Abstract: A method and apparatus for managing communications for collaborative applications. Middleware uses, network, application, and middleware resource information together with user information to facilitate communications between the application resources and the users via a hierarchical control structure that implements a communication overlay tree. That overlay tree is implemented in view of network constraints, and on the users and on their communication constraints. The middleware provides user index identifiers that inform the application that specific users have communication interests in specific parts of the application space. To send data to users that are interested in a specific part of the application space the application sends that data with a list of user index identifiers. The middleware then associates the user index identifiers with individual users and routes sent data to the individual users along the overlay tree.

Abstract: A method of generating an annotated network topology of a network is described. The method includes; deriving a network topology by performing a route tracing utility between each pair of endpoints to determine the route taken by packets; initially annotating each network path with an initial value; determining the available bandwidth of a path connecting a pair of endpoints by performing Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) flows between the pair of endpoints; identifying a bottleneck link in the network path, and annotating all edges to generate an annotated network topology wherein available bandwidth annotation of links inside the network is determined using end-to-end network measurements.

Abstract: A method, computer readable media, and apparatus of hierarchical-based communication session and data distribution management that indexes client's communication preferences and network attribute information. Indexing is used to generate dynamic group membership lists that map into communication groups. Indexing is replicated at control nodes in the network overlay to allow distributed management of group membership. Send/receive operations are decoupled through data distribution and the indexing structure. Senders and receivers register their group communication interests to a parent node in the hierarchy. The session control structure aggregates client interest and dynamically updates replicas at control nodes which are selected according to the changes in registered client interest. The indexing structure has self-managing properties for automatic clustering based on client session and data interests, and dynamic partitioning of the session/data interest attribute space.

Abstract: A method, and system employing the method, initiates proactive maintenance of computer systems and/or devices in a computer network. The method determines the subsystems of the computers and network devices and analyzes their configuration data including their respective subsystems. The method generates maintenance characteristics for the devices, and determines a maintenance event for devices using the maintenance characteristics and the configuration data of the devices. The method initiates a maintenance solution of a device determined to have a problematic configuration.

Abstract: A method for group communication over a network of processors comprises determining an overlay spanning tree comprising an origin node and at least one receiving node, and controlling a source communication rate to be less than or equal to a bottleneck rate of the overlay spanning tree.

Abstract: A method monitors non-faulty application traces of a computer application with the runtime environment during fault-free activities to create non-faulty runtime signatures for the computer application. Once obtained, the method stores the non-faulty runtime signatures. The method then detects a faulty application trace of the computer application and compares the faulty application trace with the non-faulty runtime signatures by comparing a call graph of the faulty application trace with call graphs of non-faulty application traces of the application signatures to identify differences between the two (e.g., fault attributes). Then the invention outputs the fault attributes to allow the user to identify a fault cause.

Abstract: The structure attributes and unstructured attributes of a ticket are used to generate a problem signature. For structured attributes, correlation between field values is determined and fields with the highest weight are identified. For unstructured attributes, data mining techniques are applied to generate a plurality of keywords with a ranking for each ticket by identifying keywords, and commonly used acronyms and corpus variances. The set of structured attributes and the plurality of keywords from unstructured attributes form the signature of a given problem ticket.

Abstract: Problem ticket usage is improved by adding dynamic information to the ticket or using dynamic information to prompt the user or customer for additional information. Two categories of dynamic information are used. In the case where an initial problem ticket involves identification of a problem component the dynamic information is derived from abnormal status of related components, such as components which support the problem component. In the case where an initial problem ticket involves problem symptom information, data is derived from resolved problem tickets by identifying important words or concepts which are stored in connection with the particular symptom. When later problem tickets having the same symptom are identified the related important words or concepts are either added to the problem ticket or are used to prompt customers or users for additional information. A system implementing an embodiment of the invention is also described.

Abstract: A method of clustering communication nodes based on network attributes such as network delays and forwarding capacity; on communication interest attributes; and on application attributes such as quality of service preferences/constraints in providing communications between users and application servers. A multi-attribute communication feature vector is formed. That vector is comprised of network attributes, communication interests attributes, and quality of service requirements and is used to form efficient group communication mechanisms for distributed collaborative applications. Then the multi-attribute communication feature vectors are clustered. The clustering methods for multi-type attribute feature vectors are: iterative clustering using a generalized distance space with normalized attribute subspace metrics; fusion clustering, and nested clustering.

Abstract: A method (and system) for managing a distributed-memory parallel application running on multiple servers, includes dynamically moving a plurality of executable program components, where each of the plurality of executable program components are running on one of a plurality of virtual machines, using migration of the virtual machines between physical servers. The load balancing is operated based on a workload of each of the virtual machines and servers, where a virtual machine, or a plurality of virtual machines, are transferred to balance the workload between each of the servers.

Abstract: A number of improvements in network adapters that offload protocol processing from the host processor are provided. Specifically, a mechanism for improving connection establishment in a system utilizing an offload network adapter is provided. The connection establishment mechanism provides the ability to offload connection establishment and maintenance of connection state information to the offload network adapter. As a result of this offloading of connection establishment and state information maintenance, the number of communications needed between the host system and the offload network adapter may be reduced. In addition, offloading of these functions to the offload network adapter permits bulk notification of established connections and state information to the host system rather than piecemeal notifications as is present in known computing systems.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and an apparatus for failure-resilient forwarding of data over a computer network. In one embodiment, a marker is introduced into the data stream, e.g., at the sending node, and allows, in turn, forwarding nodes and/or receivers to efficiently track data stream reception. The marker functions as a checkpoint for the data transport process, and is identified and indexed at each forwarding node and receiver. Each receiver saves the marker prior to delivering data to an application, thereby designating a point in the data stream at which all preceding data is confirmed to have been delivered to the application. Thus, if a forwarding node fails, the receiver may request stream data from an alternate forwarding node by specifying to the alternate forwarding node to provide data starting from the marker.

Abstract: A number of improvements in network adapters that offload protocol processing from the host processor are provided. Specifically, a mechanism for improving connection establishment in a system utilizing an offload network adapter is provided. The connection establishment mechanism provides the ability to offload connection establishment and maintenance of connection state information to the offload network adapter. As a result of this offloading of connection establishment and state information maintenance, the number of communications needed between the host system and the offload network adapter may be reduced. In addition, offloading of these functions to the offload network adapter permits bulk notification of established connections and state information to the host system rather than piecemeal notifications as is present in known computing systems.

Abstract: Method, apparatus and computer program product are configured to perform computer monitoring activities; to collect information regarding computer system status during the computer monitoring activities; to detect a problem in dependence on the information collected during the computer monitoring activities; and to determine whether to launch a diagnostic probe when the problem is detected. The monitoring activities may be performed on a periodic or event-driven basis. The determination whether to launch a diagnostic probe is based on a rule included in a hierarchy of rules. The hierarchy of rules is based on problem tickets; system logs; and computer system configuration information.

Abstract: Method, apparatus and computer program product manage a plurality of networks with a single tenant network management tool using virtualization and implement control plane virtualization of the single tenant management tool; data storage virtualization of a data storage apparatus and network address virtualization of an available address range. A virtual machine may be implemented for each network of the plurality of networks to contain an instance of the single tenant management tool. In one implementation, a proxy is used to implement data storage virtualization. In another implementation, separate data storage is maintained for each network and data storage virtualization is achieved by managing the network protocol stack virtualization. The network address virtualization may be implemented using machine-level virtualization or operating-system-level virtualization.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to e2e SLA support in a network of both manageable and unmanageable portions and provide a method, system and computer program product for e2e SLA compliance across both managed and unmanaged network segments. In one embodiment of the invention, a method for e2e SLA compliance across both managed and unmanaged network segments can be provided. The method can include identifying both a managed segment and an unmanaged segment of an e2e network for a communications path implicated by an SLA, determining an observed delay for the unmanaged segment of the e2e network, computing from a desired delay for the communications path and the observed delay a differential delay, and constraining the managed segment to meet the differential delay in order to assure meeting the desired delay for the communications path implicated by the SLA.

Abstract: A system for problem resolution in network and systems management includes a database of trouble ticket data including information fields for checked components and affected components, an automated model builder system that processes the trouble ticket data to construct a causality model to represent causality information between system components identified in the checked component and affected component fields of the trouble ticket data, and an automated problem analysis system that receives information indicative of a problem event and determines a cause of the problem event using the causality model.

Abstract: A system and method for scalable status change detection in a network of nodes includes embedding node coordinate positions into a virtual map environment. A cluster of nodes are represented with a representative node to form a hierarchy of nodes and clusters where changes in a status of the representative node imply a status change in the nodes of the cluster. By selectively monitoring the representative nodes for the changes in status, the representative nodes create a capability for scalable monitoring of the network.

Abstract: A number of improvements in network adapters that offload protocol processing from the host processor are provided. Specifically, an improved mechanism for handling receipt of data packets in a system utilizing an offload network adapter. The offload network adapter may include logic that permits the offload network adapter to delay notification of data reception to the host system in different ways. The advantage of delaying the notice of data packet reception to the host system is the potential for aggregation of several data packets, which can arrive immediately after the first one, for example, in a single notification. Given a stream with continuous data packet arrival, a value may be set, either statically or dynamically, for notification delay and this value may be configurable for the host system per communication socket.

Abstract: A solution for managing a computer infrastructure is provided. In particular, the solution can generate a set of tentative recovery segments for the computer infrastructure based on a related resource graph and a set of partition rules. The related resource graph can be generated based on a managed resource graph, which includes resource type information for each node in the managed resource graph. The set of tentative recovery segments can be used to manage the computer infrastructure and/or a set of recovery segments, which includes recovery characteristic(s) for each segment can be generated based on the set of tentative recovery segments and a set of recovery segment templates. In any event, the invention provides a solution that fully and/or partially automates the identification of recovery segments within a computer infrastructure, thereby enabling a more effective management of the computer infrastructure.