Abstract: Methods and arrangements for operating distributed computing systems, and more particularly, to techniques for constructing and analyzing change plans are disclosed. Included are an arrangement for submitting a request for change to the system, an arrangement for specifying the order in which tasks execute in compliance with data and temporal dependency constraints; and an arrangement for creating a change plan.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for generically controlling one or more resources associated with at least one computing system. In one aspect of the invention, the technique comprises evaluating one or more performance metrics associated with the one or more resources given one or more configurations of the one or more resources. The technique then causes a change in the one or more configurations of the one or more resources based on the performance metric evaluating step. The one or more performance metrics and the one or more configurations are expressed in generic formats.

Abstract: Techniques for flexible and efficient access control are provided. For example, in one aspect of the invention, a technique for processing a request, for access to one or more services, sent from a first computing system to a second computing system, comprises the following steps/operations. A determination is made as to whether the request sent from the first computing system to the second computing system should be deferred. Then, the request is redirected when a determination is made that the request should be deferred, such that access to the one or more services is delayed.

Abstract: Techniques for constructing and using models in accordance with service level management are disclosed. In one aspect of the invention, a technique for constructing a model (e.g., a system model) representative of a resource for use in managing a service associated with the resource, comprises the following steps/operations. A set of resource metrics is obtained in accordance with a resource abstract model (RAM) associated with the resource. Then, a model representative of the resource is constructed based on at least a portion of the set of resource metrics obtained from the resource abstract model.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided that measures end-user perceived performance in a computer having a windowed graphic display. The method and apparatus provides for a performance survey application which allows for detecting whether performance of the computer system has degraded. An indication is provided on the display. Also provided on the display is a button that when clicked by the user generates a record indicating that performance is poor. The status of the system is updated in response to user clicks. This in turn causes appropriate updates in the display. Finally, the record associated with the user's click is written to the appropriate memory location. In so doing, a system is provided that allows for continuous indication of the performance of the computer system.

Abstract: An architecture and key algorithms are presented that simplify the implementation and improve the functionality of knowledge-based systems that employ case-based reasoning for data navigation tasks (e.g., solving help desk problems using a database of past problem instances). The various embodiments of the invention improve on the state-of-the-art in several respects: (a) provides greatly increased flexibility in choosing attributes relevant to a case in that choices are made dynamically at case acquisition instead of statically when the knowledge-based system is designed; (b) increased system flexibility and decreased system complexity by not requiring designers to specify the manner in which attribute values are compared; (c) simplified system design by avoiding the use of similarity metrics; (d) allows for the incremental acquisition of data in problem instances, instead of requiring that all potentially relevant data be collected; and (e) provides a way to explain why a problem solution was chosen.