Real time fault tolerant transaction processing system
First Claim
1. A fault tolerant transaction processing system comprising:
- first and second nodes for communicating pluralities of first and second messages therebetween having pluralities of first and second application portions, each of said first and second messages respectively having either a first or second application portion, wherein said first node provides one of said first messages and in response thereto said second node provides a corresponding one of said second messages,a link set having a plurality of individual links interconnecting said first and second nodes;
means, operative in said first node for distributing individual ones of said first messages on an approximately equal basis among available links within said link set for carriage thereover to said second node; and
a processing system contained within said second node having;
a plurality of first processors and a plurality of second processors, each of said first processors being connected to a different corresponding one of said links, wherein each one of said first processors receives over the link connected thereto ones of said first messages appearing thereon to yield received first messages, extracts ones of said first application portions from said received first messages to provide extracted first application portions and provides said extracted first application portions to a corresponding one of said second processors, wherein said one first processor receives ones of said second application portions from said one second processor and associated with said extracted first application portions, forms one of said second messages containing said ones of the second application portions and applies said ones of the second messages to the link connected thereto for carriage thereover to said first node, and wherein each one of said second processors is connected to a corresponding one of said first processors for processing ones of the extracted first application portions provided thereby to yield associated ones of said second application portions and for providing said associated ones of said second application portions to said corresponding one of said first processors; and
inter-processors coordination means, collectively situated within all the first and second processors and operative in response to an abnormal condition of any one of said links, the first processor connected thereto or the second processor associated therewith, for generating a third message and transmitting the third message over an available one of the links to said distributing means in order to declare that said any one link is unavailable;
whereby while the abnormal condition exists the distributing means applies substantially no subsequently occurring ones of the first messages to the unavailable link and distributes substantially all the subsequently occurring ones of the first messages among remaining available ones of said links for processing by the first processors connected thereto and the second processors associated therewith so as achieve fault tolerant transaction processing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A real time fault tolerant transaction processing system, particularly one suited for use in a service control point (SCP), is described. Specifically, the system utilizes a communication protocol, such as signalling system 7, that adaptively distributes message packets on an equal basis over multiple physical links that connect two points, such as an SCP and a signalling transfer point (STP), and non-fault tolerant front end and back end processors that are connected to each physical link for processing packets appearing on that link and providing corresponding responses thereto. All the front and back end processors are loosely coupled together for purposes of processor synchronization and re-assignment. Through this system, all the physical links simultaneously carry an equal number of packets which are, in turn, processed by all the processors connected thereto. In the event any physical link or either a front or back end processor connected thereto fails, then that link is declared to be out of service. Consequently, the protocol merely re-assigns all subsequently occurring packets to the other links until such time as the fault is cleared. As the result of link re-assignment, there is advantageously no need to connect a fault tolerant processor to each physical link. This, in turn, substantially and advantageously reduces the complexity and cost of the fault tolerant transaction processing system.
324 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A fault tolerant transaction processing system comprising:
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first and second nodes for communicating pluralities of first and second messages therebetween having pluralities of first and second application portions, each of said first and second messages respectively having either a first or second application portion, wherein said first node provides one of said first messages and in response thereto said second node provides a corresponding one of said second messages, a link set having a plurality of individual links interconnecting said first and second nodes; means, operative in said first node for distributing individual ones of said first messages on an approximately equal basis among available links within said link set for carriage thereover to said second node; and a processing system contained within said second node having; a plurality of first processors and a plurality of second processors, each of said first processors being connected to a different corresponding one of said links, wherein each one of said first processors receives over the link connected thereto ones of said first messages appearing thereon to yield received first messages, extracts ones of said first application portions from said received first messages to provide extracted first application portions and provides said extracted first application portions to a corresponding one of said second processors, wherein said one first processor receives ones of said second application portions from said one second processor and associated with said extracted first application portions, forms one of said second messages containing said ones of the second application portions and applies said ones of the second messages to the link connected thereto for carriage thereover to said first node, and wherein each one of said second processors is connected to a corresponding one of said first processors for processing ones of the extracted first application portions provided thereby to yield associated ones of said second application portions and for providing said associated ones of said second application portions to said corresponding one of said first processors; and inter-processors coordination means, collectively situated within all the first and second processors and operative in response to an abnormal condition of any one of said links, the first processor connected thereto or the second processor associated therewith, for generating a third message and transmitting the third message over an available one of the links to said distributing means in order to declare that said any one link is unavailable;
whereby while the abnormal condition exists the distributing means applies substantially no subsequently occurring ones of the first messages to the unavailable link and distributes substantially all the subsequently occurring ones of the first messages among remaining available ones of said links for processing by the first processors connected thereto and the second processors associated therewith so as achieve fault tolerant transaction processing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification