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Justia Patents US Patent Application for REDUCING COORDINATION TIMES IN ASYNCHRONOUS DATA REPLICATION ENVIRONMENTS Patent Application (Application #20190187906)
REDUCING COORDINATION TIMES IN ASYNCHRONOUS DATA REPLICATION ENVIRONMENTS
Dec 15, 2017 - IBM
A method for reducing coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes providing multiple primary storage devices in an asynchronous data replication environment. A command is issued, to each of the primary storage devices, to begin queuing I/O in order to coordinate a consistency group. Each primary storage device receives the command. The method further calculates, for each of the primary storage devices, an amount of time to wait before executing the command with the objective that each primary storage device executes the command at substantially the same time. Each primary storage device is configured to execute the command after receiving and waiting its corresponding amount of time. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed herein.
This invention relates to systems and methods for reducing coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments.
In asynchronous data replication environments such as IBM's Global Mirror, data is asynchronously mirrored from a primary storage device to a secondary storage device to maintain two consistent copies of the data. The primary and secondary storage devices may be located at different sites, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of miles away from one another. In the event an outage occurs at the primary site, I/O may be redirected to the secondary storage device, thereby enabling continuous operations. This process may be referred to as a "failover." When the outage is corrected or repaired at the primary site, I/O may be redirected back to the primary storage device. This process may be referred to as a "failback."
In certain Global Mirror architectures, multiple primary storage devices may be provided at one or more primary sites. In such cases, a consistency group may be spread across multiple primary storage devices. In Global Mirror architectures, one or more controlling functions, known as "masters," may run on a primary storage device. Each master may control the creation of a consistency group and manage the replication of the consistency group across storage devices. Each master may communicate with one or more "subordinates" in other primary storage devices. In Global Mirror architectures, a "subordinate" is a function inside a primary storage device that is controlled by a master.
Asynchronous data replication environments such as Global Mirror may be configured to minimize impacts on host I/O response times. As of the latest code levels, Global Mirror has only one phase that impacts host I/O response times. This phase relates to the coordination of consistency groups (also called Start Increment or "drawing the line in the sand"). When coordinating a consistency group, each primary storage device will queue host I/O upon receiving a Start Increment command from the master and resume I/O upon receiving a Run command from the master. This ensures the consistency of writes in a consistency group. The duration of this process depends on various factors, such as the distance between primary storage devices and the performance of the primary storage devices.
Today, primary storage devices are generally at the same site (so distance between them is nearly zero) and coordination can be done in roughly 1-2 ms with regular workloads. If Global Mirror is forming a consistency group every second, a host system will see a 1-2 ms impact every second. If primary storage devices are further away from one another (as might be the case in an active/active Global Mirror configuration with the same consistency point), then distance becomes the primary factor in determining coordination times. For example, in an active/active Global Mirror configuration where primary storage devices are located approximately 5000 km from one another, the host system will see 50 ms of delay every consistency group, which is typically not acceptable.
In view of the foregoing, what are needed are systems and methods for reducing coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments, particularly in environments where primary storage devices are located significant distances from one another.
The invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art and, in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available systems and methods. Accordingly, the invention has been developed to provide systems and methods for reducing consistency group coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments. The features and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
Consistent with the foregoing, a method for reducing coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes providing multiple primary storage devices in an asynchronous data replication environment. A command is issued, to each of the primary storage devices, to begin queuing I/O in order to coordinate a consistency group. Each primary storage device receives the command. The method further calculates, for each of the primary storage devices, an amount of time to wait before executing the command with the objective that each primary storage device executes the command at substantially the same time. Each primary storage device is configured to execute the command after receiving and waiting its corresponding amount of time.
A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed and claimed herein.
In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram showing one example of an asynchronous data replication system;
FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram showing one example of an asynchronous data replication system comprising a single primary storage device and a single secondary storage device;
FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram showing one example of an asynchronous data replication system comprising multiple primary storage devices and multiple secondary storage devices;
FIG. 4 is a high-level block diagram showing multiple primary storage devices having "master" and "subordinate" relationships, potentially at different geographical locations;
FIG. 5 is a high-level block diagram showing consistency coordination modules in each of the primary storage devices;
FIG. 6 is a high-level block diagram showing various sub-modules that may be included within a consistency coordination module; and
FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing one embodiment of a method for reducing consistency group coordination times.
It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of certain examples of presently contemplated embodiments in accordance with the invention. The presently described embodiments will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout.
The present invention may be embodied as a system, method, and/or computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.
The computer readable storage medium may be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.
Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.
Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages.
The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on a user's computer, partly on a user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on a user's computer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, a remote computer may be connected to a user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.
Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computer readable program instructions.
These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of an asynchronous data replication system 100 is shown. The asynchronous data replication system 100 is presented to show one example of an environment in which a priority-based method may operate and is not intended to be limiting. In general, the asynchronous data replication system 100 may be used to establish a mirroring relationship between one or more storage areas 102a (e.g., volumes or groups of volumes) on a primary storage device 104 and one or more storage areas 102b (e.g., volumes or groups of volumes) on a secondary storage device 105. The primary and secondary storage devices 104, 105 may be located a significant distance from one another (e.g., on the order of hundreds or thousands or miles apart) although this is not always necessary. Channel extension equipment may be located between the storage devices 104, 105, as needed, to extend the distance over which the storage devices 104, 105 may communicate.
As mentioned herein, the data replication system 100 may be configured to operate in an asynchronous manner, meaning that a write acknowledgment may be sent to a host device 106 when data is written to a local storage device 104 without waiting for the data to be replicated to a remote storage device 105. The data may be transmitted and written to the remote storage device 105 as time and resources allow.
For example, in such a configuration a host device 106 may initially send a write request 108 to the primary storage device 104. This write operation 108 may be performed on the primary storage device 104 and the primary storage device 104 may then send an acknowledgement 114 to the host device 106 indicating that the write completed successfully. As time and bandwidth allow, the primary storage device 104 may then transmit a write request 112 to the secondary storage device 105 to replicate the data thereto. The secondary storage device 105 may execute the write operation 112 and return a write acknowledgement 110 to the primary storage device 104 indicating that the write completed successfully on the secondary storage device 105. Thus, in an asynchronous data replication system 100, the write only needs to be performed on the primary storage device 104 before an acknowledgement 114 is sent to the host 106.
Referring to FIG. 2, a more particular embodiment of an asynchronous data replication system 100 is illustrated. The data replication system 100 illustrated in FIG. 2 is intended to describe the function of IBM's Global Mirror (Asynchronous PPRC) data replication system 100. Nevertheless, the apparatus and methods discussed herein are not limited to IBM's Global Mirror data replication system 100, but may be applicable to a variety of different asynchronous data replication systems 100 whether produced by IBM or other vendors.
In Global Mirror architectures, volumes 102a are grouped into a consistent session (also referred to as a "consistency group") at the primary storage device 104. This consistency group is replicated to a secondary storage device 105. This will create a consistent copy 102b of the volumes 102a on the secondary storage device 105. Once the consistent copy 102b is generated, the primary storage device 104 may issue a command to the secondary storage device 105 to save the consistent copy 102b. This may be accomplished by generating a point-in-time copy 102c of the consistent copy 102b using a feature such as IBM's FlashCopy.
Referring to FIG. 3, in certain Global Mirror architectures, multiple primary storage devices 104a, 104b may be provided at a primary site. In such cases, a consistency group 102a1, 102a2 may be spread across multiple primary storage devices 104a, 104b. In Global Mirror architectures, one or more controlling functions, known as "masters," may run on a primary storage device 104a. Each master 300 may control the creation of a consistency group and manage the replication of the consistency group across storage devices 104a, 104b, 105a, 105b. Each master may communicate with one or more "subordinates" in other primary storage devices 104b. In Global Mirror architectures, a "subordinate" 302 is a function inside a primary storage device 104b that is controlled by a master 300.
For example, when replicating a consistency group 102a1, 102a2 on one or more primary storage devices 104a, 104b to one or more secondary storage devices 105a, 105b, the master 300 associated with the consistency group 102a1, 102a2 controls the subordinate 302. That is, the master 300 controls the replication of the local volumes 102a1 to the secondary storage device 105a, as well as issues commands to subordinates 302 on other primary storage devices 104b, thereby instructing the subordinates 302 to replicate volumes 102a2 to one or more secondary storage devices 105b. The master 300 may also issue commands to the secondary storage device 105a to generate a point-in-time copy 102c1 of the replicated copy 102b1, using a feature such as FlashCopy. Similarly, the master 300 sends commands to subordinates 302 instructing the subordinates 302 to issue point-in-time copy commands (e.g., FlashCopy commands) to their respective secondary storage devices 105b. This will cause the secondary storage devices 105b to generate point-in-time copies 102c2 of their replicated copies 102b2. In this way, a master 300 is able to control the replication of a consistency group 102a1, 102a2 from multiple primary storage devices 104a , 104b to multiple secondary storage devices 105a, 105b.
Referring to FIG. 4, as previously mentioned, asynchronous data replication environments such as Global Mirror may be configured to minimize impacts on host I/O response times. As of the latest code levels, Global Mirror has only one phase that impacts host I/O response times. This phase relates to the coordination of consistency groups (also called Start Increment or "drawing the line in the sand"). When coordinating a consistency group, each primary storage device 104 will queue host I/O upon receiving a Start Increment command from the master 300 and resume I/O upon receiving a Run command from the master 300. This ensures the consistency of writes in a consistency group. The duration of this process depends on various factors, such as the distance (or network path length) between primary storage devices 104 and the performance of the primary storage devices 104.
In many cases, primary storage devices 104 are at the same site (so distance between them is nearly zero) and coordination can be done in roughly 1-2 ms with regular workloads. If Global Mirror is forming a consistency group every second, a host system 106 will see a 1-2 ms impact every second. If primary storage devices 104 are further away from one another (as might be the case in an active/active Global Mirror configuration with the same consistency point), then distance becomes the primary factor in determining coordination time. For example, in an active/active Global Mirror configuration where primary storage devices 104 are located approximately 5000 km from one another, a host system 106 may see 50 ms of delay every consistency group, which is typically unacceptable.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, assume that a first subordinate primary storage device 104b is located very close to (e.g., at the same site as) a master primary storage device 104a, and a second subordinate primary storage device 104c is located a significant distance from (e.g., 5000 km) the master primary storage device 104a. Further assume that the master primary storage device 104a, as part of coordinating a consistency group, sends a Start Increment command to each of the subordinate primary storage devices 104b, 104c (including the master primary storage device 104a itself, which also acts as a subordinate 302), instructing them to queue host I/O (i.e., cease to process host I/O). Because the subordinate primary storage device 104c is located further away from the master primary storage device 104a than the subordinate primary storage device 104b, the subordinate primary storage device 104c will receive the command some time after the subordinate primary storage device 104b due to network latency. This will cause the closer subordinate primary storage device 104b to begin queuing host I/O before the more remote subordinate primary storage device 104c. Only after each primary storage device 104a-c begins queuing host I/O and notifies the master primary storage device 104a of such, can a consistency group be formed. Once the consistency group is formed, the master primary storage device 104a may issue a Run command to the subordinate primary storage devices 104a-c that instructs them to resume processing host I/O.
Because the subordinate primary storage devices 104b, 104c begin queuing I/O at different times as a result of their differing distances from the master primary storage device 104a, this increases the time needed to form a consistency group. This also undesirably extends the amount of time that host I/O cannot be processed. As a result, systems and methods are needed to reduce coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments, particularly in environments where primary storage devices 104a-c are located significant distances from one another. Such systems and methods are disclosed herein in association with FIGS. 5 through 7.
Referring to FIG. 5, in certain embodiments in accordance with the invention, each primary storage device 104a-c may be configured with a consistency coordination module 500 to reduce coordination times in an asynchronous data replication environment 100. In general, the consistency coordination modules 500a-c may contain functionality to compensate for differing distances between the primary storage devices 104a-c. More specifically, the consistency coordination modules 500a-c may contain functionality to enable the primary storage devices 104a-c to execute a Start Increment (or equivalent) command at substantially the same time, thereby synchronizing as much as possible the queuing of host I/O. Ideally, this will reduce the amount of time that host I/O is interrupted. This may occur regardless of when the primary storage devices 104a-c receive the Start Increment command.
In order to accomplish the above-described benefits, the consistency coordination modules 500a-c may determine network latency between the master primary storage device 104a and the subordinate primary storage devices 104b, 104c (the master primary storage device 104a may also function as a subordinate primary storage device 104a in that it responds to commands from the master 300). Each consistency coordination module 500 may also determine how long it takes for the corresponding primary storage device 104 to process a Start Increment command (a primary storage device 104 that is busy or has lower performance characteristics may take longer to process a Start Increment command than a primary storage device 104 that is not busy or has higher performance characteristics). Using the network latency and performance information, each consistency coordination module 500 may calculate an amount of time to hold a received Start Increment command before executing it. By holding the Start Increment command for the calculated amount of time, each primary storage device 104 may execute the Start Increment command at substantially the same time, thereby more closely synchronizing the queuing of host I/O and reducing the amount of time that host I/O is interrupted.
Referring to FIG. 6, the consistency coordination modules 500a-c illustrated in FIG. 5 may include various sub-modules to provide various features and functions. These sub-modules, like the consistency coordination modules 500a-c themselves, may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or combinations thereof. The sub-modules are presented by way of example and not limitation. The consistency coordination modules 500a-c may, in certain embodiments, include more or fewer sub-modules than those illustrated. Similarly, the functionality of the sub-modules may, in certain embodiments, be combined into a single or smaller number of sub-modules or the functionality of a single sub-module may be distributed across several sub-modules. The illustrated sub-modules are not necessarily located in all consistency coordination modules 500a-c and may, in certain embodiments, be implemented as separate modules or in different locations than the consistency coordination modules 500a-c.
As shown, a consistency coordination module 500 may include one or more of a network latency determination module 600, performance determination module 606, hold-time determination module 612, execution module 614, run module 616, termination module 618, and reversion module 620.
The network latency determination module 600 is configured to determine network latency (Lcurrent) between a master 300 and a particular subordinate primary storage device 104. This network latency may be expressed as a latency value 602 (Lcurrent). The network latency determination module 600 may also be configured to determine the primary storage device 104 having the greatest network latency relative to the master 300. This network latency may be expressed as a latency value 604 (Lslowest). In certain embodiments, the consistency coordination module 500 associated with the master 300 may gather or record network latency values from each of the subordinate primary storage devices 104b, 104c and provide these network latency values to the consistency coordination modules 500a-c of the various primary storage devices 104a-c. In certain embodiments, the network latency value 602 for the master primary storage device 104a (which also acts as a subordinate) is zero.
The performance determination module 606 is configured to determine the performance of a primary storage device 104. This may be accomplished by measuring a maximum time taken by a primary storage device 104 to process a Start Increment command. This time may be expressed as a maximum time 608 (Pmaxcurrent) for the primary storage device 104 and may be updated anytime a Start Increment command takes longer than Pmaxcurrent to execute. The performance determination module 606 may also determine a maximum time 610 (Pmaxslowest) associated with a slowest-performing primary storage device 104 (i.e., the primary storage device 104 taking the longest to process a Start Increment command). In certain embodiments, the consistency coordination module 500 associated with the master 300 may gather or record performance values 608, 610 for each of the primary storage devices and provide these values 608, 610 to the consistency coordination modules 500 of the primary storage devices 104.
Using the values 602, 604, 608, 610, the hold-time determination module 612 may calculate how long a primary storage device 104 should hold a Start Increment command before executing it. Each subordinate 302 (including the subordinate internal to the master 300) may perform this calculation to determine how long to hold the command. In certain embodiments, the hold time may be calculated as follows:
hold time=2*Lslowest+Pmaxslowest−Pmaxcurrent−Lcurrent
Once a subordinate 302 has held the Start Increment command for the calculated amount of time, the execution module 614 may execute the Start Increment command and begin to queue host I/O. In certain embodiments, this may include returning an acknowledgement to the master 300 indicating that the subordinate 302 is queuing host I/O.
Once a subordinate 302 is queuing host I/O and has returned an acknowledgement to the master 300, the master 300 may form the consistency group. The master 300 may then send a Run command to the subordinate primary storage devices 104 to instruct them to resume processing host I/O. The run module 616 may receive this Run command and cause the corresponding subordinate primary storage device 104 to resume processing host I/O.
In other embodiments, each subordinate primary storage device 104 may resume processing host I/O on its own without receiving a Run command. This, may occur, for example, after the subordinate primary storage device 104 has queued host I/O for some amount of time. The amount of time may be based on the time needed for the formation of a consistency group plus potentially some buffer to compensate for variations in the times that subordinate primary storage devices 104 begin queuing host I/O. In such embodiments, the master 300 may cease to issue Run commands to the various subordinate primary storage devices 104 after formation of a consistency group, thereby allowing the subordinate primary storage devices 104 to resume host 110 processing on their own.
In certain embodiments, a master 300 may observe network latency or performance for a particular subordinate primary storage device 104 that is significantly longer or slower than what is expected from the values 602, 604, 608, 610, which have been established by previous observations/measurements. For example, a master 300 may observe increased network latency when receiving an acknowledgement sent in response to a Start Increment command. If actual network latency or performance deviates significantly from what is expected, the termination module 618 may cause the master 300 to fail the consistency group and the values 602, 604, 608, 610 may be adjusted to conform to the observed network latency and/or performance. The master 300 may then retry the consistency group by sending Start Increment commands to the subordinate primary storage devices 104. If a consistency group continues to fail, the reversion module 620 may cause the primary storage devices 104a-c to revert to a conventional technique for coordinating consistency groups.
Referring to FIG. 7, one embodiment of a method 700 for reducing consistency group coordination times is illustrated. The illustrated method 700 may, in certain embodiments, be executed by a subordinate primary storage device 104. As shown, the method 700 initially determines 702 whether a Start Increment command has been received from a master 300. If so, the method 700 retrieves 704 the values 602, 604, 608, 610 (network latency values, performance values) previously discussed. These values 602, 604, 608, 610 may be calculated by the subordinate primary storage device 104 itself, or be received from the master primary storage device 104a. In certain embodiments, the method 700 returns, to the master 300, an acknowledgement that the Start Increment command was received at step 702.
Using the values 602, 604, 608, 610 retrieved at step 704, the method 700 calculates 706 an amount of time to hold the Start Increment command. The method 700 then holds 708 the Start Increment command the calculated amount of time, after which the method 700 executes 710 the Start Increment command by queuing host I/O. After queuing host I/O for a certain amount of time or after receiving a Run command from the master 300, the method 700 resumes 712 processing host I/O.
The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer-usable media according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
1. A method for reducing coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments, the method comprising;
providing a plurality of primary storage devices in an asynchronous data replication environment;
issuing, to each of the plurality of primary storage devices, a command to begin queuing I/O in order to coordinate a consistency group;
receiving the command by each of the primary storage devices;
calculating, for each of the primary storage devices, an amount of time to wait before executing the command so that each primary storage device will execute the command at substantially the same time; and
executing, by each of the primary storage devices, the command after waiting its corresponding amount of time.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the amount of time comprises taking into account network latency between an issuer of the command and a primary storage device receiving the command.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the issuer of the command is a master primary storage device.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the primary storage device receiving the command is a subordinate primary storage device.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the network latency depends on a network path length between the issuer of the command and the primary storage device receiving the command.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein calculating the amount of time further comprises taking into account how long a primary storage device requires to process the command.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating comprises repeatedly calculating to account for changes in the amount of time.
8. A computer program product for reducing coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied therein, the computer-usable program code configured to perform the following when executed by at least one processor:
coordinate a plurality of primary storage devices in an asynchronous data replication environment;
issue, to each of the plurality of primary storage devices, a command to begin queuing I/O in order to coordinate a consistency group;
receive the command by each of the primary storage devices;
calculate, for each of the primary storage devices, an amount of time to wait before executing the command so that each primary storage device will execute the command at substantially the same time; and
execute, by each of the primary storage devices, the command after waiting its corresponding amount of time.
9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein calculating the amount of time comprises taking into account network latency between an issuer of the command and a primary storage device receiving the command.
10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the issuer of the command is a master primary storage device.
11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the primary storage device receiving the command is a subordinate primary storage device.
12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the network latency depends on a network path length between the issuer of the command and the primary storage device receiving the command.
13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein calculating the amount of time further comprises taking into account how long a primary storage device requires to process the command.
14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein calculating comprises repeatedly calculating to account for changes in the amount of time.
15. A system for reducing coordination times in asynchronous data replication environments, the system comprising:
at least one processor;
at least one memory device operably coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions for execution on the at least one processor, the instructions causing the at least one processor to: coordinate a plurality of primary storage devices in an asynchronous data replication environment; issue, to each of the plurality of primary storage devices, a command to begin queuing I/O in order to coordinate a consistency group; receive the command by each of the primary storage devices; calculate, for each of the primary storage devices, an amount of time to wait before executing the command so that each primary storage device will execute the command at substantially the same time; and execute, by each of the primary storage devices, the command after waiting its corresponding amount of time.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein calculating the amount of time comprises taking into account network latency between an issuer of the command and a primary storage device receiving the command.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the issuer of the command is a master primary storage device.
18. The system of claim 16, wherein the primary storage device receiving the command is a subordinate primary storage device.
19. The system of claim 16, wherein the network latency depends on a network path length between the issuer of the command and the primary storage device receiving the command.
20. The system of claim 16, wherein calculating the amount of time further comprises taking into account how long a primary storage device requires to process the command.
Filed: Dec 15, 2017
Publication Date: Jun 20, 2019
Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)
Inventors: Joshua J. Crawford (Tucson, AZ), Gregory E. McBride (Vail, AZ), Matthew J. Ward (Vail, AZ)
International Classification: G06F 3/06 (20060101);


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The 2017 Dimension Data Global Benchmark report details the continued move to digital with organisations, on average, offering nine channel choices – this is forecasted to rise to 11 channels by 2018.
This means that a customer speaking to an agent may have been through several channels and embarked on different journeys to reach this point. "There is however a fractured strategy or reluctance to hand over the full gamut of digital services to an outsourced service provider," says Ashton, "this leads to a 'wallpapering' of digital delivery and will only increase cost, erode margin and drive customers to a competitor who can proactively gauge when customers are ready to buy, delight them with every interaction and ensure a lower cost to serve benefit passed on in their pricing!
This is why an omni-channel view is the real game changer in the contact centre industry. It allows the servicing of customers through their preferred medium and allows for customer's history and preferences to be noted in one place. Furthermore using this data correctly helps in delivering the next element for customer experience, proactive and personalised contact.
Merchants recognises that the journey to delivering digital is more than just providing an online or social media service between our clients and their customers – our intention is to be able to marry the digital technology with the human touch to provide answers with empathy and compassion, providing not just a resolution, but an experience.
However once in place, the digital contacts being initiated and answered over a number of channels, can be used to map the customer journeys, and thereby identify simple processes that could deliver more automation or integration into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Bots – another step towards using digital to disrupt your CX offering.
"Our intention is to be able to marry the digital technology with the human touch to provide answers with empathy and compassion, providing not just a resolution, but an experience.
Finally, consumers are continually finding new ways of communication and as service organisations, contact centres need to ensure they at the least keep up with technological advances, if not lead the way into the era of digital disruption, enabling the transformation journeys of the brands they represent providing innovation and adding value.


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The Global Council for Tolerance and Peace condemns the offensive statements of the Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him
Al-Jarwan participates in the Spain International Conference in Support of Peace and…
Al-Jarwan attends high-level conference on human rights, civil society…
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By Region Events GCTP in the Press General Assembly International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace News Tolerance
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The Global Council for Tolerance and Peace condemns the terrorist bombing in…
The Global Council for Tolerance and Peace expresses its concern over the evolved…
Aljarwan appreciates the role of the United Nations on its International Day in…
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta receives AlJarwan and discusses…
The Speaker of the Maltese House of Representatives receives…
The President of the Republic of Malta receives AlJarwan and affirms his…
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Do you look forward to the "Christmas Picture with Santa"?
You know the routine…go to a packed mall and stand in line for hours after spending an hour looking for a parking space just to get a 1 minute Santa picture and hope the kids are still smiling after all that waiting around.
Well, now there's a better way! Check out Heathen Brewing Kringle Mingle on Saturday, December 16, 2017, from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm.
Yep, Santa will be at Heather Brewing Feral Public House (1109 Main St., Vancouver) so your kiddos can get their pictures taken with the big guy and you can have a nice Heathen beer!
Art Ala Carte will also be there with their art bars so the kids can make projects for gifts as they wait to meet Santa.
But the fun isn't just for kids…adults, you can sit on Santa's lap and make projects too!
Total cost is only $5 in advance (plus site fee) through Eventbrite link or $10 at the door. Bring a toy to donate for Toys for Tots and get $5 off of the door cost.
This post: https://clarkcountylive.com/kringle-mingle-heathen/ was originally featured on Clark County Live!


The beaten and bruised party made the trek back to Elbat Dnuor that night, finding the city in an uproar. Soldiers and guardsmen rushed through the streets in an almost panic, and soon a courier found the leaders and brought them to General Davik Azazeal. The general reported that survivors from the farm had made their way back to the city a mere hour before the PC's, alerting the council to the danger that the trolls presented, and Davik was busy rallying the troops to sally forth and face the foe. He was of course overjoyed to see the return of the kingdom's rulers, and saddened to hear of the loss of Noruas the Gunslinger.
Though Gavriil the Arcanist made sure to inform Davik that the trolls had been beaten, he nonetheless insisted upon sending out the Seventh Lodovkan Platoon upon the morning to the battlefield, to ensure the defeat of the monsters. Not giving an argument, the PC's slept through the rest of the night. Upon the morning, they informed their council of the short trip they'd be making to Restov to get Noruas Raised, and then left, arriving in the early morning of the fourth day of travel. Several thousand gold later (approximately the cost of just about everything they'd looted from the Ruined Keep of the Dancing Lady), their Gunslinger stood again before them, immediately brandishing her rifle in a bout of brief confusion!
The trip back to the capital was uneventful, and once the group had returned they had some work to get done. General Azazael reported that his army was still stationed at the Fangberry Farm, but that they had sent out scouts to track down the trolls and find where they came from. The scouts had yet to report back, but they estimated that it would not take long before they had more information. With this in mind, the group decided to set about a week's worth of downtime activities– Gavriil crafted a Wand of Cat's Grace, Noruas began making her Mithril armor from the metal smelted down out of her looted statue, Eneko the Bard/Cavalier retrained some more of his abilities, and Elysia the Ranger decided to visit the guildhall of the White Wolves, discussing with them the possibilities of organizing their members into a defensive force for the city.
At the end of this time, General Azazael called the kingdom's council back into session to discuss matters of state. First on the roster was a diplomatic envoy sent from Varnhold to their east– Caspar Morgarion, Grand Diplomat for Maegar Varn. Caspar was sent by Varn in order to help establish proper borders between the two nations– Varnhold had seen Tolemac's rapid expansion in their direction, and were somewhat concerned as to the PC's intentions. Fortunately there was no issue in working out an agreement between the two nations; each left the meeting happy with a border set along the Tors de Levienes mountains and Lake Silverstep. Next on the table to discuss: The scouts had come back!
General Azazael gave the scouts report to the council: The trolls were tracked to the south back to their lair, what looked to be some kind of fortress in the side of a cliff. Unfortunately the scouts were unable to investigate the fortress, due to the armies of trolls and lizardfolk camped outside. The scouts stayed long enough to observe two of these armies mobilize in a general northern direction, possibly back towards Tolemac, moving at a slow pace. The General informed the council that there were approximately four days before they believed the armies of trolls would reach their borders, though where exactly they were headed was not yet determined.
After much discussion, the council came up with a plan: General Azazael would lead the Seventh Lodovkan Platoon along with a group of White Wolves, commanded by Swordlady Jamandi Aldori, out into Tatzlford to set up a defensive location, at which point they would send out scouts to warn of the approach of any trolls. Eneko, Noruas, Elysia, and Gavriil would themselves travel just outside of their kingdom borders to the south-west, posting themselves and an army of undead which they controlled through Necromancy– a large number of castings of Lesser Animate Dead for three days straight, coupled with Command Undead to gather those remaining zombies from the hilltop around the Stag Lord's Fort gave the group a decent force of undead to bear, and when augmented by the PC's themselves I tweaked some rules to let them act as a single army. The PC's sent out scouts as well, and thus both groups were alerted when the trolls were within sight.
For the army stationed in Tatzlford, they happened to be in just the right place, as the trolls were headed for the town. The undead commanded by the players were forced to relocate on the fly however, as they spotted their foes on the other side of the Tuskwater lake! Fortunate smiled upon them as they were able to move into position before the trolls reached their kingdom, and the armies engaged in battle. It was over quickly, the undead tearing the trolls apart with no casualties on their own side, Gavriil's spells helping to burn the trolls to ash before they could regenerate. On the other side of the kingdom Jamandi Aldori and Davik Azazael led their armies into combat against the second troll army, and had just as much success– the Seventh Lodovkan Platoon suffered minor losses, but the White Wolves cut through the ranks of monsters with ease, and these trolls too were burned to ash with the alchemist's fire that the kingdom had outfitted their soldiers with.
The immediate threat contained, the armies regrouped in the capital and decided to press their advantage– south, towards the troll lair! They paused only long enough to gather reinforcements in the way of warriors sent from the Sootscale Kobolds, led by Chief Sootscale himself, before marching south and preparing for the decimation of Hargulka's armies.
Not a bad session– the story moved along nicely, and I was happy to get a chance to throw in some communication with Varnhold along the way; I'd like to have them establish some kind of relationship with the neighboring kingdom before they disappear and have to be investigated. The mass combats….I could take them or leave them at this point. Especially when it is one army on another army, both small like these, I feel too much is left up to chance and die rolls; one of the armies was able to decimate the trolls they faced utterly while in the ranged phase, taking them out in a single roll. I can only imagine that this problem is mitigated with different opening strategy choices (taking defensive tactics to give a bonus to the army's AC and a penalty to their offensive rolls) and larger HP.
We'll see next session how battles between several army units will fare– the PC's now have the Lodovkan Platoon, the White Wolves, the Sootscale Kobolds, and their own undead unit labeled the Trollsmashers to bring to bear upon Hargulka, who will have some combination of armies that adds up to 150 trolls, as well as a unit of Lizardfolk (Gavriil's player mentioned briefly that once they finished off the trolls they'd catch the Lizardfolk tribe on their way back to the capital). It'll turn out different I'm sure– and the fact that the PC's have so many kingdom leaders in command of their armies makes it all the more deadly to have a unit disbanded with the possibility of killed or captured leaders. At the very least if the worst occurs I can always rest easy in knowing that they were warned– they were able to capture one of the troll commanders in battle and pump him for information, so they should realize the possibility is there for the enemy to do the same.
Not much longer for book two I imagine– possibly three to four sessions to bring it to a close. And then we will be on our way to The Varnhold Vanishing!
Low ACR armies are super-fragile. Since the d20 roll is to hit and damage, a high roll will usually blow the other side away. It's a fine enough abstraction, but not very satisfying to play out IME.
You're not wrong. There was more mass combat in the session last night (which you'll hear about in a couple of days), and that was better– one enemy army was much larger, and the PC's had several armies to work with, and we also did more with the tactics/strategy than I had included last time. Time will tell if the group gets any enjoyment out of smashing large forces against each other, I suppose!


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Supply, Demand & Curve
Lineup: (1976 LP)
Greg Boland - guitar
Jolyon Jackson - cello, organ, piano, synthesizer, recorder
Brian Masterson - bass
Paul McAteer - drums
SD&C in 1976, l-to-r: Paul McAteer, Jolyon Jackson, Brian Masterson, Greg Boland
Dublin band with a long history dating back to 1970. Jolyon Jackson was an anglo-irish multi-instrumentalist who'd come to Dublin to study in the late '60s. Brian Masterson, the bands other mainstay, had played with Jackson and Roger Doyle in Jazz Therapy in 1969 before forming SD&C in 1970.
The 1970-75 period is largely undocumented though SD&C were very active during these years. They played the Foxrock Folk Club on at least three occasions: 29 Feb 1971, 5 December 1971 and 2 April 1972. Gigs at this club were regularly recorded on reel-to-reel by one of the organisers. It is not yet known if any of SD&C's gigs were recorded (they were listed in the announcement of the RTE radio documentary series but not actually included in the programs themselves). If anyone has these recordings, please get in touch. Supply Demand and Curve also played the pop concert organised as part of Human Need Week at the Examination Hall in TCD on 9 February 1971 with The Chosen Few, Thin Lizzie and The Junk. In the report in The Irish Times of February 10th, the band was described as "...representing the present trend towards conscious artistry within popular limits that had to emerge from the anything-will-do scene of recent years".
Galway gigs 1972-77: Oslo Hotel Folk Club 5 Feb 1972; UCG October 1975; and The Savoy 27 October 1977
They appeared at the Rock in the Hollow Free Open Air Concert held at Blackrock Park, Dublin, on 8 August 1971 with Thin Lizzy, Horslips, Elmer Fudd, Gypsy Rock and Mellow Candle. This gig may also have been recorded.
Supply Demand & Curve on RTE sometime in the early 1970s, probably 1972
left to right: Paddy Finney, Brian Masterson and Jolyon Jackson.
SD&C appeared on RTE at least twice, once as the trio pictured above with Paddy Finney (vocals, guitar, whistle) who was a member circa 1972, and once on Tangents with Roger Doyle (drums) (also in Jazz Therapy), who joined in the summer of 1972 and was with the band for at least a year, including the Canadian tour of March 1973. Jolyon Johnson subsequently appeared on Doyle's "Oizzo No" solo LP recorded in 1973.
In January 1972 the band premiered Jolyon Jackson's 20-minue rock operetta "Fred and Mary" at the American Embassy in Dublin, an event organised by An Taisce. They were subsequently invited by the Arts Society of Trinity College Dublin to perform it again at the Exam Hall a few months later. During christmas 1972 the band rehearsed at a cottage in Enniskerry over several days and many of the sessions were recorded by Brian Masterson. There are undoubtedly many other demo and live recordings spanning the band's long career which with the right treatment would make an excellent box set.
Supply Demand & Curve in Montreal, March 1973
l-to-r: Roger Doyle, Brian Masterson, Paddy Finney, Jolyon Jackson
SD&C toured in Canada in March 1973 and supported Gay & Terry Woods on their Irish tour the same year. At one time or another the lineup included Rosemarie Taylor and Nigel Rolfe. By the time of their sole LP, the lineup was Jackson & Masterson with ace guitarist Greg Boland and drummer Paul McAteer.
The debut LP finally emerged on Mulligan Records in 1976. It is usually described as 'Canterbury' style progressive by dealers usually asking for too much money for it. It is a good progressive rock LP with slight fusion and/or experimental touches a la Isotope. In 1977 this band appeared more or less as a unit on Midnight Well's LP (Mulligan Records), Sonny Condell's "Camouflage" LP (Mulligan Records) and Rosemarie Taylor's "Taylormaid" (ID Records). They backed Sonny Condell at Macroom '76. They split sometime in the late 70s.
Still gigging, August 1978, Project Arts Dublin.
Jolyon Johnson guested on Gay & Terry Woods "Tender Hooks" (Mulligan) in 1978. In 1980 he recorded the seminal "Hidden Ground" album with fiddle-player Paddy Glackin (Tara Records) on which he plays and arranges all the music and instruments which frames Paddy Glackin's solo fiddle. He also appeared on Operating Theatre's two CBS singles released in 1980-81 and Scullion's "Balance And Control". And he wrote extensively for theatre and TV. He died in 1985.
Greg Boland
Greg Boland was later in Stagalee (1978-82), recorded four albums with Scullion (mid-80s), Bumper to Bumper (80s), Moving Hearts, the Davy Spillane Band and The Big Noise (1987-89), but he is probably best known now as a session musician. Paul McAteer also played with Stagalee.
• various artists - 7 ... With Love EP
7" - Peace Party Records - JCA1 - 1976 - PS
tracks: Lunar Sea (Greg Boland)
• Supply Demand & Curve
LP - Mulligan Records - LUN009 - IRL - 1976
See also: Jolyon Jackson, Jazz Therapy


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Attorney-General names new magistrates for regional Queensland
Published Thursday, 30 August, 2018 at 03:30 PM
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D'Ath today announced two new magistrates for regional Queensland.
Brisbane barrister Tracy Mossop will be posted to the Ipswich region for one year before transferring to Dalby.
Townsville solicitor Terence Browne will spend a year at Cairns Magistrates Court before being appointed to Townsville for two years.
"These appointments represent the Palaszczuk Government's commitment to delivering justice for Queenslanders, no matter where they live," Mrs D'Ath said.
"These are well-deserved appointments for well-respected lawyers and reflect the high calibre of legal professionals across Queensland.
"They both possess the legal skills, experience and temperament to serve as judicial officers.
"Ms Mossop and Mr Browne have shown significant dedication to the legal profession, their communities and the lawyers of tomorrow through their work mentoring and educating others," Mrs D'Ath said.
Ms Mossop has spent the past 27 years working in social and criminal justice areas after graduating with a Bachelor of Laws from QUT in 1990. Before being called to the bar in 2004, Ms Mossop worked at Legal Aid Queensland, where she received the Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement, and also spent time working for private firms in Brisbane and Logan. Ms Mossop has shown her commitment to the community through her work as a Community Legal Service Volunteer, Criminal Law Defence speaker for Protect All Children Today (PACT) and Volunteer Moot Magistrate for Bond University.
Mr Browne has spent the past 22 years as a criminal lawyer in Townsville, Cairns, Mackay and Mount Isa, after graduating from James Cook University with a Bachelor of Laws in 1995. He has also spent more than 20 years teaching at James Cook University, with a particular expertise in criminal law. Mr Browne has participated in a number of Queensland Law Society committees and also served on the board of Legal Aid Queensland for three years. He also has a passion for Therapeutic Jurisprudence and as such has a particular interest in specialist courts, also appearing in Murri Court. Mr Browne is part of Rotary International, a board member of Townsville's Triple T Radio and a volunteer at Townsville Community Legal Service.
"I congratulate Ms Mossop and Mr Browne on their appointments and wish them all the best," Mrs D'Ath said.
Ms Mossop and Mr Browne will begin their new positions on September 3.


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America and Russia Must Agree to Avoid a New Arms Race
April 23, 2019 Topic: Security Region: Eurasia Tags: RussiaNuclearWeaponsWarTreaty
Public opinion has played a critical role in pushing leaders to negotiate nuclear agreements in the past. But will that remain true in the future?
by Lily Wojtowicz
A decade ago this month, President Barack Obama stood before a cheering crowd in Prague and said, "I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." Today, however, we are on the cusp of a world with more nuclear weapons, not fewer.
The future of U.S.-Russian arms control—a tradition of bilateral frameworks to reduce the threat of two superpowers instigating nuclear war dating back to Nixon and Brezhnev—looks dim. Once both countries officially leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in August, there will remain only one formal agreement between the two nuclear possessors limiting the size and scope of their nuclear arsenals, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). And if that wasn't enough, New START is due to expire in February 2021.
The Trump administration says it is looking into extending New START, however, there is cause for skepticism about this claim. U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton—who's gotten his way on the United States leaving the Iran Nuclear Deal and the INF Treaty—is a likely advocate for scrapping New START as well. In fact, he once bombastically referred to U.S. participation in the treaty as "Unilateral Disarmament." Trump himself reportedly declined Putin's offer of extending New START during their first official phone call.
Russia remains interested in extending the treaty beyond 2021, at least publicly. President Vladimir Putin has put out an open invitation for the two countries to begin discussions on an extension. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov expressed similar interest at this year's Munich security conference. However, one should view Russia's intent with a healthy amount of skepticism as well. Putin has expressed his disinterest in further bilateral agreements for several years, preferring a multilateral framework instead. As he explained in 2012, his concern is that the United States and Russia might wind up "endlessly disarming themselves while other nuclear powers would be building up arms."
Without these agreements, Moscow and Washington could well be heading towards a new arms race, a possibility that Russian public and American public seem to have picked up on. According to a new survey conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Levada Analytical Center, seven in ten Russians (72 percent) and Americans (70 percent) say that it's likely their countries are heading towards a new arms race.
Yet there is still reason for hope. Most Russians (87 percent) and Americans (74 percent) are in favor of Moscow and Washington coming to an agreement to limit nuclear weapons. This support matters most in the United States, which is where public opinion has played a critical role in pushing leaders to negotiate agreements in the past.
In 1986, Joseph Nye Jr. penned his Farewell to Arms Control, expressing his concerns that if negotiations between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev failed, the only agreed framework on strategic stability between the United States and the Soviet Union would be the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Reagan's interest in the early 1980s in building up the U.S. nuclear arsenal stirred up public concern.
The Nuclear Freeze campaign—which included a protest of one million Americans calling for an end to the arms race—is credited with forcing Reagan's hand to begin negotiations with Gorbachev in 1985. In 1982, three-quarters of Americans favored freezing production of nuclear weapons (75 percent), according to an NBC News/Associated Press poll. The plurality of Americans also disagreed with Reagan's assertion that the freeze movement was being manipulated by foreign interests to weaken the country (48 percent). Reagan soon reversed course.
The differences between the 1980s and today are not insignificant. In 1982, the United States had lived through thirty-five years of the Cold War. Americans had practiced duck and cover drills in primary school and most Americans vividly remembered the Cuban Missile Crisis. Public sentiment was easier to utilize because of the constant threat of nuclear war.
In part, this explains why despite the support we see among Americans for a new arms control agreement and the sense that a new arms race is upon us, only 54 percent of Americans opposed the U.S. decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty. Like so much today, the INF decision has become a partisan issue, with 73 percent of Republicans supporting Trump's decision to withdraw and 74 percent of Democrats opposing it. This, then, is the challenge for arms control advocates today; breaking through the partisanship that surrounds individual decisions on arms control.
Still, Americans remain pragmatic at heart. They seem to understand the value of arms control agreements. Even as 78 percent of the U.S. public describes Russia as a rival rather than a partner, Americans of all political affiliations still support pursuing new limits on the United States and Russian nuclear arsenals (90 percent Republican, 89 percent Democrat, 84 percent independent).
Lily Wojtowicz is a research associate at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs focusing on U.S.-Russian public opinion.


Asteroid is a unique Australian bred ryegrass variety designed to improve winter herbage yield and maintain long season production.
Improve rust resistance from Northern NSW breeding.
Selected for faster emergence vigour to help with early sowing in unreliable Autumn breaks.
Long leaf for extra dry matter yield.


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We're grateful for the support of chefs who choose to source from small farms like ours. These are just a few of our most loyal chef partners and we hope you'll support them in return!
Please contact us to set up a wholesale account.
We are currently focusing on chefs and have paused local orders.
© 2023 Harpke Family Farm. All rights reserved


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The Ironbridge Valley plays host to seven main museums and several smaller ones, collectively called the Ironbridge Gorge Museums, Ironbridge, Telford (tel. 01952/433522 Mon-Fri, or 01952/432166 Sat-Sun; www.ironbridge.org.uk). Museums include the Coalbrookdale Museum and Darby Houses, with its Darby Furnace of Iron and sound-and-light display, as well as restored 19th-century homes of the Quaker ironmasters; the Ironbridge, with its original tollhouse; Jackfield Tile Museum, where you can see demonstrations of tile-pressing, decorating, and firing; Blists Hill Victorian Town, with its re-creation of a 19th-century village; Coalport China Museum and Tar Tunnel, which includes a tour of an underground mine; Broseley Pipeworks, a 50-year-old abandoned tobacco pipe-making factory; and Enginiuty, a children's interactive exhibit that allows them to become engineers for a day. As it is unlikely that you will have time for everything, we recommend that you visit Blists Hill Victorian Town and the Coalport China Museum, even if you have to skip all the rest. A passport ticket to all museums in Ironbridge Gorge is £15 for adults, £13 for seniors, £9.95 for students and children, and £48 for families (two adults, three children). The sites are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and weekends from 10am to 5pm. The Tar Tunnel, Darby Houses, and Broseley Pipeworks are closed from November to March.
You can also find some good shopping here. You can buy Coalport china at the Coalport China Museum and decorative tiles at the Jackfield Tile Museum. Another place worth visiting is just beyond the Jackfield Museum: Maws Craft Centre (tel. 01952/883030; www.mawscraftcentre.co.uk) is the site of 20 workshops situated in an old Victorian tile works beside the River Severn. Here, you can browse for glass sculptures, dollhouses, original Celtic art, pictures with frames made while you wait, jewelry, and stained glass. There's also a tearoom on-site that's open for lunch and afternoon tea.


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This article is about the series. For the video game, see Kingdom Hearts (video game).
Action role-playing, hack and slash
h.a.n.d.
BitGroove Inc.
Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media
Shinji Hashimoto
Yoko Shimomura
PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, mobile phone, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Web browser, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, iOS
Kingdom Hearts (Japanese: キングダム ハーツ, Hepburn: Kingudamu Hātsu) is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square). It is a collaboration between Disney Interactive and Square Enix, and is under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square Enix character designer.
Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disney properties based in a fictional universe. The series centers on the main character, Sora, and his journey and experiences with various Disney, Square Enix and Pixar characters. The heroes of the series clash against the multiple incarnations of the primary antagonist, Xehanort, throughout the series.
The series consists of thirteen games available for multiple platforms, and future titles are planned. Most of the games in the series have been positively received and commercially successful. As of February 2019, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped more than 30 million copies worldwide. A wide variety of related merchandise has been released along with the games, including soundtracks, figurines, companion books, light novels, cards, and comic series.
Main article: List of Kingdom Hearts media
Timeline of release years
2002 Kingdom Hearts
2004 Chain of Memories
2005 Kingdom Hearts II
2007 Re:Chain of Memories
2008 Coded
2009 358/2 Days
2010 Birth by Sleep
Re:coded
2012 Dream Drop Distance
2013 1.5 Remix
2015 Unchained χ
2017 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
2019 Kingdom Hearts III
Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the series, released in Japan on March 28, 2002 for PlayStation 2.[1][2] Tetsuya Nomura has served as game director, his first time in this position. Kingdom Hearts introduced the main characters (Sora, Kairi and Riku) of the series, and established the plot's framework involving hearts and dark beings known as the Heartless. It also established the role of Disney characters in the series, with character cameos from the Final Fantasy series. Kingdom Hearts was released in North America on September 17, 2002,[1][2] and featured additional content that was not in the original Japanese version. The game was later re-released in Japan as Kingdom Hearts Final Mix on December 26, 2002.[1][2] Final Mix includes the content from the North American release and additional enemies, cutscenes, and weapons.[3]
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is a direct sequel to the first game. It was released on the Game Boy Advance in Japan on November 11, 2004.[4][5] Chain of Memories was touted as a bridge between the two PlayStation 2 titles, introducing and previewing plot elements that would be explored in the next game.[6] The gameplay system is a departure from the original and employs card game mechanics in real time. Players construct decks out of cards that correspond to different actions in battle, such as attacking or using magic. It was remade into a PlayStation 2 game titled Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, which contains polygonal graphics instead of the sprites used in the original game. The remake was released in Japan as a second disc packaged with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix on March 29, 2007, and in North America as a standalone title on December 2, 2008.[7][8]
Kingdom Hearts II takes place one year after the events of Chain of Memories. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on December 22, 2005.[9][10] The game further explores the "heart" concept by involving a new group of enemies, the Nobodies, which are the cast-off shells of those who have become Heartless. The gameplay is similar to that of the first Kingdom Hearts game, with the addition of the Reaction Command, which performs context-sensitive actions in battle. Kingdom Hearts II was revised into Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, which contains more material than the original release, such as additional cutscenes and bosses. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix was released with Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories in a collection titled Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+, which was released in Japan on March 29, 2007.[11]
Kingdom Hearts Coded is an episodic mobile phone game that picks up directly after Kingdom Hearts II. The "preinstall" episode was released in Japan on November 18, 2008 and eight episodes were released between June 3, 2009 and January 28, 2010.[12] The game was remade for the Nintendo DS as Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, and features updated gameplay combining that of two later titles in the series, 358/2 Days and Birth by Sleep. Unlike the original version, Re:coded was released internationally: October 7, 2010 in Japan;[13] January 11, 2011 in North America;[14] and January 14, 2011 in Europe.[15]
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on May 30, 2009. It is primarily set between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, focusing on Roxas' time in Organization XIII and his motives for leaving. It is the first game in the series to feature cooperative multiplayer in addition to the traditional use of AI-controlled partners.[16][17] Gameplay is mission-based with optional objectives that yield additional rewards. The game also has a unique panel system which governs character improvement, special abilities, and equipped weapons.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is a prequel to the series, released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on January 9, 2010, and in North America on September 7, 2010 with additional content.[18] The game is set ten years before the events of the first Kingdom Hearts game, revealing the origins of the villain, Xehanort.[19] It consists of four scenarios, three of which focus on one of the game's three protagonists, Terra, Ventus and Aqua. The game was re-released in Japan under the title Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix on January 20, 2011 with the content from the English versions as well as new features, such as an additional fifth scenario.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was released on March 29, 2012 in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS. The game focuses on Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam under Yen Sid in anticipation of Xehanort's return and their subsequent conflicts with enemies from their past.[20] In addition to similar systems inherited from Birth by Sleep, this game features "Dream Eaters" which serve as both enemies and allies. Players may collect and breed friendly Dream Eaters and train them to become more powerful. The English edition came out on July 20, 2012 in Europe while it came out on July 31, 2012 for North America.
Kingdom Hearts χ: At Tokyo Game Show 2012, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts χ, previously known as Kingdom Hearts for PC Browsers.[21] It is a browser game for PCs, and is only playable in Japan since July 18, 2013. It features cartoon-like 2D models and is a prequel to the series, taking place before the Keyblade War.
Kingdom Hearts: Unchained χ: An international port of Kingdom Hearts χ that was released for Android and iOS devices featuring content from the original game's release while later diverging from it and providing all-new content.[22] Unchained χ was released in Japan on September 3, 2015,[23] in North America on April 7, 2016,[24] and in Europe on June 16, 2016.[25] Later in April 2017, it was rebranded as Kingdom Hearts: Union X.[26]
Kingdom Hearts III: In September 2010, Tetsuya Nomura stated that his team was too busy with other projects such as Final Fantasy XV (known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII at the time) to work on Kingdom Hearts III. He also stated that his team was researching how to create the high-definition graphics of the game, which depended on the technical restrictions of the next generation consoles.[27] On June 10, 2013, at the E3 Sony press conference, after years of rumors and speculations, Nomura introduced a teaser for Kingdom Hearts III, which stated it was in development for the PlayStation 4. It was announced the next day to be in development for the Xbox One as well.[28] In Kingdom Hearts III, the series protagonist Sora embarks on a journey to regain his lost "Power of Waking" while Sora's friends, Riku and King Mickey, search for the Keyblade wielders, Aqua, Terra and Ventus in preparation for their final battle against Xehanort. The game concludes the "Dark Seeker Saga".[29] The game was released on January 25, 2019 in Japan and on January 29 worldwide.[30][31]
A Kingdom Hearts game was developed for V CAST, Verizon Wireless's broadband service, and was released on October 1, 2004 in Japan and on February 4, 2005 in the United States.[32] It was one of the launch games for the V CAST services.[33] The game, developed by Superscape and published by Disney Mobile with no involvement from Square Enix, features gameplay akin to the first Kingdom Hearts game, modified for the input method of mobile phones.[34] The game's storyline features Sora struggling to free himself from a nightmare induced by Maleficent's magic.
Kingdom Hearts Mobile is a Kingdom Hearts-themed social game in which players can play mini-games together. Unlike Kingdom Hearts for the V CAST and Kingdom Hearts Coded, this game does not have a storyline and focuses more on socializing. The service operates in conjunction with Kingdom Hearts Coded—new avatar costumes become available after the player completes an episode of Kingdom Hearts Coded. Kingdom Hearts-related media such as wallpapers, ringtones, graphics, and other items can be purchased and downloaded through the service for mobile phones.
Kingdom Hearts VR Experience: Announced in September 2018, Kingdom Hearts VR Experience is a free, 10-minute interactive video "featuring iconic moments [and music] from the Kingdom Hearts games" with the ability to unlock additional content by progressing through the experience.[35] The first part was released in Japan on January 23, 2019, with the second part releasing in early 2019.[36][37] The first part had initially been scheduled to release on January 18, 2019,[37] after initial release dates of December 25, 2018 for the first part, with the second part releasing on January 18, 2019.[38]
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was released for the PlayStation 3 in Japan on March 14, 2013.[39] The collection includes remastered versions of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Re:Chain of Memories, which include gameplay enhancements and trophy support. In addition, a "Theatre Mode" has been added, consisting of high definition cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.[40] The collection was released in North America on September 10, 2013[41] in Australia on September 12, 2013,[42] and in Europe on September 13, 2013.[43]
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix: After the announcement of HD 1.5 Remix, Nomura stated that it would be "pretty unnatural" if Kingdom Hearts II did not receive an HD update.[44] In the credits of HD 1.5 Remix, clips of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded were shown, hinting at another collection.[45] On October 14, 2013, the collection was announced for the PlayStation 3, and included the previously mentioned games, with Re:coded appearing as HD cinematics, similar to 358/2 Days in HD 1.5 Remix.[45] The collection was released in Japan on October 2, 2014,[46] North America on December 2, 2014, Australia on December 4, 2014, and Europe on December 5, 2014.[47]
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue: In the credits of HD 2.5 Remix, clips of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance were shown as well as the inclusion of a secret ending related to the game, hinting at a possible additional collection.[48] In September 2015, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. The collection features an HD remaster of Dream Drop Distance as well as Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, a cinematic telling of the backstory behind the events of Kingdom Hearts χ, and Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, a new game taking place after the events of the original Birth by Sleep, told from the perspective of Aqua.[49] It was released in Japan on January 12, 2017, and in North America and Europe on January 24, 2017.[50]
The following are repackaged versions of the above collections:
Kingdom Hearts Starter Pack: HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix: A collector's pack released in Japan includes Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix.
Kingdom Hearts Collector's Pack: HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix: A collector's pack released in Japan includes Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix, a code to get an Anniversary Set for Kingdom Hearts χ, music, and a booklet with art from the series.[46]
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix: In October 2016, Square-Enix announced a single-disc compilation release of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix for the PlayStation 4. The compilation was released on March 9, 2017 in Japan; March 28, 2017 in North America; and March 31, 2017 in Europe.[51]
Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far: Announced in early October 2018, this bundle collects the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix PlayStation 4 collection and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. It was released in North America on October 30, 2018 for the PlayStation 4.[52]
Kingdom Hearts: All-In-One-Package: On January 29, 2019, following the release of Kingdom Hearts III, The Story So Far was replaced by this bundle, which contains everything in The Story So Far, with the addition of Kingdom Hearts III. [53]
Though Kingdom Hearts III was the end of the "Dark Seeker Saga" which revolved around Xehanort, it had been decided where certain characters end up in order to potentially continue their stories in future games.[54]
العربية: كينغدوم هارتس
dansk: Kingdom Hearts (serie)
Deutsch: Kingdom Hearts
Ελληνικά: Kingdom Hearts
español: Kingdom Hearts (serie)
فارسی: کینگدم هارتس
français: Kingdom Hearts
galego: Kingdom Hearts
한국어: 킹덤 하츠
hrvatski: Kingdom Hearts
Bahasa Indonesia: Kingdom Hearts
italiano: Kingdom Hearts
עברית: Kingdom Hearts (סדרת משחקים)
Latina: Kingdom Hearts
magyar: Kingdom Hearts (sorozat)
Bahasa Melayu: Siri Kingdom Hearts
Nederlands: Kingdom Hearts (computerspelserie)
日本語: キングダム ハーツ シリーズ
norsk: Kingdom Hearts
polski: Kingdom Hearts (seria)
português: Kingdom Hearts
русский: Kingdom Hearts
Simple English: Kingdom Hearts
suomi: Kingdom Hearts (pelisarja)
svenska: Kingdom Hearts (spelserie)
ไทย: คิงดอมฮาตส์
吴语: 王国之心系列
中文: 王國之心系列


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Q: Exclude certain folders and/or certain files image resizer processing pipeline? In our ASPNet MVC project we are using image resizer with some pipeline defaultCommands, but these commands may have side effects on some of our static image files, so how can we exclude some folders and/or specific image files from image resizer pipeline?
Thanks in advance,

A: Rather than using defaultCommands, you should use the Config.Current.Pipeline.RewriteDefaults event if you don't want to affect all image requests.
defaultCommands is currently implemented like this:

  void PipelineConfig_RewriteDefaults(IHttpModule sender, HttpContext context, IUrlEventArgs e)
        {
            e.QueryString = e.QueryString.MergeDefaults(defaultCommands);
        }

from: https://github.com/imazen/resizer/blob/2be2ad19788d45fdaedb6d6425f1fba2d0b143cd/Core/Configuration/PipelineConfig.cs#L53-L56
You could check e.VirtualPath to determine whether or not you want to apply your settings.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
von Candriam | Aug 3, 2017
Candriam gets top PRI score of A+ for third consecutive year
For the third year in a row, Candriam has been awarded A+ for its overall SRI approach. This, the top score, was awarded following its submission of a compulsory questionnaire that we had to complete as a signatory (since 2006) to the PRI.
"This score justly reflects our success in integrating ESG factors into our management processes, our overall ESG approach, our voting and engagement policies and our dedication to SRI in-house, vis-à-vis our clients and the community at large", says Isabelle Cabie, Global Head of Responsible Development, who completed the questionnaire.
The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) were defined by the Secretary General of the United Nations to help investors integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their practical decision-making process, consequently enhancing beneficiaries' long-term returns.
Signatory investors to the Principles for Responsible Investment undertake to:
Take ESG factors into account in their investment decision-making processes
Take ESG factors into account in their policies and shareholder actions
Ask companies in which they invest to publish reports on their ESG practices
Secure asset managers' agreement to apply the PRI
Work jointly with other financial sector professionals that commit to compliance with the PRI to enhance their effectiveness
Report their activities and the progress made in applying the PRI
A pioneer in SRI, Candriam was also one of the first European asset managers to sign the PRI charter in June 2006, since when a further 1548 financial institutions have signed up.