LOAD BALANCER, LOAD-BALANCING METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM WITH LOAD-BALANCING PROGRAM

• US 20100030851A1
• Filed: 07/30/2009
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Watanabe, Kazuhiro, Inden, Takashi
• Application Number:
  US12/512,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20100030851A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources

Abstract

A load balancer includes: a license control unit that performs a process for collecting license information managed by plurality of servers; a connection management unit that manages a connection between the server to be allocated which is specified by the reply and the client, and notifying, when the connection is established, the license control unit of the identification information on the server to be allocated and the identification information on the license used for the connection; and an allocation processing unit that selects the servers that are the allocation candidates on the license of the determination request, and inquiring of the license control unit about the use state of the license by the selected server, and a process for specifying the server to be allocated from the allocation candidate servers, and notifying the connection management unit of the license included in the reply to the inquiry.

Claims

1. A load balancer which is connected to a plurality of clients each having a license of server access, and a plurality of servers each offering a service to the clients based on license information managed by the apparatus, and distributes the access from the clients to the servers, the apparatus comprising:

a license control unit that performs a process for collecting the license information managed by the plurality of servers, respectively, and managing the use state of the licenses of each of the plurality of servers based on license management information that records the usable quantity, the used quantity, and availability/unavailability of the licenses in each of the servers and each of licenses, a process for answering availability or unavailability of an appropriate license from the license management information to an inquiry of the use state of the license in allocation candidate servers to which an access from the client are allocatable, and a process for updating the used quantity and the use state of the license management information on the license used by the server connected when the connection of the client is established;

a connection management unit that performs a process for extracting, when receiving an access request to the server from the client, identification information on the license possessed by the requesting client from a packet of the access request, and issuing an allocation target determination request based on the identification information on the extracted license, and a process for accepting a reply to the determination request, managing a connection between the server to be allocated which is specified by the reply and the client, and notifying, when the connection is established, the license control unit of the identification information on the server to be allocated and the identification information on the license used for the connection; and

an allocation processing unit that performs a process for holding allocation information defining a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of servers and the allocatable licenses in advance, selecting the servers being the allocation candidates from the allocation information based on the identification information on the license of the determination request when accepting the determination request, and inquiring of the license control unit about the use state of the license by the selected server, and a process for specifying the server to be allocated from the allocation candidate servers, and notifying the connection management unit of the specified server based on the availability or unavailability of the license included in the reply to the inquiry.

2. The load balancer according to claim 1,

wherein the connection management unit notifies, when the connection between the client and the server is released, the license control unit of the identification information on the server whose connection is released and the identification information on the license used for the connection, and

wherein the license control unit updates the used quantity and use state of the license management information on the license used by the server whose connection is released.

3. The load balancer according to claim 1,

wherein when the count method of the license used quantity is set to the license information collected from the client by using the client resource, and the client resource is set to the client identification information extracted from the packet of the client, the license control unit stores the client resource in the license management information, and updates the used quantity of the license used by the server whose connection is established or released in units of the client resource.

4. The load balancer according to claim 1,

wherein the license control unit collects the license information from each of the plurality of servers, and updates the license management information every given period or opportunity.

5. The load balancer according to claim 1,

wherein when the license control unit accepts the notification of the license information change from any one of the plurality of servers, the license control unit acquires the license information from the notifying server, and updates the license management information.

6. A load balancing method executed by a load balancer which is connected to a plurality of clients each having a license enabling server access, and a plurality of servers each offering a service to the clients based on license information managed by the apparatus, and distributes the access from the clients to the servers, the method comprising:

a process for collecting the license information managed by the plurality of servers, respectively, holding license management information that records the usable quantity, the used quantity, and the availability/unavailability of the license in each of the servers and each of the licenses in a memory unit in advance, and managing the use state of the license of each of the servers based on the license management information;

a process for extracting, when the client makes an access request to the server, identification information on the license processed by the requesting client from a packet of the access request, and issuing an allocation target determination request based on the extracted identification information on the license;

a process for holding allocation information that defines a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of servers and the allocatable licenses in advance, selecting, when accepting the determination request, the servers that are allocation candidates from the allocation information based on the identification information on the license of the determination request, and inquiring of the license control unit about the use state of the license by the selected server;

a process for answering the availability or unavailability of an appropriate license from the license management information to the inquiry of the use state of the license of the selected server;

a process for specifying the server to be allocated from the allocation candidate servers based on the availability or unavailability of the license included in the answer to the inquiry;

a process for managing a connection of the server to be allocated and the client, and notifying, when the connection is established, the identification information on the server to be allocated and the identification information on the license used for the connection; and

a process for updating, when the connection is established, the used quantity and the use state of the license management information on the license used by the connected server.

7. A recording medium with load balancing program for allowing accesses from a plurality of clients each having a license enabling a server access to be distributed to a plurality of servers each offering a service to the clients based on license information managed by the apparatus, the program allowing a computer connected to the clients and the servers to function as:

a license control unit that performs a process for collecting the license information managed by the plurality of servers, respectively, and managing the use state of the license of each of the plurality of servers based on license management information that records the usable quantity, the used quantity, and the availability/unavailability of the license in each of the servers and each of the licenses, a process for answering the availability or unavailability of an appropriate license from the license management information to an inquiry of the use state of the license in allocation candidate servers to which an access from the client is allocatable, and a process for updating the used quantity and the use state of the license management information on the license used by the server which is connected when the connection of the client is established;

a connection management unit that performs a process for extracting, when receiving an access request to the server from the client, identification information on the license possessed by the requesting client from the packet of the access request, and issuing an allocation target determination request based on the identification information on the extracted license, and a process for accepting a reply to the determination request, managing a connection between the server to be allocated which is specified by the reply and the client, and notifying, when the connection is established, the license control unit of the identification information on the server to be allocated and the identification information on the license used for the connection; and

an allocation processing unit that performs a process for holding allocation information defining a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of servers and the allocatable licenses, selecting the servers that are allocation candidates from the allocation information based on the identification information on the license of the determination request when accepting the determination request, and inquiring of the license control unit about the use state of the license by the selected server, and a process for specifying the server to be allocated from the allocation candidate servers, and notifying the connection management unit of the specified server based on the availability or unavailability of the license included in the reply to the inquiry.