Provision of Resource Allocation Information

• US 20110167146A1
• Filed: 03/10/2011
• Published: 07/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Murray, Paul, Guijarro, Julio Cesar, Goldsack, Patrick
• Granted Patent: US 8,166,171 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5061 Partitioning or combining of resources

Abstract

A system is provided for disseminating resource allocation information from system resources to state-information observers comprising resource users and typically also at least one system resource manager. Each resource maintains state information about its identity and its allocation to one or more resource users. Each resource provides this information to a state-dissemination arrangement which disseminates it to each state-information observer. Each resource user uses the state information it receives from the state-dissemination arrangement to ascertain the resources allocated to it. Similarly, a system resource manager, when present, uses the state information it receives from the state-dissemination arrangement to ascertain the allocation of those resources that are of interest to the manager. A resource, resource user and resource manager for use in such a system are also provided.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of resource devices implemented in at least one processing node, each resource device arranged to maintain and provide state information about its allocation to one or more resource users, wherein the one or more resource users comprise one or more application programs;

a state-dissemination arrangement for disseminating the state information provided by the resource devices; and

at least one receiving entity arranged to receive state information from the state-dissemination arrangement, the receiving entity comprising at least one resource user arranged to use the state information it receives to ascertain which of the resource devices, if any, have been allocated to it.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein each receiving entity with an interest in respective particular state information is configured to register with the state-dissemination arrangement to indicate its interest in that information, wherein the state-dissemination arrangement is configured to use these registered interests to manage dissemination of the state information.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein each receiving entity is configured to register a state-information indicator indicative of desired state information to be received, wherein each resource device is arranged to provide state information identified by a state-information identifier, wherein the state-dissemination arrangement is configured to match the state information identifiers with the registered state-information indicators to manage the dissemination of state information according to the registered interests.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein each resource device is configured to register with the state-dissemination arrangement a resource state-information identifier for state information to be provided by the resource device, wherein the state dissemination arrangement is configured to match registered resource state-information identifiers with registered state-information indicators and to store association data associating each registered resource state-information identifier with data for managing the dissemination of the state information identified by that identifier, the state dissemination arrangement being arranged to use the association data in disseminating the state information.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the state-dissemination arrangement comprises multiple state-dissemination servers configured to communicate with each other, wherein each resource device and each receiving entity is operatively associated with a respective state-dissemination server, wherein the association data associates each registered state-information identifier with each state-dissemination server operatively associated with any receiving entity that has registered a state-information indicator matching the identifier, wherein each state-dissemination server is configured to use the association data to disseminate the state information it receives from a resource device to each server indicated by the association data as being associated with the identifier with the latter server being arranged to pass on the state information to each receiving entity operatively associated with it that has registered a state-information indicator matching the identifier of the state information concerned.

6. A system according to claim 5, comprising processing nodes interconnected by a communications network, wherein the resource devices and the at least one receiving entity are distributed between the processing nodes as part of the communications network, wherein each processing node is associated with a respective state-dissemination server with the servers being arranged to communicate with each other over the communications network.

7. A system according to claim 5, wherein each state-dissemination server is configured to store, for each resource device and receiving entity with which it is operatively associated, registration data indicative of any state-information identifiers and indicators registered by the resource device or receiving entity concerned.

8. A system according to claim 5, wherein the state-dissemination server is configured to store the association data in respect of the state-information identifiers registered by any resource devices operatively associated with the server of which the component forms a part.

9. A system according to claim 5, wherein each state-dissemination server is configured to store source data to indicate, for the state-information indicators registered by any receiving entity operatively associated with the server, which one or more of the multiple state-dissemination servers corresponding identifiers have been registered.

10. A system according to claim 5, wherein each state-dissemination server comprises a respective state manager, the state manager of each state-dissemination server comprising a local registry which in turn comprises:

a local register arranged to store the association data related to the server, registration data indicative, for each resource device and state-information observer operatively associated with the server, of any state-information identifiers, and indicators registered by the resource device or receiving entity concerned;

a first updater configured to register a state-information identifier for a resource device operatively associated with the server by updating the registration data in the local register accordingly; and

a second updater configured to register a state-information indicator for a receiving entity operatively associated with the server by updating the registration data accordingly.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the state-dissemination server further comprises a global registry, wherein the first updater of each local registry when registering a new state-information identifier is configured to send a first message including that identifier to the global registry, wherein the second updater of each local registry when registering a new state-information indicator is configured to send a second message including that indicator to the global registry, the global registry comprising:

a global register configured to store, for each state-information identifier and indicator, data indicative of each state-dissemination server where that identifier or indicator has been registered;

a first global updater configured to receive the first message and to update the global register regarding the identifier in the first message, find any matching state-information indicator in the global register, and return to the server that sent the message association-update data indicative of the or each state-dissemination server where a matching indicator was registered; and

a second global updater configured to receive the second message and to update the global register regarding the indicator in the second message, find any matching state-information identifier in the global register, and send to the state-dissemination server where that identifier was registered association-update data indicative of the state-dissemination server that sent the second message, wherein each local registry further comprises a third updater configured to update the association data held by the local register in response to receipt of the association-update data from the global registry.

12. A system according to claim 3, wherein each resource device is configured to register a state-information identifier comprising at least a generic portion the same for all resource devices, wherein the state-dissemination server is configured to detect a match between all identifiers and a state-information indicator comprising the generic portion whereby any of the receiving entities can register a single state-information indicator to receive state information from all resource devices.

13. A system according to claim 3, wherein each resource device of a given type is configured to register a state-information identifier comprising at least a type-generic portion the same for all resource devices of the given type, wherein the state-dissemination server is configured to detect a match between all these identifiers and a state-information indicator comprising this type-generic portion whereby any of the receiving entities can register a single state-information indicator to receive state information from all resource devices of the given type.

14. A system according to claim 3, wherein each resource device allocated to a particular resource user is configured to register a state-information identifier comprising at least a user-specific portion the same for all the resource devices, wherein the state-dissemination server is configured to detect a match between the identifiers and a state-information indicator comprising the user-specific portion whereby the resource user concerned can register a single state-information indicator to receive state information from all resource devices allocated to it.

15. A system according to claim 3, wherein the state-dissemination server is configured to detect a match between a state-information identifier and a state-information indicator only in the event of a complete match over the full extent of both.

16. A system according to claim 3, wherein the state-dissemination server is configured to detect a match between a state-information identifier and a state-information indicator upon at least a part of the identifier matching at least a part of the identifier.

17. A system according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the receiving entities is arranged to register multiple different state-information indicators.

18. A system according to claim 3, wherein at least one resource device is arranged to register multiple state-information identifiers identifying the same state information.

19. A system according to claim 3, wherein at least one resource device is arranged to register a further state-information identifier identifying additional state information not including the allocation of the resource device, wherein at least one of the receiving entities is arranged to register a further state-information indicator corresponding to the further state-information identifier whereby to receive the additional state information.

20. A system according to claim 9, wherein each state-dissemination server comprises a communication timer configured to monitor whether the server can still communicate within a communication time limit with other state-dissemination servers and, upon this limit not being met in respect of any such other server, to use the source data of the server of which it forms a part to inform any operatively-associated ones of the receiving entities that had registered to receive state information coming from a resource device associated with the server with which communication is out of time, that this state information is no longer available.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein each state-dissemination server further includes partition manager for identifying, in cooperation with partition managers of other servers, a collection of servers, including itself, between all of which state information can be disseminated within the predetermined time limit as monitored by the communication timer of the servers, wherein each state-dissemination server only belongs to one collection, wherein the state-dissemination arrangement is configured to provide the receiving entities of a collection with state information only from resource devices within the same collection, wherein each state-dissemination server of a collection is configured to inform its operatively associated receiving entities of any disruption to collection membership whereby a given one of the receiving entities of the collection determines that it cannot rely upon the receipt by interested other receiving entities of the collection of any item of state information which the given one of the receiving entities itself has received within an immediately preceding time period of duration corresponding to twice the predetermined time limit.