Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Lily Neff
  • Patent number: 6772221
    Abstract: In a computing network environment having a gateway device electronically connected to a plurality of hosts potentially connected to one or more routers and local area networks, a method and apparatus is provided for dynamically configuring, deconfiguring and monitoring all connected hosts. Special IPX commands are provided to add or remove information about hosts in a routing table. The command provides information about the connected hosts' IPX sessions, router information and IPX packets and their final destinations, and connection routes. In another embodiment of the present invention the IPX command is also used to receive information and pass information about new IPX stations in the network environment. By providing a counter and incrementing it each time an IPX packet is received from the network, the most used entries are identified. A second special IPX host command is also provided for deconfiguring and removing entries from the routing table in a manner similar to the one described above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Bruce H. Ratcliff, Christopher B. Larsson
  • Patent number: 6760859
    Abstract: Method, program product, and apparatus for providing a nondisruptive takeover by a backup adapter when an adapter from a group of adapters connecting a data processing system to a Local Area Network (LAN) fails. The adapters are arranged in one or more groups, with each group having at least two members, one member being a backup adapter in the idle state. Primitives, in accordance with the IEEE 802.2 standard, are monitored for each adapter, and when a failure is detected, the Medium Access Control (MAC) address for that adapter is loaded in the backup adapter, and the backup adapter is placed in the active state to nondisruptively takeover for the failed adapter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Moon J. Kim, William G. White
  • Patent number: 6754888
    Abstract: Method, system and program products for screening a program of a computing environment for debug processing are presented which employ a table that contains information identifying at least some program areas of storage of the computing environment where programs to be debugged may reside and information identifying programs of the computing environment to be excluded from debugging. After detecting a debug trigger point during execution of a program, screening is accomplished by referencing the table to first ascertain whether the trigger point is within a program area of storage meaning that the program under execution may comprise an application program to be debugged, and if so, referencing the table to determine whether the program has been explicitly excluded from the debug processing. If not excluded, debug processing may proceed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert O. Dryfoos, Richard J. Matela, Jr., Leslie F. Sutton
  • Patent number: 6714997
    Abstract: Method and means to provide a mechanism by which a hypervisor can permit a real machine to interpretively execute certain I/O instructions independently of the value of an I-bit in the subchannel. This is necessary as the I-bit covers all I/O instructions that can be interpretively executed; however, there can be instances where the hypervisor cannot allow the interpretive execution of other I/O instructions but can permit the interpretive execution of the SIGA instruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Frank W. Brice, Jr., Janet R. Easton, Steven Messinger, Richard P. Tarcza, Leslie W. Wyman
  • Patent number: 6697854
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing configuration information is provided in a network computing environment having a plurality of hosts and at least one Gateway attachment and a channel interface, using a QDIO device. A set of special tables and commands are provided at initialization time over the channel interface which provide all configuration information. The tables can map any Host images and Host Device Addresses which will be using the QDIO Interface to the specific bits defined in a SIGA vector, the SIGA Vector giving initiative to said QDIO connected Gateway device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Steven G. Glassen, Kenneth J. Oakes, Bruce H. Ratcliff, Michael E. Baskey, Stephen R. Valley
  • Patent number: 6681254
    Abstract: Controlling the flow of information between senders and receivers across links being used as channels. In one example, a self-timed interface link is adapted to be used as a channel. Such an interface is referred to as an integrated cluster bus. The flow control for the integrated cluster bus includes, for instance, a Data Request packet that indicates to the transmitter of data that it can now send the data; a continue indicator that specifies that more data is to follow; and a sequence indicator that is used to determine if a particular message is in proper sequence order. The integrated cluster bus does not require large data buffers and offers low latency messaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2004
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas A. Gregg, Kulwant M. Pandey
  • Patent number: 6671733
    Abstract: A method and apparatus that provide connectivity in a computer network environment that includes a plurality of nodes, interface links and at least one central electronic complex divided into one or more physical and or virtual sub-environments. A first control program is provided in the central electronic complex in order to establish a first command process layer and a first transfer process layer within this first control program for handling data. The first command process layer is then linked to the first transfer process layer in this control program. A second control program is also provided in the central electronic complex in order to establish a second command process layer and a second transfer process layer within this second control program for handling data. The second command process layer is also linked to the second transfer layer in said second control program.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Richard K. Errickson, Ambrose A. Verdibello, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6625753
    Abstract: A recovery facility is provided for a system network architecture (SNA) communication system employed by a computer network. The recovery facility includes bringing up a backup processor upon detection of failure at an existing processor in the SNA network, wherein both the failing processor and the backup processor support a multi-link transmission group (TG). After bringing up the backup processor, a new communication link is activated between the backup processor and an existing SNA communications controller previously linked to the failing processor. Processing is performed to ensure that the SNA communications controller recognizes the new communication linked to the backup processor as a same subarea address, a same virtual route and a same TG number as the previous link to the failing processor, thereby accomplishing substitution of the backup processor for the failing processor in the SNA communications network without requiring restarting of the entire network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: John W. Skogman, Kenneth H. Warner
  • Patent number: 6622159
    Abstract: Continuous server service is provided during switching from a current server version to a new server version. After initiating switching, a socket associated with the current server version is left open so that the socket may continue to receive client calls. The socket is then associated with the new server version and client calls received during switching are buffered and subsequently processed by the new server version after switching is complete.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Tian-Jy Chao, Mark D. Cooper, Kenneth H. Warner
  • Patent number: 6600743
    Abstract: A method of multicasting messages in a computing network environment having at least one host and a plurality of clients connected and in processing communication with one another via a gateway device. Host(s) and client(s) requesting registration will be registered and their information will be entered in a routing table, one entry dedicated to each host or client. A connectivity platform controls all communication between the host and the client(s) by receiving all information packets. The Routing table is then searched and the packets are distributed accordingly to their owner once a matching entry is found. If a matching entry is not found the packet will be dropped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Chin Lee, Bruce H. Ratcliff, Stephen R. Valley
  • Patent number: 6598180
    Abstract: A program having a plurality of concurrently executing versions is debugged. A version of the program to be debugged is selected from the plurality of versions of the program, and that selected version is debugged. As one example, the selection is responsive to the receipt of at least one task of the computing environment that is associated with the version to be debugged. The debugging of the selected version does not affect other versions of the program, other programs executing within the computing environment or other tasks using that version.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert O. Dryfoos, Richard J. Matela, Jr., Richard E. Reynolds, James S. Tison
  • Patent number: 6594671
    Abstract: A server instance includes a first region to perform one or more privileged functions and a second region to perform one or more non-privileged functions. Thus, the privileged functions are separate from the non-privileged functions. The first region includes at least a portion of an object request broker, which is used in communicating with one or more clients coupled to the server instance. The second region executes non-privileged application code, and can be replicated within the server instance based on workload management criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey D. Aman, Jeffrey A. Frey, Rodney A. Little, Gary S. Puchkoff, Nancy P. Riggs
  • Patent number: 6567818
    Abstract: A set of management policies, selectable by the customer at object installation time, is used to manage one or more instances of an object. The set of policies includes at least one of an activation isolation policy, a passivation policy, a flush policy, and a refresh policy. The policies are managed by one or more containers of the computing environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Frey, Carroll E. Fulkerson, Jr., Rodney A. Little, Gary S. Puchkoff
  • Patent number: 6560609
    Abstract: Management functions typically performed by containers of a server instance are delegated to resource managers coupled to the server instance. For example, responsibility for such management functions as locking, security control, multisystem caching and commitment control are removed from the containers and delegated to the resource managers. This enables ongoing improvements and functional extensions provided in the underlying resource managers to be immediately leveraged transparently in the server instance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Frey, Carroll E. Fulkerson, Jr., Rodney A. Little, Gary S. Puchkoff
  • Patent number: 6553384
    Abstract: A transactional name server. One or more objects of the name server are managed as transactional objects, thereby providing a transactional name server. Atomic updates are provided in the name server by the addition of transactional semantics. The transactional semantics include making the objects of the name space managed objects and providing a local interface to a directory service that propagates a transactional context from the name server through a directory down to a resource manager.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Frey, David A. Booz, Timothy J. Hahn, Theodore R. Maeurer
  • Patent number: 6539389
    Abstract: The frequency at which a multisystem log stream is compressed by a system of a multisystem environment is adjusted in real-time. The rate at which the multisystem log stream is compressed by the system is ascertained. That rate is relative to how frequently the multisystem log stream is compressed by other systems of the multisystem environment. The frequency with which the system compresses the multisystem log stream is then adjusted in real-time. Thus, the frequency at which one system of the multisystem environment compresses the log stream is relative to the frequency at which other systems of the multisystem environment are compressing the log stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Vaughn Geiner, Steven Jay Greenspan, Stephen Joseph Kinder, Douglas Michael Zobre
  • Patent number: 6519645
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for providing configuration information without using a configuration file and using a Queued-Direct Input-Output device in a network computing environment having a plurality of hosts and at least one Gateway attachment and a channel interface. A set of special tables and commands at is provided at initialization time over the channel interface which in turn provides all configuration information. The information can be updated dynamically in these tables and for these commands at any time after initialization when information needs to be added, deleted or modified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machine Corporation
    Inventors: George B. Markos, Bruce H. Ratcliff, Arthur J. Stagg, Stephen R. Valley
  • Patent number: 6519660
    Abstract: The complexity of networks (e.g., I/O configurations) is determined. An entropy index is calculated for a plurality of possible networks and from that set of possible networks, a network is selected. This network typically has less entropy or complexity than the other possible networks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: William J. Rooney
  • Patent number: 6505210
    Abstract: Resolution of a compound name of an object may indicate that a disjunction exists within the object name. This disjunction represents a foreign binding indicating that the resolve cannot be completed on one system or an alias name of the object. When a disjunction in the object name is identified, the object associated with the disjunction is obtained. Thereafter, a resolve operation on that object is performed using at least a portion of the object name.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Frey, Timothy J. Hahn, Theodore R. Maeurer, Gary S. Puchkoff
  • Patent number: 6502103
    Abstract: A composed business object of a server instance is provided. The server instance is coupled to a plurality of resource managers using a container of the server instance. A data object corresponding to the business object is populated with data retrieved using the plurality of resource managers. Thus, a business object is composed of data from multiple and/or diverse resource managers using a single container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Frey, Carroll E. Fulkerson, Jr., Rodney A. Little, Gary S. Puchkoff