Abstract: A hollow structural member (30) for a vehicle is provided with a unitary energy absorbing end portion (34) having a reduced wall thickness (T2), for deforming and absorbing the force of an impact, and a site for initiating such deformation. The initiation site preferably comprises a taper of the end section. A method for forming the structural members includes the steps of reducing the wall thickness of the member end section and subsequent tapering of the end section.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for providing information services to telephony devices. In one embodiment, a telephony device transmits a request for telephone numbers related to a provided telephone number. A service provider looks up related telephone numbers and provided the related telephone numbers to the requesting telephony device. The provided telephone number and the related telephone numbers may be related by being associated with the same or similar type of business. In one embodiment, the information services are fee-based.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium that, in an embodiment, send a broadcast message to a cluster of servers receive a point-to-point message from a coordinating server of the cluster, where the coordinating server joined the cluster before all other servers in the cluster. The point-to-point message includes routing data regarding all of the servers in the cluster. In an embodiment, the broadcast message includes a record that includes an identification of a new server, resource data regarding the new server, and a time that the new server joins the cluster, and the servers in the cluster add the record to the routing data and send a request to the new server via the record. In another embodiment, the broadcast message includes records for all servers in a second cluster, and the new server sends the routing data to the servers in the second cluster. If a server leaves the cluster, its record is removed.

Abstract: A method for eligibility list management in a distributed group membership system, including receiving an eligibility list change request with respect to an eligibility list of a group of computing elements, removing from a view of the group any active members in the group who are to be removed from the eligibility list as indicated by the eligibility list change request, preventing any of the members that are removed from the view from rejoining a view until the eligibility list change is applied to the eligibility list, applying the eligibility list change to the eligibility list, and establishing a new view for any active members in the group who are on the changed eligibility list.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium that, in an embodiment, receive a change request from a first client at a first time, where the change request includes a key that identifies a field in a data object. A determination is made that the first client changed the field identified by the key at a second time that is before the first time and that a second client changed the field identified at a third time that is after the second time and before the first time, and the key is sent to the second client. The client receives the key, and in various embodiments invalidates the key in a cache or removes the key from the cache. In an embodiment, the data value of the change request is also sent to the second client, which updates the cache with the data value. In this way, stale data in a cache at a client is either updated or removed.

Abstract: To enable adaptive monitoring of the resource, metrics about the workload received at the resource from one or more clients are used to derive monitoring feedback comprising a recommendation as to how the monitoring should be performed. This is then used as input to a decision making process controlling the monitoring of the resource. The recommendation may be for the monitor to increase or decrease its monitoring interval. The resource may decide to increase or decrease its monitoring depth or checking, or may suggest a new monitoring depth to the monitor.

Abstract: Methods, apparatuses, and products are disclosed for session replication that include enqueueing sessions on a replication queue and flushing enqueued sessions, from the replication queue to a replication peer, in dependence upon flushing criteria, for storage on a replication medium. The replication medium may be non-volatile storage in a database or remote random access memory. Flushing may be carried out periodically or in dependence upon replication queue depth. Flushing may include aggregating sessions from the replication queue for transmission to the replication peer.

Abstract: A database access facility for accessing databases includes a monitoring function which monitors accesses by requesters of database data. The monitoring function tracks which database fields are requested to dynamically determine the fields which the application needs. Once sufficient tracking data is obtained, subsequent accesses to the database on behalf of an application are automatically modified by the application server to request only the fields which are likely to be needed. Preferably, the database access facility is an application server for one or middle tier applications which access the database on behalf of multiple clients in a three-tier client-server environment.

Abstract: Method and apparatus, in a data processing system that uses JMX as a mechanism for managing internal components, for processing JMX requests to a managed group that includes a plurality of group members. When a JMX request is transmitted to a first member of a group comprising a plurality of group members, a determination is made if the first member is in an active state capable of processing the request. If the first member is not in an active state, the JMX request is forwarded to a currently active member of the plurality of members for processing the request. The invention thus permits users to communicate with the group via JMX without knowing which member of the group is active at any particular time.

Abstract: One computer system in a cluster includes a dynamic routing mechanism that receives all incoming messages for the cluster. When a message is received, the dynamic routing mechanism checks its dynamic routing table, and routes a message to the appropriate partition that corresponds to the address of the message. If a resource has been moved to a different partition, the dynamic routing mechanism may route the message to the old partition instead of the new one. In this case, the old partition receives the message, determines whether the message is intended for it, and if not, the partition forwards the message to the appropriate target partition. The partition then notifies the dynamic routing mechanism of the change in location of the resource, which causes the dynamic routing mechanism to update its dynamic routing table to reflect the change in location for the resource.

Abstract: Exemplary methods, systems, and products are disclosed for managing transactions for Enterprise Java Beans (“EJBs”) that typically include receiving in an EJB container a plurality of container managed transactions for EJB components having container managed persistence. Each transaction typically comprises at least one computer program instruction affecting a data value of an EJB component, and typical embodiments include combining two or more of the transactions into a single transaction. Typical embodiments also include combining two or more of the instructions into a single instruction. Embodiments may include maintaining, by an EJB container, a pool of open transactions.

Abstract: An apparatus, program product and method utilize sets of attributes respectively associated with managed resources and policies to match managed resources with individual policies. Multiple managed resources are permitted to be matched with a specific policy, such that the policy applies to all matching managed resources. Furthermore, by providing multiple attributes upon which to match, policies are capable of being defined with varying degrees of specificity, enabling administrators to utilize more generic policies for certain types of managed resources, with more specific policies used to override certain managed resources whenever needed.

Abstract: An apparatus, program product and method utilize dynamic EJB's capable of being dynamically reconfigured in a runtime environment. An EJB may be dynamically instantiated in a runtime container during execution of an EJB application that uses the EJB. Moreover, a deployment descriptor associated with an EJB may be parameterized such that at least one descriptor element in the deployment descriptor identifies a variable in a value field therefor. Then, when the deployment descriptor is parsed during instantiation of the EJB, the value for the variable may be determined, and the EJB instantiated using the determined value for the variable as the value for the descriptor element. By doing so, information that is not known at development time can be provided when the EJB is being instantiated.

Abstract: An apparatus, program product and method enable program code that manages a managed resource, e.g., a high availability manager, to receive status information associated with an externally-managed resource such that the program code can properly apply an activation policy to the managed resource in a manner that is consistent with any requirements placed upon that resource by the externally-managed resource. Where, for example, a managed resource is required to be collocated on the same node or computer as an externally-managed resource, the status information may include location information that identifies where the externally-managed resource is currently active, such that the program code can activate the managed resource on the same node as the externally-managed resource.

Abstract: An application server includes a connection pool that specifies a number of allowable connections, and includes a backend failure detection mechanism and a backend failure recovery mechanism. When the backend failure detection mechanism detects that the backend fails, applications waiting on the hung connections may be notified of the backend failure. The backend failure detection mechanism will then detect when the backend recovers and becomes available once again. Once the backend is available again, the backend failure recovery mechanism increases the number of connections in the connection pool to compensate for the hung connections. As each hung connection is timed out using a network timeout mechanism, the number of allowable connections is reduced. Eventually all of the hung connections will time out, with the result being that the connection pool will contain the same specified number of allowable connections it originally had before the backend failed.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus, method, service product, and program product which each provide an enhanced, registration-based event handler mechanism. Listener programs are located and compiled before notification is needed. When notification is ultimately required, the pre-located listeners can be called directly without incurring the performance expense associated with first locating and then calling each listener.

Abstract: A container managed persistent (CMP) enterprise java bean (EJB) framework includes support for accessing multiple data sources within one deployment. A CMP EJB includes a number of different attributes that can be a variety of values. A session EJB that acts as a front-end to the CMP EJP includes a resource reference for each of the different data sources that the entity CMP EJB may utilize. The application server environment includes a map that defines mapping information between the attributes of the CMP EJB and the resource references of the session EJB. Using the mapping information during runtime, the application server connects to the appropriate data source.

Abstract: An apparatus and method provide a quorum-based server power-down mechanism that allows a manager in a computer cluster to power-down unresponsive servers in a manner that assures that an unresponsive server does not become responsive again. In order for a manager in a cluster to power down servers in the cluster, the cluster must have quorum, meaning that a majority of the computers in the cluster must be responsive. If the cluster has quorum, and if the manager server did not fail, the manager causes the failed server(s) to be powered down. If the manager server did fail, the new manager causes all unresponsive servers in the cluster to be powered down. If the power-down is successful, the resources on the failed server(s) may be failed over to other servers in the cluster that were not powered down. If the power-down is not successful, the cluster is disabled.

Abstract: In a method and system for monitoring events occurring at respective servers of a configuration of nodes, a first server located at a first node receives information from a messaging system pertaining to events at servers located at other nodes. The messaging system usefully comprises a highly available (HA) bulletin board or the like. When the first server receives a start event notification pertaining to a second server located at a second node, a direct communication path is established between the first and second servers. The first server identifies events in the second server that affect or are of interest to services of the first server. The first server then registers with the second server, to receive notification through the direct communication path when respective identified events occur.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium that, in an embodiment, receive remote procedure calls that request data transfers between a first memory allocated to a first logical partition and a second memory shared among multiple logical partitions. If the first memory and the second memory are accessed via addresses of different sizes, the data is copied between the first memory and the second memory. Further, the data is periodically copied between the second memory and network attached storage.