Object procedure messaging facility

• US 5,848,234 A
• Filed: 05/24/1996
• Issued: 12/08/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Candle Distributed Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Lackey, Richard Lee, Neeley, William Kenneth, Yang, Dannis, Chernick, Aubrey, Greenblatt, Sam
• Primary Examiner(s): Bowler, Alyssa H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dzung C.
• Application Number:
  US08/653,106
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.01, 395/800, 395/200.15, 364/DIG. 1
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]

Abstract

Service requests from client objects in a computer network are processed in accordance with the desirability of use of the transport network available for communication with the server objects so that local platform servers are used whenever possible to avoid data marshalling and unmarshalling. A local memory queue is used to hold the service request for interrogation by the local server. Local memory storage may be used to hold data or other portions of the service request so that only minimal data need be processed by the memory queue.

Claims

1. A method of operating a plurality of operating platforms as a computer network to facilitate communications between a client and a plurality of servers, comprising the steps of:

selecting an eligible server from a plurality of servers in response to a service request from a client on a first platform, further comprising the steps of storing an order of preference for said servers and selecting the eligible server from the plurality of servers in accordance with said order of preference;

automatically determining if the selected server is not on the first platform;

automatically selecting the use of a network transport between operating platforms to communicate between the client and the selected server if the selected server is determined to not be on the first platform; and

automatically selecting the use of a memory queue on the first platform to communicate between the client and the selected server if the selected server is determined to be on the first platform, further comprising;

storing a portion of the service request from the client in local system storage;

passing request handle data regarding said service request storage from the client to the selected server via the memory queue;

retrieving said portion of the service request from the local system storage by the selected server in response to said request handle data;

storing a portion of reply data from said selected server in said local system storage;

passing reply handle data regarding said reply storage from said selected server to said client via the memory queue; and

retrieving said portion of said reply data from the local system storage by the client in accordance with said reply handle data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of storing an order of preference for said servers further comprises the step of:

ordering said servers in accordance with the desirability of use of transport mechanisms providing communication with each of said servers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting an eligible server in accordance with said order of preference further comprises the steps of:

determining the availability of said eligible servers in accordance with said order of preference; and

selecting the first eligible server determined to be available.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of using a memory queue further comprises the step of:

communicating between said client and servers without data marshalling.

5. A method for requesting service from a server in a computer network environment, comprising the steps of:

requesting a specified service for a client on a first platform in said computer network environment;

obtaining a list of eligible servers from a network services directory in response to said request;

selecting an available server from said list of eligible servers in response to said request further comprising the steps of storing an order of preference for said eligible servers and selecting an available, eligible server in accordance with said order of preference;

automatically selecting the use of a remote procedure call to request service from said available eligible server if said available, eligible server is determined to not be on said first platform;

automatically placing said request for service on a memory queue in said first platform if said available, eligible server is determined to be on said first platform, further comprising the steps of;

storing a data portion of said request for service in memory on said first platform at a first memory address;

communicating said first memory address to said available server on said memory queue; and

retrieving said data portion from said first memory address to provide said requested service;

applying said service request to said eligible server on said first platform;

storing results from said requested service at a second memory address on said first platform; and

retrieving said results from said second memory location to complete said request for service.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of selecting an available server from said list of eligible servers further comprises the step of:

selecting said available server from said list of eligible servers in accordance with an order of preference of transport mechanisms usable to communicate with said servers.