Abstract: Techniques for authenticating users when an operation requested by a user in one of the systems of a distributed system is redirected to another system of the distributed system. The user is authenticated in the usual way to the one system but is authenticated to the other system for the redirected operation by an authentication proxy in the first system. The fact that the authentication proxy is providing a redirected operation means that the user who requested the operation has been authenticated to the one system. The other system is thus able to authenticate the user for the redirected operation with different authentication information than would otherwise be required. An example of how the techniques are used is a distributed database system where one of the database systems in the distributed system is a cache for another of the database systems.

Abstract: A system to detect a network deficiency, in one example embodiment, comprises a receiving module to receive utilization metrics of at least one network resource, wherein the utilization metrics are collected and made available at a network level, an aggregator to aggregate the utilization metrics of at least one network resource with the utilization metrics of a plurality of the network resources, a processing module to determine a level of aggregated utilization metrics of the network resources, and a detecting module to detect a precursor indicative of a network traffic deterioration based on the level of the aggregated utilization metrics.

Abstract: Various embodiments described herein include at least one of systems, methods, and software for identity-based thread pool assignment. The identity may identify a source of a request where the source is a user, human or logical, or a network location where the request originated. Some embodiments include receiving a resource request via a network and classifying the resource request into a processing thread pool of a plurality of processing thread pools. The classifying may be based at least in part on an identifying characteristic of a source of the resource request. Each processing thread pool may have an assigned maximum number of processing threads available at any one time for processing resource requests. When a processing thread of the processing thread pool the request is classified into is available, some embodiments then assign the resource request to the available processing thread.

Abstract: An improved method, mechanism, and system for implementing, generating, and maintaining for implementing session pools is disclosed. A session in a session pool can be customized to with a specific set of affinities and attributes. Tags can be associated with the customized sessions. When a later request is made for a session having a set of desired characteristics, the tags can be used to search for and identify a session in the session pool having the requested characteristics. Also disclosed is a method, mechanism, and system for dynamic sizing of session pools.

Abstract: A system and method for synchronous and asynchronous monitoring of network resources is provided. In an example system, an asynchronous monitoring engine is in communication with the network resources and receives asynchronous data from a portion of the network resources. The asynchronous data is collected at an application layer or at an end-user application layer. A synchronous monitoring engine is also in communication with the network resources and accesses synchronous data in the application layer in response to receiving a request from the asynchronous monitoring engine. The system further identifies an anomaly corresponding to the asynchronous characteristic and the synchronous characteristic.

Abstract: A method and a system provide validated internal data about a running batch application. The validated internal data may be accessed via administrative interface for batch application for monitoring and management. The system comprises a batch host to host an instance of a running batch application. The running batch application comprises an interface to a batch agent. A controller is in communication with the batch agent and requests validated internal data about the running batch application via the batch agent. The controller further receives the validated internal data about the running batch application from the batch agent.

Abstract: A system for intelligent feature degradation in response to a network deficiency detection, in one example embodiment, comprises a monitoring module to monitor a utilization of a plurality of network resources, a processing module to determine whether the utilization of the plurality of the network resources is above a threshold, to determine a category of an application level using entity, and to determine a revenue generated by the application level using entity, and a degrading module to degrade at least one application level functionality available to the using entity based on the category and the revenue generated by the application level using entity unless the utilization of the plurality of the network resources drops below the first threshold.

Abstract: An improved method, mechanism, and system for implementing, generating, and maintaining for implementing session pools is disclosed. A session in a session pool can be customized to with a specific set of affinities and attributes. Tags can be associated with the customized sessions. When a later request is made for a session having a set of desired characteristics, the tags can be used to search for and identify a session in the session pool having the requested characteristics. Also disclosed is a method, mechanism, and system for dynamic sizing of session pools.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the invention provide solutions to allow more efficient management of clustered environments. Merely by way of example, some embodiments provide a framework for the relatively automated management of clusters, including the addition, deletion and/or modification of cluster nodes. In certain embodiments, this framework may be incorporated within a software application that can assist in the configuration of clusters. Other embodiments provide methods of managing clusters and/or their nodes, including, inter alia, methods of establishing and/or implementing such frameworks. Still other embodiments provide systems, including clustered systems, that provide relatively automated cluster management capabilities.

Abstract: Techniques for performing a multi-level patching operation are described. According to one such technique, before a particular patch is applied, the data containers that are targeted by the particular patch are identified. A determination is made as to whether any of these target data containers already has been targeted by any previously applied patch. A determination also is made as to whether any other data container that contains (immediately or otherwise) any of the target data containers already has been targeted by any previously applied patch. If any target data container or any other data container that contains a target data container already has been targeted by a previously applied patch, then the particular patch is not applied to the target data containers.

Abstract: Techniques that promote a fault-tolerant patching system are described. According to one such technique, a patching operation is performed in two phases. During the first phase, before the updates specified in the patching operation are actually applied, an attempt is made to backup files, or portions thereof, which are going to be updated by the patching operation. If a failure is detected during the first phase, then the patching operation aborts without proceeding to the second phase. During the second phase, an attempt is made to perform the updates that the patching operation specifies. If a failure is detected during the second phase, then all of the updated files, or portions thereof, are restored; those files or file portions are replaced with their corresponding backed-up copies, which were made during the first phase. The foregoing technique is extensible to a system in which prospectively affected files are distributed among nodes.

Abstract: A method for applying patches to one or more applications is provided. The method includes receiving a patch for a feature where the patch includes applicability requirements. The applicability requirements detail requirements that should be met for the patch to be applied. Usage information for the feature is then determined. For example, it is determined if a feature has been used by a client. The patch is then applied to an application if the usage information meets the applicability requirements for the feature.

Abstract: A method and mechanism for implementing pipelined prefetching in a computer system is disclosed. Data prefetching is utilized to predictably retrieve information between multiple levels of nodes in the computer system, in which a first server may receive prefetched data from a second server, the second server receives prefetched data from a third server, with the chain of prefetching extending as long as needed/desired to effect efficient data transfers between the nodes.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for efficiently processing data requests in a network oriented n-tier database environment is presented. According to one embodiment of the invention, certain or all data from the tables of a database server device can be maintained in tables on the client device in a client side database cache server system. This local cache allows the network oriented n-tier database system to eliminate the expense of repetitive network transmissions to respond to duplicate queries for the same information. Additionally, the local client device may also keep track of what data is cached on peer network nodes. This allows the client to request that data from a peer database cache server and off load that burden from the database server device. Moreover, the local client may also keep statistics regarding the frequency of requested data in order to optimize the data set maintained in the local database cache server.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and machine-readable mediums are disclosed for validating a system environment for a software application. In one embodiment, an input file having a plurality of validation tests identifiers identifying validation tests to validate a system environment for an application is read. At least a portion of the validation tests are executed. The results of the validation tests are outputted.

Abstract: A system for intelligent feature degradation in response to a network deficiency detection, in one example embodiment, comprises a monitoring module to monitor a utilization of a plurality of network resources, a processing module to determine whether the utilization of the plurality of the network resources is above a threshold, to determine a category of an application level using entity, and to determine a revenue generated by the application level using entity, and a degrading module to degrade at least one application level functionality available to the using entity based on the category and the revenue generated by the application level using entity unless the utilization of the plurality of the network resources drops below the first threshold.

Abstract: A system for intelligent request refusal in response to a network deficiency detection, in one example embodiment, comprises an aggregator to aggregate revenue generated by a requesting entity with a revenue generated by requesting entities homogenous to the requesting entity, and a filtering module to filter a response to a service request when an aggregated revenue-to-network-resource-utilization ratio is below a second threshold unless utilization of a plurality of network resources drops below a first threshold.

Abstract: A system to detect a network deficiency, in one example embodiment, comprises a receiving module to receive utilization metrics of at least one network resource, wherein the utilization metrics are collected and made available at a network level, an aggregator to aggregate the utilization metrics of at least one network resource with the utilization metrics of a plurality of the network resources, a processing module to determine a level of aggregated utilization metrics of the network resources, and a detecting module to detect a precursor indicative of a network traffic deterioration based on the level of the aggregated utilization metrics.

Abstract: A method and mechanism for dynamically changing the logical path of a state machine to avoid conflicts or problems is provided. A toggle state is employed for a state machine that allows dynamic changes in the computation path of a state machine. By analyzing the expected response state of a remote state machine, toggle states can be inserted in the path of a local state machine to avoid conflicts. This approach can be advantageously employed to reduce or prevent half-duplex violations for communications between applications on multiple computing nodes.

Abstract: Direct memory accessed is used to perform database operations between two or more machines. A first segment of memory is allocated for a second machine, where at least one of the first machine and second machine is a database server. During performance of a database operation that involves the transfer of data from the second machine to the first machine, data in the first segment of memory is buffered in response to the second machine writing the data to a second segment of memory on the second machine.