Distributed request and response queues for service processor

• US 7,516,176 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2007
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Upton, Mitch, Potter, Timothy A., Golding, Christa
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US11/684,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20070150598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-203, 709206-207, 709217-219, 709225-226, 370/392, 370/401, 707201-204
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Highly-available processing of an asynchronous request can be accomplished in a single transaction. A distributed request queue receives a service request from a client application or application view client. A service processor is deployed on each node of a cluster containing the distributed request queue. A service processor pulls the service request from the request queue and invokes the service for the request, such as to an enterprise information system. If that service processor fails, another service processor in the cluster can service the request. The service processor receives a service response from the invoked service and forwards the service response to a distributed response queue. The distributed response queue holds the service response until the response is retrieved for the client application.

Claims

1. A system for high-availability processing of asynchronous requests in a single transaction, comprising:

a request queue for receiving and storing a service request;

a first service processor, if the first service processor is available, the first service processor pulls the service request from the request queue and invokes the service for the service request, and the first service processor receiving a service response for the service request from the invoked service; and

wherein if the first service processor is unavailable, a second service processor pulls the service request from the request queue and invokes the service for the service request, the second service processor receiving a service response for the service request from the invoked service;

a response queue for receiving the service response from the first or second service processor and storing the service response.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an enterprise information system containing the service invoked by the service processor.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

said service processor is packaged as a message-driven Enterprise JavaBean.

4. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an application view client for sending the service request to the request queue and retrieving the service response from the distributed response queue on behalf of a client application.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein:

said application view client can generate failure recovery semantics for the client application.

6. A system according to claim 4, wherein:

the response queue is adapted to store the service response until the response is retrieved by the application view client.

7. A system according to claim 4, wherein:

said application view is adapted to determine whether any service responses are waiting in the response queue for the client application.

8. A system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a client identifier for identifying the client application, the client identifier used to process the service request and service response for the client application.

9. A system for according to claim 4, wherein:

said application view client passes the service request to the request queue in a request document.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein:

said application view further passes a service response listener with the request document, the service response listener adapted to listen for the service response corresponding to the service request document.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

said service processor is deployed on a node in a cluster.

12. A system according to claim 11, further comprising:

additional service processors, each additional service processor deployed on different node in the cluster.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein:

the additional service processors are adapted to listen to the request queue for a service request, each of the additional service processors capable of pulling the service request from the request queue and invoking the service for the service request if the service processor is unavailable.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

said first or second service processor further encapsulates the service response into a service response object that is sent to the response queue.

15. A method for high-availability processing of asynchronous requests in a single transaction, comprising:

receiving a service request to a request queue from a client application;

if a first service processor is available pulling the service request from the request queue to the first service processor and invoking a service for the service request; and

receiving the service response from the invoked service to a response queue and storing the service response until retrieval from a client application;

wherein if the first service processor is unavailable, a second service processor pulls the service request from the request queue and invokes the service for the service request, the second service processor receiving a service response for the service request from the invoked service.

16. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

executing the invoked service using an enterprise information system.

17. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

deploying an additional service processor on each node of the cluster containing the service processor.

18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising:

listening to the request queue using with the service processor and any additional service processors.

19. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

packaging the service processor as a message-driven Enterprise JavaBean.

20. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

using an application view client to send service requests and receive service responses on behalf of the client application.

21. A method according to claim 20, further comprising:

generating failure recovery semantics using the application view client.

22. A method according to claim 15, further comprising:

assigning a client identifier to the service request to be used in processing the service request and service response.

23. A method according to claim 15, wherein:

the step of sending a service request includes passing a request document and response listener to the service processor.

24. A computer readable storage medium including code for execution by a server computer for high-availability processing of asynchronous requests in a single transaction, comprising:

computer code for receiving a service request to a distributed request queue from a client application;

computer code if a first service processor is available for pulling the service request from the request queue to a first service processor and invoking a service for the service requests; and

for receiving the service response from the invoked service to a response queue and storing the service response until retrieval from a client application;

wherein if the first service processor is unavailable, a second service processor pulls the service request from the request queue and invokes the service for the service request, the second service processor receiving a service response for the service request from the invoked service.