Restoring user states in dynamic computing environments

• US 7,861,108 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2006
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Workday Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: McDonough, Timothy N., Leech, Phillip A., Baker, Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): GUYTON, PHILIP A
• Application Number:
  US11/588,976
• Publication Number:
  US 20080155308A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,523 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4, 718/1
• US Class Current: 714/4.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5016 Session
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/503 Resource availability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1027 Persistence of sessions during load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70

Abstract

In some embodiments, a computer network comprises a computing engine comprising a plurality of compute nodes and a load balancer coupled to the computing engine and coupled to a processor and a memory module, wherein the memory module comprises logic instructions which, when executed by the processor, configure the processor to receive, in the load balancer, a connection request from a first client computing device and a corresponding first persistence identifier for computing services provided by a first compute node managed by the load balancer, restore, on the first compute node, a stored computing session when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored computing session, initiate, on the first compute node, a generic computing session when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored computing session, and assign the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute node.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of compute nodes; and

a load balancer in communication with the plurality of compute nodes and programmed to;

receive a connection request from a first client computing device and receive a corresponding first persistence identifier for a virtualized operating system instance from the first client computing device, the virtualized operating system instance is to enable the first client computing device to execute application programs on a first one of the compute nodes;

restore, on the first compute node, a stored virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance;

initiate, on the first compute node, a new virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored virtualized operating system instance;

assign the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute node;

receive a connection disable request from the first compute node, wherein the connection disable request identifies the first compute node; and

store a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the load balancer is to associate the persistence identifier with the first compute node.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the load balancer is to transmit an instruction set representing the virtualized operating system instance to the first compute node.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein the load balancer is to set the state of the first compute node status as available.

5. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of compute nodes; and

a load balancer in communication with the plurality of compute nodes and programmed to;

receive a connection request from a first client computing device and receive a corresponding first persistence identifier for a virtualized operating system instance from the first client computing device, the virtualized operating system instance is to enable the first client computing device to execute application programs on a first one of the compute nodes;

restore, on the first compute node, a stored virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance;

initiate, on the first compute node, a new virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored virtualized operating system instance;

assign the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute node;

detect a disabled connection associated with the first compute node; and

store a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance.

6. A method comprising:

receiving a connection request from a first client computing device and receiving a corresponding first persistence identifier for a virtualized operating system instance from the first client computing device, the virtualized operating system instance is to enable the first client computing device to execute application programs on a first of a plurality of compute nodes;

restoring, on the first compute node, a stored virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance;

initiating, on the first compute node, a new virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored virtualized operating system instance;

assigning the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute node;

detecting a disabled connection associated with the first compute node; and

storing a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising associating the persistence identifier with the first compute node.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising transmitting an instruction set representing the virtualized operating system instance to the first compute node.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising setting the state of the first compute node status as available.

10. A method comprising:

receiving a connection request from a first client computing device and receiving a corresponding first persistence identifier for a virtualized operating system instance from the first client computing device, the virtualized operating system instance is to enable the first client computing device to execute application programs on a first of a plurality of compute nodes;

restoring, on the first compute node, a stored virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance;

initiating, on the first compute node, a new virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored virtualized operating system instance;

assigning the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute node;

receiving a connection disable request from the first compute node, wherein the connection disable request identifies the first compute node; and

storing a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, in response to the connection disable request, saving session information for the first client computing device in the stored virtualized operating system instance.

12. A tangible article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium storing machine readable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to:

receive a connection request from a first client computing device and receive a corresponding first persistence identifier for a virtualized operating system instance from the first client computing device, the virtualized operating system instance is to enable the first client computing device to execute application programs on a first of a plurality of compute nodes;

restore, on the first compute node, a stored virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance;

initiate, on the first compute node, a new virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored virtualized operating system instance;

assign the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute node;

receive a connection disable request from the first compute node, wherein the connection disable request identifies the first compute node; and

store a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance.

13. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to associate in memory the persistence identifier with the first compute node.

14. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 12, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to transmit an instruction set representing the virtualized operating system instance to the first compute node.

15. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 14, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to set the state of the first compute node status as available.

16. A tangible article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium storing machine readable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to:

receive a connection request from a first client computing device and receive a corresponding first persistence identifier for a virtualized operating system instance from the first client computing device, the virtualized operating system instance is to enable the first client computing device to execute application programs on a first of a plurality of compute nodes;

restore, on the first compute node, a stored virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance;

initiate, on the first compute node, a new virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored virtualized operating system instance;

assign the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute node;

detect a disabled connection wherein the connection was associated with the first compute node; and

store a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a computer-readable medium to store a virtualized operating system instance, the virtualized operating system instance to enable a first client computing device to execute application programs on a first compute node of a plurality of compute nodes;

a load balancer programmed to;

receive a connection request and a corresponding first persistence identifier for the virtualized operating system instance from the first client computing device;

instruct the first compute node to retrieve the stored virtualized operating system instance from the computer-readable medium when the first persistence identifier is associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance;

initiate, on the first compute node, a new virtualized operating system instance when the first persistence identifier is not associated with any stored virtualized operating system instance;

assign the connection request from the first client computing device to the first compute Node; and

store a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system when a connection disable request is received from the first compute node, the connection disable request identifying the first compute node.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the load balancer is to:

detect a disabled connection associated with the first compute node; and

store a state change associated with the stored virtualized operating system instance.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the load balancer is to transmit an instruction set representing the virtualized operating system instance to the first compute node.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the load balancer is to set the state of the first compute node status as available.