Patent ID: 8352623

Claim:
A computer implemented method for managing a computer environment in an energy efficient manner, the computer implemented method comprising: querying, through a lightweight communication protocol, an availability status of a target computer device using a status thread; recording the availability status of the target computer device in a memory of a central computer according to a response from the status thread; and responsive to an absence of a response by the target computer, querying, through a heavyweight communication protocol, the status of the target computer device using the status thread; responsive to a first determination that work needs to be performed on the target computer device by one or more work threads, adjusting a priority level of the status thread to a level secondary to the one or more work threads and checking a status flag associated with the target computer device to determine if the status flag indicates the target computer device is responsive; and responsive to a second determination that the status flag indicates that the target computer device is responsive, establishing a heavyweight communication with the target computer device to perform the work on the target computer device.