Abstract: A workflow is expressed as an arrangement of a set of executable tile. In some embodiments, the tiles include operations expressed in different programming languages. A tile can include a declarative specification of datatypes so that external agents, e.g., workflow services, can identify the datatypes and schemas required as arguments and produced as result; this simplifies the defining of a workflow, e.g., by a workflow coder. A tile can have zero, one, or plural user interfaces; selection of a user interface from plural user interfaces can be based on a user selection, on user roles, or on tile lifecycle stage. Workflow services can communicate with each other so that workflows can be distributed and shifted among processor nodes.

Abstract: An artifact manager generates an abstraction for artifacts and repositories in a deployment platform such that the artifacts may be located uniformly and securely in each deployment environment during the deployment process. The described system includes a release automation platform having a release pipeline which is responsible for deploying build artifacts into multiple deployment environments, testing the build artifacts thoroughly in each environment, and follow organization-specific approval processes to promote the build artifacts to a next deployment environment.

Abstract: Architecture that provides reliable communications of broadcast data (e.g., a message) in a collection of nodes. Each node in the collection is assigned a range of identifiers in a token. The union of the tokens for all nodes is the entire identifier range space. Each node that receives a reliable broadcast message from an originator node acknowledges receipt of the message using its token. One or more intermediate nodes forward the message from the originator node to other nodes with which the originator node has no direct communications (multi-level node structure). The indirect nodes each send acknowledgements back to the parent nodes (which can be an intermediate node) which combine the tokens to ensure the entire range space for the associated assigned token range is covered. The originator node ultimately receives tokens to compute if all nodes have received the message.

Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining predicted available bandwidths for an end user device, monitoring buffer occupancy of a buffer of the end user device, determining bit rates for portions of media content according to the predicted available bandwidths and according to the buffer occupancy, and adjusting bit rates for portions of media content according to the predicted available bandwidths and according to the buffer occupancy during streaming of the media content to the end user device over a wireless network. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: Determining if a new federation should be formed. A method includes a voter node determining that it has sufficient votes to form a new federation. The method further includes determining that no node existing in a previous federation already has a quorum of valid global tickets. Each global ticket indicates that a node agrees that a federation should continue to exist. As a result, the voter node forms a new federation.

Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining predicted available bandwidths for an end user device, monitoring buffer occupancy of a buffer of the end user device, determining bit rates for portions of media content according to the predicted available bandwidths and according to the buffer occupancy, and adjusting bit rates for portions of media content according to the predicted available bandwidths and according to the buffer occupancy during streaming of the media content to the end user device over a wireless network. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: A cloud computing environment consists of a cloud deployment platform with an application management server executing thereon, and a cloud management server configured to manage a plurality of virtual machines deployed in a cloud infrastructure. When a cloud-based application is deployed to the cloud infrastructure, a deployment plan for the cloud-based application is read, where the deployment plan comprises a first plurality of tasks to be executed in the cloud infrastructure. A determination is made that one or more custom tasks are required to be executed in the cloud infrastructure. After the determination, the one or more custom tasks are inserted into the first plurality of tasks to generate a second plurality of tasks. The second plurality of tasks is then transmitted to the cloud management server for execution in the cloud infrastructure.

Abstract: The current document is directed to an integrated cloud-management facility, or subsystem, that incorporates an automated-application-deployment-facility integrator that incorporates one or more automated-application-deployment facilities into the cloud-management facility. The automated-application-deployment-facility integrator allows users of the cloud-management facility to access one or more automated-application-deployment facilities within the context of the cloud-management facility. The automated-application-deployment-facility integrator provides to system managers and administrators, through the cloud-management facility, a wider range of functionalities and capabilities than is provided by a cloud-management facility that includes only a single automated-application-deployment facility, or subsystem.

Abstract: The current document is directed to an artifact-management subsystem and interface to the artifact-management subsystem that is, at least in part, implemented by plug-ins to a particular artifact repository. The currently disclosed artifact-management-subsystem interface includes a comprehensive set of search types, using which particular artifacts can be identified and retrieved from various artifact repositories. The search types include search types natively supported by one or more repositories as well as search types implemented by plug-ins to a particular artifact repository, with the plug-ins, in certain cases, accessing additional, remote artifact repositories. Use of plug-in technology provides a path to a comprehensive artifact-management-subsystem interface that does not involve the complexities and problems associated with individually interfacing to a variety of different types of artifact repositories.

Abstract: The current document is directed to cloud-based cloud-management systems and subsystem components of the management systems that store, retrieve, use, and manipulate artifacts. In the described implementations, artifacts are represented by artifact descriptors, referred to as “artifact specs,” which are instantiated, at run time, as corresponding artifact models. The artifact models include full descriptions of the artifacts as well as references to locally stored instances of the artifacts that can be used to access the artifacts. In the case of automated-application-release-management subsystems, artifacts include executables, program code, files containing input and/or output data, and other stored data used in provisioning virtual machines, deploying application executables, testing application executables, and carrying out other subtasks of application development, testing, and release.

Abstract: A deployment system enables a developer to define a logical, multi-tier application blueprint that can be used to create and manage (e.g., redeploy, upgrade, backup, patch) multiple applications in a cloud infrastructure. The deployment system supports the use of nested policies to manage a deployment plan. Upon determining compliance to the nested policies, the application can be deployed according to an application blueprint, which means any needed VMs are provisioned from the cloud infrastructure, and application components and software services are installed.

Abstract: A system for managing credentials for authenticating and securely communicating with trusted hosts, for example, in a cloud computing environment. The system dynamically updates credentials stored in a database and injects the updated credentials back into a runtime environment without restarting the runtime environment or applications running on the runtime environment. Embodiments of the present invention further enable credentials to be tracked and managed on a per-tenant basis, allowing each tenant that is running an application on a runtime environment to customize which hosts should be trusted.

Abstract: An artifact manager generates an abstraction for artifacts and repositories in a deployment platform such that the artifacts may be located uniformly and securely in each deployment environment during the deployment process. The described system includes a release automation platform having a release pipeline which is responsible for deploying build artifacts into multiple deployment environments, testing the build artifacts thoroughly in each environment, and follow organization-specific approval processes to promote the build artifacts to a next deployment environment.

Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a broadcast services platform includes a memory that stores operational instructions. A processor executes the operational instructions to: receive user data, the user data including a list of users and performance metric data corresponding to individual ones of the users; sort the list of the users in order of the performance metric data to generate a sorted list of the users; partition the sorted list of the users to generate a plurality of user groups; and generate network resource allocation data that allocates network resources to provide broadcast services to the users. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining predicted available bandwidths for an end user device, monitoring buffer occupancy of a buffer of the end user device, determining bit rates for portions of media content according to the predicted available bandwidths and according to the buffer occupancy, and adjusting bit rates for portions of media content according to the predicted available bandwidths and according to the buffer occupancy during streaming of the media content to the end user device over a wireless network. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: Obtaining tight knowledge about nodes in a federated ring structure. The tight knowledge includes information about neighbors of a given node. The method includes at a given node, sending a join request, requesting to join a federated ring in a distributed computing environment. The method further includes, at the given node, receiving a join reply. The join reply provides an initial view of at least a portion of a neighborhood of the given node. The neighborhood is a set of nodes logically proximate the given node. The method further includes, at the given node, sending a lock request to nodes in the neighborhood to request that the other nodes in the given node's neighborhood are locked so as to not have overlapping nodes joining the given node's neighborhood simultaneously.

Abstract: A substantially flat fronted vehicle (10) such as a truck is provided with adjustable air deflector blades (24A-24D). The air deflector blades (24A-24D) provide upper (24A 24C) and lower (24B 24D) air deflector blades vertically mounted above one another and providing a gap (32) around the windscreen (8). The air deflector blades (24A-24D) are arcuate sheets in form and each supported by support arms (26) comprising vertically hinged first (38) and second (40) connected spring loaded arms that are urged to spring open but are held a selected angle and distance from the vehicle (10) front face (22) by wire rope length selection means and are thusly adjusted to promote least aerodynamic drag. Use on rail vehicles is also included. The apparatus has the unexpected effect of actually reducing forward vehicle aerodynamic drag in the presence of crosswinds.

Abstract: A deployment system enables a developer to define a logical, multi-tier application blueprint that can be used to create and manage (e.g., redeploy, upgrade, backup, patch) multiple applications in a cloud infrastructure. The deployment system supports the use of nested policies to manage a deployment plan. Upon determining compliance to the nested policies, the application can be deployed according to an application blueprint, which means any needed VMs are provisioned from the cloud infrastructure, and application components and software services are installed.

Abstract: A system for managing credentials for authenticating and securely communicating with trusted hosts, for example, in a cloud computing environment. The system dynamically updates credentials stored in a database and injects the updated credentials back into a runtime environment without restarting the runtime environment or applications running on the runtime environment. Embodiments of the present invention further enable credentials to be tracked and managed on a per-tenant basis, allowing each tenant that is running an application on a runtime environment to customize which hosts should be trusted.

Abstract: A system for managing a virtualized computing system is disclosed. The system enables a user of a mobile device to efficiently track and manage computing resources via a management application that includes a graphical user interface that is designed to be operated using a conventional terminal (e.g., via a mouse and keyboard). The system may receive commands from the user of the mobile device in a first format and translate the commands into a second format that can be executed by a management application. Embodiments of the present disclosure further enable a management application to verify and securely communicate with users via existing communications services (e.g., social networking services) without expending additional resources to develop custom, secure interfaces for multiple mobile software and hardware platforms.