Tiered web site with web-tier admission control based on utilization data generated on application tier

• US 8,005,926 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus LLC (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Shih, Fu-Tai, Harkin, Arthur S., Murthy, Gita
• Primary Examiner(s): Swearingen; Jeffrey R
• Application Number:
  US11/169,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20050254422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,246 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

An e-commerce web site has an application tier and a web tier, each with multiple servers. The application tier runs the resource-intensive functions germane to the site'"'"'s purpose; while the web tier provides the primary interface for clients. The web tier implements admission control so that some requests can be deferred during periods of heavy traffic. In addition, the web tier can request additional web-tier and application-tier resources when they can be added cost effectively. The application tier monitors its own resource utilization and communicates resource-utilization data to the web tier. The web tier uses this application-tier resource-utilization data to determine its deferral criteria. In addition, the web-tier can monitor its own resource utilization and take the results into account in determining the deferral criteria. By monitoring application-tier utilization at the application tier rather than remotely at the web tier, more accurate and more flexible information is obtained, allowing for a better-optimized deferral scheme.

Claims

1. A host site comprising:

an application tier including an application-tier set of servers that generates application-tier resource utilization data said application tier having an application processing function running on said server for responding to said application requests with said application responses, said application tier having a resource monitor for generating said application-tier resource-utilization data by monitoring utilization parameters on said server, said resource monitor communicating said application-tier resource-utilization data to said deferral manager; and

a client-response tier including a client-response-tier set of servers, said client-response-tier set and said application-tier set being mutually exclusive, said client-response-tier having a client-response-tier resource monitor for generating client-response-tier resource utilization data as a function of parameters associated with said client-response-tier server, said client-response-tier set performing admission control using said application-tier resource utilization data, said servers on said client-response tier and said servers on said application tier including central processing units (CPUs) and memory.

2. A host site as recited in claim 1 wherein:

said client-response tier has

an admissions control gateway for receiving client requests from client computers;

a deferral manager for making determinations concerning which of said client requests should be admitted for processing and which should be deferred at least in part as a function of said application-tier resource-utilization data;

a client-request processor for processing client requests admitted for processing, said client-request processor generating application requests in response to at least some of said client requests, said client-request processor generating client responses in response to application responses received in response to said application requests.

3. A host site as recited in claim 2 wherein said client-request processor transmits said client responses to said client computers in accordance with an http protocol.

4. A host site as recited in claim 2 wherein said client-response tier includes at least one client-response-tier server on which said deferral manager and said client-request processor run, said client-response-tier resource monitor providing said client-response-tier resource utilization data to said deferral manager, said deferral manager making said determinations in part as a function of said client-response-tier resource utilization data.

5. A host site as recited in claim 4 wherein said deferral manager also generates requests to expand the processing capacity on said client-response tier.

6. A host site as recited in claim 2 wherein said deferral manager generates requests to expand the processing capacity on said application tier.

7. A host site as recited in claim 6 wherein said processing capacity is expanded by one or more of the following:

increasing the number of servers, increasing the number of CPUs, increasing CPU entitlement.

8. A network hosting method for a host site having an application tier and a client-response tier with mutually exclusive sets of servers including CPUs and memory, said method comprising a client-response process and a resource-monitoring process,

said resource-monitoring process involving

a1) monitoring resource utilization at said application tier,

a2) generating application-tier resource-utilization data at said application tier and transmitting said application-tier resource-utilization data to said client-response tier, and

a3) monitoring resource utilization at said client-response tier so as to generate client-response-tier resource-utilization data, and said request processing involving

b1) receiving at said client-response-tier a client request from a client via a network,

b2) making an admissions determination at said client-response tier whether said client request should be admitted immediately or deferred, said determination being made at least in part as a function of said application-tier resource-utilization data and said client-response-tier resource-utilization data,

b3) when said client request is admitted, sending an application request from said client-response tier to said application tier,

b4) generating an application response at said application tier and transmitting said application response to said client-response tier, and

b5) generating a client response as a function of said application response and transmitting said client response to said client via said network.

9. A method as recited in claim 8 wherein at step b2) in the event a determination is made to defer admission of said client request, a notification is sent to said client to that effect via said network.

10. A method as recited in claim 8 wherein at step b2, in the event a determination is made to defer admission, a request is generated to increase the processing capacity on said application tier.

11. A host site method comprising:

generating application-tier resource-utilization data on an application tier having an application-tier set of servers;

generating client-response tier resource-utilization data on a client-response tier having a client-response set of servers, said client response set and said application-tier set being mutually exclusive; and

using said application-tier resource utilization data and said client-response-tier utilization data on said client-response tier to determine admission-control policy.