Abstract: A cluster computer system capable of filtering stale messages resulting from changes in a cluster membership. The system has interconnected nodes each hosting one or more applications and having a node filter for filtering messages to and from other nodes based on a membership identification and information about source nodes and destination nodes of the messages. Each application of a hosting node includes multiple application filters corresponding to other nodes in the system for filtering messages to and from the application based on the membership identification and an application view of the cluster membership. Each node further includes a communication agent for detecting when another node is disconnected from the membership and for updating its filters with the membership identification that reflects the node disconnection.

Abstract: A storage system and method for prestaging data in a cache based on relative changes in the frequency of data access and relative changes in the effectiveness of previous prestage operations. The relative changes in the frequency of data access are determined by storing statistics of data access to all regions in the system and comparing recent access statistics to the stored data. Access statistics include data location, I/O size and access frequency. The relative changes in the effectiveness of previous prestage operations are detected by recording the number of previous prestaging operations for a region, recording the number of I/O requests for data that has been prestaged, and dividing the number of I/O requests for previously prestaged data in a region during a time period by the number of previous prestage operations for the region during the same time.

Abstract: A method and system for dynamically allocating cache space in a storage system among multiple workload classes each having a unique set of quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. The invention dynamically adapts the space allocated to each class depending upon the observed response time for each class and the observed temporal locality in each class. The dynamic allocation is achieved by maintaining a history of recently evicted pages for each class, determining a future cache size for the class based on the history and the QoS requirements where the future cache size might be different than a current cache size for the class, determining whether the QoS requirements for the class are being met, and adjusting the future cache size to maximize the number of classes in which the QoS requirements are met. The future cache sizes are increased for the classes whose QoS requirements are not met while they are decreased for those whose QoS requirements are met.

Abstract: A scalable and compact computer system of three-dimensional subsystems each having capacitive couplers on its external surfaces for transmitting and receiving electrical signals to and from adjacent subsystems. Each surface having an electrically non-conducting substrate, one or more electrically conducting pads on the substrate, and electrical leads for coupling the pads to the subsystem's circuits. Two adjacent pads, each from a different subsystem, form a capacitive coupler to carry the signals between the subsystems. The pads are covered by a low-loss dielectric material having a large dielectric constant for improved signal transmission. A differential signal may be supported using two capacitive couplers to respectively carry the positive and negative signals of the differential signal. The subsystems might be replaced or left in place when they failed. Additional subsystems might be added to the system to expand its capacity.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for staging write data to improve a storage system's performance. The method includes providing a write cache on the medium. The write cache includes a plurality of cache lines. Each of the cache lines includes a plurality of data blocks, line meta-data to identify each data blocks sector address, and a sequential number indicating the order of the data blocks within their respective cache line relative to the other data blocks in the cache line. In addition, the method includes staging write data in the write cache as sequentially written data to improve performance of the system. The staging includes receiving a plurality of data blocks to be written to the system. Moreover, the staging includes storing the data blocks in one of the cache lines.

Abstract: A data storage system and method for reorganizing data to improve the effectiveness of data prefetching and reduce the data seek distance. A data reorganization region is allocated in which data is reorganized to service future requests for data. Sequences of data units that have been repeatedly requested are determined from a request stream, preferably using a graph where each vertex of the graph represents a requested data unit and each edge represents that a destination unit is requested shortly after a source unit the frequency of this occurrence. The most frequently requested data units are also determined from the request stream. The determined data is copied into the reorganization region and reorganized according to the determined sequences and most frequently requested units. The reorganized data might then be used to service future requests for data.

Abstract: A data storage system and method for providing consistent data to multiple clients based on data modification information as existing data is updated and new data is written to the system. The information indicates the modification status of each data block and identifies which data blocks have been modified during a certain time interval. The clients may query and update the modification information by submitting requests through a request processor. The data modification information includes an Altered Block Map that indicates block modification status and a Toggle Block Map that identifies which blocks have been modified. The system further includes a Modification Counter a Pending Reset Counter for improved recognition and handling of the modified data.

Abstract: A method and system for identifying groups of pages of common interest from a collection of hyper-linked pages are disclosed. A plurality of community cores are identified from the collection where each core includes first and second sets of pages, and each page in the first set points to every page in the second set. Each identified core is expanded into a full community which is a subset of the pages regarding a particular topic. The identification community cores is based on the analysis of the Web graph in which the communities correspond to instances of Web subgraphs. Extraneous pages are then pruned to improve the quality of the resulting communities.

Abstract: The present invention performs a method for matching slides to video comprising, generating keyframes from the video, extracting geometric keyframe features from the keyframes and geometric slide features from the slides, and matching the geometric slide features and the geometric keyframe features.

Abstract: Digital data is preserved by archiving on a removable medium. In the long term, the save data bit stream must be correctly interpreted. For a computer program or system to be archived, the bit stream constituting the program must be archived and the code must be executable at restore time. The program that restores the data does not “see” the contents of the data itself, but accesses it by issuing a function call to an executor. A description of which methods are available to restore the information hidden in the data is always available. A text tells the client which functions are available and what their purposes are. The archiving method is based on using a virtual computer instruction set and saving the algorithm as a program written int hat virtual machine language. For machine instructions to be executed many years later, for example 100 years, an emulator of the original machine would be written on the future hardware.

Abstract: A method and structure for processing packets of information over a data processing system is disclosed. The packets have header information indicating a source and a destination of the packets. The method includes receiving a packet from a client, forwarding the packet to a hub of a local area network, changing the header of the packet such that the packet is directed to a server instead of an original destination, processing the packet through the server to produce a processed packet, and forwarding the processed packet to the original destination.

Abstract: A method and structure for identifying database association rules includes mining first database association rules, the first database association rules having ratings with respect to a plurality of metrics and population constraints, selecting second database association rules from the first database association rules, each of the second database association rules having a highest rating with respect to a different metric of the metrics, and interactively changing the metrics and repeating the selecting to identify most important ones of the databases association rules for a given set of metrics.

Abstract: A method and structure for identifying database association rules includes mining first database association rules, the first database association rules having ratings with respect to a plurality of metrics, selecting second database association rules from the first database association rules, each of the second database association rules having a highest rating with respect to a different metric of the metrics, and interactively changing the metrics and repeating the selecting to identify most important ones of the databases association rules for a given set of metrics.

Abstract: A portable computer includes a battery and a connection to an external power source, a two-speed data storage device being supplied power from one or more of the battery and the external power source, and a controller attached to the storage device. With the invention, when the storage device is powered by the internal battery, the controller not only reduces the rotation speed and the clock rate of the storage device, but also reduces the power consumption of the read/write electronics module inside the disk drive by lowering the power supply voltage for the write driver inside said module and lowering the tail currents for the amplifier stages in the readback amplifier inside said module.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a means, system and method for controlling the storage space required by a storage means which contains information items associated with an information transfer application. The information transfer application is typically an email application 10 which allows a user to send or receive information items such as electronic mail, electronic documents, electronic files and the like, and stores the items in a mail database or mail file 23 which utilises the storage means. The application 10 includes a transfer control means 20 which is activated whenever a user attempts to access a received item 50 or create a new item 32 for sending. Once activated, the transfer control means 20 compares 35 the storage space required by the storage means to store the items contained in the database 23 with a first set level and prevents further transmission of information items if the required storage space exceeds 37 a first set level.

Abstract: A magnetic recording channel front-end for a magnetic storage system includes a magnetoresistive element, an interconnect and a readback amplifier. The interconnect, which has a characteristic impedance, couples the magnetoresistive element to the readback amplifier. The readback amplifier includes a gain stage and an active termination. The gain stage, which has an associated impedance, has an input that is connected to the interconnect. The active termination is coupled to the input of the gain stage, such that an input impedance of the readback amplifier, which is formed by a combination of the impedance associated with the gain stage and the active termination, is substantially equal to the characteristic impedance of the interconnect. Additionally, the gain stage generates a first noise signal that has a first magnitude appearing at an output of the gain stage. The active termination generates a second noise signal that has a second magnitude that also appears at the output of the gain stage.

Abstract: A method for forming a termination for a magnetic write head in which a magnetic write coil having an inner turn and an outer turn is formed on a wafer. A bottom capacitor plate for a capacitor on the wafer. A resistor having a first terminal and a second terminal is also formed on the wafer. A dielectric layer is formed over the bottom capacitor plate for the capacitor. A top capacitor plate is formed on the dielectric layer. An overpass lead is formed between the inner turn of the coil and one of the bottom capacitor plate and the top capacitor plate. The first terminal of resistor is connected to the capacitor plate that is not connected to the inner turn of the write coil. The second terminal of the resistor is connected to the outer turn of the write coil. An impedance formed by the write coil, the capacitor and the resistor substantially equals a characteristic impedance Z0 of an interconnect circuit that will be connected to the write coil.

Abstract: Images in an image database are indexed according to semantic labels from a surface color code book in order to allow querying and retrieving of images based on color contend. Regions of unsegmented images in a database are localized and described with semantic labels from a surface color code book. A database index is then built using this image region information and corresponding labels. This pre-generated color-region index allows querying by semantic labels in order to locate and retrieve similar images from a database. Querying for similar images by presenting a target image is also possible using the described color-region index. In this second type of query mode a target image is analyzed to determine semantic labels of color surfaces present in that image and these labels, in turn, are used to locate similar entries in the color-region index.

Abstract: Colored surfaces are represented in an illumination-invariant and pose-invariant manner through a color code book. Patches of each color surface are represented, under well-chosen illumination conditions and other imaging variations, as clusters in an optimal color space. For each surface, the color code book entries represent its clusters' means, covariance matrices, eigen values and eigen vectors. In addition, a corresponding semantic label is given to each surface's color code book entry to simplify image processing operations such as region localization and recognition as well as indexing and querying of image databases.

Abstract: A objective function based on a Bayesian statistical estimation framework is used to determine an optimal model selection by choosing both the optimal number of clusters and the optimal feature set. Heuristics can be applied to find the optimal (or at least sub-optimal) of this objective function in terms of the feature sets and the number of clusters, wherein the maximization of the objective function corresponds to the optimal model structure.