Patents by Inventor Alastair Michael Slater

Alastair Michael Slater has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11405409
    Abstract: Examples include threat-aware copy data management. Responsive to a request to back up data, a threat level may be determined. Where the threat level is determined to be less than a threat level threshold, a data port between a first and second network domain may be opened. Conversely, the request may be denied where the threat level is determined to be at or greater than the threat level threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
    Inventors: Neil Andrew Fleming, Alastair Michael Slater
  • Publication number: 20200344247
    Abstract: Examples include threat-aware copy data management. Responsive to a request to back up data, a threat level may be determined. Where the threat level is determined to be less than a threat level threshold, a data port between a first and second network domain may be opened. Conversely, the request may be denied where the threat level is determined to be at or greater than the threat level threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2019
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Inventors: Neil Andrew Fleming, Alastair Michael Slater
  • Patent number: 10496496
    Abstract: A method is described herein. The method includes generating an allocation map for a backup. The method also includes storing the allocation map in a storage device. The method further includes reading the allocation map to skip reading empty blocks during storing of a file from the backup. The method also further includes and reading the allocation map to skip writing zeros to a formatted target disk during a restore session of a file from the backup.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Gowtam Chandra Karanth
  • Publication number: 20180165161
    Abstract: A method is described herein. The method includes generating an allocation map for a backup. The method also includes storing the allocation map in a storage device. The method further includes reading the allocation map to skip reading empty blocks during storing of a file from the backup. The method also further includes and reading the allocation map to skip writing zeros to a formatted target disk during a restore session of a file from the backup.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Publication date: June 14, 2018
    Applicant: HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP
    Inventors: Alastair Michael SLATER, Mark Robert WATKINS, Gowtam Chandra KARANTH
  • Patent number: 8914665
    Abstract: A tape drive for exchanging data with a tape cartridge, which has tape media and auxiliary memory that is not tape media, is operable, in response to a boot request from a computer apparatus that is bootable from a kind of initial program load device that is not a tape drive, to read boot data stored on the auxiliary memory and to output the boot data for booting the computer apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Rhys Wyn Evans, Alastair Michael Slater
  • Patent number: 7822862
    Abstract: A demand on a server farm or local area network for a farm or network resource is satisfied. The farm or network has a demand director server, a first resource server having a first resource, and a second resource server having a second, different, resource. The director server is aware of what resources are held on the first and second resource servers. In response to a request for one of the first and second resources, one of the first and second resource servers is selected to serve out the requested resource and direct the request to the selected one of the first and second resource servers. The demand server selects an appropriate one of the resource servers to receive the request using its knowledge of where the requested resource is located.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Patent number: 7770199
    Abstract: A fast access storage device, e.g., a disc, stores initial portions of many movies. A tape library stores many tapes, for the remainder of each movie. A controller controls drives for the disc and tape so the remainder of a particular movie is read from the tape after the initial portion of a particular movie is read from the disc so a viewer is unable to perceive that the movie is recorded on the disc and tape and can start watching the movie sooner than if the movie were recorded only on a tape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Patent number: 7702763
    Abstract: A management data distribution apparatus has, a control unit, a buffer memory element, at least one input port, and a telecommunications output. The at least one input port is arranged to receive management data from devices located within a network and to pass the management data to the control unit. The control unit is arranged to control output of the management data via the telecommunications output to a remote monitoring site over a telecommunications network. The control unit is also arranged to store management data arriving at the at least one input port when the said telecommunications output is in use in the buffer memory element, temporarily.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Patent number: 7590746
    Abstract: The availability of requested network resources in a network of servers, each having associated network-servable resources of a specific kind is maintained. Resource data and resource-serving application software serve out the resource data and dynamically distribute capacity to serve out servable resources between the resource servers dependent on demand for the resources. The capability of the network as a whole to serve out a particular resource dependent upon the level of demand for the particular resource is thereby varied. The capacity to serve out servable resources is distributed between the resources without necessarily moving the resource data itself between the servers by distributing: resource-serving application software and/or installation software adapted to install resource-serving application software.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Patent number: 7539829
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided for use in controlling access to at least one data storage device. One method includes obtaining data describing at least one data access relationship, the data access relationship specifying whether access to a data storage device by a data processing device is allowed or not allowed during at least one user defined time period, and controlling access to the data storage device in accordance with the data access relationship described by the data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Alastair Michael Slater
  • Patent number: 7519767
    Abstract: A system, method and a computer program product for emulating a tape-based storage system to provide data storage. The system includes a data storage medium storing a data set which represents the data layout of the emulated tape-based medium, and an interface for providing access to a non-tape-based data storage medium, using tape-based media commands and using the data set. The fist data set includes filemark location data and block number data for mapping between filemark locations and block numbers of the emulated tape-based storage medium and the non-tape-based data storage medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Alastair Michael Slater
  • Patent number: 7441261
    Abstract: A method of serving out video over a network of video servers includes evaluating a capacity of the network as a whole to serve out specific video items by establishing, for each video server in the network, an established ability of each server to serve out the specific items that are potentially servable from each video server. The method further includes using the established abilities of each video server to evaluate an overall capability of the network as whole to serve out each of the specific video items. The method also includes varying the overall capability to serve out at least a selected one of the specific video items in accordance with the overall capability of the network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2008
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Patent number: 7424621
    Abstract: A data storage tape 4 has an associated memory device 3 in which is stored a number of signatures 12 each representative of and associated with a particular data set recorded on the storage medium. By comparing the signatures against either signatures created during reading of the data sets back from the tape or against reference information held on a secure database any tampering or alteration of the data on the storage medium can be detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Simon Riches, Alastair Michael Slater
  • Patent number: 7415570
    Abstract: A tape drive apparatus includes a data transfer apparatus for transferring data to and from a tape media loaded in the tape drive apparatus, a first port for communicating with the data transfer apparatus in a tape drive mode, a second port for communicating with the data transfer apparatus in an optical storage device mode, and an emulation apparatus for permanently emulating an optical storage device at the second port for enabling an external device to access the data transfer apparatus, via the second fort, in the optical storage device mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Rhys Wyn Evans, Alastair Michael Slater, Duncan Wakelin
  • Patent number: 7082497
    Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system for managing a moveable media library. The system may comprise at least one robotic mechanics and a controller. The controller may comprise a processor for executing instructions and non-volatile memory for storing at least: code for controlling the at least one robotic mechanics; and code for responding to commands received from host systems to retrieve a moveable medium of a plurality of moveable media, the code for responding is operable to receive the commands addressed with multiple device identifiers according to a device access protocol, and the code for responding is operable to associate each device identifier of the multiple device identifiers with at least one respective library partition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2006
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Patent number: 6954834
    Abstract: A tape drive assembly for performing a backup operation has a tape receiving station to receive a data storage unit including a tape to store data in a data backup operation. A write head writes data to the tape in a data backup operation. A non-volatile memory unit records data in a data backup operation and communicates data to the write head. An input connected to a data host machine passes data to the memory unit such that, in use in a data backup operation, the data are communicated from the data host machine to the input and recorded in the memory unit prior to the data being passed from the memory unit to the write head for writing to the tape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Patent number: 6886032
    Abstract: A plurality of computers in a network each have a processor and a non-volatile data storage device such as a hard disk, a raid array, or the like. Each data storage device is divided into a first data storage area and a second data storage area. The first data storage area is reserved for use by at least one processor to which it is assigned, whereas the second data storage area is hidden from use by the file system of the computer, and is used to store replicated data of other ones of the plurality of computer entities. In the event of failure of any one of the data storage devices, data can be recovered from the second data storage areas of the other data storage devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Mark Robert Watkins, Graeme Hogg, Alastair Michael Slater, Ian Stuart Duncan
  • Patent number: 6865598
    Abstract: A plurality of computers in a network each have a processor and a non-volatile data storage device such as a hard disk, a raid array, or the like. Each data storage device is divided into a first data storage area and a second data storage area. The first data storage area is reserved for use by at least one processor to which it is assigned, whereas the second data storage area is hidden from use by the file system of the computer, and is used to store replicated data of other ones of the plurality of computer entities. In the event of failure of any one of the data storage devices, data can be recovered from the second data storage areas of the other data storage devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Mark Robert Watkins, Graeme Hogg, Alastair Michael Slater, Ian Stuart Duncan
  • Patent number: 6851037
    Abstract: A number of virtual areas with virtual addresses of storage locations within the virtual areas are allocated to a data storage array, having a total physical storage capacity. Physical addresses are allocated by an array controller for the disc storage array to the virtual addresses only as data are to be written to the respective virtual addresses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Mark Robert Watkins, Alastair Michael Slater, Andrew Michael Sparkes
  • Publication number: 20040221118
    Abstract: A data storage device has a non-volatile memory-storing data content, and a control processor for evaluating selected data content of the memory to establish whether there is a match between a characteristic of, or a derivative of, the data content and a reference data content characteristic, or derivative. The processor takes an action in response to the match.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2004
    Publication date: November 4, 2004
    Inventors: Alastair Michael Slater, Mark Robert Watkins, Andrew Michael Sparkes