# US 9,436,736 B2 · Managing streams of tuples

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- Number: US 9,436,736 B2
- Document ID: US9436736B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/466,184
- Filed: 2014-08-22
- Published: 2015-12-24
- Granted: 2016-09-06
- Earliest claimed: 2014-06-20
- Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation
- Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation
- Inventors: Michael J. Branson; John M. Santosuosso
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9436736B2

## CPC

- G06F 16/24578: {using ranking}
- G06F 16/22: Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
- G06F 16/951: Indexing; Web crawling techniques
- H04L 65/60: Network streaming of media packets
- H04L 65/765: {intermediate}
- H04L 65/80: Responding to QoS
- H04N 21/00: Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD] (real-time bi-directional transmission of motion video data H04N7/14 {; broadcast or conference over packet switching networks H04L12/18})
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

A plurality of streams of tuples is received by processing elements operating on computer processors, the processing element having one or more stream operators. A first stream of tuples is processed at a receiving stream operator. A streaming condition is then identified. The streaming condition is determined to be satisfied and an alternate stream of tuples is processed at the receiving stream operator.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for processing a plurality of streams of tuples, each of the plurality of streams including at least one tuple, the method comprising:
receiving the plurality of streams of tuples to be processed by a plurality of processing elements operating on one or more computer processors, each processing element having one or more stream operators;
processing, at a first stream operator included in the one or more stream operators, a first stream included in the plurality of streams of tuples, the first stream operator receiving the first stream;
identifying a streaming condition, the streaming condition associated with processing an alternate stream as preferable to processing the first stream, the alternate stream included in the plurality of streams of tuples;
determining that the streaming condition is satisfied based, at least in part, on at least one of the receiving stream operator generating exceptions outside of a threshold and the alternate stream satisfying a uniqueness criterion, wherein the exceptions are associated with problems encountered in processing the first stream by the first stream operator, and wherein the uniqueness criterion is associated with at least one attribute of the alternate stream; and
processing, at the first stream operator, the alternate stream in response to the streaming condition being satisfied.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, at the first stream operator, a signal to evaluate the plurality of streams of tuples.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the signal is a control signal interleaved with the tuples included in the first stream.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the signal is an out of band signal separate from the first stream.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the streaming condition is satisfied is further based at least in part on the alternate stream having a different rate of data than the first stream, and wherein the different rate of data is associated with the rate at which the first stream operator receives the tuples included in the first stream and the alternate stream.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the stream operator is configured with a ranking of streams, wherein the ranking is associated with the sources of the plurality of streams, and wherein the determining the stream streaming condition is satisfied is further based at least in part on the alternate stream having a higher ranking than the first stream.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the streaming condition is satisfied is further based at least in part on hardware from which at least one of the first stream operator and a second stream operator is deployed, wherein the second stream operator is included in the one or more stream operators, and wherein the second stream operator sends the alternate stream to the first stream operator.