Abstract: A display system for displaying information from plural different and diverse railroad Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems includes a web server, a number of display clients served by the web server, and plural data interfaces communicating to the web server employing a common data format. Each of the data interfaces receives a different and diverse data format from a corresponding one of the different and diverse railroad CAD systems and converts the same to the common data format. The display clients may include a user interface display for railroad dispatch monitoring of a geographic region. The display includes a plurality of train track diagrams for the geographic region, in which the train track diagrams are substantially oriented in a first direction and a different second direction, which is substantially normal to the first direction.

Abstract: Parity Update Footprints (PUFPs) are kept on the disk drives themselves (rather than in nonvolatile RAM) so that the PUFPs will move along with the RAID arrays and data they protect. This permits effective detection of and recovery from many unexpected-power-loss events, and certain other types of failures, even in a clustered-adapter configuration or with a standalone adapter that has no nonvolatile RAM or only a little nonvolatile RAM. Desirably, many Set PUFP and Clear PUFP operations can be coalesced into each write to the block on the disk which contains the PUFPs, thereby improving system performance.

Abstract: In a disk array environment such as a RAID-6 environment, the overall performance overhead associated with exposed mode operations such as resynchronization, rebuild and exposed mode read operations is reduced through increased parallelism. By selecting only subsets of the possible disks required to solve a parity stripe equation for a particular parity stripe, accesses to one or more disks in a disk array may be omitted, thus freeing the omitted disks to perform other disk accesses. In addition, disk accesses associated with different parity stripes may be overlapped such that the retrieval of data necessary for restoring data for one parity stripe is performed concurrently with the storage of restored data for another parity stripe.

Abstract: During a parity update of a parity stripe in a disk array, constant values used in finite field arithmetic are algebraically combined in order to reduce the number of buffers and steps needed to update multiple parity values when a change in data occurs. In one implementation, for example, the contents of a buffer that stores the product of a delta value associated with the change in data and a first constant, which is used to update a first parity value, are multiplied by a value representative of the ratio of a second constant, which is used to update a second parity value, and the first constant.

Abstract: Data associated with the state of a parity update operation in a disk array system such as a RAID-6 system is stored during performance of the operation so that, in the event the operation is interrupted, recovery may be initiated using the stored data. The stored data may include a state indicator that is indicative of the status of the parity update operation, and snapshot data (e.g., a delta value indicative of a difference between new and old data) captured during the parity update operation.

Abstract: A hardware-based finite field multiplier is used to scale incoming data from a disk drive and XOR the scaled data with the contents of a working buffer when performing resync, rebuild and other exposed mode read operations in a RAID or other disk array environment. As a result, RAID designs relying on parity stripe equations incorporating one or more scaling coefficients are able to overlap read operations to multiple drives and thereby increase parallelism, reduce the number of required buffers, and increase performance.

Abstract: When parity checking in a disk array such as a RAID-6 system determines data and parity information is unsynchronized, additional calculations are performed to determine whether the error may be attributed to faulty data on a disk drive or to a more systemic problem such as a faulty controller. In particular, for each particular error detected, the parity generating information is analyzed to determine if each error involves a common disk index. If so, the data can be corrected on that disk; if not other corrective procedures are implemented.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for dynamically determining a primary adapter in a heterogeneous N-way adapter configuration. Each of the adapters generates information about itself and exchanges the information with all other adapters. First a decision-making adapter is identified. Then the decision-making adapter compares the adapter-generated information of all the adapters and makes a decision determining the primary adapter. The decision-making adapter communicates the decision to all other adapters. The determined primary adapter assumes a role as the primary adapter and the other adapters assume a role as a secondary adapter.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus and methodology for collaborative logistics information exchange that permits the entry, storage, retrieval and viewing of data pertinent to the transportation of freight loads or product coordinated through a logistics provider and/or his agent(s). Information exchange may be conducted over a local or wide area network or the Internet substantially in real time and may include capabilities of storing and transmitting images of selected paper documents, conducting instant messaging sessions and attaching load relevant electronic notes to selected stored information. Proof of product delivery may be establish through the provision of specially formatted labels printed and attached to selected paper documents coupled with the electronic transmission of corresponding data to the logistics provider.

Abstract: An apparatus, program product and method maintain data coherency between paired I/O adapters by commingling primary and backup data within the respective write caches of the I/O adapters. Such commingling allows the data to be dynamically allocated in a common pool without regard to dedicated primary and backup regions. As such, primary and backup data may be maintained within the cache of a secondary adapter at a different relative location(s) than is the corresponding data stored in the cache of the primary adapter. In any case, however, the same data is updated in both respective write caches such that data coherence is maintained.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus and methodology for collaborative logistics information exchange that permits the entry, storage, retrieval and viewing of data pertinent to the transportation of freight loads or product coordinated through a logistics broker and/or his agent(s). Information exchange may be conducted over a local or wide area network or the Internet substantially in real time and may include capabilities of storing and transmitting images of selected paper documents, conducting instant messaging sessions and attaching load relevant electronic notes to selected stored information.