US6675229B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Methods and apparatus for providing quality of service for legacy applications
Assignee: RPX Corp
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Filing: 1999-11-29
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Granted: 2004-01-06
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Expires: 2019-11-29
Abstract
Abstract A computer operating system that allows legacy applications to be run automatically with quality of service (QoS) guarantees matching required QoS performance levels. In accordance with the invention, files have QoS requirement attributes that can be set-by users. Additionally, users may interpose a requirement broker between a given legacy application and the operating system. The requirement broker may be in the form of a modified version of a library that is dynamically linked with applications at load time. The requirement broker intercepts certain system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of the accessed files, whether local or remote.
Inventors
- 👤 John Louis Bruno
- 👤 José Carlos Brustoloni
- 👤 Eran Gabber
- 👤 Banu Ozden
- 👤 Abraham Silberschatz
- 👤 Amit Singh
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 01:43
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/50; G06F9/5005; G06F9/5027; G06F9/5055; G06F2209/00; G06F2209/50; G06F2209/5014
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
87 words
A method of ensuring a particular quality of service (QoS) for an application in a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: associating a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application; and implementing a requirement broker between the application and an operating system of the computer system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
87 words
A method of ensuring a particular quality of service (QoS) for an application in a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: associating a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application; and implementing a requirement broker between the application and an operating system of the computer system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the application is a legacy application existing prior to the development or modification of an application programming interface for requesting QoS guarantees from the system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein all files having a name which matches a certain pattern have a corresponding QoS requirement attribute.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 3 wherein the associations between file name patterns and QoS requirements are represented by a database.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the QoS requirements are in the form of resource requirements and the QoS guarantees are in the form of resource reservations.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the resource comprises at least one of a processor resource, a memory resource, a disk resource, and a network interface resource.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 5 wherein a resource reservation specifies a portion of a resource set aside for exclusive use by one or more processes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the requirement broker is implemented at least in part in the form of a modified version of a library that is dynamically linked with the application at load time.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the operating system comprises a Unix-derived operating system.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the operating system comprises an operating system not derived from Unix.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
62 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the operating system is configured to support a command that, when applied to a file descriptor fd that references a local file f (i) automatically creates a queue whose share of the bandwidth of the device where f is located matches f's resource requirement attribute, and (ii) adds a reference from fd to the created queue.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the command includes an argument specifying whether the file will be read or written.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the new queue is created as a child of the process's root reservation for the device where the file is located.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the operating system is configured to support a command that, when applied to a file descriptor fd that references a remote file f of a stateful distributed file system, (i) automatically creates client and server queues whose share of the bandwidth of each device used for accessing f matches f's resource requirement attribute, and (ii) modifies client and server state so that f's client and server queues are automatically destroyed when f is closed.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 14 wherein the command includes an argument specifying whether the file will be read or written.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 14 wherein client queues are created as children of the client process's root reservation for the devices used in file accesses, and server queues are created as children of the server process's root reservation for the devices used in file accesses.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
114 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the operating system is configured to (i) on a first command from a given client process to input or output data from or to a remote file f of a stateless distributed file system, automatically create client and server queues whose share of the bandwidth of each device used for accessing f matches f's resource requirement attribute; (ii) use the created queues in subsequent commands from the given client process to input or output data from or to f, and (iii) automatically destroy the created queues when the given client process within a certain time interval issues no command to input or output data from or to f.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 17 wherein client queues are created as children of the client process's root reservation for the devices used in file accesses, and server queues are created as children of the server process's root reservation for the devices used in file accesses.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 17 wherein step (i) is contingent on the state of a flag attribute of the file f or of the corresponding file descriptor fd, and wherein the operating system is configured to support a command for changing the state of the flag.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 17 wherein step (i) adds references from fd to the created client queues.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the requirement broker comprises a file system broker which intercepts system calls relating to file access so as to ensure that the application can access the files automatically with the required resource reservations.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the requirement broker comprises a separate network broker defined for each application-level client/server protocol required by the application.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
120 words
An apparatus for ensuring a particular quality of service level for an application in a computer system, the apparatus comprising: a processor operative to support an operating system of the computer system, the operating system being operative to associate a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application, and to implement a requirement broker between the application and the operating system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application; and a memory coupled to the processor and operative to store at least a subset of the associated QoS requirement attributes.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
120 words
An apparatus for ensuring a particular quality of service level for an application in a computer system, the apparatus comprising: a processor operative to support an operating system of the computer system, the operating system being operative to associate a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application, and to implement a requirement broker between the application and the operating system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application; and a memory coupled to the processor and operative to store at least a subset of the associated QoS requirement attributes.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
105 words
An article of manufacture comprising a machine-readable medium for storing one or more programs for ensuring a particular quality of service level for an application in a computer system, wherein the one or more programs when executed implement the steps of: associating a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application; and implementing a requirement broker between the application and an operating system of the computer system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
105 words
An article of manufacture comprising a machine-readable medium for storing one or more programs for ensuring a particular quality of service level for an application in a computer system, wherein the one or more programs when executed implement the steps of: associating a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application; and implementing a requirement broker between the application and an operating system of the computer system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
78 words
An apparatus for use in a computer system, the apparatus comprising: a processor-implemented operating system operative to associate a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application, and to implement a requirement broker between the application and the operating system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
78 words
An apparatus for use in a computer system, the apparatus comprising: a processor-implemented operating system operative to associate a QoS requirement attribute with each of a plurality of files accessible to the application, and to implement a requirement broker between the application and the operating system, wherein the requirement broker intercepts one or more designated system calls and automatically requests from the system QoS guarantees in accordance with the QoS requirement attributes of files accessed by the application.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-01-05 | 2007-07-07 | 2008-01-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-01-05 | 2011-07-07 | 2012-01-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-01-05 | 2015-07-07 | 2016-01-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |