Abstract: A computer-based method includes receiving, at a compute device, a collected set of system measurement facility (SMF) data from a mainframe operating system. The method includes, retrieving from a memory operatively coupled to the compute device, a set of SMF field-type identifiers. Each SMF field-type identifier having a one-to-one logical relation with a conditional value from a set of conditional values. The method includes selecting SMF field values from the collected set of SMF data, based on the set of conditional values. The SMF field values is a subset of SMF field values included in the collected set of SMF data. The method further includes executing a flattening process to produce a flattened record that includes at least one flattened SMF field value converted into a target format, and inserting the flattened record into a data repository compatible with the target format.

Abstract: The presently disclosed subject matter includes a system and methods to read, write, and distribute large volumes of data based on a finite state machine while maintaining the integrity of data. The system reads and writes records of variable size and stores such records in set of record blocks. Each block from the set of record blocks has a fixed block size and stores an integral number of records. Records are not split among two or more record blocks but instead when there is not enough vacant space to store a record in a current record block the system uses another record block to prevent splitting that record. The format and data transfer protocol implemented by the system enables the storage of large volumes of data in distributed storage devices without compromising data integrity while minimizing computational costs.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a processor, an operating system executed by the processor, and a memory storing code executed by the processor to receive performance data from the operating system and from other compute devices. The apparatus includes a machine learning model trained with the performance data. The apparatus uses the machine learning model to predict workload values of the apparatus and other compute devices. The workload values are predicted for a future time window. The apparatus commands an execution of a data transformation task of a first dataset, based on the predicted workload values and criteria to reduce time consumed in the execution of the data transformation task. Thereafter, the apparatus receives a notification signal indicative of a completion of the data transformation task, and an indicator associated with a second dataset different from the first dataset, produced from the execution of the data transformation task.

Abstract: An intelligent storage controller operating in conjunction with a computer running an application that uses the data managed by the intelligent storage controller, and requires data transformation operations to be performed on the data. The intelligent storage controller is adapted to directly perform the data transformation operations on the data controlled by the controller, under the direction of the computer running the application, thereby offloading this processing entirely to the intelligent storage controller. The intelligent storage controller may also provide an application programming interface for the computer running the application to use in directing commands to the intelligent storage controller. To accommodate varying workloads on the intelligent storage controller, data transformation tasks may be load balanced between the intelligent storage controller, the computer running the application, and/or other hosts.

Abstract: Facility for using images created by backup software to recreate an entire machine as it was at the point in time in the past when the backup was taken. The facility can be extended so as to bring up a set of machines which together serve some logical business function as in a cluster or federated servers, and further extended so that an entire data center may be virtualized from backup images. The virtualized servers provided may serve as an alternate data center standing in case of disaster or to meet maintenance windows achieving low cost Instant Disaster Recovery. A set of virtual machines may stand in for physical machines for a period of time and then resynchronized or re-seeded to physical machines via a combination of bare metal recovery and re-synchronizing from live LUNs that form the virtual machine disks.

Abstract: High performance, enterprise-level data protection system and method provides efficient block-level incremental snapshots of primary storage devices, and instant availability of such snapshots in immediately mountable form that can be directly used in place of the primary storage device. Related systems and applications are described, including an “Enterprise Image Destination” (EID) for backup images; a mirroring technique whereby a replacement physical primary facility may be created while working with a second storage unit as the primary source file system; and a technique for eliminating redundant data in backup images when multiple systems with partially common contents (e.g., operating system files, common databases, application executables, etc.) are being backed up. A number of examples showing “Fast Application Restore” (FAR) with the use of the invention are also provided.

Abstract: Method for creating a consistent image, on a destination volume, of a target volume that remains in production use while the image is being created, without requiring the use of a snapshot, by copying the data on the target volume to the destination volume, maintaining changes to data blocks that arise on the target volume during copy operations, copying changed blocks to the destination volume, and repeating changed block updates as necessary until there are no further changed blocks on the target volume (all as more fully described in the specification).

Abstract: A method of externally sorting large files in a computer system is presented. The contents of the input file to be sorted are investigated in order to identify presorted portions thereof. The presorted portions of the input file as thus identified are incorporated as sorted strings into an external sortwork file, by rearranging directory information rather than physically transferring data. If merging is necessary, the data may then be merged by a procedure wherein blocks of sorted data to be merged are incorporated into an output (sortout) file, by rearranging directory information rather than physically transferring sorted blocks to the sortout file. As a result of the process, portions of sorted data incorporated into the sortout file may physically remain in external storage space allocated to the input file, and/or in external space allocated to sortwork, thereby eliminating or reducing reading and writing from disk during sort-merge processing.

Abstract: High performance, enterprise-level data protection system and method provides efficient block-level incremental snapshots of primary storage devices, and instant availability of such snapshots in immediately mountable form that can be directly used in place of the primary storage device. Related systems and applications are described, including an “Enterprise Image Destination” (EID) for backup images; a mirroring technique whereby a replacement physical primary facility may be created while working with a second storage unit as the primary source file system; and a technique for eliminating redundant data in backup images when multiple systems with partially common contents (e.g., operating system files, common databases, application executables, etc.) are being backed up. A number of examples showing “Fast Application Restore” (FAR) with the use of the invention are also provided.

Abstract: A method of externally sorting large files in a computer system is presented. The contents of the input file to be sorted are investigated in order to identify presorted portions thereof. The presorted portions of the input file as thus identified are incorporated as sorted strings into an external sortwork file, by rearranging directory information rather than physically transferring data. If merging is necessary, the data may then be merged by a procedure wherein blocks of sorted data to be merged are incorporated into an output (sortout) file, by rearranging directory information rather than physically transferring sorted blocks to the sortout file. As a result of the process, portions of sorted data incorporated into the sortout file may physically remain in external storage space allocated to the input file, and/or in external space allocated to sortwork, thereby eliminating or reducing reading and writing from disk during sort-merge processing.

Abstract: Facility for using images created by backup software to recreate an entire machine as it was at the point in time in the past when the backup was taken. The facility can be extended so as to bring up a set of machines which together serve some logical business function as in a cluster or federated servers, and further extended so that an entire data center may be virtualized from backup images. The virtualized servers provided may serve as an alternate data center standing in case of disaster or to meet maintenance windows achieving low cost Instant Disaster Recovery. A set of virtual machines may stand in for physical machines for a period of time and then resynchronized or re-seeded to physical machines via a combination of bare metal recovery and re-synchronizing from live LXJNs that form the virtual machine disks.

Abstract: An improved method of performing a high-performance backup of a computer system is described, which reduces disk read time and thus gains efficiency by reading input file blocks sequentially rather than the order in which the block appear in the original files. The improved method involves reading the working directory maintained by the operating system to determine all of the blocks associated with the set of files or other data aggregations to be backed up. The data block identities so determined are sorted in accordance with their physical location on the disk, thereby providing a sequential order for reading. The data to be backed up from the random access storage device or devices is read in this sequential order, and written to the backup media.

Abstract: A sort process for use on input records which reside on intelligent peripherals. The main computer accesses key values from specified fields in the input records skeletons and performs the sort on those key values or skeletons. A further aspect of the invention is a write operation whereby the sorted order of the records and their original locations are returned to the peripheral, which will create the output file of sorted records without further involvement of the main computer.

Abstract: Key space analysis is provided to improve the merge phase of a sorting process or a computer merge operation where strings of records or files of presorted records are to be merged in order of a key. Key spaces are identified as strings or groups of strings, files or groups of files, whose range of entries does not overlap the range of entries of another key space. The strings or files within each key space are then combined and/or merged, as needed, independently of strings or files in other key spaces, and written directly to the output destination.

Abstract: An improved process for sorting data records by computer is disclosed. The process utilizes scatter-writing techniques to write data records directly from a data input area to an external storage device and to write data records directly from a merge input area directly to the external storage device. This increases the speed of the sorting process and makes more efficient use of the computer memory.