Two-Tier Failover Service for Data Disaster Recovery

• US 20150143162A1
• Filed: 01/29/2015
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Wang, Shen, Filcik, Joseph Milan, Ramkumar, Vijayalakshmi, Greenberg, Steven Miles, Seitzinger, Chris, Kihneman, Brian Eugene
• Granted Patent: US 9,760,453 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/4.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2023 Failover techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2025 using centralised failover control functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2035 without idle spare hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2046 where the redundant components share persistent storage G06F11/2043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold

Abstract

Technologies are described herein for providing a two-tier failover service. A request to access content by an application associated with an application identifier may be identified. A first record corresponding to the application identifier may be retrieved from a database information table. The first record may include a reference identifier, a database name of a database, and a failover value. A second record corresponding to the reference identifier may be retrieved from a server information table. The second record may include an indication of a first server computer as a primary server computer and an indication of a second server computer as a secondary server computer. A connection specification to either the first server computer or the second server computer may be generated based on the first record and the second record.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method comprising:

identifying a request to access content;

retrieving, from a server, a first record associated with the request;

retrieving, from the server or an additional server, a second record associated with the first record, the second record comprising an indication of a first server computer as a primary server computer and an indication of a second server computer as a secondary server computer; and

generating a connection specification to either the first server computer or the second server computer based on the first record and the second record.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first record comprises a database name of a database, the method further comprising:

accessing either the first server computer or the second server computer utilizing the connection specification; and

forwarding the request to the database at either the first server computer or the second server computer.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the first record comprises a failover value specifying that no database-level failover has been initiated;

and

wherein generating the connection specification to either the first server computer or the second server computer based on the first record and the second record comprises generating the connection specification to the first server computer based on the first record and the second record.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the first record comprises a failover value specifying that database-level failover has been initiated;

and

wherein generating the connection specification to either the first server computer or the second server computer based on the first record and the second record comprises generating the connection specification to the second server computer based on the first record and the second record.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the connection specification comprises login and authentication information to either the first server computer or the second server computer.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the first server computer and the second server computer are geo-redundant server computers.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the first record comprises a database name of a database;

wherein the first server computer comprises a first database associated with the database name;

wherein the second server computer comprises a second database associated with the database name; and

wherein the first database and the second database replicate each other.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the first record comprises a failover value specifying that no database-level failover has been initiated, the method further comprising:

determining whether a quantity of failing databases in the first server computer is greater than a threshold; and

responsive to determining that the quantity of failing databases in the first server computer is greater than the threshold, updating the second record, the updated second record comprising an indication of the second server computer as the primary server computer.

29. The method of claim 28, the method further comprising:

responsive to determining that the quantity of failing databases in the first server computer is not greater than the threshold, updating the failover value in the first record to specify database-level failover.

30. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

identify a request to access content;

retrieve, from a data store, a first record associated with the request, the first record comprising a reference identifier and a failover value;

retrieve, from the data store or a server, a second record associated with the resource identifier, the second record comprising an indication of a first server computer as a primary server computer and an indication of a second server computer as a secondary server computer; and

generate a connection specification to either the first server computer or the second server computer based on the first record and the second record.

31. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the first record comprises a database name of a database and the computer-readable storage medium having further computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

access either the first server computer or the second server computer utilizing the connection specification; and

forward the request to the database at either the first server computer or the second server computer.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the first record comprises a failover value specifying that no database-level failover has been initiated;

and

wherein to generate the connection specification to either the first server computer or the second server computer based on the first record and the second record, the computer-executable instructions cause the computer to generate the connection specification to the first server computer based on the first record and the second record.

33. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the first record comprises a failover value specifying that database-level failover has been initiated;

and

wherein to generate the connection specification to either the first server computer or the second server computer based on the first record and the second record, the computer-executable instructions cause the computer to generate the connection specification to the second server computer based on the first record and the second record.

34. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the connection specification comprises login and authentication information to either the first server computer or the second server computer.

35. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the first server computer and the second server computer are geo-redundant server computers.

36. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the first record comprises a database name of a database;

wherein the first server computer comprises a first database associated with the database name;

wherein the second server computer comprises a second database associated with the database name; and

wherein the first database and the second database replicate each other.

37. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the first record comprises a failover value specifying that no database-level failover has been initiated;

and the computer-readable storage medium having further computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to;

determine whether a quantity of failing databases in the first server computer is greater than a threshold; and

responsive to determining that the quantity of failing databases in the first server computer is greater than the threshold, update the second record, the updated second record comprising an indication of the second server computer as the primary server computer.

38. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 37, the computer-readable storage medium having further computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:

responsive to determining that the quantity of failing databases in the first server computer is not greater than the threshold, update the failover value to specify database-level failover.

39. A two-tier failover system, comprising:

a data store comprising a server information table and a database information table, the database information table comprising a first record and a second record, the first record associated with a first application identifier and comprising a reference identifier, the second record corresponding to the reference identifier and comprising an indication of a first server computer as a primary server computer and an indication of a second server computer as a secondary server computer;

a processor;

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor; and

a program module which executes in the processor from the memory and which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to;

identify a request to access content by a first application associated with the first application identifier,

retrieve, from the database information table, the first record,

retrieve, from the server information table, the second record, and

generate a first connection specification to the first server computer based on the first record and the second record.

40. The two-tier failover system of claim 39, wherein the first record further comprises a database name of a database and a failover value.