Session information inheriting method and apparatus

• US 7,953,790 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2003
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ikarashi, Masahiro, Nunoya, Satoru, Izumidate, Hirokazu, Amano, Tomio
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates; Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fritz; Bradford F
• Application Number:
  US10/389,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20030187871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,000 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 709/203, 709/201
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method is disclosed to maintain session continuity between a browser and an initial server in a cluster when the browser is transferred from the initial server to a different server and returned thereafter to the original server.

Claims

1. A method of inheriting session information when a client browser is piloted from one web application server of a plurality of web application servers of one web site to another web site, and back to the one web application server of the plurality of web application servers of said one web site, the method comprising:

receiving by an authentication server of the one web site an initial request to access the one web site by the client browser, the authentication server presenting one IP address to the client browser for accessing the one web site, and the authentication server further authorizing the initial request;

forwarding, by the authentication server, the initial request via a first cluster address of a plurality of cluster addresses to a load balancing server of the one web site, the plurality of cluster addresses being cluster addresses of the load balancing server, and wherein requests received at the load balancing server via the first cluster address are forwarded by the load balancing server to one web application server of the plurality of web application servers according to a load balancing strategy, the load balancing server selectively addressing each web application server of the plurality of web application servers of the one web site, each web application server of the plurality of web application servers comprising a web application, a first redirect application and a second redirect application, the first redirect application accepting requests to begin a web application session, and the second redirect application accepting requests to restore a web application session upon return by the client browser to the one web site;

dispatching, by the load balancing server, the initial request to the one web application server of the plurality of web application servers of the one web site;

subsequent to receipt of the initial request at the one web application server, generating via a first redirect application executing on the one web application server a redirect response setting therein a second cluster address of the plurality of cluster addresses of the load balancing server for redirecting the client browser on the basis of the second cluster address, the second cluster address being a virtual address of the load balancing server, the second cluster address being associated by the load balancing server with the one web application server, and the load balancing server directing requests addressed to the second cluster address through the load balancing server to the one web application server;

transmitting the redirect response comprising the set second cluster address to the client browser;

responsive to receipt of the redirect response at the client browser, setting at the client browser the second cluster address in a cookie associated with the one IP address of the authentication server; and

receiving another request from the client browser, the client browser having been piloted back to the one web site from the another web site, the another request comprising the cookie associated with the one IP address, the another request being forwarded by the load balancing server via the first cluster address to another web application server of the plurality of web application servers, the another web application server, on the basis of receiving the cookie comprising the second cluster address, executing the second redirect application to generate another redirect response for redirecting the client browser via the second cluster address back to the one web application server for resuming the web application session, wherein the another redirect response, when received by the client browser, causes an automatic browser refresh to redirect the client browser via the second cluster address back to the one web application server.

2. The method of inheriting session information according to claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring, by the another web application server, the second cluster address from the received cookie; and

recognizing, by the another web application server, which cluster address of the load balancing server was redirected responsive to the initial request to the one web site, on the basis of the acquired second cluster address.

3. A method of inheriting session information, comprising:

receiving an HTTP request for one web site employing an authentication server through which HTTP requests are received, the authentication server presenting one IP address for accessing the one web site;

authenticating the HTTP request at the authentication server;

subsequent to authentication of the HTTP request at the authentication server, forwarding the HTTP request via a first cluster address of a plurality of cluster addresses from the authentication server to a load balancing server of the one web site, the plurality of cluster addresses being cluster addresses of the load balancing server;

forwarding the HTTP request from the load balancing server to one web application server of a plurality of web application servers, the load balancing server selectively addressing each web application server of the plurality of web application servers, wherein requests received at the load balancing server via the first cluster address are forwarded by the load balancing server to one web application server of the plurality of web application servers according to a load balancing strategy, each web application server of the plurality of web application servers comprising a web application, a first redirect application and a second redirect application, the first redirect application accepting requests to begin a web application session, and the second redirect application accepting requests to restore a web application session upon return by the client browser to the one web site, and wherein subsequent to the forwarding the HTTP request to the one web application server, a web application session is commenced;

reading, by the first redirect application of the one web application server, cluster address information from a configuration file of the one web application server, the configuration file comprising the plurality of cluster addresses of the load balancing server, and obtaining a second cluster address of the plurality of cluster addresses from the configuration file, the second cluster address being uniquely associated with the one web application server;

generating, via a first redirect application executing on the one web application server a redirect response setting therein a second cluster address of the plurality of cluster addresses of the load balancing server for redirecting the client browser on the basis of the second cluster address, the second cluster address being a virtual address of the load balancing server, the second cluster address being associated by the load balancing server with the one web application server, and the load balancing server directing requests addressed to the second cluster address through the load balancing server to the one web application server;

setting the second cluster address of the plurality of cluster addresses of the load balancing server as a cookie in the redirect response;

transmitting the redirect response comprising the cookie to a client browser initiating the HTTP request; and

receiving another HTTP request from the client browser, the client browser having been piloted back to the one web site from another web site and the another HTTP request being a request to resume the web application session, the another HTTP request comprising the cookie, the another HTTP request being forwarded by the load balancing server via the first cluster address to another web application server of the plurality of web application servers, the another web application server, on the basis of receiving the cookie comprising the second cluster address, executing the second redirect application to generate a new redirect response for redirecting the client browser via the second cluster address back to the one web application server for resuming the web application session, wherein the new redirect response, when received by the client browser, causes an automatic browser refresh to redirect the client browser via the second cluster address back to the one web application server.

4. The method of inheriting session information according to claim 3, further comprising:

receiving the another HTTP request from said the client browser piloted from another web site, wherein the another web site is separate from the one web site; and

acquiring, by the another web application server, the second cluster address from the cookie received with the another HTTP request, wherein the generating the new redirect response comprises employing the acquired second cluster address; and

transmitting the new redirect response to the client browser.

5. A method of inheriting session information, comprising:

receiving an HTTP request for a web site employing an authentication server through which HTTP requests are received, the authentication server presenting one IP address for accessing the web site;

authorizing the HTTP request at the authentication server;

forwarding, by the authentication server, the HTTP request via a first cluster address of a plurality of cluster addresses to a load balancing server of the one web site, the plurality of cluster addresses being cluster addresses of the load balancing server;

subsequent to authorization of the HTTP request at the authentication server, checking at the load balancing server of said web site whether cluster address information of the load balancing server of the web site is embedded in a cookie for the received HTTP request, the cluster address information comprising a load balancing server cluster address of the plurality of cluster addresses;

forwarding the HTTP request from the load balancing server to a web application server of the web site, the forwarding being on the basis of the cluster address information, if a cookie was received with the HTTP request, or on the basis of a load balancing strategy, if a cookie was not received with the HTTP request, the web site comprising a plurality of web application servers, each web application server of the plurality of web application servers comprising a web application, a first redirect application and a second redirect application, the first redirect application accepting an initial request forwarded through the authentication server and the load balancing server to begin a web application session, and the second redirect application accepting a subsequent request forward through the authentication server and the load balancing server to restore a web application session upon return from another website;

performing one of generating, via a second redirect application executing on one web application server of the web site, a redirect response at the web site employing the cluster address information, if the cluster address information is embedded in the HTTP request, or, if the cluster address information is not embedded, generating, via a first redirect application executing on the one web application server of the web site a redirect response setting therein a second cluster address of the plurality of cluster addresses of the load balancing server for redirecting the client browser on the basis of the second cluster address, wherein the redirect response, when received by the client browser, causes an automatic browser refresh to redirect the client browser on the basis of the second cluster address, the second cluster address being a virtual address of the load balancing server, the second cluster address being read cluster information from a configuration file of the one web application server and being uniquely associated by the load balancing server with the one web application server, and the load balancing server directing requests addressed to the second cluster address through the load balancing server to the one web application server;

setting the cluster address information or the read cluster information as a new cookie in the redirect response; and

transmitting the redirect response from the web site to a browser initiating the HTTP request.

6. A system of inheriting session information when a client browser is piloted from one web application server of a plurality of web application servers of one web site to another web site, and back to the one web application server of the plurality of web application servers of the one web site, the system comprising:

an authentication server at the one web site, the authentication server authorizing a request from a client browser, and presenting one IP address to the client browser for the one web site, the authentication server forwarding the request via a first cluster address of a plurality of cluster addresses to a load balancing server of the one web site, the plurality of cluster addresses being addresses of the load balancing server, and wherein requests received at the load balancing server via the first cluster address are forwarded by the load balancing server to one web application server of the plurality of web application servers according to a load balancing strategy, the load balancing server selectively addressing each web application server of the plurality of web application servers of the one web site, each web application server of the plurality of web application servers comprising a web application, a first redirect application and a second redirect application, the first redirect application accepting requests to begin a web application session, and the second redirect application accepting requests to restore a web application session upon return by the client browser to the one web site;

wherein the first redirect application executing on the one web application server of the one web site generates a redirect response setting therein a second cluster address of the plurality of cluster addresses of the load balancing server for redirecting the client browser on the basis of the second cluster address, the second cluster address being a virtual address of the load balancing server, the second cluster address being read cluster information from a configuration file of the one web application server and being uniquely associated by the load balancing server with the one web application server, and the load balancing server directing requests addressed to the second cluster address through the load balancing server to the one web application server;

wherein, responsive to receipt of the redirect response at the client browser, the client browser sets the second cluster address in a cookie associated with the one IP address of the authentication server; and

wherein the authentication server of the one web site receives another request from said client browser, the client browser having been piloted back to the one web site from the another web site, the another request comprising the cookie associated with the one IP address, the another request being forwarded by the load balancing server via the first cluster address to another web application server of the plurality of web application servers, the another web application server, on the basis of receiving the cookie comprising the second cluster address, executing the second redirect application to generate another redirect response for redirecting the client browser via the second cluster address back to the one web application server for resuming a web application session, wherein the another redirect response, when received by the client browser, causes an automatic browser refresh to redirect the client browser via the second cluster address back to the one web application server.