Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for updating metadata in a logical volume associated with a storage controller. A data structure is generated indicating data units in a volume whose metadata is to be updated. An operation is initiated to update the metadata for data units indicated in the data structure. Indication is made in the data structure that the metadata for one data unit has been updated in response to updating the metadata for the data unit. An Input/Output (I/O) request is received to one data unit in the volume while the metadata for the data units indicated in the data structure is being updated. A determination is made, in response to the I/O request, from the data structure whether the metadata for the requested data unit was updated. The metadata for the requested data unit is updated in response to determining that the metadata for the requested data unit has not been updated. The I/O request is executed against the requested data unit.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 29, 2006
Date of Patent:
March 20, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Abstract: Provided are techniques for processing data items. A limit on the number of dequeue operations allowed in a current step of processing for a queue-like data structure is set, wherein the number of allowed dequeue operations limit at least one of an amount of CPU resources and an amount of memory resources to be used by an operator. The operator to perform processing is selected and the operator is activated by passing control to the operator, which then dequeues data constrained by the limits set. In response to receiving control back from the operator, the data structure size is examined to determine whether the operator made forward progress in that the operator enqueued or dequeued at least one data item.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 30, 2007
Date of Patent:
March 20, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Abstract: A pass-through mechanism that couples a first linear tape library string to a second linear tape library string is maintained. A first robotic assembly associated with the first linear tape library string places a tape from the first linear tape library string into the pass-through mechanism. The pass-through mechanism moves the tape to a position where the tape can be removed by a second robotic assembly associated with the second linear tape library string. The second robotic assembly removes the tape from the pass-through mechanism and places the tape into the second linear tape library string.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 17, 2011
Date of Patent:
March 20, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Andrew Stuart Green, Frank Krick, Shawn Michael Nave, Raymond Yardy
Abstract: A computational device receives input information on characteristics of customer data, critical metadata, and non-critical metadata, and characteristics of disk array configurations, wherein customer data is to be stored encrypted, wherein critical metadata is to be stored non-encrypted, and wherein non-critical metadata is to be stored encrypted or non-encrypted. The computational device determines band boundary information based on the received input information. Encrypting disks with pre-established bands are created based on the band boundary information and the encrypting disks are pre-initialized.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 6, 2009
Date of Patent:
March 20, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
David Ray Kahler, Richard Anthony Ripberger
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and program for translating and interfacing between data pools and product information management (PIM) systems. An element mapping is generated for each of a plurality of data pools mapping user elements and attributes to the data pool elements and attributes, wherein the data pools maintain product information. A message mapping is generated for each of the plurality of data pools mapping user messages and their parameters to data pool messages and their parameters. For each of the plurality of data pools, code is maintained that is enabled to cause operations comprising receiving a first document including user elements and messages and mapping the user elements and messages in the first document to a second document including data pool elements and attributes corresponding to the user elements and messages in the first document.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 12, 2007
Date of Patent:
March 20, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and computer program product to generate references to reusable code in a schema. A program is coded in a first programming language having data structures, wherein at least one of the data structures includes a reference to reusable code. A model file is generated providing a source name identifying the reusable code, elements and attributes in a second programming language for the reference to the reusable code in the program. A generator is invoked with a reference to the model file. The invoked generator processes the data structure coded in the first programming language to generate a data structure schema in the computer readable medium in a second programming language describing elements and attributes of the data structure coded in the first programming language. A determination is made of instances of the source name indicated in the model file in the data structure.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 10, 2009
Date of Patent:
March 13, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus and a system for returning a data item to a requestor. (The requestor may for example be a systems application.) A request is received to access a data item having data contents of uncertain state (i.e. because the data item is pending completion of a transaction.) The apparatus or system obtains the data item contents and an indication of the state (e.g. delete_on_commit) of the data item contents. This information is then returned to the requestor.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 16, 2008
Date of Patent:
March 13, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for splitting writes between a storage controller and replication engine. A splitter executing in a storage controller manages access to primary volumes. An initialization command is received to communicate with a replication engine. A replication command is received for one primary volume and the primary volume is indicated as subject to replication. A write request is received to write data to a target primary volume of the primary volumes that is indicated as subject to the replication. The data in the write request is written to the target primary volume. The data in the write request is sent to the replication engine. The replication engine executes a copy services function associated with the target primary volume to write the data to a replication engine volume.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 16, 2007
Date of Patent:
March 6, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Robert Francis Bartfai, Kenneth Wayne Boyd, James Chien-Chiung Chen, Kenneth Fairclough Day, III, Shachar Fienblit, Gregory Edward McBride, David W. Messina, Robert Bruce Nicholson, Gail Andrea Spear
Abstract: Electronic assemblies including coreless substrates and their manufacture using electrolytic plating, are described. One method includes providing a core comprising a metal, and forming a dielectric material on the core. The method also includes forming vias in the dielectric material, the vias positioned to expose metal regions. The method also performing an electrolytic plating of metal into the vias and on the metal regions, wherein the core is electrically coupled to a power supply during the electrolytic plating of metal into the vias and delivers current to the metal regions. The method also includes removing the metal core after the electrolytic plating of metal into the vias. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for rekeying encryption keys for removable storage media. A rekey request is received for a coupled removable storage media, wherein encryption on the coupled removable storage media uses a first key and wherein the rekey request indicates a second key. The first key and the second key are accessed in response to the rekey request. The first key is used to perform decryption for the coupled removable storage media and the second key is used to perform encryption for the coupled removable storage media.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 7, 2006
Date of Patent:
March 6, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Brian Gerard Goodman, James Arthur Fisher, Glen Alan Jaquette, Leonard George Jesionowski
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for providing removable storage management services using removable storage error information. Read/write error information is obtained for at least one removable storage by interfacing with the removable storage manager. The obtained read/write error information for the at least one removable storage is processed to determine read/write error rates for the at least one removable storage. A determination is made as to whether the determined read/write error rates for the at least one removable storage exceed at least one read/write error threshold. At least one message is sent to the removable storage manager to replace the at least one removable storage having read/write error rates that exceed the at least one read/write error threshold.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
January 27, 2011
Date of Patent:
March 6, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Allen Keith Bates, Eric Rolf Christensen, Shinobu Wada, Daniel James Winarski
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for using different algorithms to destage different types of data from cache. A first destaging algorithm is used to destage a first type of data to a storage for a first duration. A second destaging algorithm is used to destage a second type of data to the storage for a second duration.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 24, 2010
Date of Patent:
February 28, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Binny Sher Gill, Michael Thomas Benhase, Joseph Smith Hyde, II, Thomas Charles Jarvis, Bruce McNutt, Dharmendra Shantilal Modha
Abstract: Systems and computer program products that identify data that is related to and associated with data that has been selected from a multidimensional database. The overwhelming amount of data in a multidimensional database that may be viewed by a user, such as a data analyst, is reduced to the selected and associated data by use of index data and related index data, according to the present invention. The views of selected data and related data may be highlighted and formatted for presentation to the user. Further, irrelevant data is filtered out and not presented to the user. Existing systems have not been able to efficiently and adequately identify data that is related to and associated with selected data in a multidimensional database.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 4, 2008
Date of Patent:
February 28, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for selecting a resource manager to satisfy a service request. A catalog indicating a plurality of resource managers and at least one service offered by the resource managers is provided. Further provided is resource manager information indicating resource availability information for resource managers offering at least one service. A request for a requested service from a subscriber is received. The catalog is processed to identify resource managers publishing the requested service and the resource manager information is processed to determine at least one identified resource manager publishing the requested service that also satisfies at least one rule applicable to the service request.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 23, 2005
Date of Patent:
February 28, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Stewart Eugene Tate, Cataldo Mega, James Allen Reimer
Abstract: Provided are a method, program, and article of manufacture for mapping and communicating data from a user interface to an application program. Data is received from a user interface via a network protocol directed to an application program. State information is generated for a user of the user interface to use to invoke the application program. The received data is mapped to application variables. The application program uses the state information for the user and the application variables including the mapped data.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 31, 2006
Date of Patent:
February 28, 2012
Assignee:
Rocket Software, Inc.
Inventors:
Steven Christopher Wingfield, Randall Keith Pruett, Marc Hall Hoffsommer
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and device in which non-RF (radio frequency) data signals are transmitted to a non-RF data port connected to an antenna of a device. The non-RF data signals from the non-RF data port are coupled to a data bus using a low frequency coupler of the device. RF signals are blocked from the data bus using the low frequency coupler of the device. In another aspect, RF signals are transmitted to the antenna of the device and are coupled to an RF port using a high frequency coupler of the device. Non-RF data signals are blocked from the RF port using the high frequency coupler. Additional embodiments are described and claimed.
Abstract: Provided are techniques for workload balancing. A message is received on a channel. A thread in a thread pool is selected to process the message. In response to determining that the message has been processed and a response has been sent on the channel by the thread, it is determined whether a total number of threads in the thread pool is greater than a low water mark plus one and whether the channel has more than a maximum number of threads blocked on a receive, wherein the low water mark represents a minimum number of threads in the thread pool. In response to determining that a number of threads in the thread pool is greater than the low water mark plus one and that the channel has more than the maximum number of threads blocked on a receive, the thread is terminated.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 7, 2007
Date of Patent:
February 21, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Steven M. Berman, Thirumale Niranjan, Michael Wayne Young
Abstract: A deadlock prevention mode indicator is provided, wherein the deadlock prevention mode indicator is a lock that can be held in a shared mode or in an exclusive mode by one or more of a plurality of threads, and wherein the plurality of threads can cause deadlocks while acquiring a plurality of data locks. An execution of the plurality of threads is serialized by allowing a data lock to be acquired by a thread in response to the thread holding the deadlock prevention mode indicator, wherein serializing the plurality of threads avoids any deadlock from occurring.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
January 9, 2007
Date of Patent:
February 14, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for controlling a first storage system receiving commands from a first and second managers to create a consistency group with a second storage system. Host writes are received at the first storage system, wherein the first storage system includes a first storage system primary site and a first storage system secondary site. The first storage system sends the host writes from the first storage system primary site to the first storage system secondary site. Host write operations are quiesced at the first storage system in response to a first command from a first manager. Host write operations are resumed at the first storage system in response to receiving a second command from the first manager. The first storage system receives a run command with a marker, wherein the marker indicates a cycle number to control the cycles of the first and second storage systems.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 6, 2008
Date of Patent:
January 31, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Kenneth Wayne Boyd, Kenneth Fairclough Day, III, Gerardo De Jesus Frias Garcia, John Earle Lindley, Gregory Edward McBride, Ryusuke Ito, Yasumitsu Mizoguchi, Kenta Ninose, Akinobu Shimada, Tsutomu Sukigara
Abstract: A plurality of data units with associated timestamps is stored in a time based file system, wherein a timestamp corresponds to a time indicated by a system clock. A time indicated by the system clock is changed while the plurality of data units is being stored. A plurality of epochs is stored in a data structure, wherein an epoch is a period of time between a starting and an ending timestamp selected from the timestamps, and wherein successive epochs have overlapping time periods. The time based file system is reverted to an earlier point in time based on the plurality of epochs stored in the data structure.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 6, 2008
Date of Patent:
January 31, 2012
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Kenneth Wayne Boyd, Kenneth Fairclough Day, III, Douglas William Dewey, Christopher Diebold O'Toole