Oracle Assigned Sixteen Patents

H-bridge power amplifier for optical recording head actuator
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,142,236) developed by Mahnad, Faramarz, Brookline, MA, for a “H-bridge power amplifier for optical recording head actuator.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A recording head unit is described that can use a pulsed drive signal. The head unit can include a recording head to interact with a storage media, an actuator connected to the recording head and configured to move the recording head relative to the storage media, and control circuitry to send a control signal to the actuator, wherein the control circuitry includes a pulse driven switching circuitry to control current flow to the actuator. An H-bridge can be used to drive the actuator and move the read head.“

The patent application was filed on September 30, 2014 (14/501,753).

Assigning read requests based on busyness of devices
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,141,508) developed by Bridge, Jr., Willliam H., Alameda, CA, Bagal, Prasad, San Jose, CA, Jain, Lavina, Sunnyvale, CA, Wickremesinghe, Rajiv, Belmont, CA, Nagarajappa, Darshan, San Francisco, CA, and Long, Richard L., Woodside, CA, for a “assigning read requests based on busyness of devices.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Techniques are provided for assigning read requests to storage devices in a manner that reduces the likelihood that any storage device will become overloaded or underutilized. Specifically, a read-request handler assigns read requests that are directed to each particular item among the storage devices that have copies of the item based on how busy each of those storage devices is. Consequently, even though certain storage devices may have copies of the same item, there may be times during which one storage device is assigned a disproportionate number of the reads of the item because the other storage device is busy with read requests for other items, and there may be other times during which other storage device is assigned a disproportionate number of the reads of the item because the one storage device is busy with read request for other items. Various techniques for estimating the busyness of storage devices are provided, including fraction-based estimates, interval-based estimates, and the response-time-based estimates. Techniques for smoothing those estimates, and for handicapping devices, are also provided.“

The patent application was filed on December 21, 2010 (12/975,242).

Parallel batch processing of write transactions
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,135,262) developed by Perrin, Neil Veness, Westminster, CO, Bourbonnais, Roch, Cottier, France, and Lewis, Bradley Romain, Broomfield, CO, for a “systems and methods for parallel batch processing of write transactions.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A system and method is provided for parallel processing of multiple write requests to write data associated the multiple write requests to a storage area concurrently. The file system receives a series of write request from one more applications executing on the computing device. The file system includes one or more processing modules that selectively groups writes request into lists or trains. After the processing modules begin processing first threads associated with writes in a first train, the processing modules determines whether and when to initiate processing of second threads associated with writes in a second train during processing of the first threads.“

The patent application was filed on October 19, 2012 (13/656,350).

GMR sensor having horizontal stabilizer
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,134,386) developed by McKinstry, Kevin D., Westminster, CO, for a “giant magnetoresistive sensor having horizontal stabilizer.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A giant magnetoresistive, (GMR) sensor for reading information from a magnetic storage medium has a first non-magnetoresistive layer, a first magnetoresistive layer formed on the first non-magnetoresistive layer, a second non-magnetoresitive layer formed on the first magnetoresistive layer, a second magnetoresistive layer formed on the second non-magnetoresistive layer, and a third non-magnetoresistive layer formed on the second magnetoresistive layer. The first non-magnetoresistive layer is provided with a single step on a surface of the first non-magnetoresistive layer. The step has an edge extending in a direction substantially parallel to a plane of a working surface of the GMR.“

The patent application was filed on June 28, 2011 (13/170,625).

Persisting transaction records in transactional middleware machine environment
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,110,851) developed by Little, Todd, Palatine, IL, Li, Xiangdong, and Lv, Xianzheng, Beijing, China, for a “system and method for persisting transaction records in a transactional middleware machine environment.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A transactional system can utilize the distributed storage and high availability, (HA) capability provided by a clustered database to support easy and feasible disaster recovery. The transactional middleware machine environment comprises one or more transactional application servers associated with a transaction. The one or more transactional application servers operate to persist transactional log information associated with the transaction in a database that connects with said one or more transactional application servers at a local site. The database at the local site operates to replicate the persisted transactional log information to a remote database at a remote site. The remote database allows a different transactional application server at the remote site to recover the persisted transactional log information and complete the transaction, when a disaster disables the local site.“

The patent application was filed on March 7, 2012 (13/414,607).

Power supply control across independently powered modules in storage library
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,110,639) developed by Ries, James Lee, Erie, CO, Smith, Frank T., Nederland, CO, and Holdman, Jon Mark, Wheat Ridge, CO, for a “power supply control across independently powered modules in a storage library.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Embodiments include systems and methods for controlling power distribution and supply across independently powered modules in a storage library. Embodiments operate in context of a data storage library having a base module and one or more expansion modules. Each expansion module is independently powered, and each is in communication with the base module via a powered data communications network. In some embodiments, when the base module power supply is on, a base controller in the base module provides network power over the powered data communications network. The network power causes expansion controllers in each expansion module to boot up and power on the power supplies of their respective modules. When the base module is powered down, power is no longer available to the expansion controllers, and the respective power supplies can be hard-coded to shut down automatically under that condition.“

The patent application was filed on July 25, 2012 (13/558,2097).

Two stage checksummed RAID
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,104,342) developed by Bourbonnais, Roch, Corenc, France, and Sanouillet, Blaise, Rickmansworth, Great Britain, for a “two stage checksummed RAID storage model.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method for writing a logical data block to storage. The method includes receiving a request to write a logical data block to a storage pool, allocating a number of physical log blocks in a RAID log and a parity block for the logical data block, and writing the logical data block and the parity block to the physical log blocks. The number of the physical log blocks are less than a number of disks storing the RAID log. The method further includes allocating space in a physical slab block in a RAID slab for the logical data block, copying data including the logical data block to the space in the physical slab block, and updating, in the RAID slab, a checksum corresponding to the physical slab block and a parity block that includes the data stripe having the physical slab block based on the data copied.“

The patent application was filed on October 21, 2010 (13/880,319).

Media and drive validation in tape libraries
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,099,162) developed by Alber, Chad, Boulder, CO, Wyman, Robert, Longmont, CO, and Gill, Richard, Arvada, CO, for a “media and drive validation in tape libraries.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method for validating media and drives. The method includes receiving a validation request for a data storage tape in a library and, with the tape loaded into a predefined gold drive in the tape library, performing a statistical analysis on the tape to determine an operating parameter such as a measure of read margin for the tape in the predefined gold drive. The method includes validating the tape when the operating parameter compares favorably with a threshold limit defined for the operating parameter for the tape library. The method includes, when the operating parameter fails to compare well with the threshold limit, running a performance test on a drive qualified tape from the library loaded into the predefined gold drive and, when the drive qualified tape passes the test, identifying the tape as degraded. The method includes, when the drive qualified tape fails the test, re-qualifying the gold drive.“

The patent application was filed on October 31, 2013 (14/068,072).

Magnetic Z-directional clutch
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,099,148) developed by Manes, Joseph Paul, Arvada, CO, and Plutt, Daniel James, Superior, CO, for a “magnetic Z-directional clutch.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Systems and methods are described for providing a magnetic clutch to limit Z-directional motion of a mass, e.g., a carriage for transporting a robotic mechanism in context of a storage library). According to embodiments, the mass is suspended by cabling, and its Z-directional movement is controlled by a Z-drive assembly. The Z-drive assembly includes a drive gear made of a magnetic or conductive material, and the drive gear is in magnetic communication with a biasing magnet. Embodiments configured the biasing magnet with a particular magnetic moment and a position relative to the drive gear, so that the spinning of the drive gear induces magnetic currents that tend to counteract the motion of the gear. For example, in the event of power loss to the Z-drive assembly, magnetic clutching is used to limit or prevent motion of the mass under the force of gravity.“

The patent application was filed on March 30, 2012 (13/436,489).

Automatically linking partitions on tape media device
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,098,210) developed by McCallister, Ryan P., Erie, CO, and Howard, David, Guildford, Great Britain, for a “automatically linking partitions on a tape media device.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A system and method for automatically linking partitions on storage media for use within a storage management system is provided to minimize wasted space on the storage media, the time and expense traditionally spent reclaiming partitions containing invalid data, and the computer processing capability required to write data to and read data from the storage media. The storage management system includes a partitioned storage tape, a host application running on a server, and an archive device. The host application is operative to track location information for each host file or data object written to the storage tape. Using the location information, the host application is able to identify one or more ‘free’ or writable partitions that are created on the storage tape as host files expire. Moreover, when writing host files to the storage tape, the archive device is operative to automatically link the writable partitions to form logical volumes such that when reading host files from the storage tape, the archive device can automatically navigate through the logical volumes.“

The patent application was filed on October 29, 2009 (12/608,161).

Performing host based diagnostics using service processor
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,087,040) developed by Tobin, Garry Michael, Atkinson, NH, Fournier, Robert, Groton, MA, and Colantuoni, David A., Bow, NH, for a “method and apparatus for performing host based diagnostics using a service processor.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method for performing a set of diagnostics on a host system using a service processor. The method includes recognizing a power-on event, and in response checking a diagnostic flag, where the diagnostic flag indicates the set of diagnostics to be performed. Retrieving, from internal storage of the service processor, a disk image including the set of diagnostics to be performed. Mounting, using a disk image reader, the disk image to obtain a mounted disk image. Making the mounted disk image accessible as a device using a virtual device driver. Mounting, using a connection between the service processor and the host system, the device within the host system, and performing the set of diagnostics on the host system.“

The patent application was filed on December 20, 2012 (13/721,749).

Peer-to-peer transcendent memory
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,087,021) developed by Magenheimer, Daniel, Fort Collins, CO, and Hackel, Kurt, San Jose, CA, for a “peer-to-peer transcendent memory.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Various arrangements for utilizing memory of a remote computer system are presented. Two computer systems may allocate a portion of RAM accessible to a memory-access API. A first set of data from the first portion of the first memory of a first computer system may be determined to be moved to memory of another computer system. The first set of data from the first portion of the first memory may be transmitted for storage in the second portion of the second memory of a second computer system. Using the second memory-access API, the set of data may be stored in the second portion of the second memory. Using the first memory-access API, the set of data from the first portion of the first memory may be deleted.“

The patent application was filed on June 2, 2014 (14/293,415).

Multi-directional media element magazine for media element storage library
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,076,482) developed by Manes, Joseph Paul, Arvada, CO, and Plutt, Daniel James, Superior, CO, for a “multi-directional media element magazine for media element storage library.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Utilities that increase the volume of media elements that can be simultaneously loaded and/or unloaded into or from a storage library, facilitate mounting of media element magazines into a storage library, and limit access to an interior of a storage library by users during operation of robotics assemblies of the storage library. One disclosed utility includes a cartridge access port for use with a storage library that has a storage container that is pivotable, (e.g., swingable) between at least first and second positions. In the first position, the storage container is adjacent an opening in the housing of the library for loading and unloading of media elements by a user into or from the container via the opening. After the storage container has swung into the second position, the storage container is spaced from the opening and faces the interior of the library for access by a robotics assembly.“

The patent application was filed on April 8, 2015 (14/681,228).

Rapid recovery from loss of storage device cache
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,063,908) developed by Loaiza, Juan R., Woodside, CA, Umamageswaran, Kothanda, Sunnyvale, CA, Erlikhman, Boris, Mountain View, CA, Friedman, David, New York, NY, Shi, Jia, Burlingame, CA, Tao, Zuoyu, Belmont, CA, and Tsukerman, Alex, Foster City, CA, for a “rapid recovery from loss of storage device cache.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Dirty data in a storage device is made current through rapid re-silvering, which uses a mirrored and up-to-date version of the dirty data from another storage device to recover the data. Because under rapid re-silvering cache metadata in volatile memory survives the failure of the cache, the cache metadata is used to determine which subset of data from the other storage device needs to be copied to the storage device being re-silvered. During re-silvering, cache metadata is used to determine which I/O requests from clients are requests for data that is not stale.“

The patent application was filed on May 31, 2012 (13/485,557).

Persistent multimedia content versioning
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,058,407) developed by Guo, Dongbai, Nashua, NH, for a “persistent multimedia content versioning.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with versioned persistent storage of multimedia content in a database object are described. One example method includes controlling a database management system, (DBMS) to instantiate a database object that has a binary large object, (BLOB) attribute, an XML edits attribute, and a set of metadata attributes. The method includes storing a binary stream associated with a multimedia content, (e.g., medical image) in the BLOB attribute and storing an editing history of the set of metadata attributes as a set of edit entries in the XML edits attribute. The method also includes controlling the DBMS to store the database object in a column in a table in a relational database managed by the DBMS.“

The patent application was filed on January 22, 2008 (12/009,750).

Limiting access to internal environment of storage library via cartridge access port
Oracle International Corporation, Redwood City, CA, has been assigned a patent (9,025,275) developed by Manes, Joseph Paul, Arvada, CO, and Westhoff, Timothy R., Denver, CO, for a “system for limiting access to internal environment of storage library via cartridge access port.”

The patent application was filed on October 17, 2014 (14/517,157).