Method and apparatus for managing server load

• US 6,922,724 B1
• Filed: 05/08/2000
• Issued: 07/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Freeman, Thomas D., Pedersen, Bradley Jay, Gulkis, Daniel Alec
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, David Y.
• Application Number:
  US09/566,898
• Time in Patent Office: 1,905 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/226
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing and balancing the load of each of the servers in the network. In one aspect, the invention relates to an apparatus for managing server load in a networked system of servers. The apparatus includes a dynamic store storing run-time information associated with a plurality of servers in a server farm. The apparatus also includes an event bus. The apparatus also includes a load management subsystem in communication with the dynamic store via the event bus. The load management subsystem receives a request from the event bus to identify a server and transmits a message to the event bus that includes an address of an identified server based on information from the dynamic store.

Claims

1. An apparatus for selecting a server from a networked plurality of servers to service a client request, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of servers, each of said plurality of servers including an event bus and a subsystem in communication with said event bus, a first one of the plurality of servers receiving from a client a request to execute an application and sending the client request to a second one of the plurality of servers;

the second one of the plurality of servers comprising;

a dynamic store storing loading information associated with at least some of the plurality of servers;

a load management subsystem hosted by the second server, the load management subsystem (i) receiving, via said event bus, a request to identify a server for servicing a client request, (ii) retrieving from said dynamic store the loading information, (iii) choosing, based on the retrieved loading information, one of the plurality of servers for servicing the client request, and (iv) transmitting, via said event bus, a message including information identifying the chosen server.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said dynamic store contains information relating to server processor load.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said dynamic store contains information relating to server input/output transaction load.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a persistent store, said load management subsystem in communication with said persistent store via said event bus, said persistent store containing an identification of at least one rule to be used to manage server load.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said load management subsystem stores run-time information in said dynamic store at predetermined intervals.

6. In a networked plurality of servers, each one of the plurality of servers comprising a dynamic store, an event bus, and a load management subsystem, a method for selecting one of the plurality of servers to service a client request, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving, by a first one of the plurality of servers, the client request;

(b) transmitting to a second one of the plurality of servers the client request;

(c) receiving, by the load management subsystem, from the dynamic store, the loading information;

(d) retrieving, by the load management subsystem, from the dynamic store the loading information;

(e) choosing, based on the retrieved loading information, one of the plurality of servers for servicing the client request; and

(f) transmitting, by the load management subsystem, a message to the event bus that includes information identifying the chosen server.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of providing a dynamic store subsystem in communication with the event bus and the dynamic store.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of storing, by the load management subsystem, run-time information in the dynamic store.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein step (d) comprises retrieving processor load information from the dynamic store.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein step (d) comprises retrieving server schedule information from the dynamic store.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein step (d) comprises retrieving input/output transaction information from the dynamic store.

12. The method of claim 6 wherein step (d) comprises retrieving server memory usage information from the dynamic store.

13. The method of claim 6 wherein step (d) comprises retrieving information regarding the presence of the application on the server from the dynamic store.