US 7181743

US Patent 7181743, titled "Resource allocation decision function for resource management architecture and corresponding programs therefor," was issued to the US Department of Navy on February 20, 2007. The patent lists Paul V. Werme, Michael W. Masters, Larry A. Fontenot, and Lonnie R. Welch as the inventors. The filing date for this patent was May 24, 2001.

Abstract:
The patent describes a resource management system designed for distributed environments with networked computers. This system dynamically and remotely controls these computers to enable them to perform complex tasks that would be too difficult for a single machine. It also includes software programs to convert a general-purpose computer network into a resource-managed network. A key feature is its ability to monitor hosts, networks, and applications, and then dynamically allocate and reallocate applications to hosts to maintain user-defined system performance goals. The system's architecture can determine how each component in the distributed environment is performing, identify options to correct performance deficiencies, decide on appropriate actions, and then implement those actions.

Independent Claims Overview:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a method for managing resources in a distributed computing environment. The method involves monitoring the performance of multiple host computers and applications running on them. It then determines the status of these hosts, networks, and applications, as well as the suitability ("fitness") of hosts for running applications. Based on this information, the method identifies allocation or reallocation actions for applications. Finally, it implements these actions to start, stop, or move applications among the hosts. The core idea is dynamic, performance-driven resource management in a network.
• Independent Claim 13: This claim focuses on a resource management system that employs a System Specification Library (SSL). The system comprises hardware broker and resource manager components. The hardware broker gathers host and network load information, calculating fitness scores for each host, and providing this to the resource manager. The resource manager uses this data, along with information from the SSL regarding applications and their requirements, to make decisions about allocating and reallocating applications to hosts to meet performance objectives.
• Independent Claim 14: This claim is directed to a computer program product that includes a computer-readable medium with computer program instructions. When executed, these instructions cause a computer to perform the steps of monitoring host and application performance, determining the state and health of the distributed environment (including host fitness scores), identifying necessary allocation or reallocation actions, and implementing those actions. This effectively claims the software embodiment of the resource management method.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
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US Patent 7181743, titled "Resource allocation decision function for resource management architecture and corresponding programs therefor," was issued to the US Department of Navy on February 20, 2007. The patent lists Paul V. Werme, Michael W. Masters, Larry A. Fontenot, and Lonnie R. Welch as the inventors. The filing date for this patent was May 24, 2001.

Abstract:
The patent describes a resource management system designed for distributed computing environments with networked computers. This system dynamically and remotely controls these networked computers, enabling them to cooperate in performing tasks too complex for a single computer. It also discloses software programs for converting a general-purpose computer network into a resource-managed network. The architecture provides capabilities for monitoring hosts, networks, and applications, and dynamically allocating and reallocating applications to hosts as needed to maintain user-specified system performance goals. The system determines the performance of each component, identifies options for correcting deficient performance, decides on appropriate actions, and enacts those actions.

Independent Claims Overview:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim outlines a method for managing resources in a distributed computing environment. The method involves continuously monitoring the performance of a plurality of host computers and application copies running on them. It then determines the status and health of the hosts, the network connecting them, and the applications. Based on this evaluation, which includes assessing the "fitness" of hosts, the method identifies necessary allocation or reallocation actions for applications. Finally, it issues signals to start up, shut down, or move selected application copies to implement these determined actions.
• Independent Claim 13: This claim describes a resource management system for a distributed computing environment. The system includes a hardware broker that gathers operating system-level statuses and statistics from host computers, calculates host fitness scores (based on CPU, network, memory, and paging activity), and provides these scores to a resource manager. The resource manager then uses these host fitness scores, along with application information from a System Specification Library (SSL), to make decisions regarding the allocation and reallocation of applications to hosts in response to performance requirements or system events.
• Independent Claim 14: This claim presents a computer program product stored on a computer-readable medium. The product contains computer program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause it to perform a series of steps. These steps include monitoring host and application performance, determining the state and health of the distributed environment (including calculating hardware and software readiness metrics and host fitness scores), deciding on appropriate allocation or reallocation actions based on this information, and then communicating signals to initiate the determined actions (such as starting, shutting down, or moving applications).

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
As of April 26, 2026, a search for dockets related to US patent 7181743 within the CAFC 2026 filings did not return any specific cases directly mentioning this patent number.