available on a removable data storage device, a first preference service retrieves the set of preferences from the removable data storage device. In response to a determination that the set of preferences are stored on a second computing device associated with a second preference service, the first preference service sends a request for the set of preferences to the second preference service. The first preference service receives the set of preferences from the second preference service and sends the set of preferences to the energy transaction planner. The first preference service is a proxy for the energy transaction planner and the second preference service.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for managing user preferences associated with charging transactions for electric vehicles. In one embodiment, a set of principals associated with a charging transaction for an electric vehicle is identified in response to receiving a request for a set of preferences from an energy transaction planner. The vehicle preference service is located on the electric vehicle. The set of preferences are retrieved from a plurality of preferences. The set of preferences comprises a subset of preferences for each principal in the set of principals. A preference in the set of preferences specifies a parameter of the charging transaction that is to be minimized, maximized, or optimized. The set of preferences are sent to an energy transaction planner.