Restricting resources consumed by ghost agents

• US 20050065992A1
• Filed: 09/19/2003
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Creamer, Thomas E., Moore, Victor S., Katz, Neil A., Hilf, Bill H., Jaiswal, Peeyush, Mirt, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,480,914 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5022 Workload threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/508 Monitor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention can include a method for restricting resources consumed by ghost agents. The method can include the step of associating a ghost agent with a host. A resource utilization value can be ascertained for the ghost agent and the host combined. The ascertained resource utilization value can be compared with a usage threshold. A determination can be made as to whether operations of the ghost agent are to be executed based upon the previous comparison.

Claims

1. A method for restricting resources consumed by ghost agents comprising the steps of:

associating a ghost agent with a host;

ascertaining a resource utilization for said ghost agent and said host combined;

comparing said resource utilization to a usage threshold; and

determining whether at least one operation of said ghost agent is to be executed responsive to said comparing step.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said ascertaining step further comprises the steps of:

determining a first value specifying a usage of a first resource type;

determining a second value specifying a usage of a second resource type; and

calculating said resource utilization based on said first value and said second value.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

deactivating said ghost agent according to said comparing step;

starting an idle timer; and

,

activating said ghost agent when said idle timer reaches a predetermined time.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

identifying a first operation that requires a first quantity of computing resources; and

identifying a second operation that requires a second quantity of computing resources, wherein said second operation can be performed by said ghost agent in place of said first operation, and wherein said determining step selects between said first operation and said second operation based upon said comparing step.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

storing at least one operation in an operation queue when said ghost agent is deactivated.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of:

executing said stored operation when said ghost agent is activated.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said operation queue is disposed within said ghost agent.

8. A ghost agent comprising:

an interface for associating said ghost agent with a host;

a ghost log configured to record data relating to said host; and

a ghost controller configured to compare resource utilization levels with established thresholds, and wherein said ghost agent automatically moves within a grid environment to follow movements of said host.

9. The ghost agent of claim 8, wherein said ghost controller is further configured prevent said ghost agent from executing at least one operation based upon said comparison.

10. The ghost agent of claim 8, further comprising:

an operation queue configured to queue operations for execution by said ghost agent.

11. The ghost agent of claim 8, further comprising:

a ghost identifier configured to identify said ghost agent to components within said grid environment.

12. A ghost agent of claim 8, further comprising:

means for disassociating said ghost agent from said host; and

means for associating said ghost agent with a different host.

13. A machine-readable storage having stored thereon, a computer program having a plurality of code sections, said code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

associating a ghost agent with a host;

ascertaining a resource utilization for said ghost agent and said host combined;

comparing said resource utilization to a usage threshold; and

determining whether at least one operation of said ghost agent is to be executed responsive to said comparing step.

14. The machine-readable storage of claim 13, wherein said ascertaining step further comprises the steps of:

determining a first value specifying a usage of a first resource type;

determining a second value specifying a usage of a second resource type; and

calculating said resource utilization based on said first value and said second value.

15. The machine-readable storage of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

deactivating said ghost agent according to said comparing step;

starting an idle timer; and

,

activating said ghost agent when said idle timer reaches a predetermined time.

16. The machine-readable storage of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

identifying a first operation that requires a first quantity of computing resources; and

identifying a second operation that requires a second quantity of computing resources, wherein said second operation can be performed by said ghost agent in place of said first operation, and wherein said determining step selects between said first operation and said second operation based upon said comparing step.

17. The machine-readable storage of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

storing at least one operation in an operation queue when said ghost agent is deactivated.

18. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

executing said stored operation when said ghost agent is activated.

19. The machine-readable storage of claim 17, wherein said operation queue is disposed within said ghost agent.

20. A system for restricting resources consumed by ghost agents comprising the steps of:

means for associating a ghost agent with a host;

means for ascertaining a resource utilization for said ghost agent and said host combined;

means for comparing said resource utilization to a usage threshold; and

means for determining whether at least one operation of said ghost agent is to be executed responsive to said comparing step.