| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080313318 | PROVIDING ENHANCED DATA RETRIEVAL FROM REMOTE LOCATIONS - Techniques are described for providing client computing nodes with enhanced access to data from remote locations, such as by providing and using local capabilities specific to the remote locations. In at least some situations, the access of a client computing node to data from a remote location may be enhanced by automatically performing activities local to the client computing node that improve the efficiency of communications sent between the client computing node and the remote location. As one example, access to data from a remote service may be enhanced by locally performing activities specific to the remote service, such as by using information about the remote service's internal mechanisms to cause the desired data to be provided from internal storage devices of the remote service without passing through front-end or other intermediate devices of the remote service while traveling to the client computing node. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20100036850 | PROVIDING EXECUTING PROGRAMS WITH RELIABLE ACCESS TO NON-LOCAL BLOCK DATA STORAGE - Techniques are described for managing access of executing programs to non-local block data storage. In some situations, a block data storage service uses multiple server storage systems to reliably store block data that may be accessed over one or more networks by programs executing on other physical computing systems. Users may create block data storage volumes that are each stored by at least two of the server block data storage systems, and may initiate use of such volumes by one or more executing programs, such as in a reliable manner by enabling an automatic switch to a second volume copy if a first volume copy becomes unavailable. A group of multiple server block data storage systems that store block data volumes may in some situations be co-located at a data center, and programs that use volumes stored there may execute on other physical computing systems at that data center. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100036851 | MANAGING ACCESS OF MULTIPLE EXECUTING PROGRAMS TO NON-LOCAL BLOCK DATA STORAGE - Techniques are described for managing access of executing programs to non-local block data storage. In some situations, a block data storage service uses multiple server storage systems to reliably store network-accessible block data storage volumes that may be used by programs executing on other physical computing systems. A group of multiple server block data storage systems that store block data volumes may in some situations be co-located at a data center, and programs that use volumes stored there may execute on other physical computing systems at that data center. If a program using a volume becomes unavailable, another program (e.g., another copy of the same program) may in some situations obtain access to and continue to use the same volume, such as in an automatic manner in some such situations. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100036931 | PROVIDING A RELIABLE BACKING STORE FOR BLOCK DATA STORAGE - Techniques are described for managing access of executing programs to non-local block data storage. In some situations, a block data storage service uses multiple server storage systems to reliably store copies of network-accessible block data storage volumes that may be used by programs executing on other physical computing systems, and at least some stored data for some volumes may also be stored on remote archival storage systems. A group of multiple server block data storage systems that store block data volumes may in some situations be co-located at a data center, and programs that use volumes stored there may execute on other computing systems at that data center, while the archival storage systems may be located outside the data center. The data stored on the archival storage systems may be used in various ways, including to reduce the amount of data stored in at least some volume copies. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100037031 | PROVIDING EXECUTING PROGRAMS WITH ACCESS TO STORED BLOCK DATA OF OTHERS - Techniques are described for managing access of executing programs to non-local block data storage. In some situations, a block data storage service uses multiple server storage systems to reliably store copies of network-accessible block data storage volumes that may be used by programs executing on other physical computing systems, and snapshot copies of some volumes may also be stored (e.g., on remote archival storage systems). A group of multiple server block data storage systems that store block data volumes may in some situations be co-located at a data center, and programs that use volumes stored there may execute on other computing systems at that data center, while the archival storage systems may be located outside the data center. The snapshot copies of volumes may be used in various ways, including to allow users to obtain their own copies of other users' volumes (e.g., for a fee). | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100312871 | Executing Programs Based on User-Specified Constraints - Techniques are described for managing execution of programs on multiple computing systems, such as based at least in part of user-specified constraints. For example, constraints related to execution of a program may be based on a desired relative location of a host computing system to execute a copy of the program with respect to an indicated target (e.g., computing systems executing other copies of the program or copies of another indicated program), on particular geographic locations, and/or on factors not based on location (e.g., cost of use of a particular computing system, capabilities available from a particular computing system, etc.). Some or all of the multiple computing systems may be part of a program execution service for executing multiple programs on behalf of multiple users, and each may provide multiple virtual machines that are each capable of executing one or more programs for one or more users. | 12-09-2010 |