Patent · US Expired

Estimator program for estimating the availability of an application program that runs in a cluster of at least two computers

US6334196A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
7References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 12, 1999
Grant dateDec 25, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 12, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F11/008
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An estimator program is disclosed which performs method steps for estimating the availability of an application program that runs on any computer in a cluster of at least two computers. By the availability of an application program is herein meant the probability that at any particular time instant, at least one of the computers in the cluster will actually be servicing requests from external workstations to use the application program. In one embodiment, the estimator program begins by receiving input parameters which include 1) multiple downtime periods for each computer in the cluster that occur at respective frequencies due to various downtime sources, and 2) an application failover time period for switching the running of the application program from any one computer to another. From those input parameters, the estimator program estimates first and second annual stoppage times, and then determines the availability of the application program on the cluster from the sum of the first and second annual stoppage times.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.