Proxy response apparatus

• US 7,518,983 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2003
• Issued: 04/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yokota, Daisuke, Noda, Fumio
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Chi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Faroul; Farah
• Application Number:
  US10/703,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20040221207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,985 Days
• Field of Search: 370/216, 370/217, 370/218, 370/219, 370/220
• US Class Current: 370/216
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2023 Failover techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2035 without idle spare hardware

Abstract

A proxy response apparatus is equipped with a module that obtains and retains request messages and response messages exchanged between a client and main and backup servers, a module for detecting a failure in the main server, a module for sending to the backup server requests retained when a failure occurs in the main server, a module for receiving responses from the backup server, a module for detecting communications status between the client and the main server at the time the failure occurred, and a module for responding in place of the main server in order to resume communicating state from the previous state.

Claims

1. A proxy response apparatus connected to a client and a first and second server through a communications network, the proxy response apparatus comprising:

a monitoring module that monitors occurrence of a failure in the first server that is processing request messages from the client;

a storing module that obtains packets composing a request message and a corresponding response message that are exchanged between the first server and the client from the communications network and stores the packets until receiving a disconnection request packet; and

a managing module that refers the packets that are stored by the storing module when said monitoring module detects occurrence of a failure in the first server, obtains a response packet that has not been sent to the client from the second server, and sends the response packet to the client.

2. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the managing module comprises a module that receives a new request packet from the client and sends the new request packet to the second server without having a failure.

3. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the managing module comprises a module that receives a response packet corresponding to the new request packet from the second server without having a failure, and sends the response packet to the client.

4. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the managing module comprises a module that sends to the second server without having a failure a request packet which has been sent from the client but has not been responded by the first server, and a module that receives from the second server without having a failure a response packet corresponding to the request packet and sends the response packet to the client.

5. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the managing module rewrites a transmission source address of the response packet to an address of the first server that has a failure, and sends the response packet to the second server.

6. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a storage module that stores addresses of the first and second servers, wherein the transmission source address of the response packet is found by referring to the addresses of the first and second servers stored in the storage module.

7. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the module that sends to the second server without having a failure the request packet which has not been responded rewrites a transmission source address of the request packet to an address of the proxy response apparatus, and sends the request packet to the second server without having a failure.

8. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an obtaining and accumulating module that obtains and accumulates packets exchanged between the client and the first and second servers, and a restoring module that, when the monitoring module that monitors occurrence of a failure detects occurrence of a failure in the first server, uses the packets accumulated in the obtaining and accumulating module to restore a state of the first server of at the time of occurrence of the failure with the second server without having a failure.

9. A proxy response apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the restoring module comprises:

a module that, when the failure is detected in the first server, rewrites a transmission destination address of packets that have been transmitted from the client among the packets accumulated in the obtaining and accumulating module to an address of the second server without having a failure, and sends the packets to the second server without having a failure;

a module that receives a response packet sent from the second server without having a failure; and

a recognition module that recognizes, among the plurality of response packets, packets that have been already sent from the first server that has the failure to the client.

10. A network system having one client and a first and second server connected via a communications network, the network system comprising:

at least one load distribution device connected to the first and second servers; and

a proxy response apparatus that, when a failure occurs in the first server that is processing a request message sent from the client, makes the second server without having a failure continue processing the request message, and sends to the client response packets that are results of processing the request message executed by the second server,

wherein the at least one load distribution device comprises a module that, when the failure occurs in the first server that is processing the request message sent from at least one client, makes the second server without having a failure process a new request message sent from the client,

the proxy response apparatus comprises;

a monitoring module that monitors occurrence of a failure in the first server;

a storing module that obtains packets composing a request message and a corresponding response message that are exchanged between the first server and the client and stores the packets until receiving a disconnection request packet; and

a managing module that refers the packets that are stored by the storing module when a failure is detected by the monitoring module in the first server, obtains a response packet that has not been sent to the client from the second server without having a failure, and sends the response packet to the client,

wherein the managing module that obtains the response packet rewrites a transmission source destination of the request message to an address of the proxy response apparatus.

11. A network system having a client and a first and second server connected via a communications network, the network system comprising:

a proxy response apparatus that, when a failure occurs in the first server that is processing a request message sent from the client, makes the second server without having a failure continue processing the request message, and sends to the client a response packet that is a result of processing the request message executed by the second server;

at least one load distribution device that, when the failure occurs in the first server that is processing the request message sent from the client, makes the second server without having a failure process a new request message sent from the client.

12. A network system according to claim 11, wherein the proxy response apparatus comprises:

a monitoring module that monitors occurrence of a failure in the first and second servers;

a storing module that obtains packets composing a request message and a corresponding response message that are exchanged between the first and second servers and the client and stores the packets until receiving a disconnection request packet; and

a managing module that refers the packets are stored by the storing module when said monitoring module detects occurrence of a failure in the first server, obtains a response packet that has not been sent to the client from the second server without having a failure, and sends the response packet to the client.

13. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus that is connected to a client and a first and second server through a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring occurrence of a failure in the first server that is processing request messages from the client;

obtaining from the communications network packets composing a request message and a corresponding response message that are exchanged between the first server and the client and storing the packets; and

operating the proxy response apparatus to obtain, when occurrence of a failure in the first and second servers is detected, a response packet that has not been sent to the client from the second server without having a failure, and send the response packet to the client.

14. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the step of operating the proxy response apparatus includes the steps of receiving a new request packet from the client, and sending the new request packet to the first and second servers without having a failure.

15. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the step of operating the proxy response apparatus includes the steps of receiving a response packet corresponding to the new request packet from the second server without having a failure, and sending the response packet to the client.

16. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the step of operating the proxy response apparatus includes the steps of sending to the second server without having a failure a request packet which has been sent from the client but has not been responded by the first server, and receiving from the second server without having a failure a response packet corresponding to the request packet and sending the response packet to the client.

17. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the step of operating the proxy response apparatus includes the steps of rewriting a transmission source address of the response packet to an address of the second server that has the failure, and sending the response packet to the second server.

18. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising the steps of storing addresses of the first and second servers, wherein the transmission source address of the response packet is found by referring to the addresses of the first and second servers stored in the storage module.

19. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the step of sending to the second server without having a failure the request packet which has not been responded includes the steps of rewriting a transmission source address of the request packet to an address of the proxy response apparatus, and sending the request packet to the second server without having a failure.

20. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining and accumulating packets exchanged between the client and the first and second servers, and when the module that monitors occurrence of a failure detects occurrence of a failure in the first server; and

restoring a state of the first server at the time of occurrence of the failure with the second server without having a failure by using the packets accumulated.

21. A method for operating a proxy response apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the step of restoring comprises the steps of:

when the failure is detected in the first server, rewriting a transmission destination address of packets that have been transmitted from the client among the packets accumulated to an address of the second server without having a failure, and sending the packets to the second server without having a failure;

receiving response packets sent from the second server without having a failure; and

recognizing, among the response packets, packets that have been already sent from the first server that has the failure to the client.