Abstract: A fluid valve comprises a valve housing having at least one fluid inlet and at least one fluid outlet and having a valve axis. At least one of the inlet and outlet is arranged in a wall extending circumferentially about the valve axis. The valve further comprises a rotary valve body arranged within the valve housing for rotation about the valve axis. The rotary valve body comprises a frusto-conical valve body wall and at least one inlet or outlet valve body opening through the valve body wall, the valve body being rotatable about the valve axis so as selectively to place the valve housing inlet and valve housing outlet into fluid communication via the at least one valve body opening. The at least one inlet or outlet valve body opening is a slot which extends in the direction of the valve axis.

Abstract: A pin and carrier locking assembly is described for locking a pin and carrier in position relative to each other. The carrier has first and second opposing arms, each comprising a bore therein and the axial ends of the pin are positioned within these opposing bores of the carrier. The assembly further comprises a hollow bearing provided around and coaxially with said pin and between said first and second arms. The bearing is positioned so as to not contact the first arm of the carrier but to contact the second arm of the carrier and a washer is positioned between the bearing and the first arm of the carrier so that a first section of the washer makes a first contact area with the first arm of the carrier.

Abstract: A fluid valve comprises a valve housing having at least one fluid inlet and at least one fluid outlet and having a valve axis. At least one of the inlet and outlet is arranged in a wall extending circumferentially about the valve axis. The valve further comprises a rotary valve body arranged within the valve housing for rotation about the valve axis. The rotary valve body comprises a frusto-conical valve body wall and at least one inlet or outlet valve body opening through the valve body wall, the valve body being rotatable about the valve axis so as selectively to place the valve housing inlet and valve housing outlet into fluid communication via the at least one valve body opening. The at least one inlet or outlet valve body opening is a slot which extends in the direction of the valve axis.

Abstract: An actuator for driving a rotatable component includes a first member comprising a screw thread and rotatable about an axis (X), and a second member comprising a screw thread configured to cooperate with the screw thread on the first, rotating member. The second member is restrained against rotational movement about the axis (X) such that rotation of said first member causes movement of said second member along the axis (X), and the second member comprises one or more helical grooves. The actuator also includes a third member rotatable about the axis (X) and restrained against axial movement, wherein the third member comprises one or more helical rails, each configured to ride within a respective one of the helical grooves such that movement of the second member along the axis (X) causes rotational movement of the third member about the axis (X).

Abstract: A pin and carrier locking assembly is described for locking a pin and carrier in position relative to each other. The carrier has first and second opposing arms, each comprising a bore therein and the axial ends of the pin are positioned within these opposing bores of the carrier. The assembly further comprises a hollow bearing provided around and coaxially with said pin and between said first and second arms. The bearing is positioned so as to not contact the first arm of the carrier but to contact the second arm of the carrier and a washer is positioned between the bearing and the first arm of the carrier so that a first section of the washer makes a first contact area with the first arm of the carrier.

Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method for backing up heterogeneous virtual environments may include (1) identifying a request to back up a virtual machine executing on a host system, (2) creating a storage map of a virtual storage environment of the virtual machine by (a) identifying, from the host system, a virtual disk file that stores data for the virtual machine and (b) identifying, from a guest system operating within the virtual machine, one or more virtual storage devices that store data for the virtual machine, and (3) creating a unified backup of the virtual machine based on the storage map of the virtual storage environment by coordinating a backup operation of the virtual disk file with a backup operation of the virtual storage device. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Abstract: A system and method for avoiding duplicate backups of data in a volume backup image. A cluster of nodes is coupled to a data storage medium configured to store data corresponding to a shared volume. A node receives a request for the backup of the shared volume. In response to this request, the node queries all other nodes in the cluster for identification of a subset of the shared volume data that should be excluded from the backup. The identified subset of the data may correspond to at least a file under control of a database application or other particular application. It may be known that this identified subset of the data will be backed up by a subsequent agent-based backup operation after the volume backup. In response to receiving all query responses, the node initiates a backup corresponding to the data in the shared volume excluding the identified subset of the data.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to load balancing for servers having multiple blades and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for load balancing at the blade level for servers having multiple blades. In one embodiment of the present invention, a blade server for performing load balancing may comprise a plurality of blades, each blade coupled with a plurality of outgoing ports. The blade server may further include a blade management module configured for monitoring throughput performance of the server and the plurality of blades, wherein each blade is coupled with a plurality of outgoing ports, instructing a blade to switch from a first outgoing port to a second outgoing port when throughput performance decreases and instructing the blade to switch from the second outgoing port back to the first outgoing port when throughput performance increases.

Abstract: Aspects for easing the attachment of a peripheral cable to a personal computer (PC) include providing a connector with a symmetric shape that supports multiple orientations of cable attachment to a PC. An orientation of insertion is identified when the connector is attached to the PC, and signal lines from the connector are rearranged based on the identified orientation of the connector.

Abstract: A method and system for status reporting. The method includes providing a plurality of status messages, and reporting to at least two user groups at least two status messages of the plurality of status messages, wherein each of the at least two user groups receives a different status message.

Abstract: Aspects for easing the attachment of a peripheral cable to a personal computer (PC) include providing a connector with a symmetric shape that supports multiple orientations of cable attachment to a PC. An orientation of insertion is identified when the connector is attached to the PC, and signal lines from the connector are rearranged based on the identified orientation of the connector.

Abstract: A method and system for detecting a failing server of a plurality of servers is disclosed. In a first aspect, the method comprises monitoring load balancing data for each of the plurality of servers via at least one switch module, and determining whether a server is failing based on the load balancing data associated with the server. In a second aspect, a computer system comprises a plurality of servers coupled to at least one switch module, a management module, and a failure detection mechanism coupled to the management module, wherein the failure detection mechanism monitors load balancing data for each of the plurality of servers via the at least one switch module and determines whether a server is failing based on the load balancing data associated with the server.