Deadlock and hang avoidance in a large distributed computer system

A system comprising:

• processor;
• and
• a memory containing a program which when executed by the processor performs an operation comprising:
• detecting, at a first time and at a fast hang avoidance (FHA) controller, an FHA condition for a resource request exceeds a first threshold for FHA activation on at least one FHA component in a first system scope of a plurality of system scopes;
• determining a first FHA request status for the resource request and the FHA controller based on activation settings for the FHA controller, a requestor type for the resource request, and the first system scope;
• and
• activating, based on the first FHA request status, FHA mechanisms on the at least one FHA component within the first system scope.

A method comprising:

• receiving, at a fast hang avoidance (FHA) controller for a first level in a system, a resource request for a resource;
• detecting, at the FHA controller, a current FHA activation status;
• determining active FHA mechanisms for the resource request based on a request type for the resource request, FHA settings at the FHA controller, and the current FHA activation status;
• and
• processing the resource request according to the active FHA mechanisms.