text:
Communication is part of a
series of Community
initiatives in the field of
consumer access to justice
that have been developed over
the years.
The urgent
need for Community action in
regard to the settlement of
consumer disputes was
highlighted and confirmed in
the consultations on the
Green Paper (1993) and the
Action Plan on "consumer
access to justice and the
settlement of consumer
disputes in the single
market" (1996).
The outcome
of these discussions shows
that one of the paramount
goals is to facilitate the
settlement of consumer
disputes by resolving the
problems arising from the
disparity between the
economic value at stake and
the cost of its judicial
In order to
satisfy this objective, this
Communication contains two
features designed to improve
access to justice for
individual consumers:
For the
purposes of this
communication "consumer
access to justice" means the
opportunity to exercise one's
rights in practice, not
access to justice in the
stricter sense, i.e. to the
The first
Community initiatives in the
field of consumer access to
justice date from the 1980s.
A first Commission
Communication on consumer
redress was transmitted to
the Council in the form of a
memorandum on 4 January 1985
(COM(84) 692 final), followed
by a supplementary
Communication dated 7 May
1987 (COM(87) 210 final. The
European Parliament adopted a
Resolution on the subject on
13 March 1987 (OJ No C 99,
13.4.1987, p. 203). The
Council's reaction was to
adopt a Resolution on 25 June
1987 devoted solely to
consumer redress (87/C
176/02, OJ No C 176,
4/7.1987, p. 2), in which it
invited the Commission to
supplement its analysis in
view of the enlargement of
the Community.
Community dimension of the
problem of consumers' access
to the law was also referred
to in the European
Parliament's Resolution of 11
March 1992 (OJ No C 94,
13.4.1992, p. 217) and the
Council Resolution of 13 July
1992 on future riorities for
the development of consumer
protection policy (OJ No C
186, 23.7.1992, p. 1). On
21-23 May 1992, under the
aegis of the Council
Presidency and the
Commission, the third
European Conference on
consumer access to justice
was held in Lisbon and was
attended by some 300 experts
from the 12 Member States of
the European Community and
certain EFTA countries. The
conclusions of the meeting
confirmed the concerns
expressed in the course of
the above-mentioned
In its Green
Paper on "Access of consumers
to justice and the settlement
of consumer disputes in the
single market" (COM(93) 576
final of 16 November 1993),
the Commission set out a
number of proposals aimed at
resolving individual and
collective cross-border
disputes. The aspects
mentioned in the proposals
included the free movement of
actions for an injunction and
the simplified settlement of
the Green Paper, the
Commission tabled a proposal
for a Directive on
injunctions for the
protection of consumers'
interests, which is in the
process of being adopted
(common position of the
Council on injunctions for
the protection of consumers'
interests (EC No 48/97 of 30
October 1997, OJ No C 389,
22.12.1997, p. 51) as well as
a Communication on an action
plan on consumer access to
justice and the settlement of
consumer disputes in the
internal market (COM(96) 13
final of 14 February 1996).
In its Resolution on this
Communication (A4-0355/96, OJ
No C 362, 2.12.1996, p. 275)
the European Parliament gave
its support to the objectives
set out in the action plan
and called on the Commission
to undertake further work on
the subject.
When it
adopted the first programme
for a consumer protection and
information policy in 1975,
the Council of the European
Communities enunciated five
fundamental rights. Since
then, Community law has made
substantial progress in this
area. There are now several
Community texts that endow
consumers with a set of
concrete rights which can be
relied on in all the Member
States. Product liability,
consumer credit, doorstep
selling, package holidays,
overbooking in air transport,
liability for air traffic
accidents, unfair terms,
contracts negotiated at a
distance, and timeshares -
all are now addressed in EC
law. Other texts have been
proposed and are currently
under discussion in such
areas as the sale of consumer
goods and associated
guarantees. Thanks to the
adoption of these rights at
Community level, consumers
can make the most of the
large internal market, which
was the objective underlying
the Member States' decision
to accept the Action Plan for
a Single Market presented by
the Commission to the
Amsterdam European Council
(strategic objective 4,
CSE(97) 1 final of 4 June
The Member
States, who are primarily
responsible for consumer
protection, have also adopted
on their own initiative a
multiplicity of laws
providing for specific rights
in consumers both in domains
not covered by the Community
texts and in harmonised
domains covered by Community
provisions allowing Member
States to ensure a higher
level of consumer protection.
Moreover, in their relations
with professionals - even in
the absence of specific
legislation - consumers enjoy
the protection granted by the
general rules of civil
However, if
substantial rights are
granted people without
providing mechanisms to
ensure their effective
exercise, these rights have
no practical value. Hence, in
order to ensure that reality
is in step with the consumer
protection framework designed
by the Community and national
legislators, consumers must
be able to assert their
rights, whenever they are
through access to simple,
swift, effective and
inexpensive legal
The specific
problems encountered by
consumers in exercising their
rights have already been
addressed in several position
statements issued by the
competent institutions. In
real life there are a certain
number of obstacles facing
consumers who are seeking
justice in the courts.
there is the cost of legal
consultation and
representation, court fees
and the cost of expert
opinions (particularly as
modern economies are
characterised by increasingly
complex products and
services, sometimes beyond
the judge's knowledge).
Secondly, in certain
countries plaintiffs may have
to pay the defendant's costs
if they lose their case, and
in other countries they have
to pay their own costs even
if they win. Finally, because
of the backlog of cases
pending in certain Member
States, long delays may arise
before a case is judged.
Besides these material
factors, there are also
barriers of a psychological
order due to the complexity
and formalism associated with
court procedures." And
consumers are often reluctant
to sue because of their
unfamiliarity with legal
language and the hermetic
rituals characteristic of
judicial proceedings.
If things
are complex enough in
national disputes, they are
even more complicated when
more than one country is
involved. The risk of getting
involved in a cross-border
dispute has been increasing
with the proliferation of
cross-border consumer
transactions and the
development of new selling
techniques and services.
In view of
the above it is fair to say
that, in most consumer
disputes - both national and
cross-border - the
proceedings are too long
drawn out and their cost
excessive when compared with
the limited value of the
dispute. In these
circumstances many consumers
do not even try to assert
their rights and simply allow
them to be infringed.
There are
three possible ways of
improving consumer access to
justice: simplification and
improvement of legal
procedures, improvement of
communication between
professionals and consumers,
and out-of-court procedures
to settle consumer disputes.
Far from being alternatives,
these three approaches are
fully complementary.
However, a
fundamental difference
distinguishes the first
approach from the other two:
while the first approach
remains within the
traditional framework of the
judicial settlement of
disputes and aims to improve
the existing systems, the two
other remove these disputes
from the judicial arena
wherever possible.
a) The simplification
and improvement of court
Most Member
States have mounted
initiatives designed to
ourt procedures for
"small disputes", either
generally or specifically in
regard to consumer disputes.
The idea common to these
initiatives is to dispense
with formalised procedures so
that the case can be dealt
with in a simplified manner,
the involvement of a lawyer
being optional, or to have
the court itself seek to
reach a settlement (either
mandatory or at the
discretion of the court or
the parties). Despite some
similarities there are many
inter-country differences in
the simplified procedures,
especially in the criteria
used to define small disputes
and in regard to costs.
In its
Action Plan of 14 February
1996 the Commission proposed
creating a form, designed to
simplify consumer access to
court procedures. However,
the results of the subsequent
consultations showed that the
Member States had misgivings
about the benefits of a
single form in the context of
simplified court procedures -
especially since the
possibility of initiating
such a procedure simply by
dispatching a form would mean
changes to the national rules
of civil procedure in most
countries. However, the work
done in this context inspired
the Commission to launch one
of the initiatives in the
out-of-court domain contained
in this Communication (see
section I.I below).
Communication does not
address court procedures and
therefore does not contain
proposals referring to this
primordial domain. Of course,
this does not mean the
Commission has opted not to
encourage progress in the
matter of court procedures.
On the contrary, it will
continue to study the need
for common action and the
form such action should take
with regard to the operation
of court procedures in the
global framework of the
internal market and the
European legal area, in which
connection its efforts will
receive a considerable boost
from the Amsterdam Treaty. It
has also presented a
Communication the main intent
of which is to improve
procedures for the
enforcement of court
decisions abroad and rules on
determination of the courts
empowered to hear
cross-border disputes. This
Communication, which takes
account of consumer
interests, also opens up a
debate on a common EU
approach as regards certain
aspects of national
procedural law. Moreover, a
broader debate will be
launched on the operation of
simplified court procedures
(for small disputes) in the
context of the European legal
b) The improvement of
communication between
consumers and
In order to
counter the problems of
consumer access to justice
before the courts, the
objective is to help
consumers find an amicable
solution to their disputes
with the professional.
Dialogue between the two
parties and an amicable
settlement of the dispute
mean that consumers can avoid
all the problems associated
with going to court, while
putting right the situation
created by any infringement
of their rights.
The amicable
resolution of disputes is
also in the interest of
professionals who, for their
part, are keen to avoid
litigation and to retain
their clients.
Normally the
dialogue takes place at the
consumer's own initiative,
with or without the
involvement of consumer
associations or other bodies
whose mission is to help
fruitful communication is
obstructed through lack of
consumer information, the
problems consumers have in
formulating their complaints
clearly and, in the case of
cross-border disputes, their
reluctance to initiate a
dialogue with someone in a
language other than their
if an amicable solution
proves impossible, there is
no alternative but to have
recourse to the bodies
responsible for resolving
consumer disputes.
Commission has also launched
an initiative in the field of
financial services, intended
to allow the parties
concerned, i.e. the financial
services industry and
consumer organisations, to
reach voluntary agreements
with a view to improving
consumer information and
access for consumers to
redress procedures.
c) The creation of
out-of-court procedures
numerous initiatives in
various Member States have
opted for
out-of-court solutions
for the settlement of
consumer disputes. The
European Commission has long
supported "pilot projects" at
national or local level
designed to put in place or
develop systems of this
In addition
to court procedures, a whole
range of "out-of-court
methods" specifically
designed to resolve consumer
disputes currently exist in
Europe. Sometimes these are
supplementary or prior
procedures, such as mediation
or conciliation; sometimes
they offer access to
alternative mechanisms, such
as arbitration. Since a given
method may differ from
country to country, and in
order to avoid confusion as a
result of this terminological
diversity, it should be made
clear that this Communication
concerns methods which, no
matter what they are called,
lead to the settling of a
dispute through the active
intervention of a third party
who proposes or imposes a
solution. It does not concern
procedures that merely
involve an attempt to bring
the parties together to
convince them to find a
solution by common
Systems for
the out-of-court settlement
of consumer disputes differ
greatly as regards their
structure, operation and
instruments may be the fruit
of initiatives by public
authorities both at central
level (such as the Consumer
Complaints Boards in the
Scandinavian countries) and
at local level (such as the
arbitration courts in Spain);
they may also spring from
initiatives promoted or
organised by individual
associations or sectors (e.g.
bank and insurance company
mediators / ombudsmen) or by
professionals or
establishments offering
mediation or arbitration
services as their main
activity (e.g. lawyers or
private arbitration
because of this diversity,
the status of the decisions
adopted by these bodies
differs greatly. Some are
mere recommendations (as in
the case of the Scandinavian
Consumer Complaints Boards
and most of the private
ombudsmen), while others are
binding only on the
professional (as in the case
of most of the bank
ombudsmen); others still are
binding on both parties
with an eye to safeguarding
the interests of the parties
involved, it is necessary to
determine the extent to which
out-of-court procedures can
provide guarantees comparable
with those offered by court
procedures (notably
independence and
impartiality), while
improving practical access to
the settling of disputes.
This question is all the more
important in that the
out-of-court system, despite
its unquestionable merits, is
not without its weaknesses,
such as the flexibility which
makes it possible to exclude
strict application of the
legal rules, the absence of
appeal procedures in cases
where decisions are binding,
or difficulties in
implementing a decision,
especially in a Member State
other than that in which it
was made (the 1958 New York
Convention on the enforcement
of arbitral awards does not
apply in all Member States of
the European Union).
certain guarantees of "good
justice" in out-of-court
procedures might reduce their
drawbacks and also enhance
the credibility of
out-of-court systems for
consumers, besides
reinforcing mutual confidence
between the bodies that exist
in the different Member
With this
Communication the Commission
is launching two initiatives
designed to improve consumer
access to justice. The
Commission's aim is to
supplement the policy of the
Member States in this area
with a view to realising a
"high level of consumer
protection" in compliance
with Article 129a of the
Treaty; in keeping with the
principle of subsidiarity
(Article 3b of the Treaty),
the content of the action is
limited to what is necessary
to achieve the objective, and
the idea is that the proposed
initiative will be
implemented on a voluntary
I.1 Encouragement of
amicable settlement of
consumer problems
In this
context the Communication's
paramount goal is to
encourage and facilitate the
settling of consumer
conflicts at an early stage
so that the parties can avoid
the inconvenience of
initiating proceedings (in
court or, for that matter,
out of court). To this end
the Communication presents a
"European claim form for
consumers", designed to
improve communication
between consumers and
professionals with a view to
settling their disputes
amicably. If the dialogue
between the consumer and
professional does not lead to
a solution, this form could
be used to initiate an
out-of-court procedure.
Ideally the bodies
responsible for out-of-court
settlement of consumer
disputes should agree to open
a procedure coming within
their remit on the basis of
simple lodgement of the
European form, so as to make
the most of the possibilities
offered by this form.
This claim
form may be used at both
national and cross-border
level, independently of the
value of the claim or the
type of consumer dispute in
question. It is for the
parties themselves to decide
to what extent their problem
through use of the form. As
regards financial services in
particular, the ongoing
"dialogue" between the
financial services industry
and consumers is currently
examining the appropriateness
of this form for disputes
concerning financial
The form
will be available on the
Internet for all interested
persons and organisations (
in all the languages of the
European Union. The form as
such cannot be altered, but
the organisations (firms,
associations of firms,
consumer' organisations,
consumer information centres,
etc.) that propose its use to
consumers may "personalise"
it by printing their logo in
the top right-hand
"consumer claim form", whose
current wording is based on
numerous consultations with
the parties concerned and the
Member States, has been
designed with a view to
"guiding" and orientating
consumers in formulating
their claims. It proposes a
choice of multiple responses
to help consumers indicate
their problems and describe
their claim, while leaving
enough space for users to add
supplementary details or to
describe particular cases not
covered by the form's lists.
The combination of a
multiple-choice system and
free text will considerably
facilitate translation in the
case of cross-border disputes
where the parties speak
different languages. The
Commission will make any
technical changes to the form
which may prove
Commission initiative is a
pilot project. After two
years the Commission will
evaluate the pertinence and
impact of the form on the
basis of the experience
I.2. Providing
appropriate safeguards in
connection with the
creation and operation of
out-of-court bodies
responsible for resolving
consumer disputes.
The second
strand of the Commission's
initiative takes the form of
a Recommendation designed to
establish a series of
principles applicable to the
operation of out-of-court
bodies (existing or yet to be
created) for resolving
consumer disputes.
out-of-court procedures
concerned by this
Recommendation are those
which, whatever their "legal
nature" (decision,
recommendation or settlement
proposal), involve the
mediation of a third party
whose role is not confined to
persuading the parties to
reach agreement but who
express a firm position
concerning settlement of the
Respect for
certain principles - such as
independence, transparency
and effectiveness -should
contribute to a higher level
of protection of consumer
rights. In parallel,
provision of these safeguards
will make for greater
reliability and confidence.
This confidence must be built
up at two levels: firstly,
consumers - aware of the
guarantees provided by the
out-of-court procedures
available to them - will be
able to make the most of the
out-of-court system in their
own country, or that of
another Member State in the
event of cross-border
disputes, without misgivings
or reservations; secondly,
the bodies responsible for
the out-of-court settlement
of consumer disputes in the
different EU countries will
have more confidence in each
other, in connection with
cross-border disputes. Mutual
confidence will enable them
to cooperate effectively in
improving the processing of
consumer disputes of a
cross-border nature. The
Commission will facilitate
the networking of these
bodies so as to promote their
active collaboration in
resolving specific cases.
Ultimately, consumers should
be able to refer cross-border
disputes to the competent
out-of-court body in the
foreign country via the
corresponding out-of-court
body in their own
To this end,
the existing out-of-court
bodies in the Member States
should respect the principles
set out in this
Recommendation. Consumer
associations and trade
associations -both
individually and jointly -
have a key role to play in
realising this objective.
principles may also make it
easier for parties providing
out-of-court settlement
services established in one
Member State to offer their
services in other Member
In order to
ensure a level of
transparency and
dissemination of information
on out-of-court procedures in
line with the principles set
out in the Recommendation and
to facilitate networking, the
Commission intends to create
a database of the
out-of-court bodies
responsible for resolving
consumer disputes that offer
these safeguards. In keeping
with the principle of
subsidiarity, the database
will contain particulars
communicated to the
Commission by the Member
States that wish to
participate in this
initiative. To ensure
standardised information and
to simplify the transmission
of these data, the Commission
is providing the Member
States with a standard
information form, annexed to
this Communication.
with an eye to transparency
and the provision of
information, each Member
State could appoint a single
contact point on its
territory responsible for
directing all interested
parties to the bodies they
should consult with a view to
the out-of-court settlement
of a specific consumer
Commission will evaluate the
implementation of this
Recommendation in two years'
(Indicate the name,
address, telephone and fax
numbers, e-mail address, and
any other details making it
easier for interested persons
to contact the body)
(Describe the
composition of the body,
stating whether it consists
of an individual or whether
it is a collegiate body, the
duration of its mandate and
the rules governing
appointment and dismissal of
the persons responsible for
(Describe the type of
disputes treated, the
geographical coverage and any
existing thresholds as
regards the value of the
(Describe the rules
governing referral, notably
any prior steps which must be
taken by the consumer, the
time limits within which
consumers must take action,
stating whether or not
consumers must attend the
proceedings in person, and
whether the procedure is
written or oral)
(Indicate the possible
cost of the procedure and any
rules on the sharing of fees
at the end of the procedure)
(Indicate whether the
procedure culminates in a
binding decision for one of
the two parties, a mere
recommendation or a
settlement proposal)
(When the procedure
leads to a binding decision,
indicate how this decision is


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text: Television Glee's Jane Lynch sounds warning on student debt Add to ... AP Video Published Wednesday, Jul. 18, 2012 6:14PM EDT Last updated Monday, Feb. 04, 2013 1:37PM EST Actress Jane Lynch is promoting a new website with free info and advice for students and their families about options for financing college and repaying student loans. She's also teasing season 4 of 'Glee.' Watch More Video: French artist prepares to live inside a rock for a week Former teen idol David Cassidy reveals he has dementia Video: Juno nominees on the surprising revival of cassette tapes La La Land songwriters thrilled about Oscar nominations Game of Thrones stars struggle to say goodbye Take a look at how the stars will party after the Oscars Cher returns to Las Vegas stage Video: Star of 'The Bodyguard' musical says iconic role is a joy All seven countries caught in Trump's immigration ban have one thing in common: documentaries Montreal DJ A-Trak on how too much nostalgia can hurt a career Inside a ukulele jam session with the Toronto Ukes Pop divas shine on Grammys red carpet Adele, Beyoncé were highlights of the Grammy Awards Celebrities talk politics at BAFTA awards Jazz singer Al Jarreau dies at 76 Corden extremely nervous ahead of hosting Grammys Jury of Berlinale gets political as festival opens 'John Wick: Chapter 2' cast hit the red carpet Glenn Close returns to Broadway's 'Sunset Boulevard' New comic book traces Carrie Fisher's life and career Comments Share via email Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on LinkedIn Print


text:
Somen 'Steve' Banerjee, who founded the company of male strippers, is believed to have committed suicide.
Earlier this year the former millionaire pleaded guilty to arranging the murder of his one-time business partner, Nick Denoia, an Emmy-award winning TV producer shot in the face by an assassin in 1987.
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text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Oct 2, 2007
|Filing date
|Sep 28, 2001
|Priority date
|Sep 28, 2001
|Fee status
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|Publication number
|Gor Nishanov, Peter William Wieland
|Original Assignee
|Microsoft Corporation
|Export Citation
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|Patent Citations (63), Non-Patent Citations (16), Referenced by (33), Classifications (14), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The invention relates generally to distributed computing systems, and more particularly to protecting resources such as storage devices in distributed systems.
Storage area networks and server clustering technology allow multiple host computers to connect to the same array of storage devices, typically disks. However, such an arrangement can lead to serious problems when the disk is improperly accessed. For example, simultaneous write and read accesses by different hosts may corrupt a disk's data, potentially leading to very serious consequences.
One solution to this problem of protecting a shared storage device (or devices) is to give exclusive access to the device to one computer at a time. For example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/963,050, entitled "Method and System for Quorum Resource Arbitration in a Server Cluster," assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, cluster nodes arbitrate for exclusive ownership of a quorum resource, which ensures that only one unique incarnation of a cluster can exist at any given time, since only one node can exclusively possess the quorum resource. As another example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/277,450, entitled "Method and System for Consistent Cluster Operational Data in a Server Cluster Using a Quorum of Replicas," assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, the quorum resource is not limited to a single device, but rather is comprised of multiple replica members. A cluster may be formed and continue to operate as long as one server node possesses a quorum (majority) of the replica members.
In both of these above examples, the node that initially obtains ownership of the quorum resource forms and represents the cluster, and access to the quorum resource (e.g., reads and writes to the disk or disks) is through the owning node. This protects against data corruption.
However, in clustering and distributed system technology, a problem sometimes arises when nodes lose their ability to communicate with other nodes, e.g., due to the crash of a node, or some other type of failure such as a network communication failure. As a result, the nodes that do not own the resource are configured to challenge for resource ownership in case the owning node has failed. To this end, an appropriate arbitration process on each node enables another node to challenge for ownership of each owned resource by temporarily breaking the owning node's exclusive reservation, (e.g., by SCSI bus reset or bus device reset commands), delaying, and then requesting an exclusive reservation. During the delay, the owning node is given an opportunity to defend and persist its exclusive reservation, whereby if the node is operating correctly, it replaces its exclusive reservation. If the owning node is not able to replace its reservation during the delay, the challenging node's request for exclusive access following the delay succeeds, whereby the challenging node becomes the new owner.
While the above-described mechanisms are excellent for sets of nodes that implement the arbitration rules, the breaking of the reservation leaves the resource in an unreserved state until the challenger or owner can obtain an exclusive reservation. At that time, the resource is vulnerable to being improperly accessed. Further, a third party computing device may independently break (e.g., for various unrelated purposes) the owning node's exclusive reservation. For example, in a SCSI-2 configuration, a SCSI bus reset command used to break the reservation. If a third party computing device initiates a SCSI bus reset or SCSI bus device reset, then the owning node's exclusive reservation is temporarily lost, and access to the disk can be improperly obtained, making the disk vulnerable to simultaneous access, data corruption and so forth.
Briefly, the present invention provides a method and system by which a resource such as a storage device may be protected by exclusive access through a persistent reservation that is not removed, even temporarily. For example, in a SCSI-3 implementation, a SCSI bus reset or bus device reset does not temporarily remove the persistent reservation. When a computing device (node) that owns the resource is operating correctly, the owning node is able to defend its exclusive access, yet ownership can be challenged without removing the reservation so that a challenging node can take over ownership when the formerly owning node is not operating correctly.
To this end, an arbitration process is distributed to the nodes that may challenge for and own the resource. Via the arbitration process, one node places a persistent reservation and obtains exclusive ownership of the resource. Once reserved, the owner maintains the ownership by checking periodically or on any access failure to determine whether the owner's persistent reservation is being challenged. If so the owner defends against the challenge. In one implementation, a reservation key is maintained by (or in association with) the storage device, and it is the reservation key that establishes the persistent reservation. If the reservation key is the owner's key, the owner has exclusive access to the disk.
Each challenger challenges by preempting the owner's reservation. In the implementation wherein a reservation key corresponds to the persistent reservation, the challenger preempts the reservation by replacing the owner's key with a challenge key. After a delay that is sufficient for a properly operating owner to restore the owner's persistent reservation, e.g., put back its own key, the challenger checks whether the owner has restored the owner's reservation key. If so, the challenge has failed, otherwise the challenger changes the reservation to its own ownership reservation, e.g., exclusively reserves the resource via by changing the challenge key to its own ownership key.
Multiple nodes may be present that are each capable of challenging for ownership, and the arbitration process of one node may be arranged to not challenge when another challenge is in progress, at least for a time that allows the other challenge to succeed. Pending challenges may be differentiated from ownership based on how the persistent reservation is modified, e.g., a challenge key may be distinguished from an ownership key.
In the reservation key implementation, the ownership and challenge keys are based on unique identifiers for each node that may challenge and exclusively own the resource. To this end, the reservation key is divided into fields including a ReserverID field and an OwnerID field. The resource is owned when the same identifier is in both fields, and is being challenged when a challenger's identifier is in the ReserverID field and the owner's identifier is in the OwnerID field. To challenge a persistent reservation, a challenging node writes its identifier in the ReserverId field, and then delays. When an owner checks its reservation by checking the key, (during this delay if operating properly), the owner sees the challenge reservation via the ReserverId field, and puts its own identifier back into the ReserverId field, whereby the owner maintains its ownership reservation and defends against the challenge.
If, however, the owner is not properly operating, the owner is unable to restore its ownership during the challenge delay time. If this happens, at the end of the delay, the challenging node writes its identifier into the OwnerID field and takes over ownership of the device. If the former owner is able to recover and detects the new owner, the former owner gives up the device and considers it lost, possibly becoming a challenger for it. Note that at no time is exclusive access lost, even temporarily, whereby the resource is protected from access by other computing devices.
The present invention may be extended through the use of other fields in the key. For example, a bid field can be used to weight a challenge, and the owner and other challengers may act based on the bid, such as by not defending against a sufficiently higher bid, or replacing a pending challenge having a weaker bid with a challenge having a stronger bid. A membership generation key field may be used when a resource is shared among a group of members, so as to change the key when a member leaves the group and thereby exclude that member from further access.
Other advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
Exemplary Operating Environment
The invention is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
The invention may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and so forth, that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
With reference to
The computer 110 typically includes a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer 110 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, and removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer 110. Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term "modulated data signal" means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 131 and random access memory (RAM) 132. A basic input/output system 133 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 110, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 131. RAM 132 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 120. By way of example, and not limitation,
The computer 110 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,
The drives and their associated computer storage media, discussed above and illustrated in
The computer 110 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 180. The remote computer 180 may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 110, although only a memory storage device 181 has been illustrated in
When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 110 is connected to the LAN 171 through a network interface or adapter 170. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 110 typically includes a modem 172 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 173, such as the Internet. The modem 172, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus 121 via the user input interface 160 or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 110, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation,
A preferred system 110 further includes a host adapter 197 or the like which connects the system bus 121 to a storage device or devices 198, comprising one or more independent, shared persistent memory storage devices. The connection may be as via a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) bus 199 or the like. Other ways of connecting cluster systems to storage devices, including Fibre Channel, are equivalent. Indeed, one alternative way to connect storage devices is via a network connection, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/260,194 entitled "Method and System for Remote Access of Computer Devices," assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Resource Protection
The present invention will be primarily described with respect to distributed systems such as server clusters having one or more SCSI disks to which multiple computing devices (nodes) may attach, and with examples of SCSI-3 protocol features. Notwithstanding, the present invention is not limited to clusters, one disk, multiple disks, the SCSI-3 protocol or even SCSI in general, but as will be understood, may be implemented in many ways using contemporary computing technology. For example, instead of using SCSI-3 commands and SCSI-3 disks, customized computer hardware associated with any type of storage unit or units may implement the features and respond appropriately to the types of commands described herein. Indeed, the present invention is applicable to resources other than storage devices in which exclusive access is desired. Further, for purposes of simplicity, the present invention will be described with respect to protecting the data integrity of a single logical unit of storage such as a volume or group of sectors on a disk, however it is understood that the present invention may be used with any number and/or arrangement of resources/logical units. For example, as will be understood, certain sectors of a disk may be protected by exclusive access via the present invention, while other sectors on the same disk are not protected.
As also shown in
In the SCSI-3 protocol, to place a persistent reservation on some or all of the logical unit, a Reserve (scope, type) command may be used. This command adds the persistent reservation for the initiator with a registered key if it does not conflict with any existing reservations on the device. The scope variable may specify the logical unit, the extent of the reservation, and other information, while the type variable may be ReadShared, WriteExclusive, ReadExclusive, ExclusiveAccess or SharedAccess. To voluntarily remove a persistent reservation, a Release (scope, type) command is issued by the initiator with the same reservation key as the one associated with that particular reservation, as defined by (scope, type). The generation number (in counter 330) is not changed on a reserve or release command.
As generally represented in
Another command that impacts the entries in these tables is a Preempt (reservation key with other reservation key, scope, type) command. The Preempt command removes any reservations from the reservations table that has the specified reservation key to preempt, and adds another reservation in its (or their) place based on the other reservation key, i.e., preempt sets a new reservation according to the scope/type specified. If there is no reservation with the reservation key specified for replacement, the command fails (which is a useful feature that provides an atomic test and change mechanism).
One other operation includes a Clear command, which removes all entries from the key and reservation tables. As described below, because there should always be an owner in normal operation, the clear command should not be used as part of the arbitration process of the present invention.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an instance of an arbitration process/mechanism is provided on each node capable of challenging for and owning the disk, wherein the distributed arbitration provides for exclusive ownership in a manner that does not allow a write to the disk when it is not supposed to be written. In general, this is accomplished by always having an exclusive owner, as described below. The arbitration process on each node does not allow a disk to be taken away from the rightful owner, unless and until the owner has performance failures or has crashed and thus is unable to defend ownership. Further, the arbitration process is such that if other challengers for the ownership of the disk are continuously challenging, and the owner is unable to defend ownership, one of the challengers will succeed within a finite and acceptable amount of time. Note that to ensure that there is always one owner, any nodes or other devices that may be connected to the storage device (e.g., any initiators on the SCSI bus) need to cooperate with the persistent reservation rules. For example, while not all such devices need not be arranged to challenge for ownership, none can issue a command (e.g., Clear) that simply removes the current owner's existing persistent reservation. However, such devices can issue bus reset and bus device reset commands, since those do not remove a persistent reservation.
To implement the distributed arbitration process, among other things, each of the various challengers including the initial owner is uniquely identified by a small number (e.g., less than 32 bits) that each challenger (node) knows in advance. For example, an administrator using a higher level cluster service can assign the identifiers (IDs), shown in
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a special multi-part reservation key 410 for use by the nodes is defined based on the nodes' IDs, having alternate embodiments/versions as described below. As generally represented in
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the storage device is always reserved and reservations are never removed. Instead, a challenger preempts the owner's reservation with its challenge reservation, waits, and then attempts to convert its challenge reservation into an ownership reservation. To this end, the challenger writes its ID into the ReserverID field of the reservation key, while writing the owner's ID into the OwnerID field so that the owner's identity does not yet change. If the owner is unable to defend the challenge by restoring the owner's ID into the ReserverID field during the delay, the challenge reservation is converted to an ownership reservation by having the challenger write its key into both the ReserverID and the OwnerID fields, whereby the challenger becomes the new owner.
When the owner is properly operating, the challenger is not able to convert the challenge reservation into the ownership reservation, as described in more detail below. This is because when the owner is properly operating, the owner checks the reservation, periodically or upon any write operation failure (e.g., failed because a challenger has changed the reservation key). If the device is reserved with a challenge key, a properly operating owner preempts it with its own key in the ReserverID field. However, if the owner is operational, but for some reason the OwnerID has changed to a new owner, (e.g., the owner node is having some problem causing it to operate slowly), the now-replaced owner recognizes that it lost the ownership, and takes some other action, such as to terminate and possibly restart itself since it knows it is not operating properly, become a challenger, issue a message to an administrator, and so on.
Turning to an explanation of the operation of the present invention with particular reference to the block diagrams of
At step 500 of
Since the reserve command failed for this node 402 2, the disk is owned by another node, (node 402 1), and the node 402 2 that is running the arbitration process and has reached step 504 may challenge for that node. The challenge may be at any appropriate time, such as after joining a cluster that includes the node 402 1, and if communication with the node 402 1 is then lost.
Before challenging however, the node 402 2 may determine whether the owner is already being challenged by some other (third) node. To this end, step 504 reads the reservation key that is on the disk, and the key is evaluated at step 506. If at step 506 the ReserverID field has the same ID therein as the OwnerID field, then this is an ownership key, not a challenge key, and no challenge is in progress. In such an event, the process branches ahead to step 514 to challenge for ownership, as described below.
If at step 506 the ReserverID field does not have the same ID therein as the OwnerID field, i.e., the reservation key is a challenge key whereby the owning node is already being challenged by another node, such as by the node 402 3. In this event, the arbitration process of the node 402 2 branches to step 508 to sleep for some period of time to give the currently challenging other node a chance to win the challenge. Some fixed time or variable time based on virtually any function (e.g., including random) may be used, but the time should be greater than the sleep time of a node when it is challenging (step 518, described below) to ensure that the other challenging node will have time to succeed or fail in its challenge.
After sleeping, at step 510, the reservation key is again read to see what happened during the other node's challenge. If, as determined by step 512 the reserve field equals the owner field, then the node is owned (either by the original owner or the other challenger) and the arbitration process ends at step 526. The arbitration process may be repeated by this node at any suitable time. Note that because of failures and the like, neither the challenger nor the owner may have been able to reserve ownership. When this is detected at step 512, the process branches to step 514.
If the owning node's resource ownership was not being challenged at step 506 as described above, or the ownership was being challenged at step 506 yet ownership was not established at step 512, the process reaches step 514 where the node running this instance of the arbitration process (node 402 2 in this example) challenges for ownership. This is accomplished by issuing the preempt command with a challenge key, a combination of the challenging node's ID and the current owner's ID. The preempt command thus changes the reservation key from the ReserverID, OwnerID pair [R, O] to the challenging node's ID, OwnerID [MyID, O]. In the present example wherein the node 402 1 having IDxx is still the owner, and the node 402 2 is the challenger, the challenge key includes IDyy, IDxx. If the preempt command fails, as detected by step 516, then the key previously read (at step 504 or step 510) was removed from the reservation table, such as by another node's preempt that was successful. In such an event, another challenge is in progress or ownership has been asserted, and the arbitration fails via steps 516 and 526.
If the preempt challenge of step 514 was successful at step 516, the process continues to step 518 to sleep for some time (any suitable fixed or variable time that is less than the sleep time of step 508) to give the owner a chance to replace its reservation. Note that the disk is still owned, but cannot be accessed for I/O by the owner or any other node because the reservation key has changed, unless and until the owner restores the key to its Owner ID, Owner ID pair. This is generally the state represented in
After sleeping at step 518, the challenging node 402 2 re-registers its identifiers (IDyy, IDyy), and reads the reservation key at step 520. Note that the registration will change the reservation key in the reservation table from the challenge key if the challenge key (challenger, owner) is still there, but will not change the reservation key if the owner has restored it (to owner, owner). In other words, in the key table 214, the key is updated to the one specified in the register command, while in the reservation table 216, if the owner has preempted the challenge, the reservation is no longer marked with the challenge key and the entry in the reservation table 216 table is not changed. If after registration and reading of step 520 the OwnerID field does not equal the challenger's ID (IDyy), the owner field had changed (e.g., restored by the owner, as described below). Thus, the arbitration failed, and the arbitration process stops at step 526. Alternatively, if following the registration the owner field equals the challenger's ID (IDyy), then the challenge succeeded, because the former owner did not timely replace its reservation for some reason, and the process continues to step 524 (detailed in
Step 600 represents determining if a reservation conflict was responsible for an I/O failure. This would be the situation during a challenge, since the reservation key needed to exclusively access the disk would not be the owner's registered MyID, MyID pair (IDxx, IDxx in the current example). In such a situation, the process branches ahead to step 606 to attempt to maintain ownership, as described below.
If at step 600 an I/O failure due to a reservation conflict did not occur, then step 602 tests whether any read/write operations have taken place during the last reservation period. If not, then the device needs to be tested to determine if it is still accessible to the owner, that is, whether it is currently being challenged and is thus not accessible. Step 604 tests the accessibility, such as by reading or writing some data. If still accessible, then the reservation key has not changed because of a challenge, and the process returns from step 606 to await either an I/O reservation conflict failure at step 600 or a sufficiently inactive I/O period step at step 602. If alternatively step 604 determines that the device is not accessible, then step 604 branches ahead to step 606 to attempt to maintain ownership, as described below.
In the event that a challenge appears to be underway, step 606 is executed to read the reservation key, followed by step 608 to evaluate the key contents, in particular the ID in the OwnerID field. This is to determine whether for some reason the owning node is still operating, but somehow lost the ownership, e.g., it was operating too slowly or was otherwise dysfunctional. If another node has changed the OwnerID field, then the device is lost (step 610). If however the Ownerid indicates that the device is still owned, (e.g., O=MyID), step 608 branches to step 612 wherein the owner asserts ownership by restoring, via a preempt command, the ReserverID field with the owner's ID (e.g., IDxx for the node 402 1). If the preempt command fails, the process loops back to step 606 to re-read the key and again check the ownership. Otherwise, the process has successfully defended the challenge, and returns to step 600 to defend ownership when again appropriate.
In this manner, because of the way in which the reservation key is divided and manipulated, the device is always owned, as either a challenge key ID pair or owner key ID pair is in the reservation table with exclusive access to the disk (or at least whatever part of the disk is being protected). At the same time, a challenger can take away ownership from an improperly operating owner.
Moreover, by further modification of the reservation key, and with slight modifications to the above-described arbitration and ownership maintenance processes, the present invention can be extended to provide additional functionality. One such alternative is shown in
In the key 700 of
Note that a key can be arranged with field sizes and ordered however desired, and indeed, new keys (such as a combination of
Similarly, in the SCSI-3 protocol, keys are presently 64 bits in length. If this becomes an insufficient number of bits, then two (or more) reservation keys may be used, such as one for sector zero (or the last sector) and one key for the rest of the sectors. The processes may then be modified accordingly to work with multiple keys, e.g., read one or two keys as needed, change one or two of them as appropriate to challenge or restore ownership, and so on.
For example, in an environment where a disk is shared by a group of members that frequently change, the membership generation field may have to be sufficiently large so that the number does not rapidly cycle back to what it previously was and thereby inadvertently give an excluded member the ability to again access the disk. Multiple keys may thus be used, and these keys may have their bits divided into fields as desired, although dividing multiple keys in such a way that minimizes key reads and writes may be a design consideration. Also, keys may need to be divided such that the membership generation number has to be correct to allow access, since the access enforcement mechanism (e.g., on the disk hardware) will look at only the one key that actually corresponds to the requested access location.
As can be seen from the foregoing detailed description, there is provided a method and system in which a resource may be protected by having the resource exclusively owned at all times, while still enabling a challenger to take over ownership from an owner that is not operating properly. The method and system improve resource protection, and are efficient, flexible and extensible.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and has been described above in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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|U.S. Classification
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|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Sep 28, 2001
Owner name: MICROSOFT CORPORATION, WASHINGTON
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:NISHANOV, GOR;WIELAND, PETER W.;REEL/FRAME:012220/0410;SIGNING DATES FROM 20010906 TO 20010917
|Mar 2, 2011
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Dec 9, 2014
Owner name: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC, WASHINGTON
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MICROSOFT CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:034541/0001
Effective date: 20141014
|Mar 25, 2015
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8


text:
+44 207 943 4500
17/18 Upper Woburn Place London WC1H0HT United Kingdom
Location This hotel is located just 300 m from Euston station. The British Museum is around 800 m away, Oxford Street is 1 km away and the nearest airport is 30 km from the hotel. Facilities This hotel was built in 1991. The establishment comprises a total of 150 rooms. A lobby and a reception are available to travellers. Services and facilities at the hotel include a restaurant, a bar, room service, a conference room and a fireplace. Wireless internet access is available to guests. Those arriving in their own vehicles can leave them in the car park of the accommodation. Rooms Each of the rooms is appointed with air conditioning and a bathroom. A safe and a minibar are also available. Additional features include a fridge and a tea/coffee station. Little extras, including internet access, a telephone, a TV and WiFi, contribute to a great stay. A shower and a bathtub can be found in the bathrooms. A hairdryer can also be found in each of the bathrooms. The hotel offers family rooms and non-smoking rooms. Sports/Entertainment The establishment offers attractions including sport and entertainment opportunities. The terrace is a great place to while away the time. A range of options are available, including a gym, a sauna and a solarium. Meals Breakfast can be booked. Payment The following credit cards are accepted at the accommodation: American Express, VISA, Diners Club and MasterCard.


text:
With this design we salute you Jewish outdoorsy types. Above an idyllic campsite is the phrase "How beautiful are your tents and campfires," a reference to a phrase in the book of Numbers, "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob." Around the logo repeats the phrase, "Schlep, S'mores, Sleep, Repeat." Isn't that the essence of camping?
This design is a Purim special! The top slogan, "Reaching for the mun" is a punny reference to the classic poppy seed filling, while below it says "This is how we roll." We think Esther would approve.
Also for Purim:Purim Shpielers & Squealers Society
Purim players and grogger grinders alike will delight in this emblem that salutes the menschen of the Megillah. Let 'em know you're loud and proud with the seal that proclaims "Shake Rattle & Roles". Around the masks of comedy and tragedy (look closely atop their heads) repeats the names Mordecai, Esther, Vashti, Ahasuerus, and Haman. Selected shirts are backed with the phrase "…and that's the whole Megillah".
Are you a Jewish mother? Have one? This logo design is for you! The center features icons representing the chief concerns of Jewish mothers: a sweater (so you're warm enough), a place setting (so you're well fed), and a phone (so maybe you'll call once in a while?). Surrounding the emblem is the phrase "Worrying about tomorrow today" and across the bottom it says "Women of Valor," referencing the reverential Old Testament poem, "A Woman of Valor."
A salute to handy Jewish women! The phrase "Repairing the world one light bulb at a time" references Tikkun Olam, the imperative to repair the world, winking at those for whom bulb changing is a big deal.
This design salutes challah bakers and lovers everywhere. The slogan, "My heart is in the yeast," is a punny homage to Yahuda Halevi's beloved poem My Heart is in the East. Rise up!
You nailed your Torah portion, recited your drash, and wrote all your thank you notes (well, two out of three ain't bad). Mazel tov, you are officially a member of the International Association of the B'Nei Mitzvah, and we are so proud of you!


text:
Sen. Daniel Inouye, Decorated War Veteran, Law Grad and Longtime US Leader, Dies at Age 88
Posted Dec 18, 2012 12:28 am CST
Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a respected leading lawmaker and the longest-serving Democrat in the U.S. Senate, died Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He was 88 years old.
Inouye, a highly decorated combat veteran of World War II, was the first Japanese-American to serve in Congress, the Washington Post (reg. req.) reports. He was elected in 1958 to the House of Representatives, and in 1962 he was elected to the Senate.
The son of working-class parents, Inouye earned a law degree at George Washington University in 1952 after completing his wartime service. Influenced by a friendship formed at an army hospital in Michigan with Bob Dole—another hospitalized soldier who also was to go on to become a famous name in the Senate—Inouye liked to say in later years that he "went with the Dole plan" of law school, serving in the state legislature and moving on to Congress.
Among many milestones, he had a leading role in Senate hearings about the Watergate break-in and the U.S. involvement in the Iran Contra arms scandal. Particularly known for his role as a persuasive behind-the-scenes unifying force and his gentlemanly behavior, Inouye made headlines with uncharacteristic public bluntness when he remarked "what a liar" during a break after sworn testimony by John Ehrlichman during the Watergate hearings. The microphone, the senator had thought, was turned off. It wasn't.
Influenced by experiences such as being refused a haircut in a San Francisco barbershop after the war—still wearing his lieutenant's uniform, with a pinned empty sleeve where his right arm should have been—because, he was told, "We don't serve Japs here," the senator was known for speaking eloquently on behalf of civil rights and social welfare programs, the Post recounts.
As keynote speaker at the Democratic national convention in Chicago in 1968, Inouye gave what political journalist Haynes Johnson described as a little-noticed "remarkable speech" during a time of national political disturbances after the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Inouye talked about a worrisome "loss of faith" among his fellow Americans, not "simply a loss of religious faith" but "a loss of faith in our country, its purposes and its institutions … a retreat from the responsibilities of citizenship," and called for the country to focus on rebuilding trust in government.
Additional coverage:
Honolulu Civil Beat: "Daniel K. Inouye"
Los Angeles Times: "Hawaii's nine-term senator, Daniel Inouye, dies at 88"
New York Times (reg. req.): "Daniel Inouye, Hawaii's Quiet Voice of Conscience in Senate, Dies at 88"
Hawaii Insider (San Francisco Chronicle): "How Sen. Daniel Inouye 'went for broke'"
Updated at 6:50 p.m. to include further information from Washington Post obituary and link to additional coverage.
Ex-Crime Lab Supervisors Sue Texas DA, Claim Pointing to Booze Breath-Test Issues Led to Retaliation
We welcome your comments, but please adhere to our comment policy and the ABA Code of Conduct.


text: TabsArticle Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids EFSA Journal: EFSA Journal 2012;10(8):2826 [16 pp.]. Possible conflict of interest: One member of the Panel did not participate in the discussion because of potential conflicts of interest identified in accordance with the EFSA policy on declarations of interests. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2826 Panel Members: Ulla Beckman Sundh, Mona-Lise Binderup, Leon Brimer, Laurence Castle, Karl-Heinz Engel, Roland Franz, Nathalie Gontard, Rainer Gürtler, Trine Husøy, Klaus-Dieter Jany, Catherine Leclercq, Jean-Claude Lhuguenot, Wim Mennes, Maria Rosaria Milana, Maria de Fatima Pocas, Iona Pratt, Kettil Svensson, Fidel Toldrá, Detlef Wölfle. Acknowledgements: The European Food Safety Authority wishes to thank the members of the Working Group on Recycling processes, Laurence Castle, Vincent Dudler, Nathalie Gontard, Eugenia Lampi, Maria Rosaria Milana, Cristina Nérin, Costas Papaspyrides and Karla Pfaff for their contribution to the draft opinion. Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com Type: Opinion of the Scientific Committee/Scientific Panel On request from: Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom Question Number: EFSA-Q-2009-00706 Adopted: 5 July 2012 Published in the EFSA Journal: 2 August 2012 Affiliation: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy Send Print Note: Read the article on the Wiley Online Library Abstract: This scientific opinion of EFSA deals with the safety evaluation of the recycling process PETUK SSP, EC register number RECYC004. Through this process, washed PET flakes are dried, extruded into pellets then fed to a solid state polymerisation (SSP) reactor where high temperature and long residence time are applied under vacuum. After having examined the challenge test provided, the Panel concluded that the SSP is the critical step that determines the decontamination efficiency of the process. The operating parameters to control the performance of this critical step are the temperature, the pressure and the residence time. It was demonstrated, by means of the challenge test, that the recycling process under evaluation is able to ensure that the level of migration of potential unknown contaminants into food is below a conservatively modelled migration of 0.1 μg/kg food. Therefore, the Panel considered that the recycling process PETUK SSP is able to reduce any foreseeable accidental contamination of the post-consumer food contact PET to a concentration that does not give rise to concern for a risk to human health if: it is operated under conditions that are at least as severe as those obtained from the challenge test used to measure the decontamination efficiency of the processes and the input is washed and dried post-consumer PET flakes originating from materials and articles that have been manufactured in accordance with the Community legislation on food contact materials containing no more than 5% of PET from non-food consumer applications. The Panel concluded that the recycled PET obtained from the process PETUK SSP intended for the manufacture of materials and articles for contact with all types of foodstuffs for long term storage at room temperature, with or without hotfill is not considered of safety concern. © European Food Safety Authority, 2012 Keywords: PETUK SSP; RECYC004; Food contact materials; Plastic; Poly(ethylene terephthalate); PET; Recycling; Process; Safety evaluation Print on demand Number of Pages: 16


text: This egg friend hatches into a platypus friend! I followed a Mochimochi Land pattern but, under the careful supervision of a little red hen, improvised and made a platypus instead of a chick. The yarn is Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in Natural and Nature's Brown and another worsted weight wool in black.


text:
|Re:Edison to Deforest ... ALMOST!
|Re: Edison stank literally (did not wash).
|Re:false equivalency
|Re:false equivalency
|Re:Depends on how you measure
|attached to Disentangling Facts From Fantasy In the World of Edison and Tesla
|Re:Polarity switch
|attached to Ocean Currents Proposed As Cause of Magnetic Field
|Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes
|attached to Identical Twins Not Identical After All
|Re:User interfaces
|attached to GUI Design Book Recommendations?
|Who to complain to at Level3
|How to Complain
|attached to Internet Partitioning - Cogent vs Level 3?
|There is a similar theory about IBD
|attached to Nobel Prize Awarded for Stomach Ulcer Discovery
"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats." -- Howard Aiken


text:
- Photos
- Map/Street View
- Things Nearby
Apartment for rent in Rancho Cucamonga. Close to dining and shops, bright, gas stove, trash included. Copy link - http://ah.qa/98iXi2N to browser to see more details or call 310-982-2536 now! (listing id: 134966516) Please visit ApartmentHunterZ.com for many other similar properties.
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text:
Shopping Cart
|No results found.
Reno Running Company is the premier specialty running store in Reno, Nevada, and it has the experienced and dedicated staff to back it up. Matt and Aimee Balzer opened Reno Running Company on September 20, 2011. The pair built this company specifically to cater to the unique needs of Northern Nevada's active community. Our trademarked theme of "Today We Run" embodies the year-around lifestyle we encourage through our complete line of run, swim, and fitness gear for the whole family.
Yes, Reno Running has top-of-the-line products, but what we really take pride in is our awesome staff. Each member of our family has a diverse and extensive background to help answer any question, whether you're a walker, a runner, or an Ironman.
For Web orders over $75, we offer free shipping. The products appearing in this web store are only a fraction of the running and triathlon products we have available in our store. Please call if you don't find what you're looking for here. Also, please visit our main Website or our Facebook Page to keep up with the latest news and events in Northern Nevada.


text:
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Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy have changed. We think you'll like them better this way.
"Comfort is the Greatest Luxury"
Todd Davis and Rob Brown joined their shared passion for classic architecture, discerning environments, and extraordinary craftsmanship to create Brown Davis Interiors in 1994. Rising stars in the elite environs of Washington DC, Brown Davis has designed two residences for the Clintons, President and Secretary of State, The British Embassy residence and an array of exceptional projects involving contemporary and historic renovation. Always seeking inspiration and growth in artistic styles and influences, Brown Davis now has a second office in Miami, Florida. The saturated hues, tropical landscape and design mecca have influenced a bold aesthetic that resists conformity. Brown Davis practices couture interior design. Every choice is an intimate reflection of the client; creating distinctive and elegant spaces for lives well lived.?Rob Brown, a gifted colorist, creates custom palettes that harmonize and balance transitions among eclectic furnishings. As knowledgeable art connoisseurs Brown Davis have discovered emerging artists that have now become established. They integrate their clients' museum quality art within their residences, creating compelling environments for important work. Comfort is an indispensable priority. Texture, light and pattern are orchestrated for enduring warmth and harmony. Working closely with master artisans, Brown Davis designs bespoke furnishings, perfectly scaled for size and function. complete their remarkable residential, hospitality and commercial projects situated in New York, Washington DC, Maryland, Florida, and Maine.
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text:
Fused Dichroic Glass Jewelry and
"One-Of-A-Kind" Pieces!
Sandy Lathrop is a quality
glass designer who is known for her exquisite work of fine glass jewelry.
Each piece is hand crafted resulting in quality glass jewelry. Many items
are "One of a Kind" and unique.
Sandy offers various glass products such as fused
dichroic glass jewelry, matching jewelry sets, earrings,
bracelets, specialty,
and "One of a Kind" pieces.
Dichroic glass is unique and there are large variations in each piece
of glass. Most jewelry artists who use dichroic buy there glass as
scrap glass which sells by the pound. It makes exact duplications
almost impossible so all of the pieces Sandy makes are really one of a
kind which is a good thing. You get to decide on the design
and the color and then know that your piece will be an original.
Sandy's work can be
seen in fine gift stores throughout the USA and locally at the Circle
of Wolves Gallery in Wolf Creek Oregon, next to the Historic Wolf
Creek Inn.
Glass Works
Glass Works takes requests by E-mail only, once in communication phone
numbers can be exchanged, etc.
We accept Check or Money Order, Visa & MasterCard
Specializing in
glass art, fused dichroic glass jewelry, necklaces, art glass, fused dichroic earrings, jewelry, sales,
art glass mirrors for sale, classes available, fuses dichroic sales. The Glass Works
is located in Wolf Creek near Grants Pass area in Southern Oregon. As unique jewelry
suppliers we offer one of a kind pieces in fused dichroic glass jewelry and
regular glass pieces - Sandy Lathrop, designer.


text: My story isn't about the beautiful keys given as encouragement, but rather the keys donated, for therein lies a story waiting to be told. My son became a fallen soldier earlier this year, and among his belongings were 50+ keys. I wasn't sure what to do with them until I walked into a store and saw The Giving Keys. I thought, what a beautiful idea. My son was a humble person, proud to be a soldier, and a quiet giver to so many. He would feel honored and blessed knowing his keys are given in hope, love, and encouragement to others. In this way his memory quietly lives on, just as he would wish.


text:
news content site, designs supplied
This project was successfully completed by jcodemasters for $45 USD / hour in 50 days.Get free quotes for a project like this
Project Budget$25 - $50 USD / hour
Completed In50 days
Total Bids33
Project Description
newsa is a news site offering summaries of news stories, feeds and tweets from selected users. Please see attached the png files for reference, designs in PSD files will be supplied when the job is awarded.
Load time for all pages should be max 2 seconds and should follow best practice guidelines:
[url removed, login to view]
HOMEPAGE ([url removed, login to view])
The homepage has a header with a logo, the 3 main site segments, 8 categories (these are the same across the homepage, feeds and tweets) and links to the search page, Facebook/Twitter pages, RSS feed, submit page and about us page. The hover over colour for these links should be light blue (hex 3ac2e4)
On the homepage you have 51 articles listed and 6 banner spaces (300x250). When clicking the 'load more' button in the footer the next 51 articles and 6 banners will load underneath it.
Each article has a picture (size 300x190), a headline, a source, a category and text (up to 35 words). Each article links to an external page.
Additional notes:
- As you scroll down the header will minimise and only show certain links, see the [url removed, login to view] file - this should be the same across the frontpage, feeds and tweets pages.
- The CMS should have the option to set a top story, see the [url removed, login to view] file. This top story is a main picture (size 650x412), headline, source, category, text (up to 35 words) and related links. These are links to external sites which are manually put into the CMS system for that article, not to related articles on our site.
- Each category can have up to 8 subcategories, these subcategories should appear in the header once the category has been selected, see [url removed, login to view] - this should be the same across the frontpage, feeds and tweets pages.
FEEDS ([url removed, login to view])
This is the feeds page where the user can select the category and subcategory for different xml feeds from publishers. Each publisher xml feed will be added to a category/subcategory in the CMS and should have the option to add to multiple categories/subcategories.
Per default show all feeds from the 'news' category.
Display headline, source, timestamp and category for each headline displayed. Show 80 headlines on the initial page, when clicking 'load more' show the next 80 headlines and so on.
TWEETS ([url removed, login to view])
Very similar to the Feeds page outlined above. Only difference being that a profile picture is displayed and the source displays the name and Twitter handle. Tweets should be pulled in from selected Twitter accounts through the Twitter API. Each Twitter account will be assigned to categories/subcategories. You have to filter out @-replies, they should not be displayed on our site.
SEARCH ([url removed, login to view])
This is where you arrive when clicking on search in the header. The user can type in his search keyword(s) in the big box and hit enter. Once he's hit enter it will display the search results, see [url removed, login to view]
A user can submit a link and comment on this page, he would have to fill in his name, email address, link and comment. Once he hits submit he will see the [url removed, login to view] page
This is a content page with a title and some copy.
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- Forbes
- The New York Times
- Time
- Wall Street Journal
- Times Online


text:
After Nick Collins injured his neck in an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 18, 2011, doctors told him he had a herniated disk.
Collins, a three-time Pro Bowl safety for the Green Bay Packers, was told it would be risky for him to play again.
It took him nearly three years to listen.
"I was trying to get back into football, but no one really wanted to take the chance,'' said Collins, who played at Bethune-Cookman and resides in Winter Garden. "I had a couple of teams that were interested, but they didn't really push the issue and try to bring me in and really give me a shot.
"I just came to realize that I...
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) stands over Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) after he was sacked by Detroit Lions middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch (55) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit.