The present invention relates to a system and methodology to enable a variety of information associated with one or more notification sources to be directed to one or more notification sinks via a notification platform architecture. The architecture includes a context analyzer for determining a user's state such as location and attentional focus, wherein the user's state is employed by a notification manager to make decisions regarding what, when and how information generated by the notification sources should be forwarded to the notification sinks, for example. These decisions can include a cost benefit analysis wherein considerations are given as to whether the benefits of notifying the user are outweighed by the costs of disrupting the user. Decision-theoretic policies and/or somewhat less formal heuristic policies can be employed to enable the decision-making process within the notification manager.

Notification platform architecture

Apparatus and accompanying methods for use therein for implementing an integrated, virtual office user environment, through an office server(s), through which a remotely stationed user can access typical office network-based applications, including e-mail, file sharing and hosted thin-client programs, through a remotely located network, e.g., WAN, connected web browser. Specifically, a front end, namely a service enablement platform (SEP), to one or more office servers on a LAN is connected to both the WAN and LAN and acts both as a bridge between the user and his(her) office applications and as a protocol translator to enable bi-directional, web-based, real-time communication to occur between the browser and each such application. During initial operation, the SEP, operating under a default profile, establishes, over an analog connection to the WAN, a management session with the site to obtain customer WAN access information, then tears down the analog connection and establishes a broadband WAN connection through which the SEP re-establishes its prior session and obtains a client certificate and its customized profile. The SEP then re-initializes itself to that particular profile.

Apparatus and accompanying methods for providing, through a centralized server site, an integrated virtual office environment, remotely accessible via a network-connected web browser, with remote network monitoring and management capabilities

A delivery system (12) and method allows a financial institution to provide financial services to a plurality of remote devices (24), such as personal computers (PCs) (18), personal data assistants (PDAs) (20), and screen phone (14). In addition to providing services to these remote devices (24), the system and method provide services to automatic teller machines (ATMs)(16), external service providers (22), and internally within the financial institution to staff terminals (26) and to the individual branches of the financial institution. The system is comprised of a set of re-usable global components which are modular and are organized into services sets. By separating the components of the system into independent components, the system and method can be developed and tested on a component level rather than the entire system level, thereby substantially reducing the development and maintenance cycle time.

System and method for delivering financial services

Systems and methods by which voice/data communications may occur in multiple modes/protocols are disclosed. In particular, systems and methods are provided for multiple native mode/protocol voice and data transmissions and receptions with a computing system having a multi-bus structure, including, for example, a TDM bus and a packet bus, and multi-protocol framing engines. Such systems preferably include subsystem functions such as PBX, voice mail and other telephony functions, LAN hub and data router. In preferred embodiments, a TDM bus and a packet bus are intelligently bridged and managed, thereby enabling such multiple mode/protocol voice and data transmissions to be intelligently managed and controlled with a single, integrated system. A computer or other processor includes a local area network controller, which provides routing and hub(s) for one or more packet networks. The computer also is coupled to a buffer/framer, which serves to frame/deframe data to/from the computer from TDM bus. The buffer/framer includes a plurality of framer/deframer engines, supporting, for example, ATM and HDLC framing/deframing. The buffer/framer is coupled to the TDM bus by way of a switch/multiplexer, which includes the capability to intelligently map data traffic between the buffer/framer and the TDM bus to various slots of the TDM frames. Preferably, a DSP pool is coupled to buffer/framer in a manner to provide various signal processing and telecommunications support, such as dial tone generation, DTMF detection and the like. The TDM bus is coupled to a various line/station cards, serving to interface the TDM bus with telephone, facsimiles and other telecommunication devices, and also with a various digital and/or analog WAN network services.

Systems and methods for multiple mode voice and data communications using intelligently bridged TDM and packet buses and methods for performing telephony and data functions using the same

A file format for a serverless distributed file system is composed of two parts: a primary data stream and a metadata stream. The data stream contains a file that is divided into multiple blocks. Each block is encrypted using a hash of the block as the encryption key. The metadata stream contains a header, a structure for indexing the encrypted blocks in the primary data stream, and some user information. The indexing structure defines leaf nodes for each of the blocks. Each leaf node consists of an access value used for decryption of the associated block and a verification value used to verify the encrypted block independently of other blocks. In one implementation, the access value is formed by hashing the file block and encrypting the resultant hash value using a randomly generated key. The key is then encrypted using the user's key as the encryption key. The verification value is formed by hashing the associated encrypted block using a one-way hash function. The file format supports verification of individual file blocks without knowledge of the randomly generated key or any user keys. To verify a block of the file, the file system traverses the tree to the appropriate leaf node associated with a target block to be verified. The file system hashes the target block and if the hash matches the access value contained in the leaf node, the block is authentic.

On-disk file format for a serverless distributed file system

An event notification system for a network including a managed device that includes one or more management agents that detect one or more management events of a plurality of possible management events. The managed device further includes event notification logic that generates an event notification message (ENM) which includes event related information. The ENM is written using a markup language, such as XML, to encode the event related information based on the management event. The ENM may include executable code written in a scripting language or the like, that when executed, causes at least one action to be performed. A management server is provided that includes an event processor that executes the code to perform the desired actions in response to the particular management event. The event related information may further include a URL to locate one or more information files in the network that provides further information about the management event. The event notification logic transmits the ENM to the management server using an HTTP post transaction to ensure delivery.

Management event notification system using event notification messages written using a markup language

A programmable operational system for managing devices participating in a network including a collection of notices, operation logic that filters the collection of notices based on at least one criteria and that generates at least one operation indicative of a state change of the network, and an automation engine that uses the at least one operation to perform at least one process in response one or more operations The collection of notices, generated by a plurality of routines, are indicative of the state of hardware, software, and user actions that comprise the network including the state or status of one or more of the devices participating in the network The operation logic may include an operation engine and one or more operational groups Each operational group may further include one or more operations, each including a filter and configuration information The operation logic may further generate at least one job and store the job into memory, where each job references an operation The operation logic invokes a helper process to facilitate execution of each operation by the automation engine Thus, the process executed in response to the one or more operations may be implemented to provide an appropriate response to changes in the network

Programmable operational system for managing devices participating in a network

A network including one or more network subnets, a plurality of network participating devices (NPDs) and at least one management server. Each NPD initializes, gathers its status information and sends an initial beacon packet on each subnet to which it is coupled. The beacon packets are preferably confined to the subnet and are not copied to other subnets. For each subnet, each NPD collects beacon packets sent by other NPDs on the same subnet and stores the status information into a local status database including consolidated state information of all the NPDs in the group. For each subnet, each NPD periodically sends subsequent beacon packets with its status information so that all of the active NPDs have the most recent status information for all other NPDs of the same subnet. For each subnet, each NPD examines its configuration and determines whether it can serve as a group master. If a NPD can serve as master, it periodically determines whether it is ASC group master of each subnet to which it is coupled using the same criterion as the other NPD(s) on the same subnet. The same criterion is used to ensure a single master, so that only one ASC group master is selected for each group or subnet.

Automatic state consolidation for network participating devices

A management server for a network that facilitates and performs programmable event driven processing including event detection logic that receives and processes any of a plurality of event notifications transmitted via the network and that invokes at least one corresponding construction. Each event notification corresponds to the occurrence of management events and supports registration of listeners of each management event. The management server further includes executable components that each performs a basic function and a construction editor that enables access of the plurality of executable components. The construction editor facilitates defining a relationship between the executable components to generate constructions and performs registration of the constructions with the event detection logic as a listener of management events. Each construction, when invoked, executes its components according to the defined relationship to perform at least one desired management operation.

Flexible display of management data in a programmable event driven processing system

An active self discovery system and method for a network. The network includes a management server having a corresponding server address and one or more managed devices. The management server includes a management database that is used to store management information and corresponding network addresses for each of the managed devices. Each managed device includes an active discovery agent that initiates management by sending its management information and network address to the management server. The managed device sends its management information upon initialization or anytime after the device becomes active on the network. Also, the managed device sends updated management information to the management server if and when the management information changes. Such changes include any status or configuration changes of the managed device or a new network address if the device's address is dynamically changed. Communication may be according to HTTP, where the management information is sent using HTTP post transactions. The HTTP post transactions may comprise HTML forms field formatted data and/or a tagged entity body with a MIME descriptor.

James A. Rozzi

Papers

Management event notification system using event notification messages written using a markup language

Programmable operational system for managing devices participating in a network

Automatic state consolidation for network participating devices

Flexible display of management data in a programmable event driven processing system

Active self discovery of devices that participate in a network