Methods and apparatus for event distribution in messaging systems

• US 7,817,544 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2007
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Zhang, Huiping, Zhu, Zhongwen
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung; Min
• Application Number:
  US11/963,996
• Publication Number:
  US 20090161548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,030 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/230.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2035 without idle spare hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5083 Techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for distributing events among a set of traffic processor in a telecommunication network. The methods and apparatus determines a traffic processor from the set of traffic processors with the lowest traffic load, the traffic load is determined for each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors based on a weighting factor, an event queue length of a traffic processors and a current traffic load. Events are re-distributed when a change occurs in the set of traffic processors. The re-distribution is based on a determination of an allowable event queue length for each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors, which is based on the current traffic load, an optimal traffic load and a maximum event queue length.

Claims

1. A method for distributing event delivery for a set of traffic processors in a telecommunication network, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining a status for each active traffic processors of the set of processors in the telecommunication network, by an event scheduler;

determining a traffic processor having the lowest traffic load from the set of traffic processors, based on the obtained status for each active traffic processor, the traffic load of each of the traffic processors being determined in accordance with a weighting factor, an event queue length and a current traffic load;

determining an allowable event queue length for each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors, the event queue length being a threshold for redistributing event delivery,; and

re-distributing, by an event scheduler, the event among the set of traffic processors starting with the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load and without exceeding each determined allowable event queue length.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining includes a step of detecting a failure in at least one traffic processor in the set of traffic processors, the at least one traffic processor being permanently or temporarily unavailable.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

sorting each traffic processor from the set of traffic processors from the traffic processors having the lowest traffic load to the traffic processor having a heavy traffic load; and

selecting an event group manager from the sorted set of traffic processors.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of sorting includes the steps of:

sorting each traffic processor from the set of traffic processors that remain from the failure; and

storing the results of the sorting in a database.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of determining the allowable event queue length further includes a step of storing the results of the determination in a database of the event group manager.

6. The method of claim 1, further including the step of selecting an event group manager, wherein the selected event group manager is the event scheduler that manages the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load of the set of traffic processors.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of traffic processors is a set of messaging servers.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the event scheduler manages one or more traffic processors.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the allowable event queue length comprises determining the allowable event queue length based on a current traffic load, an optimal traffic load and a maximum event queue length for each traffic processor.

10. A method for distributing event delivery for a set of traffic processors in a telecommunication network, the method comprising the steps of:

adding a traffic processor to the a set of traffic processors by an event scheduler;

obtaining a status for each active traffic processors of the set of processors in the telecommunication network;

determining at least one traffic processor having a heavy traffic load based on the obtained status for each active traffic processor, the traffic load of the at least one traffic processor being determined in accordance with a weighting factor, an event queue length and a current traffic load;

removing event delivery from the at least one traffic processor having the heavy traffic load to the added traffic processor;

determining an average of event queue length for each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors; and

re-distributing, by the event scheduler, the event delivery of each traffic processors having an event queue length over the determined average to each traffic processor having an event queue length under the determined average.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

determining a traffic processor having the lowest traffic load from the set of traffic processors, the traffic load being determined for each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors based on a weighting factor, an event queue length and a current traffic load;

sorting each traffic processor from the set of traffic processors from the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load to the traffic processor having the heavy traffic load; and

selecting the added traffic processor as the event scheduler for distributing event delivery among the set of traffic processors.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of determining the average includes a step of storing the results of the determination in a database of the event scheduler.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of determining the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load includes a step of storing the results of the determination in a database of the event scheduler.

14. A communication node for managing event delivery in a telecommunication network, the communication node comprising:

an event scheduler group for distributing event delivery to a set of traffic processors;

wherein the event scheduler group comprises an event scheduler group manager for managing the communication node and the set of traffic processors, obtaining a status for each active traffic processor of the set of traffic processors, determining a traffic processor having the lowest traffic load from the set of traffic processors, determining an allowable event queue length for each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors, the event queue length being a threshold for redistributing event delivery, re-distributing the event among the set of traffic processors starting with the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load and without exceeding each determined allowable event queue length, and wherein the event scheduler group manager determines the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load based on a weighting factor, an event queue length and a current traffic load.

15. The communication node of claim 14, wherein the event scheduler group selects an event scheduler group manager, the event group manager is an event scheduler that manages the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load of the set of traffic processors.

16. The communication node of claim 15, wherein the event scheduler group manager is elected based on the following:

Min<sub>inside—

group</sub>{δ

*TrafficLoad+(1−

δ

)*the_length_of_eventQueue},

with 0<

δ

<

1 and where δ

is the weighting factor.

17. The communication node of claim 14, wherein the event scheduler group manager determines the allowable event length for redistributing event delivery based on the current traffic load (L_c), (L_o) and an optimal/design traffic load (L_o):

18. The communication node of claim 14, wherein the event scheduler group manager detects a failure in at least one traffic processor in the set of traffic processors, the at least one traffic processor being permanently or temporarily unavailable.

19. The communication node of claim 14, wherein the event scheduler group manager adds a traffic processor to the set of traffic processors, selects the event scheduler of the added traffic processor as event scheduler group manager, obtains a status for each active traffic processors of the set of processors in the telecommunication network, determines the average of event queue length for each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors, determines a traffic processor having the lowest traffic load from the set of traffic processors, sorts each traffic processor from the set of traffic processors and re-distributing the event among each traffic processor of the set of traffic processors starting with the traffic processor having the lowest traffic load.

20. The communication node of claim 14, wherein the event scheduler manages one or more traffic processors.

21. The communication node of claim 14, wherein the communication node is a messaging system.

22. The communication node of claim 14, wherein the event scheduler group manager is further for sorting each traffic processor from the set of traffic processors from the traffic processors having the lowest traffic load to the traffic processor having a heavy traffic load, and selecting an event group manager from the sorted set of traffic processors.