Abstract: A cloud management system is described herein that provides the ability for an application to span two or more clouds while allowing operation, management, and troubleshooting of the distributed application as a single application. The system provides infrastructure that communicates across datacenters for execution and for centralizing knowledge of instances of an application that are running at different locations. The infrastructure provided by the system monitors both the application and connections between the clouds, with intelligence to know if issues are within the application or because of the connection between the clouds. The system coordinates management functions across multiple cloud platforms/locations. Thus, the cloud management system creates a single monitoring and troubleshooting interface and knowledge and execution fabric across multiple clouds so that applications spread across multiple clouds can be monitored, managed, and debugged more easily.

Abstract: A cloud management system is described herein that provides the ability for an application to span two or more clouds while allowing operation, management, and troubleshooting of the distributed application as a single application. The system provides infrastructure that communicates across datacenters for execution and for centralizing knowledge of instances of an application that are running at different locations. The infrastructure provided by the system monitors both the application and connections between the clouds, with intelligence to know if issues are within the application or because of the connection between the clouds. The system coordinates management functions across multiple cloud platforms/locations. Thus, the cloud management system creates a single monitoring and troubleshooting interface and knowledge and execution fabric across multiple clouds so that applications spread across multiple clouds can be monitored, managed, and debugged more easily.

Abstract: Described is a technology by which a remote network (or local) service is monitored for failure, e.g., by determining whether data corresponding to operation of the service achieves a threshold. When a threshold is achieved that indicates that the service has failed, the service is automatically deactivated for use with a local workload, and the workload switched to use a second service or system having functionality similar to that of the failed service. The second service may be monitored for failure, as may the failed service to determine when it is again operational. In this manner, a remote primary service may have another local or remote secondary service/system automatically substituted for it when it fails, and be restored for use when it returns to acceptable operation.

Abstract: A query for a help system includes data about a user system and a task that the user is attempting. The query may be used by a search engine to generate relevant results to aid the user. The user system data may include configuration data about hardware and software. The task data may be derived from the current state of a device, or from operational history that may be developed from a single user or a group of users. The query may have a mechanism to weight various keywords or components of the query and a feedback system may adjust the weights for future queries.

Abstract: A cloud migration system is described herein that provides capacity management and disaster recovery by detecting peak load conditions and automatically moving computing to another computing resource (and back) and by providing computing across two or more clouds and moving completely to one in the case of a disaster at one site. The system monitors loads within a datacenter and detects a threshold that indicates that the current load is nearing the datacenter's capacity. Upon detecting that the threshold will be reached, the system facilitates an orderly move of at least some datacenter load to another datacenter or cloud-based resources. The system can also be used as a disaster recovery architecture at a datacenter/network level to manage fast workload transition in case of disaster. Thus, the system allows enterprises to build smaller and more efficient datacenters that leverage other resources for rare extra loads.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer-accessible medium are provided for optimizing search result listings in a search engine user interface. The system and method provide an automated way of promoting and demoting the placement of a search result listing between more or less desirable locations, based on the listing's performance in a given placement. Promoting and demoting placements is based on a threshold performance for the listing against which the actual performance of a listing is measured. The threshold performance may be advantageously varied to accommodate different revenue and relevance goals for a particular search engine or portion of the search engine's market.

Abstract: A cloud migration system is described herein that provides capacity management and disaster recovery by detecting peak load conditions and automatically moving computing to another computing resource (and back) and by providing computing across two or more clouds and moving completely to one in the case of a disaster at one site. The system monitors loads within a datacenter and detects a threshold that indicates that the current load is nearing the datacenter's capacity. Upon detecting that the threshold will be reached, the system facilitates an orderly move of at least some datacenter load to another datacenter or cloud-based resources. The system can also be used as a disaster recovery architecture at a datacenter/network level to manage fast workload transition in case of disaster. Thus, the system allows enterprises to build smaller and more efficient datacenters that leverage other resources for rare extra loads.

Abstract: A cloud management system is described herein that provides the ability for an application to span two or more clouds while allowing operation, management, and troubleshooting of the distributed application as a single application. The system provides infrastructure that communicates across datacenters for execution and for centralizing knowledge of instances of an application that are running at different locations. The infrastructure provided by the system monitors both the application and connections between the clouds, with intelligence to know if issues are within the application or because of the connection between the clouds. The system coordinates management functions across multiple cloud platforms/locations. Thus, the cloud management system creates a single monitoring and troubleshooting interface and knowledge and execution fabric across multiple clouds so that applications spread across multiple clouds can be monitored, managed, and debugged more easily.

Abstract: Described is a technology by which a user interface page outputs security status information obtained from network-wide and/or network client security components. This allows for simultaneous evaluation of the state of various network-wide and client security components, such as antimalware state, anti-spam state, firewall state, client program update state, and state data from a remote security service. Network security page logic couples to network-wide security components and client security components to obtain security state data for each. A user interface associated with the network security page logic lists the security components and the current security status for each, such as via an icon that changes its appearance to reflect the current state.

Abstract: A group of security functions may be configured and managed by organizing the security functions and their features into a ranked list and made available through an administrative console. The ranked list may represent various levels of security from which a user may select. Once selected, the security functions may be configured according to the selected level. The console may determine a current security level by analyzing the configuration or status of each of the security functions and presenting a single status level from the ranked list determined by the least secure setting of the various security functions.

Abstract: Extensibility computer servers and extensibility applications can be managed. Extensibility computer servers and extensibility applications can be discovered using a management application on a management computer server. An extensibility agent can be installed on an extensibility computer server, and used to provide status information. Tasks can be created for managing extensibility computer servers and extensibility applications. Entity groups representing extensibility computer servers and extensibility applications can be displayed and selected. Extensibility computer servers and extensibility applications can be displayed based on the selection of an entity group. Task templates associated with a selected entity group can be displayed.

Abstract: Tasks for managing a network can be displayed in a priority task list. Tasks can be selected for inclusion based on rules, such as rules relating to best practices. The rules can be applied against network status, usage status, user profiles, and the like. Upon selection of a user interface element in the priority task list, an appropriate user interface for accomplishing the task can be displayed.

Abstract: A service provider management system may consolidate multiple functions and multiple service providers for those functions using a user interface system with a common schema. Each service provider may comply with a function specific schema, and some service providers may include extensions to the schema. The user interface system may present a list of service providers. When a specific service provider is selected, a list of available tasks along with current data about the service provider may be presented. The service provider management may integrate with local databases for populating information used by a service provider. One embodiment may be used to manage services across a network of computer devices, such as managing multiple computing devices and multiple users within a local area network.

Abstract: Computer server installation images can be created by installing and configuring software, such as an operating system and an application, on a computer server with deployment neutral settings and then imaging the server. A plurality of computer servers can be installed using a plurality of computer server installation images. A first server can be installed with a first image, and software installed from the image can be configured with deployment specific settings. A second server can be installed with a second image, and software installed from the image can be configured with deployment specific settings.

Abstract: A system for reporting and/or displaying errors in a system that affect end-user tasks includes mechanisms for gathering, interpreting and displaying application status information in a convenient display. In one implementation, for example, distributed application programs in a system are configured to provide status reports (e.g., positive, negative, pending) to a centralized reporting service. The centralized service stores the status information in a database. An event interpreter module queries the database to identify the status of certain application components that affect or otherwise implicate performance of generalized end-user tasks, such as sending/receiving email, logging-in to the network, accessing the internet, remote computer management, or the like.

Abstract: Targeted user interfaces of managed applications can be displayed in a number of ways. Targeted user interfaces can be displayed, at a management computer server, based on task templates associated with tasks selected in a user interface of a management application running on the management computer server. Targeted user interfaces can be displayed, at a management computer server, based on a chosen task template associated with a task selected in a user interface of a management application running on the management computer server. A task template can be chosen from one or more task templates associated with a selected task. Objects can be displayed in a user interface of a management application, and based on a selection of an object, tasks can be displayed.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for improving a user search experience by identifying spam results in a result set produced in response to a query. The system may include a user interface spam feedback mechanism for allowing a user to indicate that a given result is spam. The system may additionally include an automated spam identification mechanism for implementing automated techniques on the given result to determine whether the given result is spam. The system may further include a merging component for merging the determinations of the user interface spam feedback mechanism and the automated spam identification mechanism for deriving an indicator of the likelihood that a given result is spam.

Abstract: An image query system, and associated method and computer program product are disclosed that enhance and accelerate image-based querying. To this end, the present invention presents a digital image query with implict and explicit associated metadata and retrieval of visually similar images or other pertinent information from a large collection of images stored on local, networked, or web-linked repositories.

Abstract: The usefulness of task templates can be maintained in a number of ways. Task templates can be updated on a client server from a remote task update server by initiating communication with the remote task update server, selecting a task template from a list of available task templates presented by the remote task update server, and downloading the selected task template to the client server in a format defined by a schema. Task templates can be updated on a client server by receiving a request from the client server, presenting a task template based on the request, receiving a selection of the task template, and transmitting the task template to the client server in a format defined by a schema. Task templates can also be managed by downloading task templates, assigning group names, and storing the downloaded task templates in a database.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for improving a user search experience by identifying spam results in a result set produced in response to a query. The system may include a user interface spam feedback mechanism for allowing a user to indicate that a given result is spam. The system may additionally include an automated spam identification mechanism for implementing automated techniques on the given result to determine whether the given result is spam. The system may further include a merging component for merging the determinations of the user interface spam feedback mechanism and the automated spam identification mechanism for deriving an indicator of the likelihood that a given result is spam.