Minimizing impact of first failure data capture on computing system using recovery process boost

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11656930-B2
Application number	US-202117350211-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 17, 2021
Priority date	Jun 17, 2021
Publication date	May 23, 2023
Grant date	May 23, 2023

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for capturing system memory dumps includes receiving, by a diagnostic data component, an instruction to capture a system memory dump associated with a computer process being executed by a computing system comprising one or more processing units, the system memory dump comprising data from a plurality of memory locations associated with the computer process. In response to determining that the system memory dump satisfies a predetermined criterion, the diagnostic data component sends a request for a computing resource boost from the computing system. Further, in response to the request for the computing resource boost being granted, the diagnostic data component uses additional computing resources from the one or more processing units to store the data from the plurality of memory locations in the system memory dump and executing the backlogged operations that were halted due to the system memory dump capture.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for capturing system memory dumps, the computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, by a diagnostic data component, an instruction to capture a system memory dump associated with a first computer process being executed by a computing system comprising one or more processing units, the system memory dump comprising data from a first memory space associated with the first computer process;
determine a second computer process that is associated with the first computer process, and update the system memory dump to comprise data from a second memory space of the second computer process;
in response to determining that the system memory dump satisfies a predetermined criterion, sending, by the diagnostic data component, a request for a computing resource boost from the computing system; and
in response to the request for the computing resource boost being granted, using, by the diagnostic data component, additional computing resources from the one or more processing units to store the data from the first memory space and the second memory space in the system memory dump,
wherein the request for the computing resource boost is granted based on a cap placed on availability of the additional computing resources for capturing the system memory dump, and
wherein the cap comprises at least one of a duration for which the additional computing resources are made available, a duration for which the additional computing resources are made available within a particular time period, a number of requests for the computing resource boost, and a number of requests for the computing resource boost within a particular time period.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the additional computing resources are granted to the diagnostic data component for a predetermined duration.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the diagnostic data component further uses the additional computing resources to complete post dump operations comprising executing a backlogged computer process that was halted because of the capture of the system memory dump.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined criterion comprises an estimate of a size of the system memory dump being greater than a predetermined threshold.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined criterion comprises the system memory dump being directed to a particular predetermined memory space.

6. A computing system comprising:
a memory;
one or more processing units; and
a diagnostic data component that is coupled with the memory and the one or more processing units, the diagnostic data component configured to perform a method for capturing a system memory dump, the method comprising:
receiving an instruction to capture the system memory dump associated with a first computer process being executed by the one or more processing units, the system memory dump comprising data from a first memory space associated with the first computer process;
determine a second computer process that is associated with the first computer process, and update the system memory dump to comprise data from a second memory space of the second computer process;
in response to determining that the system memory dump satisfies a predetermined criterion, sending a request for a computing resource boost from the one or more processing units; and

in response to the request for the computing resource boost being granted, using additional computing resources from the one or more processing units to store the data from the first memory space and the second memory space in the system memory dump,
wherein the request for the computing resource boost is granted based on a cap placed on availability of the additional computing resources for capturing the system memory dump, and
wherein the cap comprises at least one of a duration for which the additional computing resources are made available, a duration for which the additional computing resources are made available within a particular time period, a number of requests for the computing resource boost, and a number of requests for the computing resource boost within a particular time period.

7. The computing system of claim 6 , wherein the additional computing resources are granted to the diagnostic data component for a predetermined duration.

8. The computing system of claim 6 , wherein the diagnostic data component further uses the additional computing resources to complete post dump operations comprising executing a backlogged computer process that was halted because of the capture of the system memory dump.

9. The computing system of claim 6 , wherein the predetermined criterion comprises an estimate of a size of the system memory dump being greater than a predetermined threshold.

10. The computing system of claim 6 , wherein the predetermined criterion comprises the system memory dump being directed to capture a particular predetermined memory space.

11. A computer program product comprising a memory device having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions when executed by one or more processing units cause the one or more processing units to perform a method for capturing a system memory dump, the method comprising:
receiving an instruction to capture the system memory dump associated with a first computer process being executed by the one or more processing units, the system memory dump comprising data from a first memory space associated with the first computer process;
determine a second computer process that is associated with the first computer process, and update the system memory dump to comprise data from a second memory space of the second computer process;
in response to determining that the system memory dump satisfies a predetermined criterion, sending a request for a computing resource boost from the one or more processing units; and
in response to the request for the computing resource boost being granted, using additional computing resources from the one or more processing units to store the data from the first memory space and the second memory space in the system memory dump,
wherein the request for the computing resource boost is granted based on a cap placed on availability of the additional computing resources for capturing the system memory dump, and
wherein the cap comprises at least one of a duration for which the additional computing resources are made available, a duration for which the additional computing resources are made available within a particular time period, a number of requests for the computing resource boost, and a number of requests for the computing resource boost within a particular time period.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the additional computing resources are granted for a predetermined duration.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the additional computing resources are used to complete post dump operations comprising executing a backlogged computer process that was halted because of the capture of the system memory dump.

14. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined criterion comprises an estimate of a size of the system memory dump being greater than a predetermined threshold.

15. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined criterion comprises the system memory dump being directed to at least one predetermined memory space.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the additional computing resour

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Patel Purvi Sharadchandra
• Compton Scott B
• Sutton Peter Grimm

Classifications

• G06F11/0778 Primary

  Dumping, i.e. gathering error/state information after a fault for later diagnosis · CPC title

• G06F9/5005

  to service a request · CPC title

• G06F9/5061 Primary

  Partitioning or combining of resources · CPC title

• G06F11/0721

  within a central processing unit [CPU] · CPC title

• G06F11/0751

  Error or fault detection not based on redundancy (power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06) · CPC title