Techniques for minimally invasive application updates and data transfer

• US 10,019,249 B1
• Filed: 12/18/2014
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Karppanen, Jari Juhani
• Primary Examiner(s): Rampuria, Satish
• Application Number:
  US14/576,169
• Time in Patent Office: 1,300 Days
• Field of Search: 717168-178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

Techniques described and suggested herein include systems and methods for updating applications by reconfiguring an active original application to serve as a proxy for an active replacement application. An original application may be initialized in a way that allows updates to the original application to occur without adversely affecting the operation of the original application. A replacement application may be configured to connect to one or more communication endpoints via the active original application.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

initializing an original application at a first location monitored by a listener by at least;

copying binary code of the original application to a second location, thereby generating a copy of the original application; and

activating the copy of the original application to respond to activity at one or more communication endpoints and hold handles to the one or more communication endpoints to which the activity relates, thereby creating an active original application;

at a time after the listener detects that the original application has been replaced by a replacement application at the first location, at least;

copying binary code of the replacement application to a third location, thereby generating an active replacement application;

capturing a state of the active original application including information identifying the one or more communication endpoints to which the active original application has handles;

transferring the state corresponding to the handles to the active replacement application;

configuring the active original application to pass, to the active replacement application, further activity at the one or more communication endpoints to which the handles are held;

configuring the active replacement application to interface with the active original application to access the one or more communication endpoints to which the handles are held; and

removing the active original application after handles on the one or more communication endpoints are no longer held.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the state is transferred in response to a notification generated by the active replacement application and provided to the active original application.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising causing the active replacement application to respond, outside of the active original application, to activity at communication endpoints that differ from those to which the handle is held.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising, when connection between the active original application and a subset of the one or more communication endpoints is broken, directing reconnections of the subset to the active replacement application.

5. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory that includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to;

monitor a location for changes related to an active original application that communicates via one or more communication endpoints; and

at a time after detecting that a replacement application exists at the monitored location, at least;

capture a subset of a state of the active original application including information identifying the one or more communication endpoints to which the active original application has handles;

transfer the state corresponding to the handles to an active version of the replacement application;

cause the active replacement application to interface with the active original application to communicate with the one or more communication endpoints; and

remove the active original application after handles on the one or more communication endpoints are no longer held.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to cause the active replacement application to communicate with other communication endpoints that differ from the one or more communication endpoints.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to, if the active replacement application is incapable of interfacing with the active original application to communicate with a subset of the one or more communication end points, cause the active replacement application to communicate with the subset of the one or more communication endpoints outside of the active original application.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to, at a time after determining that the active replacement application is incapable of interfacing with the active original application to communicate with the one or more communication endpoints, terminate the active original application.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the location stores a copy of an executable binary for the active original application.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the location is on a different device than the active original application.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the replacement application is a different version of the active original application.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein the active original application is located on a different device than the active replacement application.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that, as a result of being executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to at least:

at a time after being notified of a pending update to an active original application that communicates via one or more communication endpoints to which the active original application has handles, at least;

reroute communications between the active original application and the one or more communication endpoints to a buffer;

cache requests, in the buffer, related to the one or more communication endpoints;

transfer at least a portion of a task state corresponding to the handles of the active original application to an active replacement application;

configure the active replacement application to interface with the active original application to communicate with the one or more communication endpoints to which the handles are held;

reroute the communications to the active replacement application, by at least causing the active replacement application to process the cached requests; and

remove the active original application after handles on the one or more communication endpoints are no longer held.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, wherein the computer system is notified by a listener that monitors a location for the update.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to transfer the task state by transferring the cached requests to the active replacement application.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more communication endpoints include network sockets.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to configure the active replacement application to interface directly with a subset of the one or more communication endpoints if the active original application is unable to communicate with the subset.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to terminate the active original application if none of the one or more communication endpoints are in communication with the active original application.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the active original application is an application made available by a service provided by a computing resource service provider associated with the computer system.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the service is made available by an application programming interface provided by the computing resource service provider.