Method and apparatus for an internet protocol (IP) network clustering system
First Claim
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1. An Internet Protocol (IP) Network cluster apparatus comprising:
- a. a plurality of cluster members with all cluster members being addressable by a single dedicated Internet machine name and IP address for the cluster, each cluster member comprising a computer system having a processor, a memory, a program in said memory, a display screen and an input/output unit;
b. a filter mechanism in each cluster member, the filter mechanism using a hashing mechanism to generate an index number for each message session received by the cluster member, the index number being used to indicate to which workset a message belongs, worksets being assigned to cluster members to balance processing load, each cluster member checking whether the workset has been assigned to it in order to determine whether the cluster member must process the message received or ignore it.
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Abstract
The present invention is an Internet Protocol (IP) network clustering system which can provide a highly scalable system which optimizes message throughput by adaptively load balancing its components, and which minimizes delay and packet loss especially in the TCP mode by a controlled fail-over process. An innovative process of defining the essential portion of TCP state required to maintain reliable message connections across the cluster is also disclosed.
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16 Claims
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1. An Internet Protocol (IP) Network cluster apparatus comprising:
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a. a plurality of cluster members with all cluster members being addressable by a single dedicated Internet machine name and IP address for the cluster, each cluster member comprising a computer system having a processor, a memory, a program in said memory, a display screen and an input/output unit; b. a filter mechanism in each cluster member, the filter mechanism using a hashing mechanism to generate an index number for each message session received by the cluster member, the index number being used to indicate to which workset a message belongs, worksets being assigned to cluster members to balance processing load, each cluster member checking whether the workset has been assigned to it in order to determine whether the cluster member must process the message received or ignore it. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for operating a plurality of computers in an Internet Protocol (IP) Network cluster, the cluster providing a single-system-image to network users, the method comprising the steps of;
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a. providing a plurality of cluster members, each cluster member comprising a computer system having a processor, a memory, a program in said memory, a display screen and an input/output unit; b. interconnecting the cluster members together, and assigning all cluster members a same internet machine name and a same IP address whereby a message arriving at the cluster will be recognized by the appropriate member in the cluster and an output from any cluster member will be recognized as coming from the cluster, and whereby the cluster members can communicate with each other; and c. providing a filter mechanism in each cluster member, the filter mechanism using a hashing mechanism to generate an index number for each message session received by the cluster member, the index number being used to indicate to which workset a message belongs, worksets being assigned to cluster members to balance processing load, each cluster member checking whether the workset has been assigned to it in order to determine whether the cluster member must process the message received or ignore it. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An Internet Protocol (IP) network cluster apparatus comprising:
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a. a plurality of interconnected cluster members, each cluster member comprising a computer system having a processor, a memory, a program in said memory, a display screen and an input/output unit; b. means in each of the plurality of cluster members for recognizing other members of the plurality of cluster members which are connected together and cooperating with the other members to adaptively designate a master unit; and c. means for generating an index number for each message session received by a cluster member, the index number being used to indicate whether the cluster member must process the message received or ignore it. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification