Abstract: A method for monitoring incoming data from an external computer network is provided. The invention comprises polling all active port connections in a data processing system at regular intervals and comparing these connections to a table of authorized ports and IP addresses. Any unauthorized connections are logged and a network administrator is notified. The present invention can be implemented on clients within a computer network.

Abstract: A method for characterizing average performance in a data processing system is provided. This method consists of adding meta-tool level variables to a verification tool. These meta-tool variables keep track, at once, of all concurrent streams of execution that the tool is considering in its reachability analysis. The image of an initial state variable is found and then divided into a frontier of new states and a set of previously reached states. The previously reached states are ignored and the image of the frontier is found. This process continues until the frontier is empty and all possible states have been reached. In one embodiment of the present invention, the probabilities of the paths can be considered by sampling and holding input data using SMV (a model checking tool) variables.

Abstract: A method, program and system for electrical shorts testing are provided. The invention comprises setting any chips to be tested to drive 0's on their drive interfaces, and setting all receive interfaces on the chips to receive 0's and log any failures. Next a single receive interface is selected for testing. A hardware shift register is associated with each drive side interface, wherein each bit of the register is connected to an off-chip driver on the interface. This hardware shift register for the selected interface is then set to all 0's, and the first bit of the shift register is loaded to a 1. The invention then performs a pause count. After this count, the 1 is shifted to the next bit in the register and another pause count is performed. This process is repeated until the 1 is walked completely through the register and all pins on the interface have been tested. The walking 1 test is then repeated for any additional interfaces that require testing.

Abstract: A method, system, and program for network booting of a client computer is provided. The method comprises loading a special local bootstrap into a client computer and then using this special local bootstrap to save the client Interrupt Vector Table (IVT) to high memory and then passing control to a normal DOS bootstrap. From here a normal DOS boot is performed using files that contain pointers to the drivers of a network device which enables a specific network interface card. A special program is loaded which emulates a PXE application program interface and initiates a DHCP/PXE boot request to the network. In this manner, a client is able to perform a DHCP/PXE boot without specialized hardware, by relying on a software emulation of the necessary DHCP/PXE functions.

Abstract: A handheld, pen-like colorimeter for measuring the color of an object is provided. The invention includes three light sensors, each of which detects a separate primary color. A microprocessor in the colorimeter calculates a single composite color value from the three separate color measurements from the light sensors and then compares the composite color value with a list of color values, wherein each value corresponds to a unique color name. The colorimeter selects the color name that matches the composite color value of the object presents the color name to a user, using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an audio speaker. Another embodiment of the present invention uses lasers emitting primary colors, rather than passive light sensors. The lasers shine on an object one at a time, and the reflected laser light from the three lasers is detected by a special light sensor. The three color measurements are then combined to produce a composite value, similar to the first embodiment.

Abstract: A laser diode system that has two distributed Bragg reflector reflectors at either end and an outcoupling aperture between the reflectors. The quantum wells in the active region are thicker in the gain region than in other parts of the device, increasing efficiency and lowering threshold current.

Abstract: A method, system and program for controlling access to memory areas within a computer are provided. The invention comprises placing a first Bind Work Queue Element (WQE) at the head of a work queue, wherein the first Bind WQE defines parameters associated with a first Memory Window. A set of Work Requests is then placed on the work queue, behind the first Bind WQE wherein the work requests invoke operations that access the first Memory Window. A second Bind WQE is then placed on the work queue, behind the first set of Work Requests. This second Bind WQE defines parameters associated with a second Memory Window. A second set of Work Requests is placed on the work queue behind the second Bind WQE and invoke operations that access the second memory window. The Memory Windows can be associated with a common Memory Region and have different addresses and lengths or different access rights. In another embodiment, the first and second Memory Windows can be associated with different Memory Regions.

Abstract: A handheld, pen-like colorimeter for measuring the color of an object is provided. The colorimeter includes several light emitters, each with distinct color spectra, wherein the emission of each color is modulated at a specific frequency. These light emitters may be Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and/or lasers. The colorimeter also contains at least one light sensor which samples light reflected from an object illuminated by the light emitters. The rate of sampling is at least twice the modulation frequency of the emitted light. A microprocessor computes the fourier transform of the intensity of the reflected light over time, wherein the fourier transform provides the light intensity at each possible modulation frequency and determines the relative contribution of the reflected light from each light emitter, as well as the contribution of ambient light. A color value is calculated and a color name is selected and presented to the user.

Abstract: A method and system for performing problem determination procedures in a hierarchically organized computer system is provided. The hardware components of the data processing system are interconnected in a manner in which the components are organized in a logical hierarchy. A hardware-related error occurs, and the error is logged into an error log file. At some point in time, a diagnostics process is initiated in response to the detection of the error. The logged error may implicate a particular hardware component, and the hardware component of the data processing system is analyzed using a problem determination procedure. In response to a determination that the hardware component does not have a problem, the logically hierarchical parent hardware component of the hardware component is selected for analysis. The logically hierarchical parent hardware component is then analyzed using a problem determination procedure.

Abstract: A method and apparatus to provide accurate and automated timing of firmware routines, such as initialization tasks at boot time, is provided. Since each task sends a progress indicator code to a display buffer when it starts to run, by saving processor time stamps at the time these codes change, it is possible to calculate and store the time duration for each routine. In the case of system initialization, these time durations can be an indication of problems if they are much longer than normal or an indication of excessive, inefficient, or ineffective processing that might be speed up in order to reduce the total boot time.

Abstract: A process and system for profiling code executing on a data processing system is provided. Event-based trace data is recorded in response to selected events, and the event-based trace data includes an indication which code is being interrupted. The trace data may be processed to identify a thread or method that was executing during the event. A periodically occurring event is also detected, and a call stack associated with the profiled code is identified in response to detection of the periodically occurring event, such as a timer interrupt. The call stack is examined to identify each routine that is currently executing during the periodically occurring event, and the trace data is recorded with the call stack information. The trace data from the recorded events and the trace data from the call stacks are processed to generate a tree structure in which the nodes indicate the call structure of the routine information from both the trace events and the call stacks.

Abstract: A computer system implements a datastore for a plurality of generic terminal objects. Terminal objects are related to zero or more association objects that represent a relation between a plurality of terminal objects. An association object is typed according to the relationship being represented between the terminal objects. An association object has a state value corresponding to a state of the relation between the plurality of terminal objects. An association object also has a role object for each of the plurality of terminal objects being related to the association object. An association object may also represent the dynamic state of a single terminal object. A role object represents a relation between the association object and a terminal object. The role object is typed according to the relationship being represented between the associated object and the terminal object, and the role type is unique amongst the role objects within the association object.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for installing an application on a client computer. An image is created of a selected client computer. The image of the selected client computer is placed on another computer. The application is installed on the another computer, wherein an update image is created. The updated image is sent back to the client computer.

Abstract: A method and system for user-specific management of applications in a heterogeneous server environment is provided. A user may be assigned access to an application, and a user-application definition linking the selected user and the selected application is associatively stored with applications files for the selected application in a datastore on a heterogeneous server. The user-application definition may provide manageability of an application for a user of a Windows-based data processing system from a non-Windows-based server. The user-application definition may also be associatively stored with an application package that comprises user files, system files, user registries, or system registries that are used to configure a client for executing the application. The client may be configured by serving a Windows-based application specified by the user-application definition in the datastore from a non-Windows-based server to a Windows-based client.

Abstract: A method and system for identifying a server in a distributed data processing system is provided. A primary server name and a secondary server name for the server are registered. The server is able to respond to requests directed to either the primary server name or the secondary server name. A plurality of secondary server names may be registered. The primary server name and the secondary server name may be stored in a configuration file or an initialization file. The primary server name or the secondary server name may be registered with a call to a NetBIOS application programming interface.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus in a data processing system for printing characters. Data received include glyphs for output on an output device, wherein the glyphs are to be output using a selected device font. A list containing all device font supported glyphs is passed to the operating system. Monitoring for unsupported glyphs in the selected device font is performed by the operating system. In response to detecting a glyph unsupported by the selected device font, a backup system font is used to output the glyph to the output device.

Abstract: A method for file synchronization during an operating system boot sequence between a client and a server. Upon initiation of the boot sequence, a mini file system driver is downloaded to the client. The mini file system driver is used to download the full operating system kernel. During a first phase of the boot sequence, file data and information for managing the file data generated by a first file system driver is cached. Upon initialization of the operating system, i.e. during a subsequent phase of the boot sequence, a second file system inherits the file data and information from the first file system driver. The second file system unloads the first file system driver and updates the data files.

Abstract: A method of alerting a pilot to the location of other aircraft begins by detecting the presence of at least one other aircraft and then calculating that aircraft's projected flight path in the sky. Given the position of the pilot's head or eyes, a given image (e.g., a circle) is then projected (or otherwise displayed) on the aircraft's windshield at a calculated position. This position represents a relatively small region in the sky that the pilot, given the head or eye position and the projected flight path, should expect to see the other aircraft. In this manner, the pilot need no longer search the sky to attempt to map a display image to an actual location in his or her field of view.

Abstract: An automatic power docking mechanism for establishing a power connection between a computer electronic subsystem and a power distribution board within a computer chassis is provided. In one embodiment, the power docking mechanism includes power pads electrically coupled to a power distribution board and a housing with slotted openings secured over the power pads. The housing's slotted openings are configured to receive power bus bars from a computer subsystem and hold the bus bars in contact with the power pads.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for optimizing execution of Java programs. A fully caffienated class file is provided in which a standard Java class file, containing a directory and bytecodes, is enhanced to include optimized content and a second directory containing pointers to the optimized content. The second directory contains entries that are distinguished by platforms for which the optimized content is appropriate.