Patent Publication Number: US-10783059-B2

Title: Method and system to decrease measured usage license charges for diagnostic data collection

Description:
DOMESTIC PRIORITY 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/140,658, entitled, “METHOD AND SYSTEM TO DECREASE MEASURED USAGE LICENSE CHARGES FOR DIAGNOSTIC DATA COLLECTION,” filed Apr. 28, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure relates to a method and a system to decrease measured usage license charges for diagnostic data collection. 
     Much of the software used on mainframe computers, minicomputers, work stations, and personal computers consists of proprietary software licensed from software vendors. Like book publishers, many software vendors retain the copyright on their products, and a software product license usually restricts the licensee&#39;s use of the product in several ways. 
     Certain software products may be obtained under a perpetual license, which is equivalent to buying a copy of a book. However, a software product may also be licensed based on appropriate usage metrics associated with amounts of defined computing resources utilized by the software product during execution. For example, a sorting product might be licensed based on how many sort operations the licensee uses it for. Alternatively, such software may be licensed based on the number of bytes of data sorted, on the number of records sorted, or on some combination of these factors. A product providing database inquiry capability might be licensed based on the number of inquiries performed, perhaps weighted by the complexity level of each inquiry. A product that performs a number of disparate scientific or engineering calculations might assign a charge-value for each type of calculation and base license fees on the aggregate of these values. Alternatively, the software product may instead simply keep track of the total CPU-time used in performing calculations and base licenses on this value. 
     The collection and capture of diagnostic data for software products is often advantageous for averting errors or unexpected results in a computing environment. Time and resources are typically spent determining the root cause of the error or unexpected result. Typically, insufficient documentation is collected on the operating systems to allow a complete diagnosis to be performed. Clients and testers are required to recreate error situations to attempt to gather additional documentation on a subsequent failure. By the time a software problem percolates up to the operating system, making itself known, the initial problem may have already disappeared from traces, making the debugging of the initial problem difficult. In contrast, First Failure Data Capture (FFDC) typically reduces corresponding Hours Per Problem (HPP) required to diagnose errors or unexpected results. 
     Thus, capturing diagnostic data during the initial occurrence of an error or unexpected result may be advantageous in various manners, including to prevent a user or customer of such software from spending additional time and resources to recreate the error or unexpected result. However, such diagnostic data capture results in additional computing resource usage, and may therefore result in additional monetary usage fees according to a measured usage pricing model associated with the applicable software license. Consequently, users of such software may be averse to invoking diagnostic data collection in an attempt to avoid the additional monetary usage fees associated with the resultant increased usage of computing resources. This aversion may hinder software support efforts, and often requires the customer to recreate a problem with appropriate diagnostics in place, which defeats the point of First Failure Data Capture (FFDC). 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and system to alleviate disincentives associated with invoking diagnostic data collection for software associated with measured usage pricing models. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to at least one embodiment, a computer-implemented method is provided for executing, by one or more first processors, one or more software products associated with a measured usage pricing model. An indication is received, during the execution of the software products, to execute a set of diagnostic machine instructions related to the execution of the software products. Responsive to that received indication, the one or more first processors initiate execution, by one or more distinct second processors, of the set of diagnostic machine instructions. The initiating of the execution by the distinct second processors of that set of diagnostic machine instructions is based at least in part on such execution not being associated with the measured usage pricing model. 
     According to another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has computer-readable program code stored thereon that, when executed, performs a method. The method is implemented by one or more first processors and comprises executing one or more software products associated with a measured usage pricing model. The method further includes receiving an indication, during execution of the one or more software products, to execute one or more sets of diagnostic machine instructions related to the execution of the one or more software products. Responsive to the received indication, the one or more first processors initiate execution by one or more distinct second processors of the one or more sets of diagnostic machine instructions. The initiating of the execution of the one or more sets of diagnostic machine instructions by the one or more distinct second processors is based at least in part on such execution not being associated with the measured usage pricing model. 
     According to another embodiment, a system comprises one or more first processors, one or more distinct second processors, a system memory, and a bus that couples various system components (including the system memory) to the one or more first processors and to the one or more distinct second processors. The system is configured to perform a method that includes executing, by the one or more first processors, one or more software products associated with a measured usage pricing model. An indication is received, during execution of the one or more software products, to execute a set of diagnostic machine instructions related to that execution of the one or more software products. Responsive to that received indication, the one or more first processors initiate execution of the set of diagnostic machine instructions by the one or more distinct second processors. Initiating the execution of the set of diagnostic machine instructions by the one or more distinct second processors is based at least in part on such execution not being associated with the measured usage pricing model. 
     Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention. For a better understanding of the invention with the advantages and the features, refer to the description and to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a database system in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  depicts a usage scenario in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  depicts a process flow for software product execution in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  depicts a process flow for software product execution in accordance with an additional embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments disclosed herein enable the reduction or elimination of user disincentives from utilizing diagnostic data collection or other diagnostic instructions during the execution of software products associated with measured usage pricing models. 
     As one example, prior to invoking diagnostic data collection for a software product that is associated with a measured usage pricing model and being executed by one or more general processors, individual instructions (or sets of such instructions) associated with such diagnostic data collection may be offloaded for execution by a specialty engine that includes one or more specialty processors. In at least some embodiments, the computing resources used for execution by the specialty engine do not incur monetary usage fees associated with the measured usage pricing model for execution of the software product by the one or more general processors. In other embodiments, the computing resources used for execution by the specialty engine incur monetary usage fees that are less than those associated with the measured usage pricing model for execution of the software product by the one or more general processors. 
     As used herein, the terms “general processor” and “general-purpose processor” refers to a processor that is available to the general operating system (OS) and application software. The term “specialty processor” refers to a hardware processor that is configured to process a specific type of workload. In general, specialty processors may cost less than mainframe general processors to purchase and may be less expensive than mainframe general processors to maintain due, at least in part, to the way that they are treated in software pricing calculations. The term “specialty engine” refers to a processing engine (implemented via hardware, software, or combination thereof) that includes one or more specialty processors. Also, as used herein, the term “measured usage pricing model” and “measured usage license” may, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, be used interchangeably and refer to any software license in which monetary usage fees are incurred based on an amount of computing resources utilized during execution of an associated software product. 
     Typically, a specialty processor has an instruction set capable of performing emulation of the System z architecture (i.e., the primary system architecture of the mainframe, System z processors). Generally, contemporary general purpose processors include sufficient instructions such that software enablement, working in conjunction with the processor, can emulate all necessary instructions provided on the System z mainframe. There are currently several PC emulators available that support System/390® and z/Architecture® that can perform the type of software emulation described herein. Furthermore, particular embodiments may utilize architecture other than the System z architecture, and unless context clearly indicates otherwise, embodiments described herein are not limited to any single particular system architecture. In certain embodiments, a “specialty processor” may be distinguished by its instruction set architecture being physically or logically constrained in firmware such that it does not support the primary computing architecture of the system being emulated natively or completely. Nominally, these specialty processors are from a commodity class of processors available at lower cost than those of special purpose mainframe processors for instance. 
     In other embodiments, rather than offloading execution of diagnostic data collection instructions to specialty processors and/or specialty engine, the diagnostic data collection instructions may continue to run on the general processor in a manner that pauses any usage tracking with respect to metrics utilized to calculate monetary usage fees under any measured usage pricing model associated with the software product. For example, in certain embodiments, a token may be received by the general processor indicating that a particular set of machine instructions is a set of diagnostic machine instructions for which tracking of computer resource usage should be temporarily disabled. One or more tokens may be passed in conjunction with a diagnostic routine or other set of diagnostic machine instructions to halt usage tracking during the execution of the set of diagnostic machine instructions, with such usage tracking being resumed upon exit from the diagnostic routine or set of diagnostic machine instructions. In this manner, the system may avoid additional overhead and/or complexity associated with switching processors each time a set of diagnostic machine instructions is to be executed. 
     In various embodiments, the token indicating that tracking of computer resource usage should be temporarily disabled may be provided in various manners and from various sources. For example, in at least one embodiment a computing system may utilize one or more services to register client instruction code for CPU usage. As part of a set of function calls to or from such registration services, a token may be provided via an instruction to the general processor. In another embodiment, a token may be provided via microcode. In still another embodiment, a non-switched authorized computer may provide a token via the operating system. In any of these circumstances, receiving the token would in turn be used by the registration service to set an indicator to stop usage recording on entry from a diagnostic routine or other set of diagnostic machine instructions and to resume such tracking once execution of the diagnostic routine or set of diagnostic instructions is complete. 
     In certain embodiments, in response to receiving a token indicating that a particular set of machine instructions is a set of diagnostic machine instructions, rather than temporarily disabling usage tracking the general processor may continue to track computing resource usage, but do so in a manner that indicates association with a separate measured usage pricing model. For example, the token-indicated set of diagnostic machine instructions may be executed in a manner still associated with monetary usage fees, but that are less than those monetary usage fees associated with the execution of client code or other machine instructions. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a computing system  100  for use in practicing the teachings herein. The methods described herein can be performed or otherwise implemented via hardware, software (e.g., firmware), or combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the methods described herein are implemented in hardware, and may be part of the microprocessor of a special or general-purpose digital computer, such as a personal computer, workstation, minicomputer, or mainframe computer. The computing system  100  therefore includes computer  105 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the computer  105  includes a general processor  110 , a specialty engine  112 , a memory  115  coupled to a memory controller  120 , internal storage  125 , and one or more input and/or output (I/O) devices  150  that are communicatively coupled to the computer  105  via a local input/output controller  135 , which in the illustrated embodiment is further communicatively coupled to external storage  130 . The input/output controller  135  may include one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art. The input/output controller  135  may further include additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, to facilitate communications. Further, the local interface may include address, control, and/or data connections to facilitate appropriate communications among the aforementioned components. 
     Also in the illustrated embodiment, the general processor  110  is a hardware device for executing hardware instructions or software, particularly that stored in memory  115 . The general processor  110  can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the general-purpose computer  105 , a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set), a macroprocessor, or generally any device for executing instructions. 
     The memory  115  can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), tape, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), disk, diskette, cartridge, cassette or the like, etc.). Moreover, the memory  115  may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory  115  can have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor  110 . 
     The instructions in the memory  115  may include one or more separate programs, each of which comprises an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of  FIG. 1 , the instructions in the memory  115  include a suitable operating system (OS)  145 . The operating system  145  typically controls the execution of other computer programs and may, among other capabilities, provide scheduling, input-output control, file and data management, memory management, and communication control and related services. 
     In an exemplary embodiment, I/O devices  150  may include, as non-limiting examples, a keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner, microphone, a network interface card (NIC) or modulator/demodulator (for accessing other files, devices, systems, or a network), a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge, a router, and other peripherals communicatively coupled to the computer  105  via input/output controller  135 . In the depicted embodiment, the computing system  100  further includes a display controller  160  coupled to a display  165 , and a network interface  170  communicatively coupled to a network  175 . The network  175  may be an IP-based network for communication between computer  105  and any external server, client and the like via a broadband or other network connection. The network  175  transmits and receives data between the computer  105  and external systems. In an exemplary embodiment, the network  175  may be a managed IP network administered by a service provider. The network  175  may be implemented in a wireless fashion, e.g., using wireless protocols and technologies, such as WiFi, WiMax, etc. The network  175  may also be a packet-switched network such as a local area network, wide area network, metropolitan area network, Internet network, or other similar type of network environment. The network  175  may be a fixed wireless network, a wireless local area network (LAN), a wireless wide area network (WAN) a personal area network (PAN), a virtual private network (VPN), intranet or other suitable network system and includes equipment for receiving and transmitting signals. 
     In at least some embodiments, the memory  115  may further include a basic input output system (BIOS) (omitted for simplicity). The BIOS is a set of routines that initialize and test hardware at startup, initiate execution of the OS  145 , and support the transfer of data among the hardware devices. The BIOS is typically stored in ROM so that the BIOS may be executed when the computer  105  is activated. When the computer  105  is in operation, the processor  110  is configured to execute instructions stored within the memory  115 , to communicate data to and from the memory  115 , and to generally control operations of the computer  105  pursuant to the instructions. 
       FIG. 2  depicts a usage scenario in accordance with an embodiment in which one or more sets of diagnostic machine instructions are transferred by a general processor  110  for processing by a specialty engine  112  comprising one or more specialty processors (not shown). In particular, a series of instructions  205  is being executed as part of executing a software product associated with a measured usage pricing model, such that monetary usage fees are incurred based on an amount of computing resources (in this example, CPU time) used by the general processor  110  during such execution. The series of instructions  205  begins with client code  210 , representing one or more instructions included within the software product being executed on behalf of a client. 
     CICS (Customer Information Control System) comprises a family of application servers and connectors that provide industrial-strength, online transaction management and connectivity for mission-critical applications. CICS includes a transaction server that runs on IBM mainframe systems under z/OS or z/VSE, but is also available for other operating systems—notably i5/OS, OS/2, and the closely related IBM TXSeries software on AIX, Windows, and Linux, among others. CICS is a transaction processing system designed for both online and batch activity. On large servers (e.g., IBM zSeries and System z9 servers), CICS easily supports thousands of transactions per second, making it a mainstay of enterprise computing. CICS applications can be written in numerous programming languages, including COBOL, PL/I, C, C++, Assembler, REXX, and Java. 
     Continuing with reference to  FIG. 2 , the series of instructions  205  next includes a CICS command  215 , which in the illustrated embodiment includes a call to perform one or more diagnostic functions, including the TRACE_PUT function call  220 . Here, the CICS command  215  effectively registers eligibility for the general processor  110  to transfer the subsequent set of diagnostic machine instructions (including TRACE_PUT function call  220 ) to specialty engine  112  for execution. In the depicted embodiment, only those machine instructions executed by the general processor  110  are tracked for purposes of measuring usage according to the measured usage pricing model associated with the software product being executed. Thus, by transferring the set of diagnostic machine instructions to the specialty engine for execution, such diagnostic machine instructions provide the benefits associated with diagnostic data collection without incurring monetary usage fees in accordance with the applicable measured usage license or, in certain embodiments, incurring monetary usage fees that are less than those associated with the applicable measured usage license. 
     The completed execution of the TRACE_PUT function call  220  denotes the end of the set of diagnostic machine instructions, at which point execution by general processor  110  resumes. CICS command Exit  225  denotes the end of the call to CICS, at which time the general processor therefore proceeds with executing the remaining client code, beginning with the depicted client code instruction  230 . 
       FIG. 3  depicts a routine  300  for software product execution, again in accordance with an embodiment in which one or more sets of diagnostic machine instructions are transferred by a general processor for processing by a specialty engine. 
     The routine begins at block  305 , in which one or more first processors execute one or more software applications associated with a measured usage pricing model. The routine continues at block  310 , in which the one or more first processors receive an indication to execute one or more diagnostic instructions related to the executing software application(s). 
     At block  315 , the one or more first processors initiate execution of the indicated diagnostic instructions using distinct second processors that are not associated with the measured usage pricing model. 
     At block  320 , the one or more first processors optionally receive an indication that execution of the diagnostic instructions by the one or more second processors has concluded. 
     At block  325 , the routine determines whether to continue, such as in response to an explicit instruction to terminate. If it is determined that the routine is to continue, the routine returns to block  305  to continue execution, by the one or more first processors, of the one or more software applications associated with the measured usage pricing model. Otherwise, the routine proceeds to block  399  and ends. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a routine  400  for software product execution in accordance with an embodiment in which, rather than transfer sets of diagnostic machine instructions to a specialty engine for processing, monetary usage fees that would otherwise be associated with such sets of diagnostic machine instructions are avoided by pausing the tracking of computing resource usage during the execution of such diagnostic machine instructions. 
     The routine begins at block  405 , in which the execution of a software product associated with a measured usage pricing model is initiated. At  410 , the routine begins tracking the usage of particular computing resources associated with execution of software product. 
     At block  415 , the routine determines whether the next set of machine instructions for executing the software product is associated with a token indicating that the set is a set of diagnostic machine instructions. 
     If it is determined that the next set of machine instructions is associated with such a token, the routine proceeds to block  420 , and pauses the tracking of computing resource usage. At block  425 , the general processor completes the execution of the set of diagnostic machine instructions that was determined to be associated with the relevant token, and at block  430  the routine resumes tracking usage of the computing resources. 
     If it was determined at block  415  that the next set of machine instructions is not associated with a token indicating that the set is a set of diagnostic machine instructions, the routine proceeds to  440  to execute the next set of machine instructions. 
     After block  430  (if it was determined at block  415  that the next set of instructions was associated with a token indicating a set of diagnostic machine instructions) or block  440  (if it was determined at block  415  that the next set of instructions was not associated with such a token), the routine proceeds to block  435  to determine whether to continue the execution of the software product. If it is determined not to continue (such as in response to an explicit instruction to terminate), the routine proceeds to  499  and ends. Otherwise, the routine returns to block  415 , and again determines whether the next set of machine instructions is associated with a token indicating that the set is a set of diagnostic machine instructions. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. 
     It will be appreciated that in some embodiments the functionality provided by the routines discussed above may be provided in alternative ways, such as being split among more routines or consolidated into fewer routines. Similarly, in some embodiments illustrated routines may provide more or less functionality than is described, such as when other illustrated routines instead lack or include such functionality respectively, or when the amount of functionality that is provided is altered. In addition, while various operations may be illustrated as being performed in a particular manner (e.g., in serial or in parallel) and/or in a particular order, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments the operations may be performed in other orders and in other manners. It will also be appreciated that particular data structures discussed above may be structured in different manners, such as by having a single data structure split into multiple data structures or by having multiple data structures consolidated into a single data structure. Similarly, in some embodiments, illustrated data structures may store more or less information than is described, such as when other illustrated data structures instead lack or include such information respectively, or when the amount or types of information that is stored is altered. 
     The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present disclosure. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
     Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure. 
     Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
     These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.