SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DYNAMICALLY SCANNING A PLURALITY OF ACTIVE PORTS FOR WORK

• US 20120096469A1
• Filed: 10/14/2010
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: KLEIN, Steven E., SHERMAN, Daniel W., BLINICK, Stephen L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,407,710 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system

Abstract

Systems and methods for scanning ports for work are provided. One system includes one or more processors, multiple ports, a first tracking mechanism, and a second tracking mechanism for tracking high priority work and low priority work, respectively. The processor(s) is/are configured to perform the below method. One method includes scanning the ports, finding high priority work on a port, and accepting or declining the high priority work. The method further includes changing a designation of the processor to TRUE in the first tracking mechanism if the processor accepts the high priority work such that the processor is allowed to perform the high priority work on the port. Also provided are computer storage mediums including computer code for performing the above method.

Claims

1. A system for dynamically scanning a plurality of active ports for work, comprising:

a first processor;

a plurality of ports coupled to the first processor;

a first tracking mechanism coupled to the first processor and configured to track low priority work for the plurality of ports with respect to a first designation of each port for each processor; and

a second tracking mechanism coupled to the first processor and configured to track high priority work for the plurality of ports with respect to a second designation of each port for each processor, wherein;

the first designation for the first processor is TRUE in the first tracking mechanism for each port at an initial time,

the second designation for the first processor is FALSE in the second tracking mechanism for each port at the initial time, and

the first processor is configured to;

scan the plurality of ports for high priority work,

find first high priority work in a port,

accept the first high priority work, and

change the second designation of the first processor to TRUE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port such that the first processor is allowed to perform the first high priority work on the port.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second processor coupled to the first tracking mechanism and the second tracking mechanism, wherein;

the first designation for the second processor is TRUE in the first tracking mechanism for each port at the initial time,

the second designation for the second processor is FALSE in the second tracking mechanism for each port at the initial time,

the first processor is further configured to;

accept of decline the first high priority work based on a predetermined criteria, and

change the first designation of the second processor to FALSE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the first processor accepts the first high priority work such that the second processor is excluded from performing low priority work and high priority work in the port when the first processor finds the first high priority work, and

the second processor is configured to;

scan the plurality of ports for second high priority work,

find second high priority work in the port,

accept or decline the second high priority work based on the predetermined criteria,

change the first designation of the first processor to FALSE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the second processor accepts the second high priority work, and

change the second designation of the second processor to TRUE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the second processor accepts the second high priority work such that the first processor is excluded from performing low priority work and high priority work in the port when the second processor finds the second high priority work.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first processor and the second processor are each further configured to:

scan the plurality of ports for low priority work;

initiate a port lock for the port when low priority work is found; and

perform the low priority work in response to initiating the port lock.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the first processor is further configured to:

determine a first number of TRUE designations for the first processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the first high priority work;

determine a second number of TRUE designations for the second processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the first high priority work;

compare the first number of TRUE designations and the second number of TRUE designations;

decline the first high priority work if the first number of TRUE designations is greater than the second number of TRUE designations;

accept the first high priority work if the first number of TRUE designations is less than or equal to the second number of TRUE designations; and

perform the first high priority work when accepted.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the second processor is further configured to:

determine a third number of TRUE designations for the second processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the second high priority work;

determine a fourth number of TRUE designations for the first processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the second high priority work;

compare the third number of TRUE designations and the fourth number of TRUE designations;

decline the second high priority work if the third number of TRUE designations is greater than the fourth number of TRUE designations;

accept the second high priority work if the third number of TRUE designations is less than or equal to the fourth number of TRUE designations; and

perform the second high priority work when accepted.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first processor and the second processor are each further configured to:

continue scanning the port for high priority work after performing the first high priority work or the second high priority work; and

perform any high priority work found while continuing to scan the port.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first processor and the second processor are each further configured to:

track a number of scans of the port in which the first processor or the second processor did not find any high priority work;

release the port when the number of scans is equal to a predetermined number of scans, wherein releasing the port comprises one of;

changing the first designation of the second processor to TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port and changing the second designation of the first processor to FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port; and

changing the first designation of the first processor to TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port and changing the second designation of the second processor to FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port; and

reset the number of scans when high priority work is found and the number of scans is less than the predetermined number of scans.

8. A method for dynamically scanning a plurality of ports for work in a system comprising a first processor, a first tracking mechanism configured to track low priority work for the plurality of ports with respect to a first designation of each port for each processor, and a second tracking mechanism configured to track high priority work for the plurality of ports with respect to a second designation of each port for each processor, the method comprising:

scanning, by the first processor, the plurality of ports for high priority work,

finding first high priority work in a port;

accepting or declining the first high priority work; and

marking the second designation of the first processor as TRUE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port such that the first processor is allowed to perform the first high priority work on the port if the first processor accepts the first high priority work.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the system further comprises a second processor, the method further comprising:

marking the first designation of the first processor as TRUE and the first designation of the second processor as FALSE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the first processor accepts the first high priority work such that the second processor is excluded from performing low priority work in the port when the first processor finds the first high priority work; and

marking the second designation of the second processor as FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the first processor accepts the first high priority work such that the second processor is excluded from performing high priority work in the port when the first processor finds the first high priority work.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein accepting or declining the first high priority work comprises accepting or declining the first high priority work based on a predetermined criteria, the method further comprising:

scanning, by the second processor, the plurality of ports for high priority work, finding, by the second processor, second high priority work in the port;

accepting or declining the second high priority work based on the predetermined criteria;

marking the first designation of the first processor as FALSE and the first designation of the second processor as TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the second processor accepts the second high priority work such that the first processor is excluded from performing low priority work in the port when the second processor finds the second high priority work; and

marking the second designation of the first processor as FALSE and the second designation of the second processor as TRUE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the second processor accepts the second high priority work such that the first processor is excluded from performing high priority work in the port when the second processor finds the second high priority work.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a first number of TRUE designations for the first processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the first high priority work;

determining a second number of TRUE designations for the second processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the first high priority work;

comparing the first number of TRUE designations and the second number of TRUE designations;

declining the first high priority work if the first number of TRUE designations is greater than the second number of TRUE designations;

accepting the first high priority work if the first number of TRUE designations is less than or equal to the second number of TRUE designations; and

performing the first high priority work when accepted.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a third number of TRUE designations for the second processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the second high priority work;

determining a fourth number of TRUE designations for the first processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the second high priority work;

comparing the third number of TRUE designations and the fourth number of TRUE designations;

declining the second high priority work if the third number of TRUE designations is greater than the fourth number of TRUE designations;

accepting the second high priority work if the third number of TRUE designations is less than or equal to the fourth number of TRUE designations; and

performing the second high priority work when accepted.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

continuing to scan, by the first processor or the second processor, the port for high priority work after performing the first high priority work or the second high priority work, respectively; and

performing any high priority work found while continuing to scan the port.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

tracking, by the first processor or the second processor, a number of scans of the port in which the first processor or the second processor did not find any high priority work;

releasing the port when the number of scans is equal to a predetermined number of scans; and

resetting the number of scans when high priority work is found and the number of scans is less than the predetermined number of scans, wherein releasing the port comprises one of;

changing the first designation of the second processor to TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port and changing the second designation of the first processor to FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port; and

changing the first designation of the first processor to TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port and changing the second designation of the second processor to FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port.

15. A physical computer storage medium comprising a computer program product method for dynamically scanning a plurality of ports for work in a system comprising a first processor, a first tracking mechanism configured to track low priority work for the plurality of ports with respect to a first designation of each port for each processor, and a second tracking mechanism configured to track high priority work for the plurality of ports with respect to a second designation of each port for each processor, the physical computer storage medium comprising:

computer code for scanning, by the first processor, the plurality of ports for high priority work,

computer code for finding, by the first processor, first high priority work in a port;

computer code for accepting or declining the first high priority work; and

computer code for marking the second designation of the first processor as TRUE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port such that the first processor is allowed to perform the first high priority work on the port if the first processor accepts the first high priority work.

16. The physical computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein the system further comprises a second processor, the physical computer storage medium further comprising:

computer code for marking the first designation of the first processor as TRUE and the first designation of the second processor as FALSE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the first processor accepts the first high priority work such that the second processor is excluded from performing low priority work in the port when the first processor finds the first high priority work; and

computer code for marking the second designation of the second processor as FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the first processor accepts the first high priority work such that the second processor is excluded from performing high priority work in the port when the first processor finds the first high priority work.

17. The physical computer storage medium of claim 16, wherein the computer code for accepting or declining the first high priority work comprises computer code for accepting or declining the first high priority work based on a predetermined criteria, the physical computer storage medium further comprising:

computer code for scanning, by the second processor, the plurality of ports for high priority work,

computer code for finding, by the second processor, second high priority work in the port;

computer code for accepting or declining the second high priority work based on the predetermined criteria;

computer code for marking the first designation of the first processor as FALSE and the first designation of the second processor as TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the second processor accepts the second high priority work such that the first processor is excluded from performing low priority work in the port when the second processor finds the second high priority work; and

computer code for marking the second designation of the first processor as FALSE and the second designation of the second processor as TRUE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port if the second processor accepts the second high priority work such that the first processor is excluded from performing high priority work in the port when the second processor finds the second high priority work.

18. The physical computer storage medium of claim 17, further comprising:

computer code for determining a first number of TRUE designations for the first processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the first high priority work;

computer code for determining a second number of TRUE designations for the second processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the first high priority work;

computer code for comparing the first number of TRUE designations and the second number of TRUE designations;

computer code for declining the first high priority work if the first number of TRUE designations is greater than the second number of TRUE designations;

computer code for accepting the first high priority work if the first number of TRUE designations is less than or equal to the second number of TRUE designations; and

computer code for performing the first high priority work when accepted.

19. The physical computer storage medium of claim 18, further comprising:

computer code for determining a third number of TRUE designations for the second processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the second high priority work;

computer code for determining a fourth number of TRUE designations for the first processor in the second tracking mechanism in response to finding the second high priority work;

computer code for comparing the third number of TRUE designations and the fourth number of TRUE designations;

computer code for declining the second high priority work if the third number of TRUE designations is greater than the fourth number of TRUE designations;

computer code for accepting the second high priority work if the third number of TRUE designations is less than or equal to the fourth number of TRUE designations; and

computer code for performing the second high priority work when accepted.

20. The physical computer storage medium of claim 19, further comprising:

computer code for continuing to scan, by the first processor or the second processor, the port for high priority work after performing the first high priority work or the second high priority work, respectively;

computer code for performing any high priority work found while continuing to scan the port;

computer code for tracking, by the first processor or the second processor, a number of scans of the port in which the first processor or the second processor did not find any high priority work;

computer code for releasing the port when the number of scans is equal to a predetermined number of scans; and

computer code for resetting the number of scans when high priority work is found and the number of scans is less than the predetermined number of scans, wherein the computer code for releasing the port comprises one of;

computer code for changing the first designation of the second processor to TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port and changing the second designation of the first processor to FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port; and

computer code for changing the first designation of the first processor to TRUE in the first tracking mechanism with respect to the port and changing the second designation of the second processor to FALSE in the second tracking mechanism with respect to the port.