Distributed architecture for an intelligent networking coprocessor

• US 5,883,939 A
• Filed: 08/29/1996
• Issued: 03/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United States Navy (U.S. Department Of Defense)
• Original Assignee: Cornell Research Foundation Incorporated (Cornell University)
• Inventors: Friedman, Roy, Birman, Kenneth P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford N
• Application Number:
  US08/705,423
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 379/1, 379/9, 379/10, 379/13, 379/14, 379/15, 379/34, 379/221, 379/229, 379/230, 379/26, 379/181, 395/182.02, 395/182.08, 395/182.09, 395/182.13, 395/616, 395/618, 370/221, 370/229, 370/230, 370/216, 370/217
• US Class Current: 379/9
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2254 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking

Abstract

Group communication technology, such as the Horus process, is used to implement a fault-tolerant high performance, reactive, real-time distributed IN coprocessor. The architecture of the distributed IN coprocessor comprises workstation clusters, external adaptors and an update interface interconnected by high speed communication links. Each workstation of the IN architecture represents a query element, so all the databases used by the IN coprocessor in the course of servicing incoming requests are split between query elements, provided that each of the workstations has access to the information stored in a certain database or databases. Group communication systems provide necessary features for managing and obtaining high reliability and operability of the IN coprocessor including failure detection, notification of other members of the system about the failures, reconfiguration of the system to exclude failed members, bringing back into the system the members that have been recovered, and updating the recovered or new members according to the new state of the system.

Claims

1. A method for delivering telecommunication services, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a telecommunication switching system, a pair of external adaptors, a plurality of database systems and an update interface operatively associated with a group communication system for services including communication and failure detection;

b) sending a query from the telecommunication switching system to one of the external adaptors via a communication link;

c) aggregating and keeping in a cyclic set of queries the queries to be serviced and wherein the cyclic set of queries has a last queue;

d) propagating the query from said one of the external adaptors to one of the plurality of database systems;

e) determining in said one database system a response to the query;

f) establishing a time for the response to be reported by said one database system, and periodically scanning the last queue by a sweeper to reissue the queries that have not been replied to by a database system;

g) if timely, reporting the response from said one database system to at least one of the external adaptors;

h) sending the response from the external adaptors to the telecommunication switching system; and

i) updating the contents of the plurality of database systems by means of the update interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication switching system sends a query to said pair of external adaptors and the external adaptors determine a primary from the pair of external adaptors depending on the parity of the query.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said one of the plurality of database systems servicing the query relays the reply to both of the pair of external adaptors.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second of the pair of external adaptors reissues the query to a second of the plurality of database systems that has not serviced the query before if the one of the pair of external adaptors has not received a reply from said one database system after half an expected deadline.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising employing a watermark approach in servicing incoming queries.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein an application level is provided in addition to the group communication system and wherein queries at the one of the external adaptors and responses from the one of the plurality of database systems are buffered at the application level and a message is allocated in the group communication system only when buffered data needs to be sent.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein updating is performed according to first-in-first-out ordering.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the group communication system includes a failure detector and wherein when failure of an external adaptor or a database system is detected the group communication system reconfigures itself to exclude the failed external adaptor or database system.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein when a recovered external adaptor or database system is added to the group communication system the recovered external adaptor or database system is updated to the current state of the other database systems.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the group communication system is a Horus process group.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication switching system, the pair of external adaptors, the plurality of database systems and the update interface are provided as members of the same group communication system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the group communication system is a Horus process group.

13. A telecommunication system for delivering calling services, comprising:

a) at least one telecommunication switching system;

b) an intelligent network coprocessor comprising a pair of external adaptors, each of said external adaptors in communication with each other and with said switching system;

c) a plurality of database systems interconnected between each other and connected to said pair of external adaptors by a communication link, and means connected to the plurality of database systems for updating the contents of one or more database systems;

d) means for sending a query to one of said pair of external adapters;

wherein said one external adapter receiving the query sends the query to one of the database systems for servicing the query and then said one of the database systems replies to at least one of the external adaptors;

e) means for reissuing the query to a database system that has not serviced the query before, if the reply from said one of the database systems was not received after a predetermined period of time; and

f) wherein said pair of external adaptors, the plurality of database systems and the means for updating the contents of one or more database systems are operatively associated with a group communication system for services including communication and failure detection.

14. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein the group communication system is a Horus process group.

15. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein the pair of external adaptors, the plurality of database systems and the means for updating the contents of one or more database systems are the members of the same group communication system.

16. The telecommunication system of claim 15, wherein the group communication system is a Horus process group.

17. The telecommunication system of claim 13, wherein each of the pair of external adaptors is connected to the telecommunication switching system by a two-channel communication link.

18. A method for delivering telecommunication services, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a telecommunication switching system, a pair of external adaptors, a plurality, a plurality of database systems and an update interface operatively associated with a group communication system for services including communication and failure detection;

b) sending a query from the telecommunication switching system to one of the external adaptors wherein the step of sending the query from the telecommunication switching apparatus to the external adaptors depends upon the parity of the query;

c) propagating the query from the one of the external adaptors to a specific database system which replies to at least one of the external adaptors;

d) if the reply from the specific database system is not received within a predetermined period of time, reissuing the query from the other external adaptor to a database system that has not serviced the query before

f) forwarding the received reply from the external adaptor to the telecommunication switching; and

g) updating the contents of the database system by means of the update interface.