Systems and methods for dynamic control of cache and pool sizes

• US 20050262516A1
• Filed: 10/15/2004
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Chow, Thorick, White, Seth
• Granted Patent: US 7,543,273 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/315
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/023 Free address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0891 using clearing, invalidating or resetting means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5016 the resource being the memory

Abstract

The present invention provides users and processes with various features to control the memory usage by a cache and pool dynamically at runtime. The cache and pool can be initialized on demand to remove idle objects of classes from them without the server being restarted. When the cache and pool reach their maximum sizes, idle objects in them may be removed to make room for newly active objects using various strategies in batches, where the schedule (periodicity), size and processing time of each batch can be dynamically adjusted. When a newly created object is being added to a full cache where each object is enrolled in a transaction, one or more active objects may be passivated from the cache based on various criteria to make room for the new instance to be added. Various features of the cache and pool can be defined in a configuration file. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures, and the claims.

Claims

1. A system to support dynamic control of cache size, comprising:

a cache capable of storing in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes defined by an object-oriented programming language;

one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes;

a configuration file capable of defining the one or more properties associated with the class; and

a cache control component capable of performing on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the object into the cache and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the object-oriented programming language can be Java®

or C++.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the class can be one of an interface, a module, a Java®

bean and an EJB type.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

a property in the one or more properties can be a limit on the idle time allowed for an object of the class.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

a criterion in the one or more criteria can be that the idle time of the object is greater than the limit on the idle time allowed for the class of the object.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the cache control component is capable of removing the instance that has the longest idle time first.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the cache control component further comprises a batch scheduler, wherein the batch scheduler is capable of performing the removing step via one or more batches.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein:

the batch scheduler is further capable of at least one of;

executing a batch in the one or more batches at a fixed or variable periodicity;

locking the cache when executing the batch;

setting a processing time for the batch;

setting the size of the batch, i.e., the number of instances to be processed by the batch;

calculating the processing time for each instance by the batch; and

adjusting the processing time for the batch and/or the size of the batch based on the processing time for each instance.

9. A system to support dynamic control of cache size, comprising:

a cache capable of storing in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types;

one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types;

a deployment descriptor capable of defining the one or more properties associated with the EJB type; and

a cache control component capable of performing on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the instance into the cache and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein:

the deployment descriptor is capable of defining the one or more properties in XML.

11. A system to support dynamic control of pool size, comprising:

a pool capable of storing in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes;

one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes;

a configuration file capable of defining the one or more properties associated with the class; and

a pool control component capable of performing on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

adding the object into the pool and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein:

a property in the one or more properties can be at least one of;

a limit on the idle time allowed for an object of the class; and

the initial size of the pool for the class, i.e., the initial number of objects of the class allowed in the pool.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein:

a criterion in the one or more criteria can be at least one of;

the idle time of the object is greater than the limit on the idle time allowed for the class of the object; and

the size of the pool for the class is greater than the initial size of the pool for the class.

14. A system to support dynamic control of pool size, comprising:

a pool capable of storing in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types;

one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types in the pool;

a deployment descriptor capable of defining the one or more properties associated with the EJB type; and

a pool control component capable of performing on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

adding the instance into the pool and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein:

the deployment descriptor is capable of defining the one or more properties in XML.

16. A method to support dynamic control of cache size, comprising:

storing in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes defined by an object-oriented programming language via a cache;

defining one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

performing on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the object into the cache and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

removing the instance that has the longest idle time first.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

performing the removing step via one or more batches using a batch scheduler.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein:

the batch scheduler is further capable of at least one of;

executing a batch in the one or more batches at a fixed or variable periodicity;

locking the cache when executing the batch;

setting a processing time for the batch;

setting the size of the batch, i.e., the number of instances to be processed by the batch;

calculating the processing time for each instance by the batch; and

adjusting the processing time for the batch and/or the size of the batch based on the processing time for each instance.

20. A method to support dynamic control of cache size, comprising:

storing in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a cache;

defining one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types via a deployment descriptor; and

performing on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the instance into the cache and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

defining the one or more properties in XML.

22. A method to support dynamic control of pool size, comprising:

storing in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes via a pool;

defining one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

performing on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

adding the object into the pool and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

23. A method to support dynamic control of pool size, comprising:

storing in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a pool;

defining one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types in the pool via a deployment descriptor; and

performing on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

adding the instance into the pool and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising:

defining the one or more properties in XML.

25. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed cause a system to:

store in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes defined by an object-oriented programming language via a cache;

define one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

perform on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the object into the cache and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

26. The machine readable medium of claim 25, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:

remove the instance that has the longest idle time first.

27. The machine readable medium of claim 25, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:

perform the removing step via one or more batches using a batch scheduler.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 25, wherein:

the batch scheduler is further capable of at least one of;

executing a batch in the one or more batches at a fixed or variable periodicity;

locking the cache when executing the batch;

setting a processing time for the batch;

setting the size of the batch, i.e., the number of instances to be processed by the batch;

calculating the processing time for each instance by the batch; and

adjusting the processing time for the batch and/or the size of the batch based on the processing time for each instance.

29. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed cause a system to:

store in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a cache;

define one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types via a deployment descriptor; and

perform on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the instance into the cache and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 29, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:

define the one or more properties in XML.

31. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed cause a system to:

store in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes via a pool;

define one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

perform on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

adding the object into the pool and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

32. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed cause a system to:

store in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a pool;

define one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types in the pool via a deployment descriptor; and

perform on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

adding the instance into the pool and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

33. The machine readable medium of claim 32, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:

define the one or more properties in XML.

34. A system to support dynamic control of cache size, comprising:

means for storing in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes defined by an object-oriented programming language via a cache;

means for defining one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

means for performing on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the object into the cache and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

35. A system to support dynamic control of cache size, comprising:

means for storing in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a cache;

means for defining one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types via a deployment descriptor; and

means for performing on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the instance into the cache and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

36. A system to support dynamic control of pool size, comprising:

means for storing in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes via a pool;

means for defining one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

means for performing on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

adding the object into the pool and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

37. A system to support dynamic control of pool size, comprising:

means for storing in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a pool;

means for defining one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types in the pool via a deployment descriptor; and

means for performing on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

adding the instance into the pool and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

38. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:

a code segment including instructions to store in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes defined by an object-oriented programming language via a cache;

a code segment including instructions to define one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

a code segment including instructions to perform on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the object into the cache and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

39. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:

a code segment including instructions to store in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a cache;

a code segment including instructions to define one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types via a deployment descriptor; and

a code segment including instructions to perform on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

instantiating and/or adding the instance into the cache and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the active and/or idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the cache if one or more criteria are met.

40. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:

a code segment including instructions to store in memory one or more objects of each of one or more classes via a pool;

a code segment including instructions to define one or more properties associated with a class of the one or more classes via a configuration file; and

a code segment including instructions to perform on an object in the one or more objects at least one of;

adding the object into the pool and setting the idle time of the object to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the object; and

removing the object from the pool if one or more criteria are met.

41. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:

a code segment including instructions to store in memory one or more instances of each of one or more EJB types via a pool;

a code segment including instructions to define one or more properties associated with an EJB type of the one or more EJB types in the pool via a deployment descriptor; and

a code segment including instructions to perform on an instance in the one or more instances at least one of;

adding the instance into the pool and setting the idle time of the instance to zero;

monitoring the idle time of the instance; and

removing the instance from the pool if one or more criteria are met.