Patent ID: 7412513

Claim:
A method for improving the efficiency of a message processing system, comprising: determining a workload of a message processing system by accessing performance data regarding the message processing system, and determining, using the performance data, the workload with respect to a system operating parameter; polling for a new message at a frequency according to the workload status, wherein the frequency is inversely proportional to the workload and, if the workload is above a predetermined limit, polling only for a new non-activation message; identifying a blocked instance being processed by the message processing system; calculating an expected idle time for the blocked instance by: accessing performance data for the message processing system; determining a length of time the blocked instance has been idle; and generating the expected idle time based on the performance data and length of time the blocked instance has been idle; dehydrating the blocked instance if the expected idle time exceeds a predetermined threshold; updating the workload according to the dehydration of the instance; and updating the threshold according to the workload.