System and method for handling database failover

• US 8,369,968 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2009
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Brown, Cory D., Fernandez, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Booker, Kelvin
• Application Number:
  US12/417,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20100257399A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: 700/11, 700/19, 700/21, 714/4.11, 714/6.3
• US Class Current: 700/82
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/203 using migration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A system includes a first database, a second database, a third database, and an application server. The first database server includes a database instance. The second database server is in communication with the first database server. The second database server includes a mirror of the database instance. The third database server is in communication with the second database server. The third database server is configured to store a copy of a database within the database instance. The application server is configured to be placed in communication with the first, second, and third database servers, configured to fail over between the first and second database servers, and further configured to fail over between the second and third database servers.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first database server including a database instance;

a second database server in communication with the first database server, the second database server including a mirror of the database instance, wherein the first database server and the second database server are in a primary and secondary server relationship with the second database server as a secondary server;

a third database server in communication with the second database server, the third database server configured to store a copy of a database within the database instance; and

an application server configured to be placed in communication with the first, second, and third database servers, configured to assign the first database server as a primary server and the second database server as the secondary server for the application server, to fail over between the first and second database servers, further configured to fail over between the second and third database servers, and to assign the third database server as the primary server for the application server when the first database server is decommissioned, wherein the third database server and the second database server are in a new primary and secondary server relationship with the second database server as the secondary server.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a database center in communication with the first database server and the third database server, the database center configured to decommission the first database server and to remap a domain name system request for the first server to the third server.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the application server is assigned a first domain name system associated with the first database server, and a second domain name system associated with the second database server.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the third database server is further configured to be assigned the first domain name system.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the third database server is further configured to break a first communication link between the first and second database servers, and establish a second communication link between the second and third database servers.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions to manipulate a processor, the plurality of instructions comprising:

instructions to cause an application server to fail over from a primary database server to a secondary database server, the secondary database server including a mirror of a database instance located on the primary database server;

instructions to identify a database within the database instance on the primary and secondary databases being accessed by the application server;

instructions to connect the application server with the secondary database server for access to the identified database in response to a domain name system request for the secondary database server;

instructions to copy the identified database from the secondary database server to a new database server;

instructions to break a first communication link between the primary database server and the secondary database server;

instructions to mirror the identified database between the secondary database server and the new database server;

instructions to remap a domain name system request for the primary database server to the new server, wherein the domain name system request for the primary database server is different than the domain name system request for the secondary database server; and

instructions to connect the application server with the new database server for access to the identified database in response to the domain name system request for the primary database server.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 6 further comprising:

instructions to assign the new database server as the primary database server for the application server.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 6 further comprising:

instructions to mirror the identified database between the new database server and the secondary database server.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 6 further comprising:

instructions to assign a primary domain name system and a second domain name system for the application server.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein the primary domain name system is associated with the new database server and the secondary domain name system is associated with the secondary database server.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein the primary domain name system is associated with the primary database server and the secondary domain name system is associated with the secondary database server.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions to manipulate a processor, the plurality of instructions comprising:

instructions to mirror a database of a database instance stored on both a primary database server and on a secondary database server, wherein the primary database server and the secondary database server have an existing primary and secondary server relationship;

instructions to initiate an application server to fail over from the primary database server to the secondary database server;

instructions to store a copy of the database of the database instance located on the secondary database server onto a new primary database server;

instructions to remove the database from the primary database server in response to a completion of the copying of the database from the secondary database server onto the new primary database server;

instructions to begin mirroring the database between the secondary database server and the new primary database server;

instructions to store the new primary database server in the application server;

instructions to break the mirroring between the primary database server and the secondary database server; and

instruction to initiate the application server to fail over from the secondary database server to the new primary database server containing the database, wherein the new primary database server and the secondary database server have a new primary and secondary server relationship.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the failover is initiated in response to a decommission process for the primary database server.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 12 further comprising:

instructions to decommission the primary database server.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 12 further comprising:

instructions to remap a domain name system request for the primary database server to the new primary database server.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the failover is initiated in response to a network load on the primary database server being above a specific amount.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the mirroring between the primary database server and the secondary database server is via a first communication link and the mirroring between the secondary database server and the new primary database server is via a second communication link.