METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UPDATING A DOMAIN NAME SERVER

• US 20080086556A1
• Filed: 10/10/2006
• Published: 04/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Vallabhaneni, Vasu, RAMALINGAM, KAVITHA, Venkatsubra, Venkat, Srihari, Prithvi
• Granted Patent: US 8,327,022 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5076 Update or notification mechanisms, e.g. DynDNS
• 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 computer implemented method, apparatus, system, and computer usable program code for updating a domain name server. In response to detecting a failed network interface in a plurality of network interfaces on a content server, the content server identifies an IP address for the failed network interface. The content server notifies a domain name server that the IP address for the failed network interface is an unreachable IP address. The domain name server does not provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for updating a domain name server, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to detecting a failed network interface in a plurality of network interfaces for a content server, identifying an IP address for the failed network interface; and

notifying a domain name server that the IP address for the failed network interface is an unreachable IP address, wherein the domain name server stops providing the unreachable IP address to a querying client.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the notifying step comprises:

sending a domain name server update including the unreachable IP address to the domain name server.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the domain name server update is a secure domain name server update.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a domain name server update that includes an unreachable IP address, ceasing to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by removing the unreachable IP address from a list of IP addresses for the content server.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the ceasing step is performed by the domain name server.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a domain name server update that includes an unreachable IP address, ceasing to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by moving the unreachable IP address to a last IP address in a list of IP addresses for the content server.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, wherein the ceasing step is performed by the domain name server.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to determining that the failed network interface is repaired, sending a domain name server update to the domain name server, wherein the domain name server update includes an IP address for the repaired network interface to form a reachable IP address.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to detecting a new network interface added to the plurality of network interfaces, sending a domain name server update to the domain name server, wherein the domain name server update includes an IP address for the new network interface to form a reachable IP address.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a domain name server update that includes a reachable IP address, adding the reachable IP address to the list of IP addresses for the content server, wherein the adding step is performed by the domain name server.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a domain name server update that includes a reachable IP address, moving the IP address from the last IP address in the list of IP addresses for the content server to a first IP address in the list of IP addresses, wherein the moving step is performed by the domain name server.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring the plurality of network interfaces on the content server.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 12 further comprising:

responsive to detecting a failed network interface for the content server, sending a domain name server update to the domain name server notifying the domain name server that an IP address for the failed network interface no longer corresponds to the content server.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 13 wherein a failed network interface is a network interface that is down or a network interface that cannot be used to reach a gateway.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the identifying step further comprises:

responsive to an operating system for the content server receiving an interrupt signal from the failed network interface, sending a domain name server update including the unreachable IP address to the domain name server.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to a failure to connect with a content server using an IP address for the content server, sending a domain name server update to the domain name server identifying the IP address to form an unreachable IP address, wherein the domain name server stops providing the unreachable IP address to a querying client.

17. A computer implemented method for updating a domain name server, the computer implemented method comprising:

receiving a notification identifying an IP address for a content server that corresponds to a failed network interface for the content server to form an unreachable IP address;

removing the unreachable IP address from a list of IP addresses for the content server; and

responsive to a lookup request from a client, providing the list of IP addresses to the client, wherein the unreachable address is not provided to the client in the list of IP addresses.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 17, wherein the removing step further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the unreachable IP address should not be removed from the list of IP addresses, moving the unreachable IP address to a last IP address entry in the list of IP addresses, wherein the unreachable IP address is provided to the client as a last IP address in the list of IP addresses.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 17, further comprising:

responsive to a failure to connect with a content server using an IP address for a content server, sending a notification identifying the IP address to form an unreachable IP address.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the notifying step is performed by sending a domain name server update including the unreachable IP address to the domain name server.

21. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the notifying step is performed by a client computer.

22. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the notifying step is performed by a content server.

23. An apparatus comprising:

a server comprising;

a storage device connected to a bus, wherein the storage device contains a computer usable program product; and

a processor, wherein the processor unit executes the computer usable program code to identify an IP address for a failed network interface in response to detecting the failed network interface in the plurality of network interfaces; and

notify a domain name server that the IP address for the failed network interface is an unreachable IP address, wherein the domain name server ceases to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processor unit further executes the computer usable program code to cease to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by removing the unreachable IP address from a list of IP addresses for the content server in response to receiving a domain name server update that includes an unreachable IP address.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processor unit further executes the computer usable program code to cease to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by moving the unreachable IP address to a last IP address in a list of IP addresses for the content server in response to receiving a domain name server update that includes an unreachable IP address.

26. A system for updating a domain name server, the system comprising:

a content server, wherein the content server identifies an IP address for a failed network interface in response to detecting the failed network interface in the plurality of network interfaces; and

wherein the content server notifies a domain name server that the IP address for the failed network interface is an unreachable IP address; and

a domain name server, wherein the domain name server ceases to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the domain name server ceases to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by removing the unreachable IP address from a list of IP addresses for the content server.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the domain name server ceases to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by moving the unreachable IP address to a last IP address in a list of IP addresses for the content server.

29. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

a client computer, wherein the client computer notifies the domain name server that an IP address is an unreachable IP address in response to a failure to connect with the content server using the IP address.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the domain name server ceases to provide the unreachable IP address to querying clients.

31. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium including computer usable program code for updating a domain name server, said computer program product comprising;

computer usable program code for identifying an IP address for a failed network interface in response to detecting the failed network interface in the plurality of network interfaces; and

computer usable program code for notifying a domain name server that the IP address for the failed network interface is an unreachable IP address, wherein the domain name server stops providing the unreachable IP address to a querying client.

32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the notifying step comprises:

computer usable program code for sending a domain name server update including the unreachable IP address to the domain name server.

33. The computer program product of claim 31, further comprising:

computer usable program code for ceasing to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by removing the unreachable IP address from a list of IP addresses for the content server in response to receiving a domain name server update that includes an unreachable IP address.

34. The computer program product of claim 31, further comprising:

computer usable program code for ceasing to provide the unreachable IP address to a querying client by moving the unreachable IP address to a last IP address in a list of IP addresses for the content server in response to receiving a domain name server update that includes an unreachable IP address.

35. The computer program product of claim 31, further comprising:

computer usable program code for sending a domain name server update to the domain name server by a client computer in response to the client computer failing to connect with a content server using an IP address for the content server to form the unreachable IP address, wherein the domain name server update identifies the unreachable IP address and wherein the domain name server stops providing the unreachable IP address to querying clients.