Steven M Hunter

US Patent:

8243598, Aug 14, 2012

Filed:

Apr 26, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/767256

Inventors:

Tzvetelina B. Battestilli - Raleigh NC, US
Steven W. Hunter - Raleigh NC, US
Gary R. Shippy - Cary NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G01R 31/08

US Classification:

3702301, 370232, 370401

Abstract:

A method, system and/or computer program product route IP packet flows. An Ethernet switch is coupled to a load balancing control engine, which contains load balancing logic that is logically isolated from the Ethernet switch. The Ethernet switch, which routes IP packet flows to servers, receives an IP packet flow. The load balancing control engine determines if the servers are balanced in their workloads. In response to the load balancing control engine determining that the servers are balanced, the Ethernet switch routes the IP packet flow to the servers without the Ethernet switch directly receiving any feedback from the servers regarding their workloads. In response to the load balancing control engine determining that the servers are unbalanced, the load balancing control engine instructs the Ethernet switch to redirect the IP packet flow to a server that is relatively less busy than other servers.

US Patent:

8243618, Aug 14, 2012

Filed:

Apr 26, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/767137

Inventors:

Tzvetelina B. Battestilli - Raleigh NC, US
Steven W. Hunter - Raleigh NC, US
Gary R. Shippy - Cary NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G01R 31/08

US Classification:

370252, 370392

Abstract:

A method, system and/or computer program steer internet protocol (IP) packet fragments that are components of a series of IP packet fragments. A switch receives an IP packet fragment. In response to determining that the fragment is not a lead packet fragment in a series of IP packet fragments that make up an original IP packet, the IP packet fragment is pushed onto a data stack. The switch then receives an IP packet fragment which is determined to be the lead packet fragment in a series of IP packet fragments. The IP 5-tuple from the lead packet fragment is parsed to steer all fragments in the series to a destination port.

US Patent:

8472341, Jun 25, 2013

Filed:

May 11, 2012

Appl. No.:

13/469500

Inventors:

Tzvetelina B. Battestilli - Raleigh NC, US
Steven W. Hunter - Raleigh NC, US
Terry L. Nelms - Dallas GA, US
Gary R. Shippy - Cary NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G01R 31/08

US Classification:

370252

Abstract:

A method, system, and/or computer program product steers Internet Protocol (IP) packet fragments. A switch receives a first IP packet fragment that contains a 3-tuple in its header. In response to determining that the first IP packet fragment is not a lead packet fragment in the series of IP packet fragments, the first IP packet fragment is pushed onto a data stack. The switch subsequently receives a second IP packet fragment that contains a 5-tuple, which includes the 3-tuple from the first IP packet fragment plus a source port and destination port used by the second IP packet fragment. The 3-tuple is mapped to the 5-tuple in a fragmentation table, thus enabling both the first IP packet fragment and the second IP packet fragment to be steered to the destination port to which the second IP packet fragment is being sent.

US Patent:

8488456, Jul 16, 2013

Filed:

May 10, 2012

Appl. No.:

13/468482

Inventors:

Tzvetelina B. Battestilli - Raleigh NC, US
Steven W. Hunter - Raleigh NC, US
Terry L. Nelms - Dallas GA, US
Gary R. Shippy - Cary NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G01R 31/08

US Classification:

370230, 370235, 370401, 709224, 709226, 709235, 709239

Abstract:

A method, switch, and/or computer program product routes IP packet flows. An Ethernet switch receives an IP packet flow. Each of the packets in the IP packet flow has a header that contains a same 5-tuple. A load balancing control engine determines whether servers in a group of servers are balanced in their utilization according to 5-tuple redirection rules contained in the load balancing control engine. In response to the load balancing control engine determining, according to the 5-tuple redirection rules, that the servers are balanced, the Ethernet switch routes the IP packet flow to the servers. In response to the load balancing control engine determining that the servers are unbalanced, the load balancing control engine instructs the Ethernet switch to redirect the IP packet flow to a server that is relatively less busy than other servers.

US Patent:

20030055969, Mar 20, 2003

Filed:

Sep 17, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/953761

Inventors:

Ralph Begun - Raleigh NC, US
Steven Hunter - Raleigh NC, US
Darryl Newell - Kirkland WA, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F015/173

US Classification:

709/226000

Abstract:

An improved system and method for performing power management on a distributed system. The system utilized to implement the present invention includes multiple servers for processing a set of tasks. The method of performing power management on a system first determines if the processing capacity of the system exceeds a predetermined workload. If the processing capacity exceeds a predetermined level, at least one of the multiple servers on the network is selected to be powered down and the tasks across the remaining servers are rebalanced. If the workload exceeds a predetermined processing capacity of the system and at least a server in a reduced power state may be powered up to a higher power state to increase the overall processing capacity of the system.

US Patent:

20040093514, May 13, 2004

Filed:

Nov 8, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/291121

Inventors:

William Piazza - Holly Springs NC, US
Simon Chu - Chapel Hill NC, US
Gregory Pruett - Raleigh NC, US
Steven Hunter - Raleigh NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F011/30

US Classification:

713/201000

Abstract:

In a method for automatically isolating worm software and hacker attacks in a network, a computer system detects, as an attack, a probe by a worm software or a hacker from a compromised computer system in the network. The computer system then isolates the compromised computer system from the remainder of the network. Thus, the probing of the computer system itself is considered an attack. In response to an attack, the compromised computer system is isolated from the remainder of the network. In addition, no dedicated hardware or special hardware is required to implement the method. In this manner, damage to the network by worm software or compromised by a hacker is slowed or prevented by automatically isolating the compromised computer system from the network.

US Patent:

20060203715, Sep 14, 2006

Filed:

Mar 14, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/079330

Inventors:

Steven Hunter - Raleigh NC, US
Norman Strole - Raleigh NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 11/00

US Classification:

370216000

Abstract:

A method and system to quickly redirect traffic from a server blade to different access switches that provide data communication to a network is presented. Each access switch has external ports directed upstream towards the network, and correlated internal ports directed downstream towards the server blade. The server blade has a primary upstream interface associated with a first access switch and a secondary failover upstream interface associated with a second access switch. In the event that the first access switch loses an upstream data signal or connection to one of its upstream external ports, a VLAN-determined corresponding downstream internal port in the first access switch is disabled, thus causing the primary upstream interface in the server blade to failover to the secondary failover upstream interface and its associated second access switch.

US Patent:

20060206602, Sep 14, 2006

Filed:

Mar 14, 2005

Appl. No.:

11/079849

Inventors:

Steven Hunter - Raleigh NC, US
Norman Strole - Raleigh NC, US

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 15/173

US Classification:

709223000

Abstract:

A method and system to quickly redirect traffic from a server blade to different access switches that provide data communication to a network is presented. Each access switch has external ports directed upstream towards the network, and correlated internal ports directed downstream towards the server blade. The server blade has a primary interface associated with a first access switch and a secondary failover interface associated with a second access switch. In the event that the first access switch loses an upstream data signal or connection via one of its upstream external ports, a corresponding downstream internal port in the first access switch is disabled, thus causing the primary interface in the server blade to failover to the secondary failover interface and its associated second access switch.