System and method for completeness of TCP data in TCP HA

• US 8,700,952 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2011
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Chen, Huaimo
• Primary Examiner(s): Iqbal, Nadeem
• Application Number:
  US13/282,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20120042205A1
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4.1, 714/4.11, 714/4.12, 714/4.2, 714/6.13, 714/6.3, 714/6.32, 714 11- 16, 714/18, 714/19
• US Class Current: 714/13
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/12 Protocol engines
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]

Abstract

System and method for completeness of transmission control protocol (TCP) high availability (HA) are disclosed. The system includes an active processor, having an application and a TCP, and a standby processor, having another application and another TCP; wherein communications among the active application, the active TCP, the standby application and the standby TCP quickly and efficiently enable the system seamlessly switching over from the active processor to the standby processor for transmission of incoming TCP data streams and outgoing TCP data streams if the active processor fails.

Claims

1. A transmission control protocol (TCP) high availability (HA) system, comprising:

an active processor, having an active application and an active TCP; and

a standby processor, having a standby application and a standby TCP,

wherein the active processor is directly coupled to the standby processor, and

wherein communications and data exchanges among the active application, the active TCP, the standby application, and the standby TCP provide a mechanism for a seamless switch over of an incoming data stream or an outgoing data stream from the active processor to the standby processor, wherein the mechanism includes duplicating a socket associated with an incoming TCP data stream from the active application in the active processor to the standby application in the standby processor, synchronizing a set of data and a set of states corresponding to the socket associated with the incoming TCP data stream between the active TCP and the standby TCP, sending a notification, from the active application, to the active TCP that the standby application in the standby processor is ready to receive data from the socket associated with the incoming TCP data stream, copying a first TCP data received from the socket associated with the incoming TCP data stream, in an input buffer of the active application in the active processor, to the standby application in the standby processor, and sending a sequence number, by the active TCP in the active processor, to the standby TCP in the standby processor, wherein the sequence number corresponds a last byte of the first TCP data delivered through the socket associated the incoming data stream to the active application right before the active TCP receives the notification.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a beginning of the input buffer of the active application to be copied is a boundary of a message.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the beginning of the input buffer is determined by a point following another complete message decoded in the input buffer.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the standby TCP starts to synchronize an incoming TCP data with the active TCP from a sequence number corresponding to a next byte to the last byte of the first TCP data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sequence number is not a boundary of a message.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the sequence number is a boundary of a message.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification is sent after the data and states for the socket associated with the incoming TCP data stream are synchronized between the active TCP and the standby TCP, and the data and states are synchronized between the active application and the standby application.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification is sent through an option of the socket associated with the incoming TCP data stream.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification to the active TCP from the active application is through a message for the socket associated with the incoming data stream in the active application.

10. A transmission control protocol (TCP) high availability (HA) system, comprising:

an active processor, having an active application and an active TCP; and

a standby processor, having a standby application and a standby TCP;

wherein the active processor is directly coupled to the standby processor;

wherein communications and data exchanges among the active application, the active TCP, the standby application, and the standby TCP provide a mechanism for a seamless switch over of an incoming data stream or an outgoing data stream from the active processor to the standby processor, wherein the mechanism includes

duplicating a socket associated with the outgoing data stream from the active application in the active processor to the standby application in the standby processor;

synchronizing data and states related to the socket associated with the outgoing data stream between the active TCP and the standby TCP;

sending a notification, by the active application, to the active TCP that the standby application in the standby processor is ready to snoop outgoing data through the socket associated with the outgoing data stream; and

sending a sequence number, by the active TCP in the active processor, to the standby TCP in the standby processor, wherein the sequence number corresponds a last byte of a first TCP data written to the active TCP by the active application right before the active TCP receives the notification.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the sequence number is a boundary of a message.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the standby TCP starts to synchronize the outgoing data stream with the active TCP from sequence number corresponding to a next byte to the last byte of the first TCP data.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the notification is sent after the data and states for the socket associated with the outgoing data stream are synchronized between the active TCP and the standby TCP and the data and states are synchronized between the active application and the standby application.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the notification is sent through an option of the socket associated with the outgoing data stream.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the notification to the active TCP is through a message for the socket associated with the outgoing data stream.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the mechanism further comprises, after the switch over, sending data in a buffer of the standby TCP and data from the standby application form a continuous outgoing TCP data stream, and the continuous outgoing TCP data stream to a peer router from the standby processor.