Method and device for agile computing

• US 8,326,979 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2007
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Nielsen, Johan
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): MIAH, RAZU A
• Application Number:
  US12/744,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20100318650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709223-224, 707/10, 707/634, 705/10
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0002 by adapting the transmission rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters

Abstract

A method for operating a group of nodes in a system for agile computing comprising a coordinator node and a first computation node communicating via a connection, and wherein the first computation node is adapted to perform a task for the coordinator node is provided. The method comprises the steps of: monitoring at least one operating parameter indicating the quality of the connection between the two nodes; determining a quality parameter based on the operating parameter, wherein the quality parameter indicates the quality of the connection between the two nodes; and transferring information from the first computation node to the coordinator node, when the value of the quality parameter falls within a transfer interval, wherein the information comprises information about a part of a task performed by the first computation node.

Claims

1. A method for operating a group of nodes in a system for agile computing comprising a coordinator node and a first computation node communicating via a connection, the first computation node performing a task for the coordinator node, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring at least one operating parameter indicating the quality of the connection between the coordinator node and the first computation node,

determining a quality parameter based on the operating parameter, wherein the quality parameter indicates the quality of the connection between the coordinator node and the first computation node,

transferring information from the first computation node to the coordinator node, when the value of the quality parameter falls within a transfer interval, wherein the information comprises information about a part of a task performed by the first computation node; and

deciding whether the first computation node should stop or continue performing the task after the step of transferring information about the performed part of the task.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring at least one operating parameter comprises measuring the signal strength of a signal between the coordinator node and the first computation node.

3. The method according claim 1, wherein the step of determining a quality parameter comprises determining the quality parameter based on the signal-to-noise ratio of a signal between the coordinator node and the first computation node.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transferring information is performed when the value of the quality parameter falls below a transfer threshold value.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method prior to the step of monitoring at least one operating parameter further comprises the step of distributing the task to the first computation node only when the quality parameter is at or above an initiation threshold value.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of attempting to set up an alternative connection between the coordinator node and the first computation node.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

the coordinator node determining the distribution of the remaining part of the task of the first computation node based on information from the first computation node, and

the coordinator node distributing the remaining part of the task of the first computation node to at least one computation node in the group.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring at least one operating parameter is performed by the first computation node, and the information transferred in the step of transferring information comprises information that the value of the quality parameter has fallen within the transfer interval.

9. A coordinator node for agile computing, wherein the coordinator node is arranged for determining distribution of tasks and distributing the tasks to one or more computation nodes in a group, and is further arranged to receive information about a part of a task distributed to a first computation node when a quality parameter that is determined whether one or more operating parameters falls within a transfer interval, the first computation node being arranged for deciding whether to stop or continue performing the task after transferring information about the performed part of the task.

10. The coordinator node according to claim 9, wherein the coordinator node is further adapted to determine the distribution of the remaining part of the task of the first computation node based on information from the first computation node, and arranged to distribute the remaining part of the task of the first computation node to at least one computation node in the group.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the coordinator node is further arranged to determine the distribution of the remaining part of the task of the first computation node based on information from the first computation node, and arranged to distribute the remaining part of the task of the first computation node to at least one computation node in the group.

12. A system for agile computing, the system comprising:

one or more computation nodes, wherein a computation node is for receiving and performing a task from a coordinator node via a connection, the computation node comprising;

a monitor device for monitoring at least one operating parameter indicating the quality of the connection between the coordinator node and the at least one computation node,

a calculator device for determining a quality parameter based on the at least one operating parameter, wherein the quality parameter indicates the quality of the connection between the coordinator node and the computation node, and

a transmitter device for transferring information from the computation node to the coordinator node when the value of the quality parameter falls within a transfer interval, the information comprising information about a part of the task performed by the computation node; and

the coordinator node for determining distribution of tasks and distributing the tasks to the one or more computation nodes in a group, and is further arranged to receive information about a part of a task distributed to a first computation node when a quality parameter that is determined whether one or more operating parameters falls within a transfer interval, wherein the first computation node is arranged for deciding whether to stop or continue performing the task after transferring information about the performed part of the task.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the information about a part of the task performed by the computation node comprises information that the value of the quality parameter has fallen within the transfer interval.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the monitor device is arranged for measuring the signal strength of a signal between the coordinator node and the computation node;

the calculator device is arranged for determining the quality parameter based on the signal-to-noise ratio of a signal between the coordinator node and the computation node; and

the transmitter device is arranged for transferring information to the coordinator node when the value of the quality parameter falls below a transfer threshold value.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the computation node is arranged for setting up an alternative connection between the coordinator node and the computation node, when the value of the quality parameter falls within a setup interval.