Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Lawrence D. Cutter
  • Patent number: 7302607
    Abstract: A method for recovery in a two-node data processing system is provided wherein each node is a primary server for a first nonvolatile storage device and for which there is provided shared access to a second nonvolatile storage device for which the other node is a primary server and wherein each node also includes a direct connection to the shared nonvolatile storage device for which the other node is the primary server. Upon notification of failure, the method operates by first confirming continued access by each node to the nonvolatile storage device for which it is the primary server and then by attempting to access the shared nonvolatile storage device via the direct connection and by waiting for a time sufficient for the same process to be carried out by the other node. If access to the shared nonvolatile storage device is successful, the node takes control of both nonvolatile storage devices. If the access is not successful a comparison of node numbers is carried out to decide the issue of control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Kalyan C. Gunda, Brian D. Herr
  • Patent number: 7187688
    Abstract: A method is provided for selecting a data source for transmission on one of several logical (virtual) lanes embodied in a single physical connection. Lanes are assigned to either a high priority class or to a low priority class. One of six conditions is employed to determine when re-arbitration of lane priorities is desired. When this occurs a next source for transmission is selected based on a the specification of the maximum number of high priority packets that can be sent after a lower priority transmission has been interrupted. Alternatively, a next source for transmission is selected based on a the specification of the maximum number of high priority packets that can be sent while a lower priority packet is waiting. If initialized correctly, the arbiter keeps all of the packets of a high priority packet contiguous, while allowing lower priority packets to be interrupted by the higher priority packets, but not to the point of starvation of the lower priority packets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Derrick L. Garmire, Jay R. Herring, Craig B. Stunkel
  • Patent number: 6996580
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling log files is provided in which each log file entry is associated with an importance level. Depending on the importance level, the log entry is stored in a separately maintained set of files which can thus be rotated on different schedules so that the more important log file entries are retained for appropriately longer periods of time so as to be better able to reconstruct event histories and reports for important events.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Myung M. Bae, Jifang Zhang
  • Patent number: 6983216
    Abstract: A test automation tool is provided which is operable to integrate a set of dynamic attributes and values into tests to be performed on a computing environment. The test automation tool includes a job submission engine (JSE) operable to receive input regarding first attributes unchanged from a first computing environment and second attributes representing change from the first computing environment. A job control file generator (JCFG) is provided in electronic communication with the job submission engine and is operable to automatically generate job control files (JCFs) for controlling testing of the computing environment according to attribute values including first attribute values and second attribute values. First attribute values are generated based on an automatic sampling of values of first attributes. The JSE is further operable to automatically submit the JCFs to the computing environment for execution and to automatically monitor execution according to the JCFs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thanh V. Lam, Giampaolo Lauria
  • Patent number: 6978016
    Abstract: The modular exponentiation function used in public key encryption and decryption systems is implemented in a standalone engine having at its core modular multiplication circuits which operate in two phases which share overlapping hardware structures. The partitioning of large arrays in the hardware structure, for multiplication and addition, into smaller structures results in a multiplier design which includes a series of nearly identical processing elements linked together in a chained fashion. As a result of the two-phase operation and the chaining together of partitioned processing elements, the overall structure is operable in a pipelined fashion to improve throughput and speed. The chained processing elements are constructed so as to provide a partitionable chain with separate parts for processing factors of the modulus. In this mode, the system is particularly useful for exploiting characteristics of the Chinese Remainder Theorem to perform rapid exponentiation operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Chin-Long Chen, Vincenzo Condorelli, Camil Fayad
  • Patent number: 6970355
    Abstract: A hybrid cooling system is provided which is particularly useful for cooling electronic circuit components disposed on circuit boards arranged in a plurality of drawers within a cabinet or frame. Air cooling is provided locally with a supplementary, auxiliary, or secondary cooling system being provided at more distant frame level locations. This configuration permits optimal sizing of the respective hybrid cooling system components without negatively impacting the coefficient of performance (COP). Hybrid heat sinks are employed to accommodate the hybrid cooling system design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael J. Ellsworth, Jr., Bret W. Lehman, Jason A. Matteson, Roger R. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 6968324
    Abstract: A method, system and program product for determining a cost differential resulting from a migration of computational workloads between computer platforms is disclosed herein. Information regarding current and planned hardware and software use on the computer platforms and the costs associated therewith is provided and supplemented with model data including historical data and industry averages. A cost and capacity measurement associated with the current and planned use and cost is derived. A required processing capacity migration between platforms is determined for a proposed computational workload migration therebetween and a resultant cost and capacity measurement is calculated for each platform to determine the resultant cost differential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Ruffin, Joseph L. Temple, III, Ann C. Merenda
  • Patent number: 6963645
    Abstract: The modular exponentiation function used in public key encryption and decryption systems is implemented in a standalone engine having at its core modular multiplication circuits which operate in two phases which share overlapping hardware structures. The partitioning of large arrays in the hardware structure, for multiplication and addition, into smaller structures results in a multiplier design comprising a series of nearly identical processing elements linked together in a chained fashion. As a result of the two-phase operation and the chaining together of partitioned processing elements, the overall structure is operable in a pipelined fashion to improve throughput and speed. The chained processing elements are constructed so as to provide a partitionable chain with separate parts for processing factors of the modulus. In this mode, the system is particularly useful for exploiting characteristics of the Chinese Remainder Theorem to perform rapid exponentiation operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Chin-Long Chen, Vincenzo Condorelli, Douglas S. Search
  • Patent number: 6963977
    Abstract: The modular exponentiation function used in public key encryption and decryption systems is implemented in a standalone engine having at its core modular multiplication circuits which operate in two phases which share overlapping hardware structures. The partitioning of large arrays in the hardware structure, for multiplication and addition, into smaller structures results in a multiplier design comprising a series of nearly identical processing elements linked together in a chained fashion. As a result of the two-phase operation and the chaining together of partitioned processing elements, the overall structure is operable in a pipelined fashion to improve throughput and speed. The chained processing elements are constructed so as to provide a partitionable chain with separate parts for processing factors of the modulus. In this mode, the system is particularly useful for exploiting characteristics of the Chinese Remainder Theorem to perform rapid exponentiation operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Chin-Long Chen, Edward W. Chencinski, Vincenzo Condorelli, Leonard L. Fogell, Samir K. Patel
  • Patent number: 6957243
    Abstract: Finite field elements from the Galois field GF(2k) are represented as polynomials with binary valued coefficients. As such, multiplication in the field is defined modulo an irreducible polynomial of degree k?1. One of the multiplicands is treated in blocks of polynomials of degree n?1 so that the multiplier operates over T cycles where k=nT. If k is not a composite number to start with, higher order terms are added, so that multipliers are now constructable even when k is prime. Since n<k, the construction of the needed multiplier circuits are much simpler. Designers are now provided with an opportunity of easily trading off circuit speed for circuit complexity in an orderly and structured fashion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Chin-Long Chen
  • Patent number: 6950820
    Abstract: In a distributed peer-to-peer data processing system, consistency and access to a global resource maintained on one of the nodes is provided through the use of global incarnation numbers, local incarnation numbers, and proposed incarnation numbers. Internode traffic is kept to a minimum while still maintaining consistency. The system and method of the present invention are particularly useful at start-up and data change processing points in time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Myung M. Bae
  • Patent number: 6934950
    Abstract: Method, computer program product, and apparatus for efficiently dispatching threads in a multi-threaded communication library which become runnable by completion of an event. Each thread has a thread-specific structure containing a “ready flag” and a POSIX thread condition variable unique to that thread. Each message is assigned a “handle”. When a thread waits for a message, thread-specific structure is attached to the message handle being waited on, and the thread is enqueued, waiting for its condition variable to be signaled. When a message completes, the message matching logic sets the ready flag to READY, and causes the queue to be examined. The queue manager scans the queue of waiting threads, and sends a thread awakening condition signal to one of the threads with its ready flag set to READY. The queue manager can implement any desired policy, including First-In-First-Out (FIFO), Last-In-First-Out (LIFO), or some other thread priority scheduling policy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William G. Tuel, Jr., Rama K. Govindaraju
  • Patent number: 6915391
    Abstract: A method is provided for continuing node operations in quorum-based protocols. This is particularly valuable in the situation in which a group of nodes includes only two nodes and in which communications to a node is lost. Provision is made for adding additional status indications to each node indicating whether or not it is enabled for single-node quorum operation. Provision is also made for identifying one node as a primary node and another node as a secondary node for time-out response purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Kuei-Yu Wang-Knop, Robert J. Curran, Radha R. Kandadai
  • Patent number: 6914983
    Abstract: The modular exponentiation function used in public key encryption and decryption systems is implemented in a standalone engine having at its core modular multiplication circuits which operate in two phases which share overlapping hardware structures. The partitioning of large arrays in the hardware structure, for multiplication and addition, into smaller structures results in a multiplier design comprising a series of nearly identical processing elements linked together in a chained fashion. As a result of the two-phase operation and the chaining together of partitioned processing elements, the overall structure is operable in a pipelined fashion to improve throughput and speed. The chained processing elements are constructed so as to provide a partitionable chain with separate parts for processing factors of the modulus. In this mode, the system is particularly useful for exploiting characteristics of the Chinese Remainder Theorem to perform rapid exponentiation operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Chin-Long Chen, Vincenzo Condorelli, Camil Fayad
  • Patent number: 6910183
    Abstract: The present invention provides facilities for tagging files or data with attribute information in the form of a file tag (TAGINFO) which contains an identifier for text information (TEXTFLAG) and an attribute (COSID) for identifying encoding schemes. TXTFLAG is an auto conversion flag. Furthermore, a runtime attribute (process CCSLD) is assigned to a process specifying the runtime encoding scheme. A conversion is done automatically by an auto conversion function if both CCSIDs allow a conversion. Files having no file tag are tagged with a virtual file tag by means of an automatic tagging (AUTOTAG) function using heuristic rules for determining whether the data or file contains text or binary information. Old applications must work with untagged files as before. Existing applications should be able to benefit from auto conversion and thereby to be enabled to process new, tagged files without code changes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Andreas Maier, Wolfgang Reichert, David Brush, John Kapernick, Milos Lalovic, William B. Nettles
  • Patent number: 6910080
    Abstract: In a multinode data processing system, the messages to be transmitted from node to node, per the request of an application program, are stored in a queue on one of the nodes. Acknowledgment of the receipt of the messages is used to control transmission of messages at future times by adjusting the maximum number of allowable messages to be sent from the queue and also by adjusting the time interval that the system waits before retransmitting unacknowledged messages. This permits the use of so-called “unreliable” messaging protocols and relieves application programs and programmers from the burden of employing more complicated protocols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Peter R. Badovinatz, Myung M. Bae, Jifang Zhang
  • Patent number: 6904448
    Abstract: In a multinode data processing system capable of partitioning operations a method is provided for adding nodes to a configuration of nodes in a manner which node quorums are employed but in which two quorum values (ideal and enforced) are employed and in which old nodes using a given file system are distinguished from new nodes. The method prevents even the transient use of inappropriate quorum values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Eugene Johnson, Radha R. Kandadai, Frank J. Mangione
  • Patent number: 6829765
    Abstract: A model for computer resources based on type and amount is employed in a consistent manner across several layers in a data processing system as a mechanism for providing users with significantly more control over the allocation, utilization and scheduling of resources for user's software applications running on the target computer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Waiman Chan, Margaret M. Curry
  • Patent number: 6829617
    Abstract: A system, method and computer readable medium for providing a snapshot of a subset of a file system. A first snapshot of a first set of source files in a file system is generated. The first snapshot includes an inode corresponding to each source file in the first set of files. Stored in each inode is a first identifier associated with the first set of files and a second identifier associated with the time of the first snapshot. Next, a second snapshot of a second set of source files is taken. The second snapshot includes an inode corresponding to each source file in the second set of files. Stored in each inode are a first identifier and a second identifier. Subsequent snapshots are taken every first period and every second period for the first set of files and the second set of files, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Wayne A. Sawdon, Frank B. Schmuck
  • Patent number: 6826123
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for synchronizing time of day information between and among communication adapters. Time of day information, which is desired for proper message packet ordering and delivery, is recovered in a process in which a master adapter, connected to a master node, periodically broadcasts current time of day information to slave adapters which operate to determine whether or not drift correction is to be applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Jay R. Herring