Systems and Methods for Hierarchical Global Load Balancing

• US 20080034111A1
• Filed: 08/03/2006
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Shetty, Anil, Kamath, Sandeep, Suganthi, Josephine
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,946 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• 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 67/1012 based on compliance of requirements or conditions with available server resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2885 Hierarchically arranged intermediate devices, e.g. for hierarchical caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing a hierarchy of appliances to more efficiently access resources across a plurality of branch offices. A method comprises the steps of: establishing, by a first aggregator appliance, connections with a first plurality of branch office appliances; establishing, by a second aggregator appliance, connections with a second plurality of branch office appliances, the first plurality of branch office appliances not having information identifying the second plurality of branch office appliances; receiving, by the first aggregator appliance, from a first branch office appliance a request from a client for access to a resource; identifying, by the first aggregator appliance via the second aggregator appliance, a second branch office appliance from the second plurality of branch office appliances to service the request; transmitting, by the first aggregator appliance, to the first branch office appliance information identifying the second branch office appliance; and establishing, by the first branch office appliance, a connection with the second branch office appliance. Corresponding systems are also described.

Claims

1. A method for providing a hierarchy of appliances to more efficiently access resources across a plurality of branch offices, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing, by a first aggregator appliance, connections with a first plurality of branch office appliances;

(b) establishing, by a second aggregator appliance, connections with a second plurality of branch office appliances, the first plurality of branch office appliances not having information identifying the second plurality of branch office appliances;

(c) receiving, by the first aggregator appliance, from a first branch office appliance of the first plurality of branch offices a request from a client for access to a resource;

(d) identifying, by the first aggregator appliance via the second aggregator appliance, a second branch office appliance from the second plurality of branch office appliances to service the request;

(e) transmitting, by the first aggregator appliance, to the first branch office appliance information identifying the second branch office appliance; and

(f) establishing, by the client, a connection with the second branch office appliance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (e) further comprises transmitting, by the first branch office appliance, information identifying the second branch office appliance to the client.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising establishing, by the client via the first branch office appliance, a second connection via the second branch office appliance with a server.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising establishing, by the first aggregator appliance, communications with the second aggregator appliance.

5. The method of claim 3, comprising communicating, by the first aggregator appliance, information about the first plurality of branch office appliances to the second aggregator appliance.

6. The method of claim 3, comprising communicating, by the second aggregator appliance, information about the second plurality of branch office appliances to the first aggregator appliance.

7. The method of claim 1, determining, by the first aggregator appliance, information on one of performance or operational characteristics for each of the first plurality of branch office appliances.

8. The method of claim 1, determining, by the second aggregator appliance, one of performance or operational characteristics of each of the second plurality of branch office appliances.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein step (d) comprising selecting, by the first aggregator appliance, the second branch office appliance based on one of the performance or operational characteristics.

10. The method of claim 8, comprising accelerating, by one of the first office branch office appliance or the second branch office appliance, communications between the client and the server.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein accelerating comprises using one or more of the following techniques:

compression;

TCP connection pooling;

TCP connection multiplexing;

TCP buffering; and

caching.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the first aggregator appliance or the second aggregator appliance is deployed at a data center.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the client is deployed at the first branch office.

14. A system for providing a hierarchy of appliances to more efficiently access resources across a plurality of branch offices, the system comprising:

a first aggregator appliance establishing connections with a first plurality of branch office appliances;

a second aggregator appliance establishing connections with a second plurality of branch office appliances, the first plurality of branch office appliances not having information identifying the second plurality of branch office appliances;

a first branch office appliance of the first plurality of branch offices transmitting to the first aggregator appliance a request from a client for access to a resource;

wherein the first aggregator appliance identifies via the second aggregator appliance, a second branch office appliance from the second plurality of branch office appliances to service the request, and transmitting to the first branch office appliance information identifying the second branch office appliance; and

the client establishes a connection with the second branch office appliance.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first branch office appliance transmitting information identifying the second branch office appliance to the client.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the client establishes via the first branch office appliance a second connection via the second branch office appliance with a server.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the first aggregator appliance establishes communications with the second aggregator appliance.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first aggregator appliance communicates information about the first plurality of branch office appliances to the second aggregator appliance.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the second aggregator appliance communicates information about the second plurality of branch office appliances to the first aggregator appliance.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the first aggregator appliance determines information on one of performance or operational characteristics for each of the first plurality of branch office appliances.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the second aggregator appliance determines one of performance or operational characteristics of each of the second plurality of branch office appliances.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the first aggregator appliance selects the second branch office appliance based on one of the performance or operational characteristics.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein one of the first office branch office appliance or the second branch office appliance accelerates communications between the client and a server.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein accelerating comprises using one or more of the following techniques:

compression;

TCP connection pooling;

TCP connection multiplexing;

TCP buffering; and

caching.

25. The system of claim 14, wherein one of the first aggregator appliance or the second aggregator appliance is deployed at a data center.

26. The system of claim 14, wherein the client is deployed at the first branch office.