Computer server having non-client-specific persistent connections

• US 20020055983A1
• Filed: 11/05/2001
• Published: 05/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska
• Original Assignee: Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska
• Inventors: Goddard, Stephen M.
• Application Number:
  US10/008,035
• Publication Number:
  US 20020055983A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Standalone and cluster-based servers, including Web servers, control the amount of data processed concurrently by such servers to thereby control server operating performance. Each server preferably includes a dispatcher for receiving data requests from clients, and at least one back-end server for processing such requests. The dispatcher preferably maintains a persistent connection, or a set of persistent connections, with the back-end server, and forwards the data requests received from clients to the back-end server over the persistent connections. Thus, instead of maintaining a one-to-one mapping of back-end connections to front-end connections as is done in the prior art, the back-end connections can be maintained by the dispatcher and used repeatedly for sending data between the dispatcher and the back-end server. In this manner, back-end connection overhead is markedly reduced.

Claims

1. A computer server for providing data to clients, the server comprising:

a dispatcher for receiving data requests from a plurality of clients; and

at least one back-end server;

wherein the dispatcher establishes at least one persistent connection with the back-end server, and forwards the data requests received from the plurality of clients to the back-end server over the persistent connection.

2. The computer server of claim 1 wherein the dispatcher includes a queue for storing the data requests until the back-end server is available for processing the data requests.

3. The computer server of claim 1 wherein the dispatcher is configured to establish a set of persistent connections with the back-end server.

4. The computer server of claim 3 wherein the dispatcher is configured to maintain the set of persistent connections with the back-end server while establishing and terminating connections between the dispatcher and the plurality of clients.

5. The computer server of claim 1 wherein the persistent connection is an HTTP/1.1 connection.

6. The computer server of claim 1 wherein the computer server is a Web server.

7. The computer server of claim 1 wherein the dispatcher and the back-end server are embodied in COTS hardware.

8. The computer server of claim 1 wherein the dispatcher comprises a first computer device, wherein the back-end server comprises a second computer device, and wherein the first and second computer devices are configured to communicate with one another over a computer network.

9. A method for reducing connection overhead between a dispatcher and a server, the method comprising:

establishing a persistent connection between the dispatcher and the server;

receiving at the dispatcher at least a first data request from a first client and a second data request from a second client; and

forwarding the first data request and the second data request from the dispatcher to the server over the persistent connection.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the forwarding includes forwarding the second data request from the dispatcher to the server after the dispatcher receives from the server a response to the first data request.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising storing the second data request at least until the dispatcher receives the response to the first data request.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein no data request is forwarded from the dispatcher to the server over the persistent connection between the first data request and the second data request.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the persistent connection is an HTTP/1.1 connection.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the dispatcher is an L7/3 dispatcher.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the data requests are HTTP requests.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the dispatcher is an L7/3 dispatcher.

14. A method for reducing connection overhead between a dispatcher and a server, the method comprising:

establishing a set of persistent connections between the dispatcher and the server;

maintaining the set of persistent connections between the dispatcher and the server while establishing and terminating connections between the dispatcher and a plurality of clients;

receiving at the dispatcher data requests from the plurality of clients over the connections between the dispatcher and the plurality of clients; and

forwarding the received data requests from the dispatcher to the server over the set of persistent connections.

17. A method for reducing back-end connection overhead in a cluster-based server, the method comprising:

establishing a set of persistent connections between a dispatcher and each of a plurality of back-end servers;

maintaining each set of persistent connections while establishing and terminating connections between the dispatcher and a plurality of clients;

receiving at the dispatcher data requests from the plurality of clients over the connections between the dispatcher and the plurality of clients; and

forwarding each received data request from the dispatcher to one of the servers over one of the persistent connections.