METHODS, SYSTEMS AND DEVICES FOR HORIZONTALLY SCALABLE HIGH-AVAILABILITY DYNAMIC CONTEXT-BASED ROUTING

• US 20120158872A1
• Filed: 12/01/2011
• Published: 06/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Openet Telecom Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Openet Telecom Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Inventors: McNamee, Alan, Dunne, Cameron Ross, McCann, Fergus, O'Sullivan, Michael, Byrne, Niall, Hogan, Joe
• Granted Patent: US 8,725,820 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• 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

Methods, servers and systems for communicating information in networks enable efficient expansion while maintaining high-availability. A first message associated with an entity may be received on a first server. An operation may be performed on certain information included in the first message associated with the entity to identify a first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is to be stored. Information extracted from the first message may be stored in the identified first data repository. When a second message associated with the entity is received, the same operation may be performed on the same certain information included in the second message to identify the first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is stored. The information related to the first message or the entity from the first data repository may then be used.

Claims

1. A method of communicating information in a network, comprising:

receiving in a first server a first message associated with an entity, the first message encoding information;

performing an operation on certain information included in the first message that is associated with the entity to identify a first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is to be stored, wherein the first data repository is one of a plurality of data repositories;

storing information extracted from the first message in the identified first data repository;

receiving a second message associated with the entity, the second message encoding information;

performing the same operation on the same certain information included in the second message that is associated with the entity to identify the first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is stored; and

using information related to the first message or the entity from the first data repository, wherein using information includes adding, retrieving, updating or deleting information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein performing an operation on certain information included in the first message that is associated with the entity to identify the first data repository comprises performing at least one of a modulus and a hash operation on the specific information included within the message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation performed on certain information included in messages results in storing information extracted from a plurality of messages related to a plurality of different entities among the plurality of data repositories in a distributed manner.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a second message associated with the entity encoding information comprises receiving the second message in a second server different from the first server that received the first message.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising replicating the data stored in the identified first data repository in a second data repository such that the second data repository is used when the first data repository is unavailable.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the data repositories include a session store.

7. A system for communicating information in a network, comprising:

a plurality of servers;

a plurality of data repositories; and

a network coupling the plurality of servers to the plurality of data repositories and enabling the plurality of servers to receive messages from one or more source components within the network,

wherein each of the plurality of servers is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving a first message associated with an entity, the first message encoding information;

performing an operation on certain information included in the first message that is associated with the entity to identify a first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is to be stored, wherein the first data repository is one of a plurality of data repositories;

storing information extracted from the first message in the identified first data repository;

receiving a second message associated with the entity, the second message encoding information;

performing the same operation on the same certain information included in the second message that is associated with the entity to identify the first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is stored; and

using information related to the first message or the entity from the first data repository, wherein using information includes adding, retrieving, updating or deleting information.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of servers is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations such that performing an operation on certain information included in the first message that is associated with the entity to identify the first data repository comprises performing at least one of a modulus and a hash operation on the specific information included within the message.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of servers is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations such that the operation performed on certain information included in messages results in storing information extracted from a plurality of messages related to a plurality of different entities among the plurality of data repositories in a distributed manner.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the plurality of servers is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations such that receiving a second message associated with the entity encoding information comprises receiving the second message in a second server different from the first server that received the first message.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of servers is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising replicating the data stored in the identified first data repository in a second data repository such that the second data repository is used when the first data repository is unavailable.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of servers is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations such that replicating the stored data comprises replicating a session store.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of servers comprises one or more pairs of dynamic context routers, with each pair of dynamic context routers including at least one dynamic context router core.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein each dynamic context router core is connected to a pair of data repositories, wherein the data repositories are deployed in an active-hot standby configuration.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each dynamic context router core operates in an active configuration.

16. A non-transitory server-readable storage medium having stored thereon server executable instructions configured to cause a server to perform operations comprising:

receiving a first message associated with an entity, the first message encoding information;

performing an operation on certain information included in the first message that is associated with the entity to identify a first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is to be stored, wherein the first data repository is one of a plurality of data repositories;

storing information extracted from the first message in the identified first data repository;

receiving a second message associated with the entity, the second message encoding information;

performing the same operation on the same certain information included in the second message that is associated with the entity to identify the first data repository in which information associated with the first message or the entity is stored; and

using information related to the first message or the entity from the first data repository, wherein using information includes adding, retrieving, updating or deleting information.

17. The non-transitory server-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored server executable instructions are configured to cause a server to perform operations such that performing an operation on certain information included in the first message that is associated with the entity to identify the first data repository comprises performing at least one of a modulus and a hash operation on the specific information included within the message.

18. The non-transitory server-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored server executable instructions are configured to cause a server to perform operations such that the operation performed on certain information included in messages results in storing information extracted from a plurality of messages related to a plurality of different entities among the plurality of data repositories in a distributed manner.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the stored server executable instructions are configured to cause a server to perform operations such that receiving a second message associated with the entity encoding information comprises receiving the second message in a second server different from the first server that received the first message.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the stored server executable instructions are configured to cause a server to perform operations further comprising replicating the data stored in the identified first data repository in a second data repository such that the second data repository is used when the first data repository is unavailable.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the stored server executable instructions are configured to cause a server to perform operations such that performing operations on the data repositories comprises performing operations on a session store.