Abstract: Methods, systems, and products describe cloud-based automation of home and industrial programmable controllers. A server executes a packet generation application for controlling an output device. The server then sends a package of commands to a programmable controller. Each command is executed according to date and time to control the output device. Because the packet generation application is cloud-based, different programs may be offered by competing vendors. The programmable controller may thus be agnostic to the packet generation application. The marketplace may thus develop a variety of server-based packet generation applications, each with different features, for controlling the output device.

Abstract: Tuning mechanisms are provided for tuning tunable parameters of a memory subsystem's cache. A simplified tuning mechanism switches drain mechanisms on and off depending upon the amount of updated buffers present within the cache at a particular time. The drain mechanisms may include a drain-on-read module and a drain-on-write module. In addition, a tuning mechanism automatically and continuously tunes tunable parameters of a storage control processor, by measuring durations of I/O processing events being performed by the storage control processor, and gathering sample values which form sample sets based upon the durations measured. After a first sample set is obtained, a tunable parameter is changed by incrementing or decrementing the parameter by a pre-defined delta value. A second sample set is then obtained after the parameter was changed.

Abstract: In a data processing system, source block addresses are linearly mapped to virtual linear target disks equal in size to actual physical disks comprised by the long-term storage. Blocks of the virtual linear target disks are then assigned to disk-meshed disks equal in size to the actual physical disks whereby each block within a set of adjacently addressed linear target disk blocks is assigned to a separate disk-meshed disk. Controller meshing may be performed by assigning each disk-meshed disk to a controller-meshed disk which will comprise the actual physical disk, whereby respective sets of blocks within respective disk-meshed disks, all having the same disk controller, are assigned to equal-sized controller-meshed disks located on different disk controllers. Additional mechanisms that may be provided in the data processing system include efficient cache buffer lookup linked lists, and a mechanism for accelerating processing performed by an ancillary processing mechanism by ignoring a delay time.