Method and system for a failure recovery framework for interfacing with network-based auctions

• US 7,877,313 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2005
• Issued: 01/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Singh, Narinder
• Primary Examiner(s): Colbert; Ella
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shaikh; Mohammad Z
• Application Number:
  US11/026,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20060004649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,213 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 42
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A method of failure recovery is provided that includes providing an automatic failure recovery transaction in an auction application interacting with a network-based auction service. The network-based auction service has a forward-only process that is adapted to prevent roll-back to a process state at a time of a failure. If the failure occurs within the forward-only process, the method includes automatically conducting a roll-back to a beginning of the forward-only process by the auction application. A computer readable medium is provided that includes instructions adapted to execute a method for failure recovery.

Claims

1. A method of failure recovery using an automatic failure recovery transaction, comprising:

providing, using a computer processor, a network-based auction service, the network-based auction service having a forward-only process that prevents a roll-back to a process state at a time of a failure and allows forward-only screen prompts;

providing, using the computer processor, a business information management system that contains product to be listed in auctions on the network-based auction service;

providing, using the computer processor, an auction application separate from the network-based auction service, the auction application to integrate the network-based auction service and the business information management system and to provide the automatic failure recovery transaction for the forward-only process of the network-based auction service;

defining, using the computer processor, a plurality of milestones in the automatic failure recovery transaction of the auction application, wherein each milestone is a point in the forward-only process that transaction state information is saved;

providing, using the computer processor, by the network-based auction service, access to the forward-only process to a user;

saving, using the computer processor, entries and responses made by the user, by the auction application, upon completion of each milestone as part of the transaction state information;

after a failure occurs within the forward-only process of the network-based auction service, automatically, using the computer processor conducting a roll-back to a beginning of the forward-only process by the auction application;

automatically inputting, using the computer processor, by the auction application, recorded entries and responses to the forward-only process in the network-based auction service to move the forward-only process forward from the beginning until a saved milestone in the forward-only process closest to the failure;

resuming, using the computer processor the forward-only process in the network-based auction service from the saved milestone closest to the failure;

resuming, using the computer processor, the forward only process in the network-based auction service from the saved milestone closest to failure, and

providing, using the computer processor, access to the resumed forward-only process in the network-based auction service to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one roll-back period corresponds to a defined discrete process transaction through an auction process.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one roll-back period comprises at least one of a reservation creation, a publishing operation, a receiving of a winner notification, a linking of a winner information to a backend, and an order creation operation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the auction application implements a recovery manager to manage the automatic failure recovery transaction, and the recovery manager models the forward-only process as a series of steps by each milestone and tracks how far the forward-only process has successfully executed.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the recovery manager tracks entries and responses for the forward-only process by maintaining a state holder.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the recovery manager incorporates a milestone for each step and the state holder is updated upon completion of each milestone.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the auction application acts as a bridge to link the network-based auction service to the business information management system, the network-based auction service provides web auction services to users and the business information management system acts as a backend system.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction state information is saved to a database of the auction application at each milestone.

4. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions adapted to execute a method using an automatic failure recovery transaction for failure recovery, the method comprising:

providing a network-based auction service, the network-based auction having a forward-only process that prevents a roll-back to a process state at a time of a failure and allows forward-only screen prompts;

providing a business information management system that contains product to be listed in auctions on the network-based auction service;

providing an auction application separate from the network-based auction service, the auction application to integrate the network-based auction service and the business information management system and to provide the automatic failure recovery transaction for the forward-only process of the network-based auction service;

defining a plurality of milestones in the automatic failure recovery transaction of the auction application, wherein each milestone is a point in the forward-only process that transaction state information is saved;

providing, by the network-based auction service, access to the forward-only process to a user;

saving entries and responses made by the user, by the auction application, upon completion of each milestone as part of the transaction state information;

after a failure occurs within the forward-only process of the network-based auction service, automatically conducting a roll-back to a beginning of the forward-only process by the auction application;

automatically inputting, by the auction application, recorded entries and responses to the forward-only process in the network-based auction service to move the forward-only process forward from the beginning until a saved milestone in the forward-only process closest to the failure;

resuming the forward-only process in the network-based auction service from the saved milestone closest to the failure; and

providing access to the resumed forward-only process in the network-based auction service to the user.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein auction application implements a recovery manager to manage the automatic failure recovery transaction, and the recovery manager models the forward-only process as a series of steps by each milestone and tracks how far the forward-only process has successfully executed.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the recovery manager tracks entries and responses for the forward-only process by maintaining a state holder.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the recovery manager incorporates a milestone for each step and the state holder is updated upon completion of each milestone.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein at least one roll-back period corresponds to a defined discrete process transaction through an auction process.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the at least one roll-back period comprises at least one of a reservation creation, a publishing operation, a receiving of a winner notification, a linking of a winner information to a backend, and an order creation operation.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the auction application acts as a bridge to link the network-based auction service to the business information management system, the network-based auction service provides web auction services to users and the business information management system acts as a backend system.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the transaction state information is saved to a database of the auction.