Patent ID: 9146791
Filing Date: 2015-09-29
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A computer program product for a distributed computing system having a plurality of communication links, each communication link comprising a pair of nodes and a communication path linking the pair of nodes for communication between the nodes of the pair wherein the nodes and the communication links comprise devices, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for execution by a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving within a predetermined time interval from at least one communication link at least one report of at least one communication failure in the distributed computing system, said communication failure being the result of an unidentified cause which is at least one of a hardware failure and a software failure; determining how many communication links have reported communication failure within the predetermined time interval; determining how many devices of the communication links reporting communication failure within the predetermined time interval are implicated as causing a communication failure within the predetermined time interval; and identifying the cause of the communication failure reported in the predetermined time interval as more likely a software failure than a hardware failure if the number of communication links reporting a communication failure in the predetermined time interval exceeds a communication link failure threshold and the number of devices implicated as causing a communication failure exceeds an implicated device threshold.