Granted Patent B2

US 8,516,293 · App. 12/612,925 · Granted Aug 20, 2013

Abstract

Claims (48)

1. A clocking system for a computing environment, the system comprising:

a first set of processes executing in a first computing environment, the first computing environment including a first router for enabling communication with a second computing environment;

a first local clock mechanism associated with the first set of processes;

a first communications channel for connecting the first local clock mechanism with the first set of processes;

wherein the first local clock mechanism stores clock rates of the first set of processes, wherein each clock rate is specified by at least one of function, source, and destination, the first local clock mechanism further coordinating the clock speeds of the first set of processes as necessary.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a second set of processes executing in the first computing environment;

a second local clock mechanism associated with the second set of processes;

a second communications channel for connecting the second local clock mechanism with the second set of processes;

and a third communications channel for connecting the first and second clock mechanisms;

wherein the second local clock mechanism stores clock rates of the second set of processes, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, the second local clock mechanism further coordinating the clock speeds of the second set of processes as necessary.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising an identity server (“IS”) for providing identity and authentication services with respect to the first set of processes.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a second set of processes executing in the second computing environment;

a second local clock mechanism associated with the second set of processes; and

a second router connected to the first router and associated with the second computing environment;

wherein the second local clock mechanism stores clock rates of the second set of processes, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, the second local clock mechanism further coordinating the clock speeds of the second set of processes as necessary; and

wherein the first and second routers enable communications between a process of the first set of processes and a process of the second set of processes.

5. The system of claim 4 further comprising a clock directory connected to the first and second routers, the clock directory comprising a directory of all clock rates stored in the first and second local clock mechanisms.

6. The system of claim 4 further comprising a clock normalization circuit connected to the first and second routers for normalizing the clock rates stored in the first and second local clock mechanisms by taking into account a speed of the connection between the first and second routers.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the first computing environment comprises the Internet.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the first computing environment comprises a cloud computing environment.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the first computing environment comprises a hosted environment.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein when a process of the first set of processes does not participate in the first clock mechanism, the process utilizes a different mechanism.

11. A clocking system for a computing environment, the system comprising:

a first set of processes executing in a first computing environment;

a first clock mechanism connected to the first set of processes for registering respective clock rates of the first set of processes, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, and for coordinating the clock speeds of the first set of processes as necessary;

a second set of processes executing in the first computing environment;

a second clock mechanism connected to the second set of processes for registering respective clock rates of the second set of processes, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, and for coordinating the clock speeds of the second set of processes as necessary;

and a first communications channel for enabling communication between the first clock mechanism connected to the first set of processes and the second clock mechanism connected to the second set of processes,

wherein when a process of the first set of processes does not participate in the first clock mechanism, the process utilizes a different mechanism.

12. The system of claim 11 further comprising an identity server (“IS”) for providing identity and authentication services with respect to the first and second sets of processes.

13. The system of claim 11 further comprising:

a third set of processes executing in a second computing environment;

a third clock mechanism connected to the third set of processes for registering respective clock rates of the third set of processes, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, and for coordinating the clock speeds of the third set of processes as necessary;

a second communications channel for enabling communications between a process of the first and second sets of processes and a process of the third set of processes.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising a clock directory for storing a directory of all clock rates stored in all of the clock mechanisms.

15. The system of claim 13 further comprising a clock normalizer for normalizing the clock rates stored in all of the clock mechanisms by taking into account a speed of the second communications channel for enabling communications between a process of the first and second sets of processes and a process of the third set of processes.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the first computing environment and the second computing environment each comprise a computing environment selected from a group consisting of the Internet, a cloud computing environment, and a hosted environment.

17. A method of providing a clocking system in a computing environment, the method comprising:

registering in a first local clock mechanism respective clock rates of a first set of processes executing in a first computing environment, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, and for coordinating the clock speeds of the first set of processes as necessary;

registering in a second clock mechanism respective clock rates of a second set of processes executing in the first computing environment, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, and for coordinating the clock speeds of the second set of processes as necessary;

providing means for enabling communication between the first and second clock mechanisms;

registering in a third local clock mechanism respective clock rates of a third set of processes executing in a second computing environment, wherein each clock rate is specified by function and source and destination combination, and for coordinating the clock speeds of the third set of processes as necessary; and

enabling communications between a process of the first and second sets of processes and a process of the third set of processes.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising providing identity and authentication services with respect to the first and second sets of processes.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising maintaining a directory of all clock rates stored in the first, second, and third local clock mechanisms.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising normalizing the clock rates stored in the first, second, and third local clock mechanisms by taking into account a speed of the means for enabling communications between a process of the first and second sets of processes and a process of the third set of processes.

Assignments (16)