Network server load detection system, sharing system and method

• US 7,383,331 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2001
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Aoki, Takeshi, Kikuchi, Shinji, Yokoyama, Ken, Takahashi, Eiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAZARO, DAVID R
• Application Number:
  US09/800,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20010029545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,644 Days
• Field of Search: 709/229, 709/243, 709/244, 709/227, 709/226, 709230-235, 709/252, 709/224, 709/223, 370229-236, 370/237, 718/100, 718102-105
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0847 Transmission error
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/431 using padding or de-padding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1017 based on a round robin mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1023 based on a hash applied to IP addresses or costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

In order to measure the load on a server and perform its allotment with high efficiency, the communication from a client to a server is monitored. The communication data size per connection is measured as the load on the server, the change of the communication data size per connection is detected, the maximum is recorded, and if the communication data size decreases at the time when the maximum is detected, the load on the server is judged to be heavy.

Claims

1. A network server load detection method comprising:

monitoring a communication at a point between a client and a server, the communication being from the client to the server, and the communication including at least one connection having a communication data size;

detecting a change in the communication data size of the at least one connection of the client and server, wherein the communication data size of the connection is a total packet size per connection over a set measurement time;

recording a maximum size value of the communication data size of the at least one connection;

judging, if the detected change of the communication data size of the at least one connection decreases below a predetermined proportion of the recorded maximum size value, that said server is under a high load;

managing the load of the server according to the judgment of the high load; and

repeating the detecting and recording in response to the server not being judged to be under a high load.

2. A network server load detection method according to claim 1, further comprising counting a number of connections including the at least one connection and the communication data size until a monitored count of communications reaches a monitored communication minimum count and until a count time reaches a monitor minimum time.

3. A network server load detection method according to claim 1, further comprising recognizing communications of a start and end of the connection, and excluding communication data sizes of the start and end of the connection from the calculated load.

4. A network server load detection method according to claim 1, further comprising:

retaining information of the communication of the start of connection till the connection is ended or established;

detecting the communication of the start of connection for re-connection executed when judging that said client fails to connect on the basis of the information retained; and

setting a rate at which the communication of the re-connection occupies the number of the communications of the start of connection as a load of said server and, if this rate is high, judging that said server is under the high load.

5. A network server load detection method according to claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a distribution of the communication data sizes from said clients;

distinguishing between extremely small pieces of communication data unrelated to the load of said server from the communication data size distribution; and

eliminating the extremely small pieces of communication data from the judgement about the load.

6. A network server load detection method according to claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a sequence number from the communication to said server from said client;

retaining a maximum value of the sequence number till the connection is ended since the start of connection;

comparing the sequence number of the communication received with the sequence number retained; and

excluding, if the sequence number obtained from the communication is smaller than the sequence number retained, this communication from counting.

7. A network server load detection method according to claim 6, further comprising:

counting, if the sequence number obtained from the communication is smaller than the sequence number retained, the communication data after executing a weighting process thereon, or predicting a communication data size when there is no problem on a route from the two sequence numbers, and counting the predicted data size for detecting the load.

8. A network server load detection method comprising:

monitoring a communication at a point between a server and a client, the communication being from the server to the client, and counting a receivable data size and a connection count of which said server notifies said client;

calculating the receivable data size per connection as a server load, wherein the receivable data size per connection is a total window size per connection over a set measurement time;

storing a maximum value of the receivable data size per connection of the monitored communication;

judging, if the receivable data size per connection becomes smaller than a predetermined proportion of the stored maximum value, that said server is under a high load;

managing the load of the server according to the judgment of the high load; and

repeating the calculating and storing in response to the server not being judged to be under a high load.

9. A network server load detection system for monitoring a communication at a point between a client and a server, the communication being from the client to the server, and detecting a load state of said server, comprising:

data size calculating means for calculating a size of communication data per connection, wherein the communication data size of the connection is a total packet size per connection over a set measurement time;

storage means for detecting a change in the communication data size per connection of the client and server, and storing a maximum value of the communication data size per connection;

load detection means for detecting a high load of said server when the detected change of the communication data size per connection becomes smaller than a predetermined proportion of the maximum value; and

load management means for managing the load of the server according to the detection of the high load.