Abstract: A smart scheduler is provided to prepare a machine for a job, wherein the job has specific requirements, i.e., dimensions. One or more config jobs are identified to configure the machine to meet the dimensions of the job. Information concerning the machine's original configuration and groupings of config jobs that change the machine's configuration are cached in a central storage. The smart scheduler uses information in the central storage to identify a suitable machine and one or more config jobs to configure the machine to meet the dimensions of a job. The smart scheduler schedules a run for the config jobs on the machine.

Abstract: A smart scheduler is provided to prepare a machine for a job, wherein the job has specific requirements, i.e., dimensions. One or more config jobs are identified to configure the machine to meet the dimensions of the job. Information concerning the machine's original configuration and groupings of config jobs that change the machine's configuration are cached in a central storage. The smart scheduler uses information in the central storage to identify a suitable machine and one or more config jobs to configure the machine to meet the dimensions of a job. The smart scheduler schedules a run for the config jobs on the machine.

Abstract: A smart scheduler is provided to prepare a machine for a job, wherein the job has specific requirements, i.e., dimensions. One or more config jobs are identified to configure the machine to meet the dimensions of the job. Information concerning the machine's original configuration and groupings of config jobs that change the machine's configuration are cached in a central storage. The smart scheduler uses information in the central storage to identify a suitable machine and one or more config jobs to configure the machine to meet the dimensions of a job. The smart scheduler schedules a run for the config jobs on the machine.

Abstract: An application programming interface (API) presents services of a system to applications. The API is usable with all processes, local and remote, and is transparent with respect to the location of processes. A process table stores information about processes created using the system. The process table supports centralized process control and peer-to-peer process communication and synchronization. Each process is assigned a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) that uniquely identifies the process no matter the computing device on which it runs. A parent UUID and a group UUID may be attached to the process and used for enforcing dependencies (e.g., for halting the process and all of its child processes) and for managing arbitrary, user-defined groups, respectively. A global event is associated with each process. When a process receives this event, it performs a controlled shutdown, cleans up, and reports status.

Abstract: A generic automation framework is provided to divide a process into a sequence of stages. The stages in the process may depend on each other and this dependency dictates the flow of the process. A stage may be an instance of a stage type, which provides a generic definition of a stage. A stage may be customized according to the specific requirement of the process. A stage may have one or more properties. Such a property may reflect the status of the stage during the progression of the process, identify the owner responsible for proper execution of the stage, and describe an escalation policy that indicates what to do upon the occurrence of a particular event in the stage. A user interface may be provided that separately displays information for each stage. The user interface may also graphically indicate the status of each stage in the process at a given moment.

Abstract: A framework is provided that uniformly stores in a central repository data collected from various locations in an enterprise computing network. One or more measurements for data of interest in the central repository are pre-calculated. The pre-calculated measurement(s) are normalized to reflect the relative importance of the data of interest in comparison to other data in the central repository. Reports may be generated based on the pre-calculated measurements for the data of interest.

Abstract: Disclosed are a framework for managing an application's relationship to its run-time environment and an engine that accepts the framework as input and runs the application within the environment. Aspects of the framework and engine may be changed to suit a changing environment without changing the application itself. By managing details of the environment, the invention leaves developers free to focus on the specific tasks of the application. The framework also allows the engine to provide standardized services such as deadlock and leak detection, progress monitoring, and results logging. As an example, the application may be a software test suite. The invention allows the test suite to be run single- or multi-threaded and with individual tests within the suite running consecutively or concurrently. The invention can be parameterized to accommodate different testing goals, such as basic variation testing, regression testing, and stress testing, without changing the test suite itself.

Abstract: The invention provides a framework for collecting, storing, and analyzing system metrics concerning a computing system or a computer component. A configuration module is provided to configure settings specific to a metric. A data collection module is provided to collect metric data according to the settings in the configuration module and in one or more component specific plug-ins that extend and customize the framework according to specific needs of the component. The data collection module collects metrics at specified time intervals and periodically updates metric data stored in a central metrics storage module. An analysis module is provided to analyze metric data stored in the central metrics storage module online or offline. The analysis module may analyze a metric statistically or graphically, individually or combined with other metrics.

Abstract: Disclosed are mechanisms for creating and communicating with computer processes. An application programming interface (API) presents services of the system to applications. The API is usable with all processes, local and remote, and is transparent with respect to the location of processes. A process table stores information about processes created using the system. The process table supports centralized process control and peer-to-peer process communication and synchronization. Each process is assigned a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) that uniquely identifies the process no matter the computing device on which it runs. A parent UUID and a group UUID may be attached to the process and used for enforcing dependencies (e.g., for halting the process and all of its child processes) and for managing arbitrary, user-defined groups, respectively. A global event is associated with each process. When a process receives this event, it performs a controlled shutdown, cleans up, and reports status.

Abstract: A configuration system is disclosed that applies rules of precedence to evaluate parameters in the context of multiple sections within a configuration file and in the context of multiple configuration files. The system brings together multiple sections and multiple files into a unified whole. The precedential order of sections and files is set by a user and special section names can be used to override default precedential rules. If a parameter is set multiple times at different levels in the hierarchy of belonging, its final value reflects the value set at the level most closely concerned with the setting of the parameter. The value of a parameter can be set from an environmental variable or from the value of another parameter. If a parameter's value depends upon the value of another parameter, that second parameter is recursively evaluated using the same precedential rules.

Abstract: Disclosed are a framework for managing an application's relationship to its run-time environment and an engine that accepts the framework as input and runs the application within the environment. Aspects of the framework and engine may be changed to suit a changing environment without changing the application itself. By managing details of the environment, the invention leaves developers free to focus on the specific tasks of the application. The framework also allows the engine to provide standardized services such as deadlock and leak detection, progress monitoring, and results logging. As an example, the application may be a software test suite. The invention allows the test suite to be run single- or multi-threaded and with individual tests within the suite running consecutively or concurrently. The invention can be parameterized to accommodate different testing goals, such as basic variation testing, regression testing, and stress testing, without changing the test suite itself.

Abstract: Disclosed are mechanisms for creating and communicating with computer processes. An application programming interface (API) presents services of the system to applications. The API is usable with all processes, local and remote, and is transparent with respect to the location of processes. A process table stores information about processes created using the system. The process table supports centralized process control and peer-to-peer process communication and synchronization. Each process is assigned a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) that uniquely identifies the process no matter the computing device on which it runs. A parent UUID and a group UUID may be attached to the process and used for enforcing dependencies (e.g., for halting the process and all of its child processes) and for managing arbitrary, user-defined groups, respectively. A global event is associated with each process. When a process receives this event, it performs a controlled shutdown, cleans up, and reports status.

Abstract: A configuration system is disclosed that applies rules of precedence to evaluate parameters in the context of multiple sections within a configuration file and in the context of multiple configuration files. The system brings together multiple sections and multiple files into a unified whole. The precedential order of sections and files is set by a user and special section names can be used to override default precedential rules. If a parameter is set multiple times at different levels in the hierarchy of belonging, its final value reflects the value set at the level most closely concerned with the setting of the parameter. The value of a parameter can be set from an environmental variable or from the value of another parameter. If a parameter's value depends upon the value of another parameter, that second parameter is recursively evaluated using the same precedential rules.