US 6,205,561 B1 · Tracking and managing failure-susceptible operations in a computer system

Abstract

The present invention is directed to tracking and managing failure-susceptible operations in a computer system. In a preferred embodiment, the performance of failure-susceptible operations is monitored, such that, when execution of the operating system is interrupted then restarted, it can be determined which failure-susceptible operation was in progress at the point at which execution of the operating system was interrupted. In one embodiment, this monitoring is performed using a stack data structure. When a failure-susceptible operation is invoked, an entry is pushed on the stack identifying the invoked failure-susceptible operation. On the other hand, when a failure-susceptible operation is completed, the entry identifying the completed failure-susceptible operation is popped off the stack. The failure-susceptible operation that was in progress at the point at which execution was last interrupted is then determined to be the failure-susceptible operation identified by the top entry on the stack when execution resumes. In a further preferred embodiment, subsequent attempted invocation of the operation determined to be in progress when execution was interrupted is inhibited.

Claims32

Dependent claims

A method in a computer system for monitoring and managing the invocation of failure-susceptible operations during the booting process of an operating system, the method using a stack of entries each identifying an operation in progress, the stack's topmost element being maintained persistently, the method comprising the steps of, until the completion of the booting process:

at the beginning of the booting process, if the stack is not empty:
determining that the execution of the operating system terminated prematurely as the result of the failure of the operation identified by the topmost stack entry, and
indicating that the operation identified by the topmost stack entry is prohibited;
before performing a failure-susceptible operation:
if the operation is indicated to be prohibited, prohibiting the performance of the operation, and
if the operation is not indicated to be prohibited, adding to the top of the stack an entry identifying the operation;
after completing a failure-susceptible operation, removing from the stack the entry identifying the operation;
and
restarting the booting process after the operating system terminates prematurely during the booting process.

6 more elements

A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to provide an operating system service for tracking the completion and managing the invocation of failure-susceptible operations by performing the steps of:

during the execution of the operating system, monitoring the performance of failure-susceptible operations;
when the operating system is restarted, based upon the results of the monitoring step, determining which failure-susceptible operation was in progress at the point at which execution of the operating system was last interrupted;
and
inhibiting a subsequent attempted invocation of the operation determined to be in progress at the point at which execution of the operating system was interrupted.

1 more element

A method in a computer system for identifying operations that fail during the process of booting the computer system, the method comprising the steps of, until the completion of the booting process:

(a) at the beginning of the booting process, if a failure-susceptible operation is persistently identified as being in progress, identifying the failure-susceptible operation persistently identified as being in progress as failed since the last time that the operating system booting process successfully completed;
(b) while a failure-susceptible operation is being performed as part of the booting process, persistently identifying the operation as being in progress;
and
(c) when the booting process is interrupted by the failure of an operation, repeating the booting process.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Tracking and managing failure-susceptible operations in a computer system

Life of this patent

Tracking and managing failure-susceptible operations in a computer system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims32