Abstract: A system and method for restructuring the physical storage of a table of a database. The records of the table are grouped into one or more partitions, each of which is stored in a file having a number of fixed sized blocks. Each of the blocks has a first format. Restructuring the physical storage of the table involves changing, to a second format, the format of the blocks of the file in which a partition of the table is stored. Additionally, control data that includes a catalog table and one or more file labels describing the partitions in which the records of the table are grouped, is altered to indicate that the blocks of a partition are enabled to be stored in the second format. Restructuring occurs in phases so as to minimize the inaccessibility of the table being restructured to updates.

Abstract: A method of linking together digital information objects of a digital information space includes creating an overlay. The overlay includes at least one concept node, each concept node expressing one concept. A digital information object in the digital information space is accessed. The digital information object is examined to determine if at least one concept in common with concepts expressed in concept nodes is included. If the digital information object and the overlay include at least one common concept, the digital information object is automatically and dynamically linked to each concept node expressing common concepts. A user may create an information node in the overlay representing the digital information object.

Abstract: Data integration including extracting a first native record having a first native format from a first native repository through a first adapter, the first adapter loosely coupled for data integration to a data integration application, the first native format having a datatype; transforming the first native record having first native format to a first native record having dynamic common format, the dynamic common format being a subset of a dynamic common model, the dynamic common model comprising mappings to and from the dynamic common format for all native records in all datatypes; transforming the format of the first native record having dynamic common format to a first native record having second native format; and inserting through a second adapter, also loosely coupled to the application, the first native record the second native format into a second native repository.

Abstract: A Client/Server Database System with improved methods for providing access to highly-concurrent data, such as of B-Tree data structures, is described. When the system receives a request to insert a key value into a B-Tree at page that does not have sufficient room, the system must split at the tree at the leaf level. This is done by allocating a new page, and moving some of the key values from the old page to the new page. The split itself propagates upward. To do the split itself, the system obtains address locks for the two pages, and marks both as undergoing “split” (i.e., a split operation)—the system sets a Boolean flag or “split bit” to “true.” When the split is propagated up, a “side entry” is added to the old page to point to the newly allocated page. The old page, however, may not have sufficient room for storing this new entry (e.g., when it is already full). Accordingly in such a case, the parent page must split also.

Abstract: By providing an index that stores information about how to access each grouping of elements in an interleaved data stream and each element within each grouping, random access to each element in the interleaved data stream can be achieved. The index may store a temporal offset for each grouping for interleaved data streams in which the order of data samples in the interleaved data stream is different from the order in which those data samples are used to present the data stream. The information that allows each element in a grouping to be accessed may include information defining the length of each element, or information describing the relative position of each element in a grouping, such as a map table. Such a map table may have an entry for each data type, wherein each entry includes an indication of information used to access a sample of the data type.

Abstract: A method for visualizing multimedia objects assigns a feature vector to each multimedia object. The feature vector of each multimedia object is reduced to a location vector having a dimensionality of a display device. A cost function is evaluated to determine an optimal location vector for each multimedia object, and each multimedia object is displayed on a display device according to the optimal location vector. The reducing can use principle component analysis. In addition, a relevance score can be determined for each displayed multimedia object, and the multimedia objects can than be visually enhanced according to the relevance score.

Abstract: A database management system maintains a system catalog for storing information regarding the data definitions of the managed data objects, where all information necessary for the recreation of the data definitions must be available or inferable from the stored information. The inventive database management system also maintains log records or a journal of changes which occur within the database system, especially to the system catalog information. When a drop of a managed data object occurs, the deletion of the system catalog data definition information is recorded in the log. To recreate the data definitions of the dropped objects, first the information about the dropped objects, deleted from the system catalog, is located in the log records. Second, the log records are read and extracted. Third, the definition information is extracted or inferred from the log records.

Abstract: A distributed cache management system controls individual cache objects so they are selectively updated if messages are received at another cache in an expected order and selectively invalidated if messages are received with certain error state, thus causing reference to be made to the central database. In specific embodiments of the invention, each change to an object in the central database is assigned a unique version number with an inherent ordering to serialize all changes, and the version number is used as a key to determine if messages have been lost or otherwise received at a cache out of order. In a further specific embodiment, full object state information is communicated among caches without need for verification through the central database. Thus if messages are lost or received out of order, the state can be applied to the targeted objects in the local cache assuring full synchronization.

Abstract: A database is employed for the recording of assigned computer disk drive letters, but database is distribute across multiple drives and media, rather than centralizing the database as prior art systems have done. Fragments of the database are stored within the unused portion of disk space located after partition tables but before the beginning of a partition, thereby forming one or more Shadow Partition Tables. In these Shadow Partition Tables, the drive letter assignments or logical volume assignments for the particular piece of media and partition are stored. A method for automatically determining relationship between entries in the normal partition tables and the Shadow Partition Tables is employed which is compatible with industry standard disk format definitions, while allowing enhanced drive letter assignment management especially useful for removable disk media.

Abstract: A random number generator comprises random number generation circuitry to generate and output random bits. The random number generator includes interface circuitry to receive and store random bits output by the random number generation circuitry and to output random bits. The interface circuitry prevents outputting the same random bits more than once.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus are provided for combining a plurality of random number generators into a combined random number generator. The outputs of the plurality of generators are interleaved into a combined stream of random numbers selected from each of the plurality of random-number generators. A value of x is calculated by each of the random number generators. Each of the values of x is mapped to a respective arrival time t for each of the random number generators. One of the random number generators having an earliest respective arrival time t is determined. A random number based on the arrival time t is generated.

Abstract: An area-efficient finite impulse response filter having permuted bit-order functional elements that provide substantially straight and direct interconnects with minimized length between adjacent elements. A functional element is coupled with an input data path and an output data path, at least one of which has a permuted bit-order data path exhibiting bit-order ordinal discontinuity. The permuted bit-order data path also can be a transposed permuted bit-order data path in which the placement of at least part of a data path is transposed, relative to prior art placements. The bit-order ordinal discontinuity fosters short, straight element interconnects which leads to increased spatial efficiency and improved performance.

Abstract: The discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is computed in a plurality of parallel processors. A DFT of length N is divided into r partial DFTs of length (N/r), in which the r partial DFTs are calculated in separate parallel processors and then combined in a combination phase to form a complete DFT of length (N). The r partial FFTs are able to be computed in parallel multiprocessors by defining the mathematical model of the combination phase in such manner so as to allow the r parallel processors to operate independently and simultaneously. A second embodiment presents a radix-r fast Fourier algorithm that reduces the computational effort as measured by the number of multiplications and permits the N/r parallel processors to operate simultaneously and with a single instruction sequence.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a multiply-accumulate unit with a rounding function which is capable of effecting 16-bit multiply-accumulate operations taking into account the position of an addend in a register. The multiply-accumulate unit with the rounding function has a selection inputting and expanding means 42 for expanding an addend from 31st-16th bits of 40-bit register 1 into 40-bit data and transmitting the 40-bit data to MAC (multiply-accumulate) unit 41 if control signal Position from an external source is “1”, and expanding an addend from 15th-0th bits of 40-bit register 1 into 40-bit data and transmitting the 40-bit data to MAC unit 41 if control signal Position is “0”. MAC unit 41 performs a multiply-accumulate operation on the 40-bit data, 16-bit data multiplicand B, and multiplier C.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are provided for an improved on-the-fly rounding technique for digit-recurrence algorithms, such as division and square root calculations. According to one embodiment, only two forms of an intermediate result of an operation to be performed by a digit-recurrence algorithm are maintained. A first form is maintained in a first register and a second form is maintained in a second register. Responsive to receiving digits 1 to L−2 of the intermediate result from a digit recurrence unit, where L represents a number of digits that satisfies a predetermined precision for the operation, both forms of the intermediate result are updated by register swapping or concatenation under the control of load and shift control logic and on-the-fly conversion logic. Then, a rounded result is generated by determining digits dL−1 and dL and appending a rounded last digit to the appropriate form of the intermediate result.

Abstract: A filtering method is proposed wherein first several filtering steps (I-III, IV-VI) are made. Each step (I-III,IV-VI) includes: generating a filtered signal (I,IV), rounding this filtered signal (II,V) to a certain accuracy and combining (III,VI) the rounded signal with the input signal, whereby a filter error is obtained. The filtered signals are combined (VII) to a first filtered signal that is rounded (VIII) and combined (IX) with the input signal, whereby a coded signal is obtained. This allows to adapt the rounding step (II,V) and the combining step (III,VI) in each filtering step to specific filter design. Thereby limit cycles are reduced, the first filtered signal is available for further processes and the rounding can be inverted in the reverse process. Further a filter method for the reverse process, filter devices (1,10) able to perform these methods and devices (20,30,40,50,60) containing such devices are provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides predictable scheduling of programs using a repeating precomputed schedule. In a preferred embodiment, a scheduler accesses an activity scheduling graph. The activity scheduling graph is comprised of nodes each representing a recurring execution interval, and has one root, one or more leaves, and at least one path from the root to each leaf. Each node is on at least one path from the root to a leaf, and the number of times the execution interval represented by each node occurs during the traversal of the graph is equal to the number of paths from the root to a leaf that the node is on. Each node has associated with it an execution interval length, and is adapted to being dedicated to executing the threads of a single activity. The scheduler first selects a current node within the accessed scheduling graph.

Abstract: A processor is provided that includes an execution unit for executing instructions and a replay system for replaying instructions which have not executed properly. The replay system is coupled to the execution unit and includes a checker for determining whether each instruction has executed properly and a plurality of replay queues or replay queue sections coupled to the checker for temporarily storing one or more instructions for replay. In one embodiment, thread-specific replay queue sections may each be used to store a long latency instruction for each thread until the long latency instruction is ready to be executed (e.g., data for a load instruction has been retrieved from external memory). By storing the long latency instruction and its dependents in a replay queue section for one thread which has stalled, execution resources are made available for improving the speed of execution of other threads which have not stalled.

Abstract: A threaded text discussion or chat system includes a client graphical user interface that is rendered on display screens of user computers. In one implementation, the user interface includes a threaded discussion message pane and a social accounting pane that are rendered simultaneously adjacent each other on the display screen. Within the threaded discussion message pane, messages or turns are rendered or listed in a threaded or tree structure. The social accounting pane displays identifying information about each past and current member of a discussion.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided for use with a client and server device connected through a communication link. The client device sends a startup request to the server device. The startup request identifies a streamable media content that is to be provided to the client device, a communication link bandwidth associated with the communication link, and an amount of the desired streamable media content that is to be provided at a bitrate greater than the encoded bitrate but no greater than about the communication link bandwidth. The server device buffers at least the amount of the streamable media content, and transmits the amount of the buffered streamable media content at the higher bitrate. The server device locates a discrete rendering point in the amount of the buffered streamable media content and initiates transmission beginning with the discrete rendering point.

Abstract: Data composed of a plurality of still pictures is stored in a center (1) connected to a predetermined communication line. Under the condition that a communication terminal apparatus (10) and the center (1) are connected by a communication line, the data composed of a plurality of still pictures accumulated in the center (1) is downloaded into a memory housed in the communication terminal apparatus (10) in response to a request from the communication terminal apparatus (10). After the connection made by the communication line is cut off, by a predetermined operation of the communication terminal apparatus (10), a plurality of still pictures are displayed one by one on a display unit of the communication terminal apparatus (10) in a predetermined order based on data stored in the memory.

Abstract: In order to transmit image data, across the internet, from a mobile terminal, a particular station is provided in a mobile communication network that is linked to the internet. A subscriber to the mobile communication network transmits instructions, which includes image data editing information and image data destination information, to the particular station. Thereafter, the subscriber transmits image data to the particular station wherein the image data is edited according to the image data editing information. The edited image data is then stored in a suitable memory, after which the particular station informs, across the internet, an image data receiver, specified by the destination information, that the edited image data is ready to be downloaded from the memory by the image data receiver. The order of uploading the pieces of the image data editing and destination information can be reversed.

Abstract: An architecture for automatically configuring equipment interfaced to a computer. A computer which is in communication with a network, is provided having the piece of equipment interfaced to the computer and having associated therewith one or more machine-resolvable codes (MRCs). The computer connects to a remote location disposed on the network in response to a select one of the one or more MRCs being read with a reader. Configuration information associated with the select one of the one or more MRCs is then transmitted from the remote location to the computer. The piece of equipment is then configured via the computer according to the configuration information.

Abstract: An information terminal unit is capable of inputting a desired character with lesser key stroke by eliminating unnecessary operation of a user. The information terminal unit obtains a file described by a page description language used on a browser function on a superior unit by means of the browser function, parses the page description language of the obtained file, and displays a result of parsing of the page description language. The information terminal unit has control means for dynamically controlling an order of appearance of display characters upon inputting character, depending upon an attribute of a kind of input character designated in a character input tag used in the page description language.

Abstract: A system and method for file management is comprised of hierarchical files systems, referred to as “areas.” There are three types of areas: work areas, staging areas, and edition areas. A work area is a modifiable file system, and, in a work area a user can create, edit, and delete files and directories. A staging area is a read-only file system that supports select versioning operations. Various users of work areas can integrate their work by submitting the contents of their work area to the staging area. In the staging area, developers can compare their work and see how their changes fit together. An edition is a read-only file system, and the contents of a staging area are virtually copied into an edition to create a frozen, read-only snapshot of the contents of the staging area. One use of the system and method for file management is as a website development tool.

Abstract: A method and system is provided for implementing a variety of polling agent functions in a client management tool. Users at a central manager are prompted to select either a central polling function or a resident polling function for the collection of client management data from a number of computer objects. Additionally, the polling agent functions of the present invention are capable of distinguishing between critical data and non-critical data and determining an appropriate transmission interval for the data.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for the execution and authoring of policies that use event rates for event management. The first system addresses policy execution. Included in this system are: a controller that provides overall operational control, a grouping engine, a rate detector, and a rate diagnoser. The second system automates the construction of event rate policies based on primary information sources (e.g., topology, inventory). The components of this system include: an authoring user interface, source-specific hierarchy generators, an event group generator and hierarchy builder, and a threshold constructor.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing computer network access points the capability for multiple-level accounting. A gateway device located at the access point is capable of generating Internet protocol accounting start and stop requests based on various events that need to be accounted for when a user accesses a network. These events include the user account logon, the service establishments and the Point to Point protocol (PPP) connections between the gateway device and public and private domains within the network. The counter is capable of tracking the duration of sessions and connections and the byte-count associated with the specified session or connection. The gateway device communicates with an accounting server which stores the accounting requests and matches start requests with subsequent stop requests.

Abstract: A system and method for monitoring and analyzing Internet traffic is provided that is efficient, completely automated, and fast enough to handle the busiest websites on the Internet, processing data many times faster than existing systems. The system and method of the present invention processes data by reading log files produced by web servers, or by interfacing with the web server in real time, processing the data as it occurs. The system and method of the present invention can be applied to one website or thousands of websites, whether they reside on one server or multiple servers. The multi-site and sub-reporting capabilities of the system and method of the present invention makes it applicable to servers containing thousands of websites and entire on-line communities. In one embodiment, the system and method of the present invention includes e-commerce analysis and reporting functionality, in which data from standard traffic logs is received and merged with data from e-commerce systems.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product are disclosed to enable independent verification of service level agreement between two parties. In one embodiment, a first party contracts the hosting service of a second party to provide said first party with Web page and services on second party's equipment. Said contract contains a Service Level Agreement specifying performance parameters and guarantees for the response time experienced by users of said Web page and services. Independent verification by a third party of said agreement is done for a fee through several steps. In a first step, said third party inserts measuring and reporting instructions into blocks of information maintained on the server of said second party. The measuring instructions are for delivery to the client with the blocks of information. The delivery of the instructions occurs responsive to a request for the information by the client. Once they are delivered, the instructions are executed by the client.

Abstract: A monitoring system monitors the amount of time spent by specific application components, such as Java components, during execution of specific web site transactions. A probe that runs on an application server initially instruments these components (preferably at component load time) to add code for tracking execution start and stop times. When a monitored transaction is executed by the application server, the probe measures the execution times of the invoked components—preferably at the component method level. The resulting measurement data is reported to a reports server, and is used to provide transaction-specific breakdowns of the amount of time spent by each instrumented component, and optionally each instrumented method within such components. In one embodiment, the probe only monitors transactions initiated by agent-generated transaction request messages that are marked or “colored” for monitoring, and thus ignores transactions initiated by actual users.

Abstract: A method and system for managing data traffic between an intranet and the internet. The Intranet composed of client computers connected to a router system which bridges the connection to a plurality of proxy servers. The proxy servers act as a gateway to the internet and operate on a designated application level protocol. The router system redirecting packets based on application level protocols to the proxy servers while checking the destination proxy server with an authorized list. The router system blocking or transmitting based on the application level protocol and the authorized server.

Abstract: Systems, methods and computer program products are provided for distributed administration of a network environment having defined administrator authorities. A plurality of rules are defined specifying ones of a plurality of entity objects without administrator authority authorized to invoke administration powers to establish properties of target entity objects. In various embodiments, such rules are based on one or more of the properties of the target ones of the entity. An administrator application identifies one of the rules associated with one of the administration powers for one of the properties to be established and obtains a property of the target entity object designated by the identified rule to determine if the action is authorized.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for providing “invisibility” to the compulsory gateway of an IP network, comprising a clustered proxy-server including an inverse load balancer. When individual servers have to access, transparently, resources available on remote content-servers on behalf of a user, an inverse load balancer keeps track of which individual server is in charge of the user request and steers the response through the cluster to the user.

Abstract: A computer system (10) that allows a user to automatically access one of a plurality of Internet Service Providers which require information specific to the user and/or the ISP (12) to be accessed. A smart card (14) contains the information specific to the user and/or the ISP (12) to be accessed, and a smart card reader (18) reads the information contained on the smart card (14) when inserted into the recess 16 of the smart card reader (18). A computer (24) is provided having a Central Processing Unit CPU (22) that is in communication with the smart card reader (18) and which is also adapted to be connected to the ISP (12) via telephone line (30).

Abstract: A nationwide, web-based pet registration, search and retrieval system. The system is implemented with a host computer (10) that may be accessed by users operating user computers (12) via a communications network (14) such as the Internet. Pet owners may register their pets with the host computer and finders of lost pets may search the host computer in an attempt to locate the owners of lost pets.

Abstract: In a distributed computing environment, a message gate may be the message endpoint for a client or service to communicate with another client or service. Devices may have a gate factory (e.g. message endpoint constructor) that is trusted code on the device for generating gates based on XML message descriptions. The use of the gate factory may ensure that the gate it generates is also trusted code, and that the code is correct with respect to a service advertisement. A service advertisement may indicate, for a particular service, a message schema, service URI and authentication service URI. In one embodiment, the pieces the gate factory needs to construct a gate are the XML schema of the service and the URI of the service. In another embodiment, an authentication credential may also be obtained and used in gate construction by running an authentication service specified in the service advertisement.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved method and system for controlling packet flow through a protocol stack. The system comprises the layer manager which interfaces with each stack layer. The layer manager handles the packet flow to the stack layers. For a new packet path to be supported, only the Layer Manager needs to be modified, not the stack layers. This makes the implementation of the layers in the protocol stack easier. In an alternative embodiment, the layer manager comprises a plurality of protocol descriptor lists for supported services and uses these lists to route a packet to the appropriate stack layer. With this alternative embodiment, new stack layers may be inserted into the protocol stack without the need to modify the existing stack layers.

Abstract: A software architecture and control protocol that provides applications with control over the transport that is frame-accurate, random-access, real-time and stream-based. Conventional server-based data network where media data resides on the server does not provide a frame accurate control of media data playback on a client workstation. The present invention provides control on the client with the implementation of a “client pull” data transport model. According to the present invention, requests for media data are sent from the client to the server one request at a time. The server, upon receiving the requests, retrieves the corresponding frames of media data and transmits the media data back to the client one frame at a time. In this way, the present invention allows a user-interface to provide frame accurate controls on the client workstation, while allowing for real-time playback of media data that resides on the server.

Abstract: An Integration Controller integrates broadcast automation systems and thereby provides a single command and control center for monitoring production of the audio and video stream. An event-based schedule, or a “playlist,” specifies the segments to be played along with the necessary timing and hardware information. Each event in the schedule commands the playback or record of a video segment, generation of a special effect, transfer of a video segment from one device to another or closure of one or more video switches. Events may be launched automatically at a specified time, or manually by an operator. An Integration Controller (IC) communicates with an Event Scheduling System via a Scheduling System Interface. The Scheduling System Interface communicates with the Integration Controller via the IC server. The IC server utilizes various modules to communicate with Device Drivers, a Log Manager and one or more User Interfaces.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving video data arranged in data frames forming a data stream. Each frame has assigned a priority level. Once a data frame has been transmitted through an unreliable channel and has not been received at the receiver, the priority level of the missing data frame is compared with a priority threshold value, and is then retransmitted if its priority level is greater than the priority threshold value. The retransmission decision is performed either at the transmitting or at the receiving side. According to a preferred embodiment, the priority level of any data frame to be transmitted is compared with the threshold value. The priority decision may involve the calculation of the priority threshold value based on a measurement of the available channel bandwidths and eventually on the bit rate of previously sent frames. The retransmission decision further may include an estimation of the arrival time of the data frame to be retransmitted.

Abstract: A communication apparatus contains a first table having entries each storing a data-link-layer path to a second communication apparatus, and a second table storing a pointer to the entry of the first table, storing the data-link-layer path to the second communication apparatus, corresponding to a network-layer address of one of the at least one other communication apparatus. In addition, a process for determining layer-2 reachability between first and second communication apparatuses, identifies first and second layer-2-connected communication networks to which first and second interfaces of first and second routers are connected, where, on a layer-3 communication path between the first and second communication apparatuses, the first router is located nearest the first communication apparatus and the second router is located nearest the second communication apparatus. When first and second layer-2-connected communication networks are identical, the layer-2 reachability is determined.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer program on a computer readable medium for allowing multiple controllers to communicate with other controllers through the use of a routing table are disclosed. The controllers do not need to be directly connected to each other as long as there is a path through other controllers to reach each other. Routing tables used to determine the optimal communications paths between controllers. These techniques are disclosed that allow the controllers to compute the optimal communications path between two controllers. A first technique computes the path which crosses the least number of controllers to reach the controller to which the message is being sent. A second technique is to compute the path which has the least data traffic crossing the controllers and the interconnects. A third technique combines the first two techniques in that it uses both pieces of information, the shortest route and minimal data traffic, to determine an optimal routing path.

Abstract: Data is transferred over a network having many image data processing systems (101, 102). A high bandwidth network (121) is connected to each of the data processing systems and to each of several storage systems (111, 112). Each of the storage systems is operated under the direct control of one of the processing systems. A request is issued from a first processing system to access a data storage system controlled by a second processing system over a low bandwidth network (151). A bandwidth assessment process assesses an extent to which the second processing system requires access to its local storage system. The first processing system is given access to the second storage system if an assessment is made to the effect that local access requirements are identified as being below a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: The system of the invention provides a unique address assignment mechanism and technique that allows an address server such as a DHCP server to receive requests for network addresses from computer systems or other requesting devices. Based on an identity of the requesting computer system, or on another criteria, the address server can select an address for use on the network from either a set of local addresses or one or more sets of guest addresses. If the address server identifies the requesting computer system as a guest computer system, then a guest address selected from at least one set of guest addresses is assigned and provided to that computer system, whereas if the address server identifies the requesting computer system a local computer system then the address server selects and assigns a local address (from the set of local addresses) to the requesting local computer system.

Abstract: A system and method for designing web pages that enables web designers to place hyperlinks to web pages independent of any hierarchical relationship between the pages of the website. A link bar element is provided within a description of the website. The link bar element includes a persistent set of links, each link corresponding to one of several content files. One or more of the content files may be a web file. The link bar element is associated with at least one web file by including a link bar name in the at least one web file. In addition, other link bar information is stored in the web file and a description of the website is stored in a description file separate from the at least one web file that is associated with the link bar element. The description file includes an identifier for the link bar node and the one or more links.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus, disposed between a controlling portion and hardware, for performing a process corresponding to a program that contains capsulated process portions for controlling the hardware in response to messages received from the controlling portion. The program includes a first process portion for communicating with the controlling portion; a second process portion for communicating with first and second hardware; a third process portion for communicating with the first process portion and the second process portion and executing an interfacing process corresponding to the first hardware; and a fourth process portion for communicating with the first process portion and the second process portion and executing an interfacing process corresponding to the second hardware. The first process portion outputs a message to either the third process portion or the fourth process portion corresponding to a message received from the controlling portion.

Abstract: The present invention discloses methods and systems for discovering printers and shares on a computer network. Each domain on the network is identified, and each computer in the domain is identified. In addition, each printer connected to the computer and each share on the computer is identified. Shortcuts to the identified printers and shares are created on at least one computer on the network. Moreover, drivers are preferably installed on the computer for each printer for which a shortcut was created. In the event that the total number of resources (i.e., shares and/or printers) exceeds a threshold, then the process terminates. Otherwise, the present invention continues until all printers and shares on the network are identified, and the appropriate shortcuts are created. Thus, the present invention provides methods and systems for discovering resources on a network.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method to configure input/output (SIO) devices to use selected pairs of port addresses. The method includes writing a first unique value to a selected port address. The method further includes writing a second unique value to the selected port address. The method also includes performing a read operation on the selected port address to obtain a read value. The method additionally includes setting an input/output (IO) device to use the selected port address.

Abstract: In traditional Fibre Channel systems, remote devices connected to the Fibre Channel network using a bridge or included in a storage enclosure are not tracked. A device identifier corresponding to the remote device is obtained from the remote device. The device identifier may include the remote device's serial number and other identifying information pertaining to the device. The remote device's vendor and product identifiers are retrieved and matched against a table of known vendor/product identifiers. If the match is successful, a predefined routine is located based on the match. The predefined routine is repeatedly used to retrieve the device identifier from the remote device. Communication with the remote device continues while the device identifier matches a previously stored device identifier corresponding to the device. When the device identifier no longer matches, an error occurs indicating that the remote device has been removed or swapped.