Abstract: A computing node in a distributed system comprising a processor and associated memory, said memory storing: software component code executable to provide a service to software components running on other computers in said distributed system; component monitoring code executable to generate an event message for distribution in said distributed system in response to the occurrence of an event pertaining to the performance of said software component; action request assembly code executable to store an assemblage of action requests received from other computers in said distributed system in reaction to the distribution of said event message in said memory; action request assemblage processing code executable to order and/or filter said assemblage of action request to generate a processed set of action requests for execution by said software component.

Abstract: A distributed data processing system is disclosed. A problem with distributed data processing systems, especially data centres, is the low level of utilisation of those data centres. This is, in part, owing to data centre providers being concerned not to attract financial penalties levied by their customers in response to the quality of service provided to those customers by the data centre falling below service level agreed in service level agreements. Embodiments are disclosed which tackle this problem by having the data centre control the load placed upon it by carrying out an assessment of the likely impact of performing a requested bundle of jobs on jobs which are already running in the data centre. The decision whether to provide the requested bundle of jobs is then made by weighing-up the expected increase in penalties payable to customers against the revenue expected in return for running the requested bundle of jobs.

Abstract: A determination as to whether to store a data item at a computer connected to a distributed storage network of computers is made in dependence on a policy document associated with that data item. The policy document is constructed in accordance with a Document Type Definition expressed in extensible Markup Language (XML). This provides a more flexible method of system managed storage.

Abstract: A computing node in a distributed system comprising a processor and associated memory, said memory storing: software component code executable to provide a service to software components running on other computers in said distributed system; component monitoring code executable to generate an event message for distribution in said distributed system in response to the occurrence of an event pertaining to the performance of said software component; action request assembly code executable to store an assemblage of action requests received from other computers in said distributed system in reaction to the distribution of said event message in said memory; action request assemblage processing code executable to order and/or filter said assemblage of action request to generate a processed set of action requests for execution by said software component.

Abstract: A network is configured or made configurable to provide a process exploiting services distributed among nodes of the network by means of a step-by-step search, the search for one service starting at a node providing a previous service.

Abstract: A computer system has a plurality of components which can be initialized. A plurality of components can be initialized and each component is configured to produce status data from which the level of need for that component to be initialized can be inferred. At least one component is configured to: receive status data from other components; make a comparison using the status data received from respective components; in dependence on the comparison, select one or more components for initialization; and, issue initialization instructions to the selected component(s). By making a comparison between the status data from different components, the relative need for different components to be initialized can be evaluated, allowing a component with a high need for initialization to be selected over a component with a lower need.

Abstract: A distributed computing network is disclosed, the membership of which is determined in accordance with policy data stored at existing member nodes. A node wishing to join the distributed computing network sends profile data indicating the resources it has available for shared computation to a member node. The member node compares the resources with the requirement indicated in the priority data. If the comparison indicates that the applicant node should join, then data indicating the topology of the distributed computing network is updated at the member node and created at the applicant node. This allows for the creation of a distributed computing network whose topology is well-suited to a given task, provided the policy properly reflects the requirements of the task.

Abstract: A computer network includes a plurality of components governed by policies from a policy manager. Where conflicts arise between policies, a conflict management policy is inherent in the system and is implemented to detect and resolve such conflicts.

Abstract: A computer network is managed by policies. This allows selections to be made from a range of control options and optionally to be based on locally available system information. Policy-based management is distributed across the system and is handled locally by management agents allowing control of a sub-network. As a result of a distributed policy-based management system is provided which allows additional flexibility of control.

Abstract: Messages are generated by a first device which messages together have the purpose of identifying a predetermined number of devices which satisfy a test condition included in each message. These messages are sent respectively to on-line devices neighboring the first device. To ensure that no more devices than necessary are identified by the messages, each message includes a variable which is referred to as a token bucket which indicates the number of devices to be discovered by the message. Additionally, each message includes a unique identifier. When one device receives a discovery message sent from another device, it determines if it satisfies the test condition and if so it sends an acceptance message to the originating device, decrements the token bucket in the message and forwards on any remaining tokens to another neighbor. The process stops once all tokens have been disposed of in this way.

Abstract: A method for configuring a network and a network configurable to provide a process exploiting services distributed amongst the nodes of the network by means of a step-by-step search, the search for one service starting at a node providing the previous service.

Abstract: In a charging system for cellular communications, real-time prices for new connections are offered to the customer. The real-time prices take into account both prevailing and historic traffic patterns, together with the probability that the customer will move from their current cell into a neighboring cell. Cells of the network are monitored in clusters. If a customer is located in one particular cell, the price offered to that customer will take into account the probability of handover to a neighboring cell during the connection, and may also take into account the probability of incoming traffic from neighboring cells during the connection. To enable this predictive pricing, the system stores, and may also update, historic data.