Load balancing communication device and load balance management device

• US 8,593,942 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2007
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Terasaki, Yasunori, Shiraki, Osamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAMPTON, TARELL A
• Application Number:
  US11/851,494
• Publication Number:
  US 20080008086A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,272 Days
• Field of Search: 370/419, 370/216, 370/219, 370/220, 370/221, 370/242, 709/26, 709/224, 709/229, 709/201, 709/203, 718/105, 707/640, 707/652
• US Class Current: 370/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/202 where processing functionality is redundant redundant communication control functionality G06F11/2005, redundant storage control functionality G06F11/2089
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2023 Failover techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2025 using centralised failover control functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2028 eliminating a faulty processor or activating a spare
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2035 without idle spare hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2038 with a single idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2041 with more than one idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2066 Optimisation of the communication load
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• 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 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

In a load balancing communication device and a load balance management device configuring a load balancing system, a storage holds, when the device is a load balancing communication device of a working system, working communication information of the device itself and protection communication information corresponding to working communication information of another or other load balancing communication devices of the working system, or holds, when the device is a load balancing communication device of a redundant system, protection communication information corresponding to working communication information of another or other load balancing communication devices of the working system, and a processing share management portion instructs, when communication processing is no longer performed with the working communication information in the load balancing communication device of the working system, a frame processor to perform communication processing by making the protection communication information corresponding to the working communication information working communication information.

Claims

1. A load balancing communication device of a working system and a redundant system configuring a load balancing system comprising:

a storage initially holding;

working communication information of the device itself and protection communication information substituted for working communication information of another or other load balancing communication devices of the working system when the device is a load balancing communication device of the working system, or

protection communication information substituted for working communication information of at least two other load balancing communication devices of the working system without holding working communication information of the device itself when the device is a load balancing communication device of the redundant system;

a frame processor performing communication processing of a frame based on the working communication information; and

a processing share management portion;

when being informed that communication processing can be no longer performed with the working communication information in the load balancing communication device of the working system where a fault has occurred, the processing share management portion in the another load balancing communication device of the working system instructing the frame processor to perform communication processing with the protection communication information stored for the working communication information of the faulted load balancing communication device, in which the load balancing communication device of the redundant system when being informed that communication processing with the working communication information of the another load balancing communication device of the working system can be no longer performed performs communication processing with the protection communication information stored for the working communication information of the another load balancing communication device of the working system.

2. The load balancing communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein protection communication information corresponding to working communication information of all load balancing communication devices of the working system is set so as to be held in at least another load balancing communication device.

3. The load balancing communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein when there are plural pieces of protection communication information corresponding to identical working communication information, a priority is relatively set to each of the protection communication information.

4. The load balancing communication device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the priority of the protection communication information stored in the storage of the load balancing communication device of the redundant system is set higher than the priority of the protection communication information stored in the storage of the load balancing communication device of the working system.

5. The load balancing communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing share management portion transmits a normality indicating frame indicating that the device normally performs communication processing, and recognizes a load balancing communication device where a failure has occurred, based on a normality indicating frame from another load balancing communication device.

6. The load balancing communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein in case that a load balancing communication device of the working system is further added to the load balancing system,

the device which is the load balancing communication device of the redundant system holds protection communication information corresponding to working communication information of the added load balancing communication device of the working system, and

the device which is the added load balancing communication device of the working system holds its own working communication information and protection communication information which has become unable to be held when the load balancing communication device of the redundant system holds the protection communication information corresponding to the working communication information of the added load balancing communication device of the working system.

7. The load balancing communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein in case that the load balancing communication device of the working system is deleted from the load balancing system,

the device holds protection communication information of the deleted load balancing communication device.

8. A load balance management device connected to the load balancing communication device of the working system and the redundant system as claimed in claim 1 comprising:

a management table managing the working communication information and the protection communication information held by the load balancing communication device of the working system or the redundant system;

a monitoring portion monitoring whether or not a failure has occurred in the load balancing communication device of the working system; and

a processing share management portion instructing, by referring to the management table, the load balancing communication device holding the protection communication information corresponding to the load balancing communication device of the working system where the failure has occurred, to perform communication processing by making the protection communication information the working communication information.

9. The load balance management device as claimed in claim 8, wherein when there are plural pieces of protection communication information corresponding to identical working communication information in the management information table, a priority is set to the protection communication information, and the processing share management portion instructs a load balancing communication device selected based on the priority to perform the communication processing.

10. The load balance management device as claimed in claim 8, wherein a priority of the protection communication information held by the load balancing communication device of the redundant system is set, in the table, higher than the priority of the protection communication information stored in the storage of the load balancing communication device of the working system.

11. A communication system comprising:

a server; and

a plurality of load balancing communication devices connected to the server in parallel;

each of the load balancing communication devices comprising;

a storage initially holding;

working communication information of the device itself and protection communication information substituted for working communication information of another or other load balancing communication devices when the device is a load balancing communication device of a working system, or

protection communication information substituted for working communication information of at least two other load balancing communication devices of the working system without holding working communication information of the device itself when the device is a load balancing communication device of a redundant system;

a frame processor performing communication processing of a frame based on the working communication information when the device is the load balancing communication device of the working system; and

a processing share management portion instructing the frame processor to perform communication processing with the protection communication information stored for the working communication information of other load balancing communication device of the working system when being informed that communication processing can be no longer performed with the working communication information in the other load balancing communication device.