| Apparatus and method for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
  Apparatus and method for autonomic index creation, modification and deletionUSPTO Application #: 20070288489Title: Apparatus and method for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion Abstract: An index advice record engine generates and stores index advice records. An index advice policy mechanism allows a user to define an index advice policy that specifies criteria for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion. An autonomic index mechanism reads the index advice records, compares this information with the criteria in the user-defined index advice policies, and determines whether an index should be created, modified or deleted based on the information in the index advice records and the index advice policies. By automating the process of creating, modifying and deleting indexes according to user-defined policies, the preferred embodiments alleviate human users from most of the work of manually creating, modifying and deleting indexes. (end of abstract) Agent: Martin & Associates, LLC - Carthage, MO, US Inventors: Mark John Anderson, Robert Joseph Bestgen, James Michael Flanagan, Scott Forstie, Thomas James Schreiber USPTO Applicaton #: 20070288489 - Class: 707100 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070288489. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This patent application is related to a co-pending patent application entitled "Continual Generation of Index Advice", Ser. No. 11/239,617 filed on Sep. 29, 2005, and is also related to co-pending patent application entitled "Apparatus and Method for Autonomic Index Creation," Ser. No. ______ filed ______, and "Apparatus and Method for Autonomic Index Creation, Modification and Deletion", Ser. No. ______ filed ______. All three of these related patent applications are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]1. Field of the Invention [0003]This invention generally relates to database systems, and more specifically relates to an apparatus and method for optimizing database performance using indexes. [0004]2. Background Art [0005]Database systems have been developed that allow a computer to store a large amount of information in a way that allows a user to search for and retrieve specific information in the database. For example, an insurance company may have a database that includes all of its policy holders and their current account information, including payment history, premium amount, policy number, policy type, exclusions to coverage, etc. A database system allows the insurance company to retrieve the account information for a single policy holder among the thousands and perhaps millions of policy holders in its database. [0006]Retrieval of information from a database is typically done using queries. A query usually specifies conditions that apply to one or more columns of the database, and may specify relatively complex logical operations on multiple columns. The database is searched for records that satisfy the query, and those records are returned as the query result. [0007]Auxiliary data structures such as indexes may be built to speed the execution of a query. In the prior art, human users (such as system administrators, application programmers and database analysts) built indexes when the user determined that an index would speed the processing of a query, and deleted indexes when the user determined that the index was no longer useful. The decision of when to build an index, the characteristics of the index, and when to delete an index has been made by human users. Without a way to autonomically create, modify and delete indexes, the database industry will continue to suffer from inefficient, manual methods of managing indexes. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008]According to the preferred embodiments, an index advice record engine generates and stores index advice records. An index advice policy mechanism allows a user to define an index advice policy that specifies criteria for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion. An autonomic index mechanism reads the index advice records, compares this information with the criteria in the user-defined index advice policies, and determines whether an index should be created, modified or deleted based on the information in the index advice records and the index advice policies. By automating the process of creating, modifying and deleting indexes according to user-defined policies, the preferred embodiments alleviate human users from most of the work of manually creating, modifying and deleting indexes. [0009]The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) [0010]The preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, where like designations denote like elements, and: [0011]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus in accordance with the preferred embodiments; [0012]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a sample prior art database system; [0013]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a sample database system in accordance with the preferred embodiments; [0014]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a prior art method for creating database indexes; [0015]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for autonomically creating, modifying and deleting indexes in accordance with the preferred embodiments; [0016]FIG. 6 is a prior art index advice record; [0017]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of one specific implementation of step 520 in FIG. 5 in accordance with the preferred embodiments; [0018]FIG. 8 is a sample index advice policy in accordance with the preferred embodiments; [0019]FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of one specific implementation of step 530 in FIG. 5 in accordance with the preferred embodiments; [0020]FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing how an existing index may be modified to provide an advised index in accordance with the preferred embodiments; Continue reading... Full patent description for Apparatus and method for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Apparatus and method for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion patent application. Patent Applications in related categories: 20080201345 - Apparatus and article of manufacture for determining a target data type in a heterogeneous multi-level environment - An apparatus and article of manufacture for determining a target data type in an environment having a plurality of levels are provided. Zero or more intermediate levels are between the source level and the target level. A target data type representing the transformation of a data type of an associated ... 20080201341 - Contents management method - An increase in the amount of resources necessary for storing contents is prevented, and a wait time taken from issuance of a content read request from a client to start of replay of the content is shortened. A file server stores header parts of contents cut off from heads of ... 20080201342 - Data storage device management system and method - A computing host executes a web browser to access a utility application for managing one or more storage devices connected to the computing host. Management of each storage device may include updating firmware of the storage device, updating programmable hardware of the storage device, erasing the storage device, sanitizing the ... 20080201340 - Decision tree construction via frequent predictive itemsets and best attribute splits - A decision tree can be constructed via frequent predictive itemsets and best item splits. A hierarchical frequent predictive itemsets tree data structure can be used to construct the decision tree. A bottom-up traversal of the data structure can be used during determination of best item splits. The described technologies can ... 20080201343 - Hierarchical systems and methods for performing data storage operations - The invention is a hierarchical backup system. The interconnected network computing devices are put into groups of backup cells. A backup cell has a manager software agent responsible maintaining and initiating a backup regime for the network computing devices in the backup cell. The backups are directed to backup devices ... 20080201344 - Internet server access control and monitoring systems - This invention relates to methods for controlling and monitoring access to network servers. In particular, the process described in the invention includes client-server sessions over the Internet. In this environment, when the user attempts to access an access-controlled file, the server subjects the request to a secondary server which determines ... 20080201339 - Providing unique views of data based on changes or rules - In one embodiment, a method comprises creating and storing, in a revisioning database, one or more data objects; wherein a first plurality of the data objects is associated with a base realm representing data shared across all users of the database; wherein a second plurality of the data objects is ... 20080201338 - Rest for entities - The claimed subject matter provides a representational state transfer (REST) interface over a data store characterized by an entity data model (EDM) architecture. Such characterization can be presented by way of an Entity Framework that can transform data characterized in one manner at a relational database into an EDM characterization ... ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Apparatus and method for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: System and method for evenly distributing data across a distributed member architecture utilizing a home silo Next Patent Application: Method, system, and database archive for enhancing database archiving Industry Class: Data processing: database and file management or data structures ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Apparatus and method for autonomic index creation, modification and deletion patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.26889 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Software: Finance , AI , Databases , Development , Document , Navigation , Error |
||
