Patents by Inventor Robert A. Cochran

Robert A. Cochran 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: 8059539
    Abstract: An apparatus and communication method that provide for communicating information on a standardized link compliant with a published standard and communicating information on a private link capable of operation at a throughput higher than maximum throughput of the published standard. The apparatus and method further provide for monitoring private link performance and increasing information throughput on the private link above the maximum standard throughput by an amount determined by the monitored private link performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Robert A. Cochran
  • Publication number: 20110123003
    Abstract: Systems and methods related to providing error correction in a text caption are disclosed. A method may comprise displaying a text caption including one or more blocks of text on each of a first device and a second device remote from the first device. The method may also include generating another block of text and replacing a block of text of the text caption with the another block of text. Furthermore, the method may include displaying the text caption on the second device having the block of text of the first text caption replaced by the another block of text.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Publication date: May 26, 2011
    Applicant: SORENSON COMUNICATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Joseph N. Romriell, Scot Lorin Brooksby, Shane Arthur Roylance, Brian Chevrier, Robert Cochran Puzey
  • Patent number: 7934069
    Abstract: Embodiments include methods, apparatus, and systems for enabling and disabling cache in storage systems. One embodiment includes a method that changes a time period for delaying host requests received at a cache of a storage device and converts the storage device from a cache enabled state to a cache disabled state while the storage device is online.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert A Cochran, Erik A. Lipps, Ayman Abouelwafa
  • Patent number: 7805566
    Abstract: Embodiments include methods, apparatus, and systems for replication in storage systems. One embodiment includes a method that uses a target port on a storage array to function as an initiator port on a host in a storage area network (SAN). The target port discovers storage arrays in the SAN and mimics an initiator port to transmit input/output (I/O) requests.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Ayman Abouelwafa, Robert A. Cochran
  • Patent number: 7721053
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a storage controller comprises a first I/O port that provides an interface to a host computer, a second I/O port that provides an interface to a storage device, a processor that receives I/O requests generated by the host computer and, in response to the I/O requests, generates and transmits I/O requests to the storage device, and a memory module communicatively connected to the processor. The memory module comprises logic instructions which, when executed by the processor, configure the processor to collect performance data and availability data for a plurality of logical devices (LDEVS) managed by the storage controller, and present the performance data and availability data to a reporting interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, Jay Schultz, Woodson B. Long
  • Publication number: 20090193195
    Abstract: Data items are stored in a cache of the storage system, where the data items are for a snapshot volume. Sticky indicators are associated with the data items in the cache, where the sticky indicators delay removal of corresponding data items from the cache. Data items of the cache are sacrificed according to a replacement algorithm that takes into account the sticky indicators associated with the data items.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2008
    Publication date: July 30, 2009
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, Erik A. Lipps, Charles A. Paridon
  • Patent number: 7546485
    Abstract: Various method and system embodiments of the present invention employ enhanced journal-based resynchronization for resynchronization of a primary volume to a remote secondary volume following restoration of a communications link or another event. Enhanced journal-based resynchronization involves maintaining a filled journal after the primary component system has resorted to bitmap-based journaling. Following communications-link restoration, or another event, enhanced resynchronization analyzes various values maintained by the primary component system to characterize the journaling state in order to determine whether or not to first merge the filled journal with the track-based bitmap before carrying out bit-map-based resynchronization, or to instead unspool the filled journal and transmit the unspooled WRITE requests to the second component system prior to separately carrying out bit-map-based resynchronization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, Marcel Duvekot
  • Patent number: 7529966
    Abstract: A storage system including journaling comprises a controller capable of coupling to at least one storage device and to at least one journaling device, and a process executable on the controller. The executable process comprises a resolve utility capable of determining logical unit, track, and sector identification for a selected file on the at least one storage device, a user interface enabling a user to select tracks and sectors on the at least one storage device for restoration to a predetermined point in time, and a restoration utility. The restoration utility accesses data corresponding to the selected tracks and sectors from the journaling device and restores the data to the track and sector locations of the storage device to the predetermined point in time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, David E. Oseto
  • Patent number: 7478154
    Abstract: A storage system comprises an interface capable of interconnecting a network infrastructure via a plurality of communication links. The plurality of communication links has a diversity of data-carrying capacity and performance. The storage system further comprises a controller coupled to the interface that assigns the plurality of communication links into at least one link affinity group based on performance criteria and controls link selection based on link affinity group assignment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, Marcel Duvekot
  • Publication number: 20080270719
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to efficient snapshot operations that produce multiple, useable snapshot logical units when successively directed to a logical unit, and to mass-storage arrays that support such efficient snapshot operations. In one embodiment of the present invention, allocate-on-write techniques are employed for handling WRITE access operations directed to storage-allocation units not yet overwritten following a snapshot operation. The allocate-on-WRITE technique is enhanced by a background process that continuously defragments the logical-storage-allocation-unit address space referenced by the original logical unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, Ayman Abouelwafa
  • Publication number: 20080270692
    Abstract: Embodiments include methods, apparatus, and systems for enabling and disabling cache in storage systems. One embodiment includes a method that changes a time period for delaying host requests received at a cache of a storage device and converts the storage device from a cache enabled state to a cache disabled state while the storage device is online.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2007
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Applicant: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, Ayman Abouelwafa, Erik A. Lipps
  • Publication number: 20080244174
    Abstract: Embodiments include methods, apparatus, and systems for replication in storage systems. One embodiment includes a method that uses a target port on a storage array to function as an initiator port on a host in a storage area network (SAN). The target port discovers storage arrays in the SAN and mimics an initiator port to transmit input/output (I/O) requests.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2007
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Inventors: Ayman Abouelwafa, Robert A. Cochran
  • Publication number: 20080126443
    Abstract: Various method and system embodiments of the present invention employ enhanced journal-based resynchronization for resynchronization of a primary volume to a remote secondary volume following restoration of a communications link or another event. Enhanced journal-based resynchronization involves maintaining a filled journal after the primary component system has resorted to bitmap-based journaling. Following communications-link restoration, or another event, enhanced resynchronization analyzes various values maintained by the primary component system to characterize the journaling state in order to determine whether or not to first merge the filled journal with the track-based bitmap before carrying out bit-map-based resynchronization, or to instead unspool the filled journal and transmit the unspooled WRITE requests to the second component system prior to separately carrying out bit-map-based resynchronization.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2006
    Publication date: May 29, 2008
    Inventors: Robert A. Cochran, Marcel Duvekot
  • Patent number: 7366857
    Abstract: A disk array having an internal mirror architecture may include: a plurality of disk drives configured to provide a primary logical storage device (LDEV), a first instance of an internally-mirroring secondary LDEV and a second instance of an internally-mirroring secondary LDEV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert A Cochran, David E Oseto
  • Patent number: 7360044
    Abstract: A storage system with primary mirror shadow comprises a storage array, and a controller. The controller is capable of predefining storage array volumes as a primary volume that is subsequently paired with a secondary volume, emulating a primary logical device and a plurality of secondary logical devices including a shadow logical device, tracking volumes and logical devices using a pointer, and instantaneously evoking a volume copy by a pointer exchange.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert Cochran, Titus E. Davis
  • Patent number: 7340572
    Abstract: On a dominant logical unit provided by a mass-storage device, hot spare disks are employed to create a much larger, disk-based time-ordered WRITE-request buffer that spans, in one embodiment, both electronic memory and hot spare disks. The much larger time-ordered WRITE-request buffer in the modified dominant logical unit allows for storing WRITE requests in time order for a much longer period of time during communications failure between the dominant logical unit and remote-mirror logical unit than in the current techniques that employ only an electronic-memory-based time-ordered WRITE-request buffer. On the remote-mirror logical unit, mass-storage space is provided for an alternate logical unit that can be resynchronized with the dominant logical unit following restoration of communications between the dominant logical unit and remote-mirror logical unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Robert A. Cochran
  • Publication number: 20070276166
    Abstract: The invention is a catalyst comprising a titanium or vanadium zeolite, a binder, and zinc oxide, wherein the catalyst is preparing an aqueous mixture of the zeolite, a binder source, and a zinc oxide source, and subjecting the mixture to rapid drying. The catalyst is useful in olefin epoxidation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2007
    Publication date: November 29, 2007
    Inventors: Jay Miller, Bernard Cooker, Robert Cochran, Peter Whitman
  • Patent number: 7293048
    Abstract: A database system is capable of executing a database application that transfers a logical object in multiple fragments. The database system comprises a main storage site, a remote storage site, a main protocol executable on the main storage site, and a remote protocol executable on the remote storage site. The remote storage site is capable of linking to the main storage site and mirroring information stored in the main storage site. The remote storage site includes a storage and a cache sidefile divided into a plurality of array sidefile recordsets. The main protocol is capable of including information indicative of logical object fragment commencement and completion in the multiple fragment database application transfer. The remote protocol is capable of controlling the cache sidefile to cache the multiple fragments as received and to enable destaging of the logical object to the storage on receipt of all fragments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Robert Cochran, David Robinson, Joseph Algieri
  • Publication number: 20070119208
    Abstract: A subcool flow control valve useful in a refrigerant system includes an enclosure having a fluid flow pathway for a controlled fluid between an inlet and an outlet. A thermally conductive flexible wall forms a sealed cavity within the enclosure for carrying a controlling fluid. A metering orifice operable between the pathway and the outlet port controls an amount of metered fluid passing through the outlet port in response to movement of the flexible wall toward and away from the metering orifice in response to temperature changes of the controlled fluid transmitting temperature and thus pressure changes to the controlling fluid in the sealed cavity. Inverse thermal feedback means is formed as part of the valve for stabilizing valve operation thus providing means for transmitting a thermal signal from the metered controlled fluid back to the controlling fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2006
    Publication date: May 31, 2007
    Applicant: ECR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventor: Robert Cochran
  • Publication number: 20070094393
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a storage controller comprises a first I/O port that provides an interface to a host computer, a second I/O port that provides an interface to a storage device, a processor that receives I/O requests generated by the host computer and, in response to the I/O requests, generates and transmits I/O requests to the storage device, and a memory module communicatively connected to the processor. The memory module comprises logic instructions which, when executed by the processor, configure the processor to collect performance data and availability data for a plurality of logical devices (LDEVS) managed by the storage controller, and present the performance data and availability data to a reporting interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2005
    Publication date: April 26, 2007
    Inventors: Robert Cochran, Jay Schultz, Woodson Long