Abstract: A transparency percentage value is associated with each application icon defined for active executable applications using a computing system. At least one application that is active on a desktop screen is collected for each of at least two different visual attribute values collected from a user. The different collected visual attribute values are displayed with a pointing widget. The icons of the applications are displayed using a transparency percentage value of zero percent (0%) for icons corresponding to the visual attribute value currently pointed to and a transparency percentage value of one hundred percent (100%) for any other icon that is not currently pointed to. In response to detecting a change by the user from a current visual attribute value to a different new visual attribute value pointed to by the pointing widget, the transparency percentage values of the application icons are adjusted based upon the new visual attribute value.

Abstract: A software application distributed as a virtual appliance is automatically installed, updated and removed in a virtual machine system running on top of a virtual machine monitor in a computer. The software application virtual appliance comprises a virtual disk, which is automatically detected and installed or removed at the customer by a virtual disk activation manager program, which executes scripts including commands through an API to the virtual machine monitor. The virtual appliance virtual disk is also created automatically by the software manufacturing using the virtual disk activation manager program. The virtual appliance virtual disk stores the binaries of the software application, a software package created by the software manufacturer using a software package tool, an installer to execute the software package, installation and un-installation scripts and a unique identifier which is a signature for the virtual machine virtual disk.

Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for optimizing virtual storage in a virtual computer system including at least one virtual machine, each virtual machine being associated with one or more virtual disks. A target set of virtual machines among the virtual machines comprised in the virtual computer system is determined based on information related to the virtual machines and on shrinking constraints. For each virtual machine in the target set of virtual machines, each virtual disk associated with the virtual machine is identified. Furthermore, for each virtual disk associated with the virtual machine, the following occurs: the virtual disk is analyzed, a virtual disk saving quantity based on the virtual disk analysis is estimated, a resized virtual disk based on the estimated virtual disk saving quantity is generated, and the current virtual disk is replaced with the resized virtual disk.

Abstract: A software patch management solution (200) is proposed. The devised solution is based on the idea of automating the installation of the patches through a software distribution infrastructure. For this purpose, an automation engine (225) is added to a distribution server (110). The automation engine interfaces with a patch provider (125) acting as a proxy, which stores a local copy of the patches (210) and of a patch catalogue (215) for detecting corresponding vulnerabilities. The automation engine automatically builds a distribution plan for deploying the patches to the relevant endpoints (115), according to a vulnerability catalogue (230) that stores the actual exposures of the endpoints. The distribution plan arranges the required activities in the correct order, so as to minimize the number of rebooting of the endpoints; the distribution plan ends with an activity for scanning the endpoints, so as to update the vulnerability catalogue accordingly.

Abstract: A software patch management solution is proposed. The devised solution is based on the idea of automating the installation of the patches through a software distribution infrastructure. An automation engine is added to a distribution server. The automation engine interfaces with a patch provider acting as a proxy, which stores a local copy of the patches and of a patch catalogue for detecting corresponding vulnerabilities. The automation engine automatically builds a distribution plan for deploying the patches to the relevant endpoints, according to a vulnerability catalogue that stores the actual exposures of the endpoints. The distribution plan arranges the required activities in the correct order, to minimize the number of rebooting of the endpoints; the distribution plan ends with an activity for scanning the endpoints, to update the vulnerability catalogue accordingly.

Abstract: Updating a plurality of computers is accomplished. A first message is created in an update source, where the first message includes a one or more instructions and an address of a message repository. The first message is transmitted to a first computer using either a Push or a Pull protocol. A second message is transmitted to the first computer using the Push or Pull protocol, the second message comprising data retrieved from the address in the first message. The first computer executes one or more of the instructions in the first message with at least some of the second message. The address in the first message is updated to match the address of the first computer. The updated first message is transmitting to a further one of the computers. Transmission of the second message is repeated to further ones in the plurality of computers until substantially all of a pre-defined number of computers have been updated.

Abstract: For routing information in a network across firewalls, virtual sessions between two remote nodes are implemented by means of multiple point-to-point sessions between pairs of adjacent nodes connected through a tunnel crossing the corresponding firewall. Each node stores a routing table that is used to pass the information to be provided to a desired target node to the correct adjacent node. A peer-to-peer communication scheme is supported for allowing each pair of nodes to exchange information. For this purpose, a specific algorithm is proposed for propagating the routing information dynamically among the nodes of the network, with rules that prevent the generation of any propagation cycle.

Abstract: A method and system for centrally managing configuration of software application components, is provided. One implementation involves creating configuration metadata for each component of the application; providing a specific configuration for a component; checking validity of the specific configuration using the metadata for said component; and monitoring the application component configuration for consistency with said specific configuration.

Abstract: A method and system for managing locks for one or more resources in a distributed system including multiple distributed computing nodes, is provided. One implementation involves maintaining a database as a shared storage accessible by plural participating nodes for storing shared lock information, each participating node locally managing a local list of locks, the participating nodes cooperating in providing decentralized lock management across the nodes using the local and shared lock information, to achieve granting and releasing of locks for synchronizing access to one or more resources.

Abstract: Methods and products for storing data for synchronizing one or more files between two or more nodes. One embodiment of the method includes commencing to create a metadata object associated with a file to be synchronized: determining a file location on the or each node; adding the file location of the or each node to the metadata object such that the metadata object includes details relating to the file and the location thereof in one or more of the two or more nodes; and making the metadata object available to predetermined users via a central server.

Abstract: A method for keeping synchronized data collected by a first and at least one second software applications from respective information sources and stored in a respective first and second data repositories. The method comprises: a) receiving a request to refresh data stored in the first data repository; b) causing the at least one second software application to collect data from the respective information source; c) receiving the data collected by the first and the at least one second software applications from the respective information sources, and d) uploading the received data to the respective first and second repositories.

Abstract: A method is presented for recording and injecting a fault event during execution of a computer program. The method may include detecting a method call event during execution of the program, incrementing a counter to produce a counter value, and determining, based on a program execution state, a fault event to be generated. The fault event may be associated with a fault event type. The fault event type and the counter value may be stored, and the fault event may be generated. A second method call event may be detected during execution of the program and a second counter may be incremented, producing a second counter value. A previously-generated fault event associated with a counter value matching the second counter value may be identified, and the previously-generated fault event may be generated.

Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present invention a method is disclosed. The method includes requesting a class to be dynamically loaded during program execution. The class includes an attribute. A properties file is searched for the attribute. An associated delegation policy is found in the properties file. The associated delegation policy is associated with the attribute. The class is loaded by applying the associated delegation policy.

Abstract: A testing system for a reverse client-server system management program comprises a server connected to one or more recipient devices and emulating devices through one or more repeaters. The recipient devices act as targets for the management program and the emulating devices emulate one or more of the recipient devices, to enable an assessment of the scalability of the management program to a large number of targets. The repeaters direct management requests from the server to the target devices depending on the configuration of the hook and/or the nature of the operation requested by the management request. The recipient devices and emulating devices execute the required system management operation on receipt of a management request from the server (via the repeaters). The recipient devices and emulating devices generate and transmit a report detailing the outcome of the system management operation.

Abstract: For routing information in a network across firewalls, virtual sessions between two remote nodes are implemented by means of multiple point-to-point sessions between pairs of adjacent nodes connected through a tunnel crossing the corresponding firewall. Each node stores a routing table that is used to pass the information to be provided to a desired target node to the correct adjacent node. A peer-to-peer communication scheme is supported for allowing each pair of nodes to exchange information. For this purpose, a specific algorithm is proposed for propagating the routing information dynamically among the nodes of the network, with rules that prevent the generation of any propagation cycle.

Abstract: A software patch management solution (200) is proposed. The devised solution is based on the idea of automating the installation of the patches through a software distribution infrastructure. For this purpose, an automation engine (225) is added to a distribution server (110). The automation engine interfaces with a patch provider (125) acting as a proxy, which stores a local copy of the patches (210) and of a patch catalogue (215) for detecting corresponding vulnerabilities. The automation engine automatically builds a distribution plan for deploying the patches to the relevant endpoints (115), according to a vulnerability catalogue (230) that stores the actual exposures of the endpoints. The distribution plan arranges the required activities in the correct order, so as to minimize the number of rebooting of the endpoints; the distribution plan ends with an activity for scanning the endpoints, so as to update the vulnerability catalogue accordingly.

Abstract: A method for testing a software application (225), for example, written in the Java language is proposed. For this purpose, a factory object (230c) can be configured to operate in a production mode or in a test mode. In the test mode, the factory object instantiates a proxy object (255) for each object (235, 240) of the application. In this way, the invocation of each method exposed by any object of the application is intercepted by the corresponding proxy object. The proxy object invokes a specific method on a fault generator object (265), which provides a return code that can simulate desired error conditions (for example, according to a predefined probability). The proxy object then forwards the invocation to the actual object or returns the error code received from the fault generator object.