Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for system management. A gateway in a network data processing system receives an event in a native event management form. The event is transformed into a new format. The event is correlated in the new format to determine whether a system management action should be performed.

Abstract: A system and method for using hierarchical policy levels. In one embodiment, computers of the network are arranged into a hierarchy. A management policy server with access to the network queries the network to identify computers at or below its own level within the hierarchy. Computers under the control of the management policy server are identified, and management programs, updates or policies are automatically distributed to the computers, without manual intervention.

Abstract: A monitoring program contains a method for detecting a load imbalance in a group of servers and providing notification so that corrections can be made. An embodiment of the invention reads from the address resolution protocol (ARP) cache to determine which server addresses are present, then clears the ARP cache. The address resolution protocol will repopulate the cache from traffic it snoops and from new requests. By performing this query and clear operation periodically, the tracking program can form a picture of the activity levels of the servers. When a significant imbalance exists, the program notifies a control console for human intervention to solve the problem. The tracking program will periodically write its results to a log file, allowing reports for various time periods to be produced as needed. By this mechanism, not only can an imbalance be quickly detected, but underutilization can be picked up by comparing known capability of a resource to its actual usage.

Abstract: A mechanism and model are provided for representing and managing composite resource models. When a resource monitor is deployed for a resource, the resource monitor scans for information that indicates that the resource under monitoring is part of a cluster, grid, or other composite configuration. The resource monitor then determines whether monitoring information for the resource should be reported differently because of the composite configuration. If monitoring information for the resource is to be reported differently, the resource monitor alters the reporting format to reflect the composite resource model. The resource manager may then receive the monitoring information and apply this information to individual resources and aggregates the monitoring information for composite resources.

Abstract: A monitoring program contains a method for detecting a load imbalance in a group of servers and providing notification so that corrections can be made. An embodiment of the invention reads from the address resolution protocol (ARP) cache to determine which server addresses are present, then clears the ARP cache. The address resolution protocol will repopulate the cache from traffic it snoops and from new requests. By performing this query and clear operation periodically, the tracking program can form a picture of the activity levels of the servers. When a significant imbalance exists, the program notifies a control console for human intervention to solve the problem. The tracking program will periodically write its results to a log file, allowing reports for various time periods to be produced as needed. By this mechanism, not only can an imbalance be quickly detected, but underutilization can be picked up by comparing known capability of a resource to its actual usage.

Abstract: An example of a solution provided here comprises: providing a logical design, including at least one hub containing central management tools, and a plurality of lower tiers containing local management tools; placing components according to the design; and providing, from the hub, one or more management functions. The lower tiers include one or more elements chosen from RIM's, spokes, and POD's.

Abstract: An example of a solution provided here comprises: providing a logical design, including at least one hub containing central management tools, and a plurality of lower tiers containing local management tools; placing components according to the design; and providing, from the hub, one or more management functions. The lower tiers include one or more elements chosen from RIM's, spokes, and POD's.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer program product for monitoring the performance of a system. The mechanism of the present invention provides an interface in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI) to communicate multiple layers of system performance data to an operator. An operator monitors this display of information and uses it to determine how to adjust the system to optimize system performance. This mechanism of the present invention provides immediate feedback to an operator by displaying a trail of metric points, wherein the metric points indicate the status of system performance over a period of time. In this manner, the display mechanism of the present invention immediately conveys to an operator whether the system is operating within predefined margins, the results of performance adjustments made to the system, as well as predictions or trends for the system.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer program product for monitoring the performance of a system. The mechanism of the present invention provides an interface in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI) to communicate multiple layers of system performance data to an operator. An operator monitors this display of information and uses it to determine how to adjust the system to optimize system performance. This mechanism of the present invention provides immediate feedback to an operator by displaying a trail of metric points, wherein the metric points indicate the status of system performance over a period of time. In this manner, the display mechanism of the present invention immediately conveys to an operator whether the system is operating within predefined margins, the results of performance adjustments made to the system, as well as predictions or trends for the system.

Abstract: Enabling users of systems maintaining periodically sampled error logs to selectively make real-time responses to certain error conditions. An error management system which comprises an implementation for monitoring error conditions and responsive to the monitoring for recording the error conditions in an error log together with an implementation for periodically sampling said error log for said error conditions. The user is enabled to sense one or more of the error conditions prior to the periodic sampling of the condition in the error log to thereby bypass the error log sampling to provide for a possible real-time response to a sensed error condition. The implementations for monitoring, for recording, for sampling and for the real-time sensing are preferably in the server computer.

Abstract: A corrective action method or subsystem for providing corrective actions in a for a computing domain shared among multiple customers wherein different domain resources are shared by different customers, and each customer's corrective action preferences are accommodated differently according a repository of customer preferences. A database may be queried when a fault event or out-of-limits condition is detected for a given shared resource to determine which customers share the resource, determine each affected customer's response preferences, and to perform corrective actions according to those response preferences. For example, three customers may share a particular hard drive in a shared computing system. One customer may prefer to receive an email notice when the drive is nearly full, another may prefer to receive additional allocation of disk space elsewhere, and the third may prefer to receive a written report of space utilization.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program product are disclosed for providing a four-tier CORBA architecture. A three-tier CORBA network is provided. The three-tier CORBA network includes a first CORBA ORB coupled to a second CORBA ORB, and the second CORBA ORB coupled to a third CORBA ORB. The first CORBA ORB occupies a first level of a network hierarchy. The second CORBA ORB occupies a second level of the network hierarchy. And, the third CORBA ORB occupies a third level of the network hierarchy. A global CORBA ORB is coupled to the three-tier CORBA network, wherein the global CORBA ORB occupies a top level of the network hierarchy.

Abstract: A method, computer program product, and data processing system for attaining measurements to assess the compliance of individual service providers in a complex distributed enterprise computing system is disclosed. The present invention achieves this goal by augmenting a middleware computing environment with a facility for timestamping individual sub-operations at each service provider. In a preferred embodiment, when a message incorporating a transaction is handed off to a service provider, an “in-time” timestamp is generated and appended to the message. When the service provider completes processing of its portion of the transaction, an “out-time” timestamp is generated and appended to the message. When the processing of the transaction is completed, a record of the processing time for each service provider can be found in the message. This information can then be used to verify whether one or more of the service providers are in breach of a service level agreement.

Abstract: Enabling users of systems maintaining periodically sampled error logs to selectively make real-time responses to certain error conditions. An error management system which comprises an implementation for monitoring error conditions and responsive to the monitoring for recording the error conditions in an error log together with an implementation for periodically sampling said error log for said error conditions. The user is enabled to sense one or more of the error conditions prior to the periodic sampling of the condition in the error log to thereby bypass the error log sampling to provide for a possible real-time response to a sensed error condition. The implementations for monitoring, for recording, for sampling and for the real-time sensing are preferably in the server computer.

Abstract: A method for installing a network application is disclosed. First, the hardware resources of at least a local computer system in the network are determined. Next, the a number of users in a cell of the network is determined. The installation process determines whether the hardware resources of the local computer system can provide an adequate level of performance for the number of users in the cell if all of the network application are installed on the local computer system. If not, an installation plan is calculated to distribute components of the network application in a plurality of computer systems to provide an adequate level of performance for the cell. The installation plan is presented on a local system display. The network administrator is afforded the opportunity to change the assumptions used to generate the installation plan. Once satisfied, the network application is installed in the plurality of computer systems according to the installation plan.

Abstract: A modular valve including an outer housing having a longitudinal bore adapted to be aligned with the pipeline bore of a pipeline and a transverse bore which receives a modular housing assembly which includes a rotatable valve element for controlling flow through the outer housing longitudinal bore and thus through the pipeline in which the valve is mounted. The internal housing assembly is modular and can be removed and replaced should the valve need repair without the necessity of having to remove the entire housing from the pipeline in which it is installed.