Load balancer management

• US 7,590,989 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2005
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Meltzer, Adam B, Yim, Wing Man
• Primary Examiner(s): Hyung; Sough
• Assistant Examiner(s): Truong; Lechi
• Application Number:
  US11/178,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011685A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,530 Days
• Field of Search: 719/328, 718/328, 718/105, 709/224
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5083 Techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system

Abstract

Load balancer management is described herein. In one implementation a load balancer system includes servers for hosting content on a network site, disparate load balancers that manage the servers to substantially balance data communications across the servers, and a load balancer management service which includes an application program interface (API) that provides for universal communication with the different interfaces of the disparate load balancers. Each of the disparate load balancers may be controlled via a different interface. The API is configured to receive an instruction set to manage the disparate load balancers, and to communicate the instruction set as translated instruction sets to each of the disparate load balancers via the respective different interfaces. The load balancer management service can be implemented as a Web-based service.

Claims

1. A load balancer system comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

servers configured to host content for a network site;

disparate load balancers configured to manage data communications for one or more of the servers such that the data communications are substantially balanced across the servers, each of the disparate load balancers further configured to be controlled via a respective different interface of different interfaces, wherein the each of the disparate load balancers manages traffic to the one or more of the servers;

a load balancer management service including an application program interface (API) on the memory that provides universal communication with the different interfaces of the disparate load balancers, the API configured to receive an instruction set to manage the disparate load balancers, the API further configured to communicate the instruction set as translated instruction sets to the disparate load balancers, wherein each respective translated instruction set of the translated instruction sets is communicated to the each of the disparate load balancers via the respective different interface such that the respective different interface processes the each respective translated instruction set that corresponds to the respective different interface to control the each of the disparate load balancers, wherein the instruction set includes instructions for taking a server of the servers offline and instructions for placing a server of the servers online,

wherein the load balancer management service includes translation modules configured to translate on the processor the instruction set received by the API into the translated instruction sets that are each recognized by the respective different interface of the each of the disparate load balancers,

wherein the servers are Web servers and the network site is a web-site and wherein the load balancer management service is implement as a Web-based service, and

wherein the load balancer management service includes a graphical user interface via which a user develops a custom automation script to communicate with the different interfaces via the API to manage the disparate load balancers.

2. A load balancer system as recited in claim 1, wherein the load balancer management service includes the graphical user interface via which the user can enter the instruction set to manage the each of the disparate load balancers via the different interfaces.

3. A load balancer system as recited in claim 1, wherein the load balancer management service is implemented as the Web-based service, and wherein the user can utilize the Web-based service to develop a custom application configured to communicate with the different interfaces via the API to manage the disparate load balancers.

4. A load balancer system as recited in claim 1, wherein the load balancer management service is implemented as the Web-based service, and wherein the user can utilize the Web-based service to develop a custom graphical user interface to communicate with the different interfaces via the API to manage the disparate load balancers.

5. A method comprising:

configuring servers to host content for a network site;

configuring a plurality of disparate load balancers to manage data communications for one or more of the servers such that the data communications are substantially balanced across the servers;

receiving a unified instruction set to manage the plurality of the disparate load balancers via an application program interface (API) of a load balancer management service, wherein the application program interface (API) that provides universal communication with different interfaces of the disparate load balancers, wherein each of the disparate load balancers is controlled via each respective different interface of different interfaces, and wherein the each of the disparate load balancers manages traffic to the one or more of the servers;

translating the unified instruction set by a processor into translated instruction sets that each respective translated instruction set of the translated instruction sets corresponds to the each respective different interface such that the each respective different interface processes the each respective translated instruction set to control the each of the disparate load balancers, wherein the unified instruction set comprises instructions for taking a sewer of the severs offline and instructions for placing a sewer of the servers online; and

communicating the each respective translated instruction set of the translated instruction sets to the each of the disparate load balancers by using the API via the each respective different interface to collectively manage the plurality of the disparate load balancers,

wherein the load balancer management service includes translation modules configured to translate the unified instruction set received by the API into the translated instruction sets that are each recognized by the each respective different interface of the each of the disparate load balancers,

wherein the servers are Web servers and the network site is a web-site and wherein the load balancer management service is implement as a Web-based service, and

wherein the load balancer management service includes a graphical user interface via which a user develops a custom automation script to communicate with the different interfaces via the API to manage the disparate load balancers.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, further comprising managing the Web servers via the disparate load balancers in accordance with the unified instruction set such that data processing and the data communications are substantially balanced across the Web servers.

7. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the Web-based service which is accessible via an internet to collectively manage the disparate load balancers with the unified instruction set.

8. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the user enters the unified instruction set to manage the disparate load balancers via the API.

9. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the user uses the custom automation script to manage the disparate load balancers via the API.

10. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the user uses a custom graphical user interface to manage the disparate load balancers via the API.

11. A computer readable storage media comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, direct a load balancer system to perform acts comprising:

configuring servers to host content for a network site;

configuring dissimilar model load balancers to manage data communications for one or more of the servers such that the data communications are substantially balanced across the servers;

receiving a unified instruction set to manage a plurality of the dissimilar model load balancers via an application program interface (API) of a load balancer management service, wherein the application program interface (API) that provides universal communication with different interfaces of the dissimilar model load balancers, wherein each of the dissimilar model load balancers is controlled via a respective different interface of the different interfaces, and wherein the each of the dissimilar model load balancers manages traffic to the one or more of the servers;

translating the unified instruction set by the processor into translated instruction sets, wherein each respective translated instruction set of the translated instruction sets corresponds to the respective different interface such that the respective different interface processes the each respective translated instruction set to control the each of the dissimilar model load balancers, and wherein the unified instruction set comprises instructions for taking a server of the servers offline and instructions for placing a server of the servers online;

communicating the each respective translated instruction set of the translated instruction sets to the each of the dissimilar model load balancers by using the API via the respective different interface to collectively manage the plurality of the dissimilar model load balancers,

wherein the load balancer management service includes translation modules configured to translate the unified instruction set received by the API into the translated instruction sets that are each recognized by the respective different interface of the each of the dissimilar model load balancers;

wherein the servers are Web servers and the network site is a web-site and wherein the load balancer management service is implement as a Web-based service, and

wherein the load balancer management service includes a graphical user interface via which a user develops a custom automation script to communicate with the different interfaces via the API to manage the dissimilar model load balancers.

12. A computer readable storage media as recited in claim 11, further comprising directing the load balancing management service to implement the graphical user interface via which the user manages the dissimilar model load balancers to substantially balance data processing and the data communications across the servers that are controlled by the dissimilar model load balancers.

13. A computer readable storage media as recited in claim 11, further comprising directing the load balancer management service to implement the graphical user interface via which the user develops at least one of the custom automation script or a custom graphical user interface to manage the plurality of the dissimilar model load balancers.

14. A computer readable storage media as recited in claim 11, further comprising directing the load balancer management service to manage the Web servers that are each controlled by one or more of the dissimilar model load balancers via the API of the load balancer management service.