Method, system and program product for monitoring and controlling access to a computer system resource

• US 7,206,845 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2004
• Issued: 04/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Banning, Dirk Alan, McLaughlin, John Raymond, Snyder, Paul L., Fromherz, Jeffrey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang; Khanh
• Application Number:
  US11/018,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20060136638A1
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 710/29, 710/39, 710/40, 710/41, 710/45, 709223-226, 726/6, 726/7, 726/22
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• 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

A facility for monitoring and controlling access of at least one entity to a computer system resource is provided employing at least one resource utilization threshold metric. The at least one resource utilization threshold metric is a workload characteristic of the computer system resource. Access of the at least one entity to the computer system resource is controlled in response to the at least one resource utilization threshold metric being met. The access control is automatic and may include at least one of assigning a lower priority to the entity in a computer resource scheduling algorithm, or waiting a predetermined period of time before the computer system resource provides a response to the at least one entity.

Claims

1. A method for controlling access to a computer system resource, the method comprising:

defining at least one environmental activation threshold metric, wherein the at least one environmental activation threshold metric is a workload characteristic of the computer system resource;

monitoring access to the computer system resource and determining whether usage of the computer system resource meets the at least one environmental activation threshold metric, and if so, then for a current transaction requiring access to the computer system resource;

collecting at least one identifying attribute of the transaction; and

employing the at least one identifying attribute in determining whether the transaction is for at least one entity having a predefined usage limit, and if so, throttling access of the at least one entity to the computer system resource when the predefined usage limit for the at least one entity is met, otherwise allowing the current transaction to proceed unthrottled, wherein the at least one entity is less than all entities accessing the computer system resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the throttling comprises delaying processing of the transaction based upon a throttling directive.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the throttling directive comprises at least one of:

waiting a predetermined period of time before the computer system resource provides a response to the at least one entity; and

assigning a lower priority to the at least one entity in a computer resource scheduling algorithm.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one entity comprises a distinct connection to the computer system resource.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one entity comprises at least one of a network address or subset of network addresses, a user, another computer system resource, a server, a communications entity, and a storage entity.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one environmental activation threshold metric comprises at least one of:

computer system resource requests per time period;

computer system resource consumption per time period;

concurrent computer system resource sessions;

percent of incoming requests to the computer system resource by the at least one entity; and

percent of computer system resource load.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining whether the at least one environmental activation threshold metric has been met, comprises collecting at least one of current usage information for the computer system resource and a current utilization per defined time interval for the computer system resource.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the throttling comprises delaying access by the at least one entity to the computer system resource for a predefined time interval.

9. A system for controlling access to a computer system resource, the system comprising:

means for defining at least one environmental activation threshold metric, wherein the at least one environmental activation threshold metric is a workload characteristic of the computer system resource;

means for monitoring access to the computer system resource and means for determining whether usage of the computer system resource meets the at least one environmental activation threshold metric, and if so, then for a current transaction requiring access to the computer system resource;

means for collecting at least one identifying attribute of the transaction; and

means for employing the at least one identifying attribute in determining whether the transaction is for at least one entity having a predefined usage limit, and if so, for throttling access of the at least one entity to the computer system resource when the predefined usage limit for the at least one entity is met, otherwise for allowing the current transaction to proceed unthrottled, wherein the at least one entity is less than all entities accessing the computer system resource.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for throttling comprises means for delaying processing of the transaction based upon a throttling directive.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for throttling directive comprises at least one of

means for waiting a predetermined period of time before the computer system resource provides a response to the at least one entity;

and

means for assigning a lower priority to the at least one entity in a computer resource scheduling algorithm.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one entity comprises a distinct connection to the computer system resource.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one entity comprises at least one of a network address or subset of network addresses, a user, another computer system resource, a server, a communications entity, and a storage entity.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one environmental activation threshold metric comprises at least one of:

computer system resource requests per time period;

computer system resource consumption per time period;

concurrent computer system resource sessions;

percent of incoming requests to the computer system resource by the at least one entity; and

percent of computer system resource load.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein said means for determining whether the at least one environmental activation threshold metric has been met, comprises means for collecting at least one of current usage information for the computer system resource and a current utilization per defined time interval for the computer system resource.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the means for throttling comprises means for delaying access by the at least one entity to the computer system resource for a predefined time interval.

17. At least one program storage device readable by a machine tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of controlling access to a computer system resource, the method comprising:

defining at least one environmental activation threshold metric, wherein the at least one environmental activation threshold metric is a workload characteristic of the computer system resource;

monitoring access to the computer system resource and determining whether usage of the computer system resource meets the at least one environmental activation threshold metric, and if so, then for a current transaction requiring access to the computer system resource;

collecting at least one identifying attribute of the transaction; and

employing the at least one identifying attribute in determining whether the transaction is for at least one entity having a predefined usage limit, and if so, throttling access of the at least one entity to the computer system resource when the predefined usage limit for the at least one entity is met, otherwise allowing the current transaction to proceed unthrottled, wherein the at least one entity is less than all entities accessing the computer system resource.

18. The at least one program storage device of claim 17, wherein the throttling comprises delaying processing of the transaction based upon a throttling directive.

19. The at least one program storage device of claim 18, wherein the throttling directive comprises at least one of:

waiting a predetermined period of time before the computer system resource provides a response to the at least one entity; and

assigning a lower priority to the at least one entity in a computer resource scheduling algorithm.

20. The at least one program storage device of claim 17, wherein the at least one entity comprises a distinct connection to the computer system resource.

21. The at least one program storage device of claim 20, wherein the at least one entity comprises at least one of a network address or subset of network addresses, a user, another computer system resource, a sever, a communications entity, and a storage entity.

22. The at least one program storage device of claim 17, wherein the at least one environmental activation threshold metric comprises at least one of:

computer system resource requests per time period;

computer system resource consumption per time period;

concurrent computer system resource sessions;

percent of incoming requests to the computer system resource by the at least one entity; and

percent of computer system resource load.

23. The at least one program storage device of claim 17, wherein said determining whether the at least one environmental activation threshold metric has been met, comprises collecting at least one of current usage information for the computer system resource and a current utilization per defined time interval for the computer system resource.

24. The at least one program storage device of claim 23, wherein the throttling comprises delaying access by the at least one entity to the computer system resource for a predefined time interval.