Abstract: A server computer connectable to a network and having a plurality of processors (20, 30, 40) arranged to provide a service to one or more client computers connected to the network. The service Involves the provision of blocks of information to a client computer (50), and the processors have access to a data storage (120) in which data for the blocks of information is stored. Each processor in the server has block retrieval means (80), employed in response to a request from a client computer (50) for a particular block of information from that processor, to retrieve data from the data storage (120) to construct a file representing the requested block of information, the file including references to subsequent blocks of information requestable by the client (50). Additionally, load determining means (100) periodically determines activity data for the processor for inclusion In a load distribution record maintained for all of the processors of the server.

Abstract: In response to the issue of a request for processing long data from an application node to a server A, the server A sends a message requesting a server B for the processing of the long data. The server B requests the application node to transmit the long data to the server B by using a message, and receives the long data directly from the application node without passing through the server A. As a result, the overhead caused by transferring the long data from a server to a server of another node is eliminated, and the load of the network is reduced.

Abstract: A mobile filing system has an active and passive operator safety system that protects persons and objects in the aisles. The safety system comprises video cameras that view the aisles and the adjacent filed media. A series of images from the video cameras are captured at each of several selected aisle configurations when the aisles are supervised to assure that no persons or objects are in them. The images are stored in a computer. During operation of the mobile filing system, when the aisles are unsupervised, images of the filed media and the aisles are captured when a closing mobile carriage is at each of the selected aisle configurations. The corresponding images captured when the aisle was supervised and unsupervised at the respective aisle configurations are compared. If the compared images differ by more than a predetermined amount, the mobile carriage is prevented from rolling to further close the aisle.

Abstract: A water quality monitoring apparatus including a raw water supply and discharge unit 7 equipped with a monitoring water tank 5 for breeding fish under observation. The raw water supply and discharge unit 7 is detachably placed in a lower section of a rack 1, and a video camera 8 is provided in opposed relation to the monitoring water tank 5. Also included are a fish detecting sensor 10 for detecting an actional pattern or the like of the fish under observation on the basis of a picture from the video camera 8 and a computer 11 for detecting the abnormality of the water quality on the basis of the detection result of the fish actional pattern or the like. The raw water supply and discharge unit 7 is made to be drawn from the rack 1 lower section, for example, at the time of cleaning its tanks. Thus, the maintenance thereof becomes easily possible, besides the entire apparatus becomes reducible in dimension to make the space necessary for the installation smaller.

Abstract: A method and system of controlling the frequency and duration of bursts made by a burst profiler profiling an application in a computer system. A burst profiler profiles the application by running the application free and unfettered for a first time period. Then, the profiler instruments the application with instructions that produce profile information and runs the instrumented application for a second time period. This process repeats as necessary and generates bursts of profile data. The profiler converts the bursts of profile data into images. This conversion is performed by mapping each attribute of the profile data to an image attribute. Next, an image processing subsystem within the computer system compares an image with an image generated from a previous burst. This image processing subsystem preferably implements the MPEG standard. From the information gathered by comparing the two images, the profiler can adjust the frequency and duration of the bursts to account for profile stabilization.