Patent ID: 8806018

Claim:
A method of controlling a plurality of computing resources each having a lower-setup-cost state and a higher-setup-cost state, comprising: arranging the plurality of computing resources so that each is capable of processing at least a share of an incoming request stream; controlling each of the plurality of computing resources so that each switches from the lower-setup-cost state to the higher-setup-cost state as a function of a timing-out of a state-change delay timer that is initiated when that computing resource is idled; and determining a minimum number, k.sub.reqd, of the plurality of computing resources to be in the lower-setup-cost state and overriding ones of the state-change delay timers as needed to keep the minimum number of the plurality of computing resources in the lower-setup-cost state; wherein: said determining includes determining k.sub.reqd as a function of a total number of requests currently distributed among the plurality of computing resources and further as a function of a packing factor and a number, k, of the plurality of computing resources currently in the lower-setup-cost state.