Patents Assigned to Stratus Technologies
  • Patent number: 9251002
    Abstract: In part, the invention relates to a system and method for writing checkpointing data to a computer having a standby virtual machine for each checkpointed component on a computer having an active virtual machine. In one embodiment, the checkpointing data is processed on a per virtual machine basis. This is performed in a way that allows checkpointing data packets from multiple sources to be transferred asynchronously, subsequently reassembled into a coherent checkpoint message, and applied asynchronously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: STRATUS TECHNOLOGIES BERMUDA LTD.
    Inventors: Robert Manchek, Steven Haid, Kimball A. Murray
  • Patent number: 8381012
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for fault-tolerant and spread spectrum clocking. In one embodiment a master clock synthesizer circuit generates an output clock signal of varying frequency within a predetermined range of frequencies. A slave clock synthesizer circuit is provided to track the output clock signal generated by the master clock synthesizer circuit. If the master clock synthesizer circuit fails or generates an invalid output clock signal, the slave clock synthesizer circuit takes over and functions as the master clock synthesizer circuit. In one embodiment a method of fault-tolerant spread spectrum clocking includes generating a first digital data stream; receiving the first digital data stream, a first input reference signal and a first clock signal in a master clock synthesizer circuit; generating an first output clock signal of varying frequency by the master clock synthesizer circuit in response to the first digital data stream and the first clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2013
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventor: Garth Dylan Wiebe
  • Patent number: 8312318
    Abstract: A transparent high-availability solution utilizing virtualization technology is presented. A cluster environment and management thereof is implemented through an automated installation and setup procedure resulting in a cluster acting as a single system. The cluster is setup in an isolated virtual machine on each of a number of physical nodes of the system. Customer applications are run within separate application virtual machines on one physical node at a time and are run independently and unaware of their configuration as part of a high-availability cluster. Upon detection of a failure, traffic is rerouted through a redundant node and the application virtual machines are migrated from the failing node to another node using live migration techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon P. Graham, Daniel Lussier
  • Patent number: 8271416
    Abstract: A method for dynamically determining a predetermined previous condition of a rule-based system comprising a plurality of rules. Each of the plurality of rules is associated with a transaction and a condition under which the transaction is executed. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of (a) determining a system condition; (b) determining an immediate previous condition that caused the system condition; (c) setting the immediate previous condition to the system condition; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) until the predetermined previous condition is reached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Haitham Mahmoud Al-Beik, Bjorn Bergsten
  • Patent number: 8234521
    Abstract: A system is provided for rapidly synchronizing two or more processing elements in a fault-tolerant computing system. Embodiments of this system allow for the rapid synchronization of two processing elements through partial copies of the contents of memory associate with each processing element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Daniel Lussier, Timothy Wegner, Jeffrey Somers, Steven Haid, John W. Edwards, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8161311
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for fault-tolerant and spread spectrum clocking. In one embodiment a master clock synthesizer circuit generates an output clock signal of varying frequency within a predetermined range of frequencies. A slave clock synthesizer circuit is provided to track the output clock signal generated by the master clock synthesizer circuit. If the master clock synthesizer circuit fails or generates an invalid output clock signal, the slave clock synthesizer circuit takes over and functions as the master clock synthesizer circuit. In one embodiment a method of fault-tolerant spread spectrum clocking includes generating a first digital data stream; receiving the first digital data stream, a first input reference signal and a first clock signal in a master clock synthesizer circuit; generating an first output clock signal of varying frequency by the master clock synthesizer circuit in response to the first digital data stream and the first clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd
    Inventor: Garth Dylan Wiebe
  • Patent number: 8117495
    Abstract: A transparent high-availability solution utilizing virtualization technology is presented. A cluster environment and management thereof is implemented through an automated installation and setup procedure resulting in a cluster acting as a single system. The cluster is setup in an isolated virtual machine on each of a number of physical nodes of the system. Customer applications are run within separate application virtual machines on one physical node at a time and are run independently and unaware of their configuration as part of a high-availability cluster. Upon detection of a failure, traffic is rerouted through a redundant node and the application virtual machines are migrated from the failing node to another node using live migration techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Dan Lussier
  • Patent number: 7958076
    Abstract: A method of automatically determining firing priority in a plurality of rules. The method includes the steps of determining a level of dependency of each rule; and generating a hierarchy of rules in response to the level of dependency of each rule, wherein the firing priority corresponds to the hierarchy of rules. In another embodiment, the method further includes the step of determining if the hierarchy results in an inconsistency. In another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of determining if the hierarchy results in a loop. In yet another embodiment, the step of determining a level of dependency of each rule is performed in response to an initial event. In one embodiment the method includes the step of determining if there are reciprocal dependencies between any two rules in the set of rules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Bjorn Bergsten, Christopher K. McDermott
  • Patent number: 7904906
    Abstract: A method for tracking modified pages is provided. The method is utilized in a fault-tolerant system, the fault-tolerant system comprising a first computer system and a second computer system. The method involves copying a memory from the first computer system to the second computer system at a first point in time. Between the first point in time and a second point in time, a scheduler tracks processes that execute on the first computer system in a harvest list. After the second point in time, the processes that made changes to the memory between the first and second points in time are retrieved. The changes to the memory are then copied to the second computer system and the changes are applied to the memory of the second computer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2011
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: James J. Puthukattukaran, Derek F. Shute
  • Patent number: 7669073
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided by which a computer system, and in particular, a lockstep fault-tolerant computer system, may be split into a plurality of independently operational subsystems. Each subsystem may be examined, managed or upgraded by an administrator while the overall computer system continues to service end-users. Finally, the separate subsystems may be merged in an efficient fashion and fault-tolerant operation will resume upon the combined system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Laurent Fournie, Jeffrey Somers
  • Publication number: 20090144217
    Abstract: A method of automatically determining firing priority in a plurality of rules. The method includes the steps of determining a level of dependency of each rule; and generating a hierarchy of rules in response to the level of dependency of each rule, wherein the firing priority corresponds to the hierarchy of rules. In another embodiment, the method further includes the step of determining if the hierarchy results in an inconsistency. In another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of determining if the hierarchy results in a loop. In yet another embodiment, the step of determining a level of dependency of each rule is performed in response to an initial event.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2007
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Bjorn Bergsten, Christopher K. McDermott
  • Publication number: 20090138752
    Abstract: A transparent high-availability solution utilizing virtualization technology is presented. A cluster environment and management thereof is implemented through an automated installation and setup procedure resulting in a cluster acting as a single system. The cluster is setup in an isolated virtual machine on each of a number of physical nodes of the system. Customer applications are run within separate application virtual machines on one physical node at a time and are run independently and unaware of their configuration as part of a high-availability cluster. Upon detection of a failure, traffic is rerouted through a redundant node and the application virtual machines are migrated from the failing node to another node using live migration techniques.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2007
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Applicant: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Dan Lussier
  • Publication number: 20090055676
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for fault-tolerant and spread spectrum clocking. In one embodiment a master clock synthesizer circuit generates an output clock signal of varying frequency within a predetermined range of frequencies. A slave clock synthesizer circuit is provided to track the output clock signal generated by the master clock synthesizer circuit. If the master clock synthesizer circuit fails or generates an invalid output clock signal, the slave clock synthesizer circuit takes over and functions as the master clock synthesizer circuit. In one embodiment a method of fault-tolerant spread spectrum clocking includes generating a first digital data stream; receiving the first digital data stream, a first input reference signal and a first clock signal in a master clock synthesizer circuit; generating an first output clock signal of varying frequency by the master clock synthesizer circuit in response to the first digital data stream and the first clock signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2007
    Publication date: February 26, 2009
    Applicant: Stratus Technologies Bermuda LTD.
    Inventor: Garth Dylan Wiebe
  • Patent number: 7496787
    Abstract: The invention relates to checkpointing memory. In one aspect, a processor directs a write request to a location within a first memory. The write request includes at least a data payload and an address identifying the location. An inspection module identifies the write request before it reaches the first memory, copies at least the address identifying the location, and forwards the write request to a memory agent within the first memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: John Edwards, Michael Budwey
  • Patent number: 7496786
    Abstract: A system is provided for rapidly synchronizing two or more processing elements in a fault-tolerant computing system. Embodiments of this system allow for the rapid synchronization of two processing elements through partial copies of the contents of memory associate with each processing element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Dan Lussier, Tim Wegner, Jeffrey Somers, Steven Haid, John W. Edwards, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20090037765
    Abstract: A system is provided for rapidly synchronizing two or more processing elements in a fault-tolerant computing system. Embodiments of this system allow for the rapid synchronization of two processing elements through partial copies of the contents of memory associate with each processing element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Applicant: STRATUS TECHNOLOGIES BERMUDA LTD.
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Dan Lussier, Tim Wegner, Jeffrey Somers, Steven Haid, John W. Edwards, JR.
  • Publication number: 20070174687
    Abstract: A system is provided for rapidly synchronizing two or more processing elements in a fault-tolerant computing system. Embodiments of this system allow for the rapid synchronization of two processing elements through partial copies of the contents of memory associate with each processing element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2006
    Publication date: July 26, 2007
    Applicant: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Dan Lussier, Tim Wegner, Jeffrey Somers, Steven Haid, John Edwards
  • Publication number: 20070174484
    Abstract: An improved method and apparatus is provided for checkpointing and rollback of network operations. In one embodiment the method includes varying the checkpoint interval in response to a packet deferred timer and buffering data packets that would affect the states of other network devices in a deferred packets queue. The method further generates an outbound packet for transmission to a remote system, buffers the outbound packet until one of a checkpoint or rollback condition is met and varies a checkpoint interval in response to network load. In another embodiment the apparatus includes a transmitter to send an outgoing packet to a remote system, a deferred transmit queue connected to the transmitter and a deferred packet timer that is configured to vary a checkpoint interval based on a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2006
    Publication date: July 26, 2007
    Applicant: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Dan Lussier, Simon Graham
  • Publication number: 20070106873
    Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for translating addresses and rerouting them to preferably one of at least two destinations. This is accomplished through the use of a memory unit and a combination of logic operation units that essentially operate as a look-up translation table configurable by software. The apparatus includes an input to receive an address of a certain length and a memory unit that is adapted to receive a portion of the input address and output another address of a predetermined length which is mapped to the input. The method includes receiving input addresses of a certain length and performing an operation on a portion of the input address to determine its destination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2005
    Publication date: May 10, 2007
    Applicant: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Megan Lally, John Edwards, Michael McGee
  • Publication number: 20070043972
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided by which a computer system, and in particular, a lockstep fault-tolerant computer system, may be split into a plurality of independently operational subsystems. Each subsystem may be examined, managed or upgraded by an administrator while the overall computer system continues to service end-users. Finally, the separate subsystems may be merged in an efficient fashion and fault-tolerant operation will resume upon the combined system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Publication date: February 22, 2007
    Applicant: Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
    Inventors: Simon Graham, Laurent Fournie, Jeffrey Somers