Abstract: An elastic request handling technique limits a number of threads used to service input/output (I/O) requests of a low-latency I/O workload received by a file system server executing on a cluster having a plurality of nodes deployed in a virtualization environment. The limited number of threads (server threads) is constantly maintained as “active” and running on virtual central processing units (vCPUs) of a node. The file system server spawns and organizes the active server threads as one or more pools of threads. The server prioritizes the low-latency I/O requests by loading them onto the active threads and allowing the requests to run on those active threads to completion, thereby obviating overhead associated with lock contention and vCPU migration after a context switch (i.e., to avoid rescheduling a thread on a different vCPU after execution of the thread was suspended).

Abstract: A musical apparatus that outputs a musical control signal modulated in real-time by the interruption of laser beams in an operational space. These interruptions of laser beams are transduced by appropriate circuitry into electrical signals common to electronic musical equipment, for example MIDI clock data. The signals may be used to control the tempo of a musical performance, or may control some other parameters. The system includes interpretive circuitry for recognizing gestures from the accepted canon of musical conducting.