System having a single IP address associated with communication protocol stacks in a cluster of processing systems

• US 7,430,611 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2005
• Issued: 09/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: A10 Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Herr, David Anthony, Devine, Wesley McMillan, Aiken, John Andrew Jr., McClintock, Mark W., Christensen, Alfred Bundgaard
• Primary Examiner(s): LUU, LE HIEN
• Application Number:
  US11/045,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20050141506A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• Field of Search: 709/238, 709/239, 709/242, 370/389, 370/254, 370/352, 370/392
• US Class Current: 709/238
• 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 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Methods, systems and computer program products provide communications with a plurality of application instances using a plurality of communication protocol stacks and a single Internet Protocol (IP) address. A stack is established as a routing stack associated with the single IP address. Other stacks which are associated with the single IP address are defined as candidate target stacks and an identification of candidate target stacks and the routing stack is distributed to the stacks. The routing stack is notified when an application associated with a candidate target stack listens to a port of the IP address to establish a current actual target stack. A request to establish a connection to the IP address and the port of the IP address is received and a routing table entry corresponding to the current actual target stack is created to provide a routing path from the routing stack to the current actual target stack. Communications to the port of the IP address received by the routing stack are routed based on the routing table.

Claims

1. A system for communicating with a plurality of application instances executing on a cluster of data processing systems having a plurality of communication protocol stacks associated therewith utilizing a single Internet Protocol (IP) address, comprising:

a routing communication protocol stack configured to receive communications to the single IP address and to forward to the received communications to a selected communication protocol stack from the plurality of communication protocol stacks;

a destination port table associated with the routing communication protocol stack which identifies communication protocol stacks having application instances bound to the single IP address and listening to a predefined port of the single IP address; and

a current routing table associated with the routing communication protocol stack which identifies routing paths from the routing communication protocol stack to a communication protocol stack associated with a connection utilizing the single IP address and the predefined port.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the routing communication protocol stack is further configured to build the destination port table based on status messages received from communication protocol stacks of the plurality of communication protocol stacks having application instances bound to the single IP address and listening to a predefined port of the single IP address in response to distribution by the routing communication protocol stack of an identification of the single IP address and the predefined port as a routable IP address.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the routing communication protocol stack is further configured to incorporate into the current routing table routing paths associated with new connection messages received by the routing communication protocol stack from communication protocol stacks which initiate connections utilizing the single IP address and the predefined port as a source address.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the routing communication protocol stack is further configured to receive requests for connections to the single IP address and the predefined port, select communication protocol stacks for the connections from the destination port table and update the current routing table with path information associated with the connections and the selected communication protocol stacks.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the routing communication protocol stack is further configured to receive connection termination messages from communication protocol stacks which detect termination of connections utilizing the single IP address and predefined port and to update the current routing table to remove routing paths associated with the terminated connections.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the predefined port comprises a plurality of predefined ports identified in a port list associated with the single IP address.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the predefined port comprises all ports associated with the single IP address.