Method for detecting non-responsive applications in a TCP-based network

• US 20070130324A1
• Filed: 12/05/2005
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jinitech Inc.
• Original Assignee: Jinitech Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Jieming
• Application Number:
  US11/293,123
• Publication Number:
  US 20070130324A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• 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 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A method for detecting a non-responsive condition of an application in a TCP/IP system comprises a step of monitoring a TCP/IP connection between a client and a server in order to detect an incomplete close sequence of the connection when the application has become not responding.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a non-responsive condition of a server application in a TCP/IP system, the server application being normally responsive to a client through a TCP/IP connection, the method comprising:

monitoring said TCP/IP connection to detect an incomplete close sequence of said TCP/IP connection, said incomplete close sequence being initiated by the client; and

determining that the application is in a non-responsive condition when said incomplete close sequence is detected.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said incomplete close sequence comprises a CLOSE-WAIT state of said TCP/IP connection at a server end thereof, remaining over a predetermined period of time.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said incomplete close sequence comprises a FIN-WAIT-2 state of said TCP/IP connection at a client end, thereof, remaining over a predetermined period of time.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said incomplete close sequence comprises a failure to send a FIN message to the client following receipt of a FIN message from the client.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said incomplete close sequence remains more than 5 seconds.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising executing a client process on the client to alternately establish and close said TCP/IP connection at predetermined intervals.

7. A method for detecting a non-responsive condition of a server application in a TCP/IP system, the server application being normally responsive to a client through a TCP/IP connection, the method comprising:

(a) executing a client process to alternately establish and close said TCP/IP connection at predetermined intervals; and

(b) monitoring said TCP/IP connection at predetermined intervals, to detect an incomplete close sequence of said TCP/IP connection, thereby determining an occurrence of said non-responsive condition of the server application.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the incomplete close sequence of said TCP/IP connection is detected when any one of the following factors is identified and remains over a predetermined period of time:

(a) a FIN-WAIT-2 state of said TCP/IP connection at a client end thereof;

(b) a CLOSE-WAIT state of said TCP/IP connection at a server end thereof;

or

(c) failure to send a FIN message to the client following receipt of a FIN message from the client.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein step (a) comprises at said predetermined intervals, alternately establishing and closing respective TCP/IP connections between the client and respective tiers of the server application;

and wherein step (b) comprises monitoring a plurality of close sequence sessions of said respective TCP/IP connections.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein step (a) comprises at said predetermined intervals alternately establishing and closing respective TCP/IP connections between the client and a plurality of servers associated with server applications identical to said server application;

and wherein step (b) comprises monitoring a plurality of close sequence sessions of said respective TCP/IP connections.

11. A system for detecting a non-responsive condition of a server application in a TCP/IP system, the system comprising a first subsystem for monitoring a TCP/IP connection through which the server application is normally responsive to a client, to detect an incomplete close sequence of the TCP/IP connection, the incomplete close sequence being initiated by the client, thereby determining an occurrence of said non-responsive condition of the server application

12. A system as claimed in claim 11 comprising a second subsystem for executing a client process to alternately establish and close said TCP/IP connection at predetermined intervals.

13. A system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the first subsystem is adapted to identify any one of the following factors:

(a) a FIN-WAIT-2 state of said TCP/IP connection at a client end thereof;

(b) a CLOSE-WAIT state of said TCP/IP connection at a server end thereof;

or

(c) failure to send a FIN message to the client following receipt of a FIN message from the client.