The present invention discloses improved systems and methods for multisite management of computer server systems and in particular converged communication systems based on a decentralized architecture. Certain and various aspects relating to atomic error handling, transaction-based authentication/security, intelligent bandwidth management, decoupled data/configuration messaging, improved scalability, auto-detection functions, business metrics, etc., also are disclosed. A console is disclosed that communicates with each of a plurality of converged communications systems, e.g., preferably through the use of sockets. The actual traffic load is decentralized among the computer server systems, as each one uses direct connections (e.g., via an enhanced file transfer protocol) to access update/configuration data as needed. In addition, an improved communication protocol is disclosed that is optimized for the multisite management architecture of the present invention. An improved set of graphical user interface (GUI) features are described that improve the efficiency of the management of multiple systems.
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14. In a system having a plurality of computing devices, wherein reporting information specific to each computing device is generated over time, a method for providing a report database comprising the reporting information gathered from the plurality of computing devices, comprising:
providing a server system to manage the plurality of computing devices;
providing an abstraction layer that enables management of information for each computing device, wherein “locations” are defined by location identification information;
wherein the reporting information for the “locations” is gathered from the plurality of computing devices and imported into a report database, wherein the reporting information comprises geographic advertisement response information,
wherein communications between the server system and one or more of the plurality of computing devices are performed using a protectable communications protocol that includes an atomic error handling capability to enable one or more transaction instructions to be reversed upon an error in one of the plurality of transaction instructions.
1. A method for providing a report database comprising reporting information gathered from a plurality of localized devices comprising the steps of:
providing a server system to coordinate management activities for the plurality of localized devices;
providing an abstraction layer that references the plurality of localized devices as “locations” rather than physical equipment, wherein the “locations” are defined by location identification information distinct from an ip address;
wherein the server system communicates with an individual device of the plurality of localized devices via the abstraction layer to request software distribution information without requiring user initiation at the individual device;
wherein the software distribution information provides the server system with information sufficient to generate reporting information comprised of “locations”;
wherein the reporting information is gathered from two or more localized devices and imported into the report database, wherein the reporting information comprises geographic advertisement response information,
wherein communications between the server system and the individual device are performed using a protectable communications protocol that includes an atomic error handling capability to enable one or more transaction instructions to be reversed upon an error in one of the plurality of transaction instructions.
9. In a system having a plurality of localized computing devices in a plurality of geographically diverse sites, wherein information specific to each geographically diverse site is generated over time through at least one localized computing device associated with each geographically diverse site, a method for providing a report database comprising reporting information gathered from a plurality of localized devices, comprising:
providing a server system to manage information associated with each of the plurality of geographically diverse sites;
providing each of the plurality of geographically diverse sites with at least one localized computing device, wherein the localized computing device may be transferred from a first geographically diverse site to a second geographically diverse site or be “out of service” after some period of time; and
providing an abstraction layer that enables management of information for each of the plurality of geographically diverse sites distinct from the plurality of localized computing devices, wherein “locations” are defined by location identification information distinct from an ip address;
wherein the reporting information for the “locations” is gathered from a plurality of localized computing devices and imported into a report database, wherein the reporting information comprises geographic advertisement response information,
wherein communications between the server system and one or more of the plurality of localized computing devices are performed using a protectable communications protocol that includes an atomic error handling capability to enable one or more transaction instructions to be reversed upon an error in one of the plurality of transaction instructions.
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This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/802,797, filed Jun. 14, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,346,905, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/915,588, filed Aug. 9, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,739,365.
The present invention relates to distributed computer server systems in general, and more particularly, to the management of multiple related communications systems and in particular to improved reporting capabilities for such multiple related communications systems. As an example, converged communications systems integrate voice and data communications services and applications, e.g., through the use of a packet bus and a time-division multiplexed (TDM) bus. The complexity, and associated management issues, of the converged communications services platform is heightened when multiple installations are to be managed in a coherent, unified manner, especially if from a centralized headquarters, e.g., multiple installations of systems that are to be logically combined as part of one organization. Certain and various aspects relating to atomic error handling, transaction-based authentication/security, intelligent bandwidth management, decoupled data/configuration messaging, improved scalability, auto-detection functions, business metrics, etc., are described. In addition to a converged communications system context, many aspects are contemplated to be advantageous in other applications where distributed computer server systems are inter-related, and accordingly require a coherent distributed management approach.
Prior art approaches for managing software servers in such a multi-system network often involve centralized software distribution and data collection systems. As one example, the Tivoli software distribution system available from IBM is a product that, in the context of multisite management of communications systems, is a complicated architecture where a centralized distribution and collection system server, network infrastructure and gateway elements are required to interrelate the various components. The pathway between all of the devices is reliant upon a central distribution system server, shared switches/routers, etc., and accordingly there are single points of failure for the entire distribution system. In addition, prior art software distributions solutions require additional network and computer infrastructure, gateways and servers when additional nodes are added to the network. This requirement for increased infrastructure increase complexity, cost and has a significant impact on scalability of the network to be managed. In addition, prior art software distribution solutions are not instrumented to provide specific and real time fault management functions and remote administration functions for the variety of capabilities that exist on a converged voice and data platform. Furthermore, for an individual converged communications system to access a software update (e.g., a cab file), it must use the same shared bandwidth, infrastructure and centralized software services as all the other converged systems. Besides the undue expense of such a proprietary system (perhaps most especially for smaller installations), there is the associated complexity for configuring and maintaining such an approach. Because the same centralized distribution system is being used for multiple systems (e.g., plurality of converged communications systems 2), the management of the overall system is expensive and complicated and requires additional servers, boundary gateways and network infrastructure to scale and support additional converged solutions. It is not particularly efficient for the presently discussed converged architecture, where, for example, there are complex management issues of a distributed communications services platform. In addition most of the software distribution solutions are focused on distribution or pushing content from a central location to a number of servers and thus not well tuned for fault management, the collection of data, reports and server back-ups. As a final limitation, in a typical software distribution environment, the control mechanisms and data transport are tied together and vendor specific, not able to support alternative vendor transport methods and external server storage and hosting facilities. In order to get one feature of the system, the consumer must take the whole package, and consequently may not leverage pre-existing components that may not be part of the same proprietary system.
The present invention preferably involves improved systems and methods for multisite management of communications systems. A decentralized architecture is described, which addresses the aforementioned limitations of the prior art. A server is disclosed that preferably communicates with each of a plurality of converged communications systems, e.g., through the use of sockets. The server interfaces to a set of server and database functions required for the control mechanisms. An improved communication protocol is described that preferably is optimized for the presently described multisite management architecture. The control mechanisms implemented in a protocol between the central services and the converged platforms preferably are directed to configuration, update, upgrade, backup, and reporting functions. The actual traffic load, content, and transport of data is decentralized among the converged systems, as each one uses direct connections (e.g., file transfer protocol) to access update/configuration data as needed. Each communications platform has the networking infrastructure, protocols, services and intelligence to manage the connection to the content server thus eliminating the need for boundary gateways, caching servers and other network infrastructure required in current software distribution implementations. In addition to enabling efficient scaling of these functions, the present invention involves file servers that can be hosted externally, located locally, or maintained at the central headquarters. Additionally, as they are preferably non-proprietary, such servers can alternatively be under the management and control of alternative and/or third party facilities. An improved set of graphical user interface (GUI) features are described that improve the efficiency of the management of multiple systems.
Additionally, as part of the system management, improved reporting functions preferably are implemented to, for example, gather business metrics from the converged communications systems. Such business metrics may include [INCLUDE LIST]. Preferably, an abstraction layer is utilized in connection with applications such as those providing improved reporting functions to more desirably manage business entities, referred to as “locations”, such as branch offices or stores, rather than physical equipment (e.g., Integrated Communication Platforms, servers, customer premise equipment, etc.). Through the use of one or more abstraction layers, hierarchies for reporting of business metric data or the like may be developed so that multiple distributed systems may be more desirably managed in a more “business centric” manner as compared to reporting, etc., based on physical equipment.
The above objects and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings in which:
The present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to certain preferred and certain other embodiments, which may serve to further the understanding of preferred embodiments of the present invention. As described elsewhere herein, various refinements and substitutions of the various elements of the various embodiments are possible based on the principles and teachings herein.
Converged communications systems can be configured as shown in
The present disclosure involves certain and various preferred embodiments of a converged communications system. Certain previously filed disclosures involve further details and examples about various embodiments that provide a context for the present discussion. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,343,074, 6,298,045, 6,292,482, 6,289,025, 6,266,341, 6,266,340, 6,208,658, 6,181,694, and 6,154,465 involve such embodiments and accordingly are hereby incorporated by reference. However, as will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in this field, there are many embodiments described herein that are not limited to the context of a converged communications system. Clearly, many aspects of the present invention can be very advantageous in a number of other areas where distributed computer server systems are inter-related, and accordingly require a coherent distributed management approach. As one example, a globally distributed interconnected network for travel reservations would likely benefit from many of the embodiments discussed herein. As another example, a large corporate network would similarly likely benefit from many such embodiments. Certain and various aspects relating to atomic error handling, transaction-based authentication/security, intelligent bandwidth management, decoupled data/configuration messaging, improved scalability, auto-detection functions, business metrics, etc., would clearly be relevant in such architectures. For purposes of clarity, the present discussion will at times focus on a converged communications server context. However, it is intended that many of the present embodiments can be used to advantage in these other related areas, and such networks and uses are within the scope of the inventions disclosed herein. Accordingly, where the disclosure hereinafter references “converged communications system” or the like, in alternative embodiments terms such as “computing system,” “distributed server system,” “distributed application system,” etc., may be used in lieu thereof.
In certain implementations where multiple converged communications systems are necessary, e.g., due to multiple geographic locations, and/or the sheer number of users, it is necessary to use multiple converged communications systems in association with each other. As an example, a large company with a geographically diverse distribution of offices that wants to have a unified voice/data system might configure a plurality of converged PBX systems to work together, e.g., leveraging the same dialing plan and data network services. Such an arrangement allows one employee directory across multiple locations, and allows the various offices to communicate with one another as if they were in the same office. In this example, it is necessary for each of the multiple systems to be coordinated in terms of data functions such as subscriber directory synchronization, operating system updates, feature upgrades, fixes and/or updates, new network service levels, etc. The benefits of the converged architecture shown in
One prior art approach for managing such a multi-system approach of the previous examples is shown in
The example of
Associated with the exemplary embodiments illustrated in
As shown in
System manager 50 preferably manages the various tasks being performed by multiple system agents 52. In certain embodiments, it is preferable to use heartbeat messages sent from each system agent 52 for reception by system manager 50. Such heartbeat messages can be sent periodically, e.g., once a day, and once each time the system agent 52 is booted up. Preferably, heartbeat messages contain a list of tasks that the originating system agent 52 is currently executing (and/or plans to execute). If the list of tasks sent to the system manager 50 does not match the list of expected tasks that the system manager maintains for the particular system agent 52, then the system manager 50 preferably sends a ‘sync’ message to the particular system agent 52 that contains the list of tasks that the system agent 52 should be performing (and/or planning to perform). Preferably, along with the sync message, all pertinent task data will be sent to the system agent 52. Upon receiving this information, system agent 52 preferably will add all tasks to its schedule that were not previously scheduled, and remove all tasks from its schedule that are not contained in the sync message.
As an example,
Following this example, requests preferably will typically require the movement of files (e.g., upgrade CABs, voice prompts, CRD reports, configuration backups etc.) and each converged system 2 preferably will then use primitive API calls within the standard FTP to carry out the transport functions requested. For example, if an individual converged system 2 receives a request to upgrade to a service pack, it preferably will receive enough information in that request to validate and then execute. As an example, this preferably would involve invoking a transport session with an FTP server, finding and retrieving the correct CAB file, and running the upgrade process. Additionally, MSM server 42 may send a request to all targeted converged systems 2 to run certain reports; such a request preferably will indicate how often reports should be produced and optionally timing/scheduling parameters by which the individual converged systems should carry out the report function, and which FTP server 44 to log into to deposit the report data. In a similar example, the MSM server 42 may send a backup request to all targeted converged systems 2, preferably indicating how often backups should occur and optionally timing/scheduling parameters by which the individual converged systems should carry out the backup function, as well as enough information for each converged system 2 to log into a designated FTP server 44 and deposit the backup files in the proper directory. Preferably, all the while in each of these examples, the system agent 52, located on a particular converged system 2, is logging and sending status messages to the MSM server 42, that preferably can be accessed/viewed via system manager 50, informing it about the progress of the request. Accordingly, MSM server 42 preferably will track the progress of each request for every converged system 2. Additionally, as mentioned above, it is preferable to implement an enhanced, e.g., byte level, usage of the FTP protocol, whereby features such as intelligent bandwidth management are afforded.
Certain embodiments of the present invention preferably enable auto-registration of each converged system 2 with MSM server 42. As one example, system agent 52 preferably automatically registers with system manager 50. Specific information relating to configuration, identity, and bandwidth constraints preferably is received by system manager 50 when each converged system 2 is connected to the network. Following this example, the detection of an additional converged system 2 that is connected to the network preferably will populate a database associated with system manager 50 with information such as application versioning and configuration.
Additionally, certain embodiments of the present invention preferably enable one-time tasks as well as reoccurring tasks. As examples, a one time project may be associated with an network wide update, while a recurring task such as toll fraud monitoring may be arranged to be performed daily or other predetermined schedule.
Certain embodiments of the present invention preferably allow business metrics to be monitored. As examples, statistics such as average hold time, number of dropped calls, number of failed transfers, trunk utilization ratios, number of busy signals, staff utilization rates, etc., preferably can be collected from multiple systems by system manager 50. Additionally, other examples involve marketing feedback: a company may put an ad in one geographic region and monitor the call patterns in that area to assess the response to the ad. As another example, a company may change the prompting to be customized for a local ad campaign to support prompting features that are interrelated to local ad strategies. As these examples illustrate, the present decentralized architecture with preferably decoupled data/configuration messaging enables efficient monitoring and reporting of call statistics, preferably accessible from any station on a network, preferably with transaction-based authentication.
Certain of the preferred embodiments discussed herein are described in the context of a network of converged communications systems. However, as will be clear to one of ordinary skill in this field, many of the presently discussed embodiments are not limited to such an architecture. For example, the following discussion regarding an approach to message authentication and general management protocol features can be relevant to other types of architectures and systems where a network exists that would benefit from a management protocol and authentication functions. Accordingly, though the discussion below is directed to the context of a converged communications system, e.g., systems for providing data and telephony services in a networked environment, many embodiments are applicable to other network topologies and architectures.
Continuing the example illustrated in
In this example, assuming that there are no errors detected, acknowledgement message 76 preferably is sent via the same socket back to sender 60. Upon receipt of acknowledgement message 76, sender 60 preferably removes MPM 72 from its queue.
In this fashion, all management protocol messages preferably can be sent between the various systems in a protected and encrypted manner. Additionally, the messages preferably will be delivered even in times of network problems, as the safe delivery of each message preferably is acknowledged.
As shown on the MSM server side of
Referring again to the example view of
In accordance with certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, improved multi-site reporting (MSR) capabilities are provided. More than simply managing “devices” in a network via MSM as described herein, improved MSR capabilities in accordance with the present invention, which preferably may be a reporting subsystem operating with or as a part of MSM, more effectively manage business entities, such as branches or stores or other business units. In accordance with certain of such embodiments, this is more effectively implemented via MSM capabilities as described herein and via an abstraction layer that serves to separate the concept of physical equipment from the “locations” where the equipment is located.
As will be appreciated from the description provided herein, certain embodiments of MSM are in effect implemented to manage “locations” which have attributes assigned to them. Those attributes include, but are not limited to, the following: Current Status (Open, Closed, etc. . . . ), Existence (True, False), and Physical ID. In accordance with certain presently described embodiments, however, an abstraction layer is provided that enables locations to be managed separate from physical equipment. This abstraction layer provides important advantages in accordance with the present invention in that it allows users to more effectively deal with issues such as the following:
Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the abstraction layer may be applied in a repetitive fashion, thereby enabling a variety of applications such as service provider management products. A telecommunications company may manage services for a multiple companies that have multiple locations that have multiple pieces of equipment at each location. In accordance with the present invention, there is no limit as to how many times the abstraction layer can be applied. What is important is that, in accordance with the present invention, no matter how many abstraction layers are applied, MSM/MSR capabilities may be desirably implemented in a more business centric manner rather than a device centric manner.
In certain embodiments, it is preferable to allow an administrator to set error notification levels. Examples of error notification levels are: notify the administrators if X number of systems failed to execute the daily backup, notify the administrators if any traffic (e.g. voice and/or data traffic) on a system meets or exceeds the trunk and/or bandwidth capacity (e.g., thus requiring additional trunks and/or bandwidth), and notify the administrators if any systems failed to report their configuration. Other conditions may similarly be used as a basis for error notification. As part of the error notification procedure, in certain embodiments it is preferable to automatically page or call an administrator to alert them to the error.
After a request is constructed and a set of targeted systems has been chosen, MSM Server 42 preferably will be responsible for delivering the requests to each targeted system in the target list. As discussed previously in connection with
In yet another improvement over certain conventional approaches, certain embodiments of the present invention preferably allow control information to be decoupled from data. In certain prior art approaches, content and configuration parameters are distributed together, resulting from the centralized approach, e.g., as shown in
On the converged target system flow of
Continuing the discussion of
With the error-message preferably able to identify the particular command in the request message that generated an error, the presently discussed embodiments preferably provide the ability to perform atomic transactions. In this case, atomic transactions may be multiple commands that preferably can either be conditionally executed, and/or preferably reversed if another command in the atomic transaction fails. Embodiments relating to atomic transactions are discussed above in further detail.
Now that examples of the various types of MPMs have been discussed at a high level, the description will now focus in further to discuss may be considered the most important component of the request message, which is its list of commands.
In the example of
At this point in the discussion, it should be noted that there exist prior art protocols that could in theory be used for accessing and manipulating configuration data in a manner consistent with the present discussion. However, there are significant differences between the prior art approaches and preferred embodiment protocols of the present discussion.
While many of the preferred embodiments of the present invention can involve an improvement over XUpdate, clearly certain implementations that incorporate XUpdate still may benefit from other aspects of the present invention, and accordingly are within the scope of the present invention.
As will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the present art, the examples discussed here are representative of the full spirit and scope of the present invention. Additional variations, some of which are described here, incorporate many aspects of the present invention.
As will be appreciated from the discussion herein, MSM may be used to provide a mechanism to organize devices and locations in a network by allowing users to define a hierarchy. There preferably are provisions in MSM to enable modifications to the hierarchy as the organization changes. Furthermore, MSM preferably provides a mechanism to propagate those changes to other management applications.
An example of this type of synchronization is the reporting subsystem. When hierarchy changes are made in MSM, MSR preferably will detect those changes and reflect them when producing reports. For instance, Store A is defined to be in California. But California is a big state and managers want to subdivide California into two regions—North and South. With such a hierarchy modification, now Store A will be in North California. When the changes are made via MSM, MSM preferably passes the new hierarchy to the MSR application, and preferably future reports will now place Store A in North California.
In accordance with preferred embodiments, the mechanism for implementing this functionality is based upon a series of flags in the MSM database that are exposed and documented. External systems/applications (like MSR) can monitor these flags and then make intelligent decisions on how to modify their own hierarchical information. Illustrative tables and pertinent fields are illustrated in
As will be appreciated, by monitoring the flags in an “UpdatedTables” table, for example, an application such as MSR can zero in on the changes made in the hierarchy and location tables. Preferably, there is an “updateflag” associated with each table name that defines the hierarchy. If the flag is set for a given table, then this indicates that information in that table has been modified. Applications such as MSR can then go to the indicated table and update the part of the hierarchy that is affected by the indicated table. In essence, the “UpdatedTables” table acts as a “dirty bit” depository that can be referenced by other applications.
In accordance with certain preferred embodiments, with the MSM/MSR implementation the entire hierarchy preferably is exposed via such tables and is passed from one application to the other. As will be appreciated, however, this does not necessarily have to be the case. For reasons of performance, security, and data locking, for example, this mechanism allows systems to more granularly pass the hierarchy. Because access to the tables may be controlled via the main “UpdatedTables” entries, the information that is exposed and passed can be masked. The figures included herein shall be understood to be an example of how such a mechanism works in accordance with exemplary embodiments. The present invention should be understood to generally encompass the use of such a hierarchy, in which information defining attributes of all or part of the hierarchy, may be passed from one system/application to the another. In general, the present invention is directed to hierarchy sharing that can be applied in many business applications that rely on organizational hierarchies.
Also in accordance with such exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a handshaking mechanism is implemented. As illustrated in
Similar to the mechanism used to synchronize hierarchies discussed earlier, MSM preferably uses a table in an MSM database to communicate with applications such as MSR. Preferably, after MSR finishes parsing and importing a set of data, the entry relating to that set of data is removed from the MSM database.
With respect to the exemplary specifics of MSM and MSR, the following steps describe the exact sequence that may occur in accordance with such embodiments.
1. A distributed system (or systems) may generate traffic data through the course of normal usage. That data preferably are stored in files that are categorized into Call Detail, Trunk Statistics, and Call Queuing.
2. In addition to the data files, the system(s) may generate a mapping file every day (or other time interval) that associates various “IDs” with their descriptions. Examples include, but are not limited to, extension numbers to names, group IDs to names, pilot numbers to descriptions, etc. . . . Any ID that could be ambiguous on a report preferably is mapped in this file.
3. The distributed system(s) preferably stores each type of data for a configured/predetermined number of days (or other time interval); for example, 60 days.
4. The MSM server instructs each distributed system how often it should package each set of data and where to send it. The schedule preferably is configurable via an MSM console/software interface.
5. Preferably, according the to MSM-provided schedule, each distributed system will compress the data and mapping files into, for example, what is know as a CAB file.
6. Once the files are packaged, preferably, each distributed system will transmit the CAB file to a configured data server.
7. Upon successful transmission of the data, preferably a message will be sent to the MSM server to indicate that the data is ready. It typically will describe what data was sent (CDR, Trunk, or CRQ), from what system it came from, which data server received the data, and where the data is located on the data server. MSM preferably puts this information in a “ReadyFiles” table.
8. In preferred embodiments, MSR will periodically scan the “ReadyFiles” table for data that is ready to be processed. If it finds any entries in the table, it preferably uses the information contained there to logon to the data server and retrieve the data.
9. MSR then preferably does processing of the data and imports it into its own database.
10. When MSR successfully completes its processing for that data, it preferably removes the “ReadyFiles” entry for that set of data.
Although the exemplary steps set forth above are specific to embodiments of the MSM and MSR applications as described herein, it should be understood that the process is applicable to any two systems where one collects data and the other is a consumer of that data.
It also should be understood that, in certain embodiments, many of the concepts of the MSM embodiments discussed herein are utilized with the MSR application as discussed herein. Although MSR is used in an exemplary manner with MSM, features thereof may be utilized separate from the specific attributes of MSM described herein. Additional aspects of the inter-relation between MSM and MSR in certain embodiments will now be described:
1. MSM and MSR preferably both separate the control of data transmission from the data transmission itself. This desirably allows flexibility in how a customer's network may be utilized. For example, parameters such as bandwidth, transmission protocol, transmission paths, and data servers may be specified via the control mechanism. Then the actual transmission preferably is handed over to the network according to those parameters. This attribute of preferred embodiments provides substantial advantages in that the control protocol can utilize a different network than the data transmission. Preferably, MSM/MSR can utilize the network in a very intelligent fashion because of this architecture. As an example, control can be passed via sockets over a satellite network, where latency is high, but coverage universal, while data transmission preferably is passed through landlines where throughput is higher and more reliable. The point is that, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, MSM/MSR can be tuned to use the network assets of the particular customer.
2. As will be appreciated, the scalability advantages available with MSM in accordance with the present invention also may be achieved via the MSR application. MSM desirably utilizes the “edge of the network” to do much of the work of gathering data, and this same advantage is applicable to MSR since MSR's data gathering duties preferably are distributed across a large array of devices on the network.
3. Since the flow of data preferably is managed via MSM, it should be understood that management attributes of MSM also may be applied to the utilization of MSR. As will be appreciated, MSM may be utilized to set up the tasks of gathering data that may be reported, including the desirably use of constructs such as “CDR”, “CMS”, and “Trunk Reports”. In accordance with certain preferred embodiments, in effect portions of MSR are imbedded in MSM, conveying additional advantages in accordance with the present invention.
Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific preferred and other embodiments, it is evident that many substitutions, alternatives and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all of the alternatives and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it should be understood that, in accordance with the various alternative embodiments described herein, various systems, and uses and methods based on such systems, may be obtained. The various refinements and alternative and additional features also described may be combined to provide additional advantageous combinations and the like in accordance with the present invention. Also as will be understood by those skilled in the art based on the foregoing description, various aspects of the preferred embodiments may be used in various subcombinations to achieve at least certain of the benefits and attributes described herein, and such subcombinations also are within the scope of the present invention. All such refinements, enhancements and further uses of the present invention are within the scope of the present invention.
Pickett, Scott K., Kamenetsky, Mark L., Kusumi, Timothy J., Pang, Adeline, Kumarasamy, Uthayakumar, Atemasov, Dolores Seraphina
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