A distributed information processing system which includes a server having a resume-request processor and clients having resume-request units or processor. An user at the client site operates a resume switch to save an operation state of the client in the server's magnetic disc, and resume it from the server's magnetic disc. The operation state includes contents of the main memory, contents of the display memory, values of the I/O registers for peripheral devices, and information about the file of the server being used by the application program run by the user. The user is able to use any client of the system in the same situation including a connection state between the file and the application program as before.

An information apparatus is disclosed in which a network can be used less frequently so as to reduce the load to the network. The apparatus has a storage device for storing a plurality of information items and mutually-related information concerning the information items. An information-item determination device determines one of the information items in response to the user based on the related information. The determined information item indicates a specific information item stored in an information storage system connected to the terminal by way of communications.

A data processing system (1) comprising distributed data storage resource (D.sub.1 -D.sub.3, FD.sub.6, TL.sub.4, STO.sub.e) under the control of a distributed management unit (DSM.sub.1 through DSM.sub.6), which may or may not be associated with a server (S.sub.1 through S.sub.3) . This unit receives, from a centralized management unit (NSM), control programs which dynamically allocate to the unit to a virtual memory space comprising local storage units and all or some of the external storage resources.

A method of moving leaf objects and subtrees in computer networks that employ a distributed network directory is disclosed. The method employs the existing directories and an authentication procedure for each server. A first object that is under the physical control of the administrator of one partition of the distributed network directory requests access to a second object that is under the physical control of the administrator of another partition of the distributed network directory. The directory verifies that the access control list of the first object includes the second object. The access control list of the second object is then checked to verify that it includes a reference to the first object as an object that is permitted access to the second object. As a result, access is only granted in response to requests from objects that appear in the access control list of the second object. a method of synchronizing the access control lists based upon an authoritative access control list is also disclosed.

A system for a distributed computing network for managing instrumentation information from a plurality of network-connected managed entities. One or more instrumentation processes are coupled to each of the network-connected managed entities and configured to gather performance metric values. A first classification process is responsive to information describing a type of input/output operation being performed and is configured to select one or more counters based upon the type of input/output operation being performed. A second classification process is coupled to receive a performance metric value from the one or more instrumentation processes. The second classification process is responsive to a computed logarithm of a measured value of at least one metric to select and increment a particular counter of the one or more counters selected by the first classification process.