Patent · US Expired

Hierarchy of fault isolation timers

US6618825B1 · kind B1 · utility

30Cited by
6References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateApr 20, 2000
Grant dateSep 9, 2003
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 20, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F11/0793
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

In the present invention, a coordinated hierarchy of timing mechanisms preferably cooperate to report errors at different operational levels of a complex of computing devices. Preferably, each timer is able to identify a failure condition at its own level of operation and transmit a time-out condition to a higher level device which may also be a timer. Upon generation of a time-out condition, a system component experiencing a fault condition preferably continues to operate in a degraded mode, informs devices attempting to communicate with the faulty component of a status of the fault condition, and preferably proceeds to identify and correct a failure which caused the time out condition. The timers may be implemented in hardware or software.

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