System and method for managing multiple application server clusters using a hierarchical data object and a multi-parameter representation for each configuration property
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a plurality of server nodes communicatively coupled on a network of computer systems to serve applications over the network to a plurality of clients, the computer systems each having a processor and a memory and the plurality of server nodes organized as instances, each instance including at least one server process running in at least one of the computer system memories;
a data object to store a hierarchical representation of configuration data associated with management of the server nodes, the data object accessible by all of the servers and the hierarchy having a first subset of nodes containing configuration data associated with all of the servers, a second subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to all servers of a first instance and a third subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to a first server of the first instance;
a property sheet logically positioned at one of the nodes of the data object, the property sheet data structure including a plurality of property names, wherein each respective property name included in the property sheet data structure is associated with a default configuration value and, optionally, a custom configuration value to pair the default configuration value to the custom configuration value for updating a configuration parameter represented in the data object, wherein the property sheet data structure preserves both the default configuration value and the custom configuration value; and
a configuration manager on at least one of the server nodes to update configuration data stored on the at least one server node based on the location of an updated configuration parameter within the hierarchy, wherein all servers are to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the first subset of nodes, all servers of the first instance are to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the second subset of nodes and only the first server is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the third subset of nodes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for managing a plurality of server nodes. In one embodiment, the server nodes are organized as “instances.” Each instance includes a group of redundant server processes (e.g., J2EE server nodes) and a dispatcher process (e.g., a J2EE dispatcher node) for distributing service requests to one or more of the server nodes. In addition, a central message passing architecture is defined which allows the various instances to communicate with one another. In one embodiment, a hierarchical configuration data object is stored within a database and is centrally accessible by all of the servers from all of the instances. The hierarchical configuration data object organizes configuration data and binary data in a logical hierarchy which simplifies server node management in an enterprise network. At the bottom of the logical hierarchy, configuration parameters are stored within a property sheet data structure. Each configuration parameter is represented within the property sheet data structure by a property name, a default parameter and a custom parameter. Even when a custom configuration parameter is entered in the property sheet, the default parameter is preserved.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a plurality of server nodes communicatively coupled on a network of computer systems to serve applications over the network to a plurality of clients, the computer systems each having a processor and a memory and the plurality of server nodes organized as instances, each instance including at least one server process running in at least one of the computer system memories; a data object to store a hierarchical representation of configuration data associated with management of the server nodes, the data object accessible by all of the servers and the hierarchy having a first subset of nodes containing configuration data associated with all of the servers, a second subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to all servers of a first instance and a third subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to a first server of the first instance; a property sheet logically positioned at one of the nodes of the data object, the property sheet data structure including a plurality of property names, wherein each respective property name included in the property sheet data structure is associated with a default configuration value and, optionally, a custom configuration value to pair the default configuration value to the custom configuration value for updating a configuration parameter represented in the data object, wherein the property sheet data structure preserves both the default configuration value and the custom configuration value; and a configuration manager on at least one of the server nodes to update configuration data stored on the at least one server node based on the location of an updated configuration parameter within the hierarchy, wherein all servers are to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the first subset of nodes, all servers of the first instance are to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the second subset of nodes and only the first server is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the third subset of nodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method comprising:
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storing within a computer system memory a data object providing a hierarchical representation of configuration data associated with management of a plurality of server nodes organized as instances, each instance including at least one server process, the data object accessible by all of the servers and the hierarchy having a first subset of nodes containing configuration data associated with all of the servers, a second subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to all servers of a first instance and a third subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to a first server of the first instance; providing one or more property sheets at one or more of the nodes, each of the property sheets including a plurality of configuration parameters associated with the server nodes, each parameter associated with a name, a default configuration value and optionally a custom configuration value; pairing the default configuration value with a custom configuration value to update one of the configuration parameters in response to a user specifying a custom value, wherein both the default configuration value and the custom configuration value are preserved by the property sheet; and determining whether to update the configuration data stored on one of the server nodes based on the location of the updated configuration parameter within the hierarchy, wherein configuration data of all servers is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the first subset of nodes, configuration data of all servers of the first instance is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the second subset of nodes and configuration data of only the first server is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the third subset of nodes. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for updating configuration settings for a plurality of server nodes organized as instances, each instance including at least one server process, comprising:
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storing, in a computer system memory, a data object providing a hierarchical representation of configuration data associated with management of the server nodes, the data object accessible by all of the servers and the hierarchy having a first subset of nodes containing configuration data associated with all of the servers, a second subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to all servers of a first instance and a third subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to a first server of the first instance; providing one or more property sheets at one or more of the nodes, each of the property sheets including a plurality of configuration parameters associated with the server nodes, each parameter associated with a name, a default configuration value and optionally a custom configuration value; pairing the default configuration value with a custom configuration value to update one of the configuration parameters in response to a user specifying a custom value, wherein both the default configuration value and the custom configuration value are preserved by the property sheet; communicating an indication of the configuration parameter update to one or more other server nodes; determining whether to update configuration data stored on the other server nodes based on the location of the updated configuration parameter within the hierarchy, wherein configuration data of all servers is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the first subset of nodes, configuration data of all servers of the first instance is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the second subset of nodes and configuration data of only the first server is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the third subset of nodes; and downloading the updated configuration parameter from the central database to the other server nodes if it is determined that the configuration data stored on the other server nodes is to be updated. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A computer-readable medium having a set of instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method comprising:
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storing within a data object, a hierarchical representation of configuration data associated with management of a plurality of server nodes organized as instances, each instance including at least one server process, the data object accessible by all of the servers and the hierarchy having a first subset of nodes containing configuration data associated with all of the servers, a second subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to all servers of a first instance and a third subset of nodes containing configuration data specific to a first server of the first instance; providing one or more property sheets at one or more of the nodes, each of the property sheets including a plurality of configuration parameters associated with the server nodes, each parameter associated with a name, a default configuration value and optionally a custom configuration value; pairing the default configuration value with a custom configuration value to update one of the configuration parameters in response to a user specifying a custom value, wherein both the default configuration value and the custom configuration value are preserved by the property sheet; and determining whether to update the configuration data stored on one of the server nodes based on the location of the updated configuration parameter within the hierarchy, wherein configuration data of all servers is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the first subset of nodes, configuration data of all servers of the first instance is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the second subset of nodes and configuration data of only the first server is to be updated in response to an updated configuration parameter within the third subset of nodes. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification