Abstract: A capability is provided for performing application service instance selection for applications based on protocol latency information in a virtualized environment. The virtualized environment includes host computers that host virtual machines, which in turn host guest operating systems, which in turn host application server instances associated with one or more applications. The virtualized environment uses a load balancer to balance application traffic for an application across the application server instances associated with the application. The load balancer determines protocol latency information associated with protocol message exchanges between the load balancer and guest operating systems hosting the application server instances. The load balancer receives application processing requests from application clients of the application and selects between the application server instances of the application for the application processing requests based on the protocol latency information.

Abstract: Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: determining that a diagnostic test should be performed on a hardware component of a plurality of hardware components, wherein the plurality of hardware components support a plurality of agent devices and at least one agent device of the plurality of agent devices is assigned to at least one of the plurality of hardware components; ensuring that no agent device of the plurality of agent devices is assigned to the hardware component; and after ensuring that no agent device of the plurality of agent devices is assigned to the hardware component, performing the diagnostic test on the hardware component, wherein at least one other hardware component of the plurality of hardware components continues operation during performance of the diagnostic test.

Abstract: Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method of preventing extreme coresidency hazards among application instances in a cloud network. The method includes determining a first failure group of a first instance of an application; establishing a connection with a second instance of a peer application; determining a second failure group of the second instance; comparing the first failure group to the second failure group; and establishing a second connection with a third instance of the peer application if the first failure group and the second failure group share a failure point.

Abstract: A capability is provided for reducing response variance of virtual processors. A controller receives a processing request. The controller may propagate the processing request toward multiple virtual processors hosted on multiple hardware devices contemporaneously. The controller may propagate the processing request toward a first virtual processor hosted on a first hardware device and propagate the processing request toward a second virtual processor hosted on a second hardware device based on a determination that a timeout period expires before a processing response is received from the first virtual processor. The timeout period may be determined based on one or more response time statistics of the virtual processor and one or more response time statistics of a physical processor.

Abstract: Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method for determining performance compliance of a cloud computing service implementing an application, including: receiving an application service performance requirement; receiving a cloud computing service performance requirement; receiving non-intrusive application performance data; determining that application performance does not meet the application service performance requirement based upon the received application performance data; determining that the cloud computing service provider does not meet the cloud computing service performance requirement based upon the received application service performance data; and determining that the cloud computing system not meeting the cloud computing performance requirement substantially contributes to the application performance not meeting the application service performance requirement.

Abstract: Various embodiments provide a method and apparatus of providing SPOF elimination for cloud-based applications that provides rules that support rapid elasticity, infrastructure maintenance such as, for example, software/firmware/hardware upgrades, updates, retrofit, and growth, and preventative maintenance such as, for example, cleaning fan filters and replacing failed hardware components. In particular, the SPOF elimination provided by the method and apparatus is based on network architecture and persistent storage considerations in addition to VM to host instance mappings.

Abstract: A capability is provided for improving service availability experienced by a user requesting access to a service via a user device, where the service has multiple service instances available from multiple data centers. A set of servicing data centers is selected for the user device. The set of servicing data centers is selected from a set of candidate data centers. The set of servicing data centers is selected from the set of candidate data centers in a manner for maximizing the independence/orthogonality of the network paths between the user device and the servicing data centers. The set of servicing data centers includes two or more of the candidate data centers from which the user device may access the service, thereby providing the user device with a primary service instance and one or more backup service instances which may be used to access the service.

Abstract: Various embodiments provide a method and apparatus of providing a rapid disaster recovery preparation in cloud networks that proactively detects disaster events and rapidly allocates cloud resources. Rapid disaster recovery preparation may shorten the recovery time objective (RTO) by proactively growing capacity on the recovery application(s)/resource(s) before the surge of recovery traffic hits the recovery application(s)/resource(s). Furthermore, rapid disaster recovery preparation may shorten RTO by growing capacity more rapidly than during “normal operation” where the capacity is increased by modest growth after the load has exceeded a utilization threshold for a period of time.

Abstract: Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: determining that a diagnostic test should be performed on a hardware component of a plurality of hardware components, wherein the plurality of hardware components support a plurality of agent devices and at least one agent device of the plurality of agent devices is assigned to at least one of the plurality of hardware components; ensuring that no agent device of the plurality of agent devices is assigned to the hardware component; and after ensuring that no agent device of the plurality of agent devices is assigned to the hardware component, performing the diagnostic test on the hardware component, wherein at least one other hardware component of the plurality of hardware components continues operation during performance of the diagnostic test.

Abstract: Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: identifying a hardware failure of a failed component of a plurality of hardware components; determining a set of agent devices currently configured to utilize the failed component; reconfiguring an agent device to utilize a working component of the plurality of hardware components. Various exemplary embodiments additionally or alternatively relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: projecting a failure date for the hardware module; determining whether the projected failure date is acceptable based on a target replacement date for the hardware module; if the projected failure date is not acceptable: selecting a parameter adjustment for a hardware component, wherein the parameter adjustment is selected to move the projected failure date closer to the target replacement date, and applying the parameter adjustment to the hardware component.

Abstract: Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: detecting, by a resource allocation device, a failure of server hardware; identifying a first agent device that is configured to utilize the server hardware; and taking at least one action to effect a reconfiguration of the first agent device in response to the server hardware failure. Various embodiments additionally include one or more of the following: identifying a second agent device that is configured to utilize the server hardware; and taking at least one action to effect a reconfiguration of the second agent device in response to the server hardware failure. Various embodiments additionally include one or more of the following: receiving, by the resource allocation device from a second agent device, an indication of the failure of server hardware, wherein the second agent device is different from the first agent device.

Abstract: A real-time admission control scheme is proposed. The real-time admission control scheme of the present invention does not rely on pre-determined threshold limits. Instead, the current resource utilization is evaluated in real time and admission control decisions are based on this real-time evaluation. As soon as a new service request is received, a real-time evaluation of the current resource utilization of each active task (i.e., in all classes, not just the corresponding class) that consumes resources is made. These tasks include the scheduled service requests (e.g., point-to-point calls, conference calls) as well as failure recovery functions. Then, total resource utilization is computed by summing the resource utilization of each active task. Accordingly, a measure of the available system resources is computed.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for enabling users of a network which have computers running several different operating systems to easily access each others files. In order that files may be referenced and accessed by computers utilizing different operating systems, an algorithm is used to create legitimate, meaningful filenames by combining both a filename from a host computer's "native" name space and a unique "inode" number from the host computer's file system assigned for this file. The preliminary information necessary to apply the algorithm is able to be obtained rather easily, since the to host computer's filename and inode number are returned by a well-known UNIX operating system call "getdents(2)".

Abstract: A computer-based file system enables user access to any of a plurality of previously-stored data files, each file being identified by at least two file names formatted using different file name formats. The system receives a user request including a purported file name having one or more appended segments and a base name, at least one of said appended segments being used to identify the file name format of said base name. The system then checks file names which utilize the identified file name format to locate a data file of the previously-stored data files having a file name which is the same as said base name. According to another feature, data files are identified using one file name format from which the system compiles a file name using the file name format identified in the appended segment. The base name is then compared against the computed file names to locate the desired base name file.

Abstract: A file system of a computer operating system includes files which may have one or more data streams associated with them. The files are accessed using a base name and the associated data stream(s) are accessed using a prefix and/or a suffix of the base name. For example, the base name is used to select a data file while the prefix and/or suffix is used to access data streams which, illustratively, include information used by the file system in the processing of the data file. Using this file naming structure enables the file system to handle the base name file and its associated data streams together as one file using the standard file commands.

Abstract: A computer-based file system accesses files with search requests evoked by file identifiers that are embedded in standard operating system calls. The file identifiers can be different from the standard operating system hierarchical pathname of the file, and it can include criterion type/value pairs, multiple syntax structures, substrings of the files, database calls, and phonetic spellings.

Abstract: The names in a directory stored in a personal terminal having a display are displayed as groups of names in which illustratively the first name in each group of names serves as a displayed tab which is pointed to by the user to display the respective group of names. The individual tabs are dynamically changed to conform with any change in the first name of the respective groups of names that may occur as a result of a change in the composition of the directory.