Distributed application using diagnostic heartbeating

• US 8,769,089 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2011
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Griffith, Douglas James, Jaehde, Astrid Angela, Manning, Robert Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Viet
• Assistant Examiner(s): SOWA, TIMOTHY JOHN
• Application Number:
  US13/296,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20130124718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 714/48, 714/55, 714/57
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0757 by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/302 where the computing system component is a software system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3055 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the status of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring if the computing system is on, off, available, not available error or fault processing without redundancy G06F11/0703; error detection or correction by redundancy in data representation G06F11/08; error detection or correction by redundancy in operation G06F11/14; error detection or correction by redundancy in hardware G06F11/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3093 Configuration details thereof, e.g. installation, enabling, spatial arrangement of the probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/103 with adaptive polling, i.e. dynamically adapting the polling rate

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for improving a distributed application using diagnostic heartbeating are provided in the illustrative embodiments. An application, executing using a processor and a memory in a first data processing system, sends a registration to a component in the first data processing system. The registration requests state information for a set of member components in a distributed domain. After the application sends the registration to the component, the application receives the state information from the component. The state information includes current status and diagnostic information relating to the set of member components obtained from diagnostic attributes of diagnostic heartbeat packets received by the component. A diagnostic heartbeat packet is a packet comprising a header, a set of heartbeat parameters, and a set of diagnostic attributes.

Claims

1. A method for improving a distributed application using diagnostic heartbeating, the method comprising:

an application, executing using a processor and a memory in a first data processing system, sending a registration to a messaging component in the first data processing system, the registration requesting state information for a set of member components in a distributed domain;

after the application sending the registration to the messaging component, the application receiving the state information from the messaging component, the state information including current status and diagnostic information relating to the set of member components obtained from diagnostic attributes of diagnostic heartbeat packets received by the messaging component, wherein a diagnostic heartbeat packet is a packet comprising a header, a set of heartbeat parameters, and a set of diagnostic attributes, wherein a basic heartbeat packet is a packet comprising a second set of heartbeat parameters, a size of the basic heartbeat packet being specified in a heartbeat parameter in the second set of heartbeat parameters, wherein the set of diagnostic attributes is configured to specify a combination of a packet size that is different from the size of the basic heartbeat packet, a protocol being used to transmit the diagnostic heartbeat packet, and a specific bit pattern used in the diagnostic heartbeat packet.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the application providing a quality of service (QoS) specification to the messaging component to enable the messaging component to route a data packet from the application using a member of the distributed domain that satisfies the QoS specification according to a diagnostic attribute associated with the member.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the registration is a subscription to receive the state information for a specific member of the distributed domain, further comprising:

the application specifying to the messaging component a characteristic of a data packet carrying a data payload of the application to enable the messaging component to identify a specific member of the distributed domain as being able to satisfy the characteristic.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the application specifying to the messaging component a particular member of the distributed domain to which to route data traffic of the application; and

the application selecting the particular member from members identified in the state information based on the diagnostic information relating to the particular member.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the diagnostic information includes performance metrics, and known soft network error conditions relating to the set of member components, wherein a soft network error condition is a network error condition that adversely affects transmission of packets having certain properties in a data communication network.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after the application sending the registration to the messaging component, the application receiving historical state information from the messaging component, the historical state information including historical status and historical diagnostic information relating to the set of member components obtained from diagnostic attributes of historical diagnostic heartbeat packets received by the messaging component.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of member components includes all member components in the distributed domain that are tracked at the messaging component.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is an instance of a distributed application executing on the first data processing system, wherein the messaging component also executes on the first data processing system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is a client application using an instance of a distributed application executing on a second data processing system, wherein the messaging component also executes on the second data processing system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is a distributed application management application managing an instance of a distributed application executing on a second data processing system, wherein the messaging component also executes on the second data processing system.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

the application deciding to reallocate the instance of the distributed application from the second data processing system to a third data processing system, wherein the deciding is based on the diagnostic information relating to a second member associated with the second data processing system and the diagnostic information relating to a third member associated with the third data processing system.

12. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices and computer-readable program instructions which are stored on the one or more storage devices and when executed by one or more processors, perform the method of claim 1.

13. A computer system comprising one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices and program instructions which are stored on the one or more storage devices for execution by the one or more processors via the one or more memories and when executed by the one or more processors perform the method of claim 1.

14. A computer program product for improving a distributed application using diagnostic heartbeating, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to send a registration from an application to a messaging component in a first data processing system, the registration requesting state information for a set of member components in a distributed domain;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, after sending the registration from the application to the messaging component, receive the state information at the application from the messaging component, the state information including current status and diagnostic information relating to the set of member components obtained from diagnostic attributes of diagnostic heartbeat packets received by the messaging component, wherein a diagnostic heartbeat packet is a packet comprising a header, a set of heartbeat parameters, and a set of diagnostic attributes, wherein a basic heartbeat packet is a packet comprising a second set of heartbeat parameters, a size of the basic heartbeat packet being specified in a heartbeat parameter in the second set of heartbeat parameters, wherein the set of diagnostic attributes is configured to specify a combination of a packet size that is different from the size of the basic heartbeat packet, a protocol being used to transmit the diagnostic heartbeat packet, and a specific bit pattern used in the diagnostic heartbeat packet.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to provide from the application a quality of service (QoS) specification to the messaging component to enable the messaging component to route a data packet from the application using a member of the distributed domain that satisfies the QoS specification according to a diagnostic attribute associated with the member.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the registration is a subscription to receive the state information for a specific member of the distributed domain, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to specify from the application to the messaging component a characteristic of a data packet carrying a data payload of the application to enable the messaging component to identify the specific member of the distributed domain as being able to satisfy the characteristic.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to specify from the application to the messaging component a particular member of the distributed domain to which to route data traffic of the application; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to select in the application the particular member from members identified in the state information based on the diagnostic information relating to the particular member.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the program instructions to send the registration and the program instructions to receive the state information are stored in at least one of the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices in a data processing system, and wherein the program instructions to send the registration and the program instructions to receive the state information are transferred over a network from a remote data processing system.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the program instructions to send the registration and the program instructions to receive the state information are stored in at least one of the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices in a server data processing system, and wherein the program instructions to send the registration and the program instructions to receive the state information are downloaded over a network to a remote data processing system for use in a computer-readable tangible storage device associated with the remote data processing system.

20. A computer system for improving a distributed application using diagnostic heartbeating, the computer system comprising:

one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories and one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to send a registration from an application to a messaging component in the computer system, the registration requesting state information for a set of member components in a distributed domain;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, after sending the registration from the application to the messaging component, receive the state information at the application from the messaging component, the state information including current status and diagnostic information relating to the set of member components obtained from diagnostic attributes of diagnostic heartbeat packets received by the messaging component, wherein a diagnostic heartbeat packet is a packet comprising a header, a set of heartbeat parameters, and a set of diagnostic attributes, wherein a basic heartbeat packet is a packet comprising a second set of heartbeat parameters, a size of the basic heartbeat packet being specified in a heartbeat parameter in the second set of heartbeat parameters, wherein the set of diagnostic attributes is configured to specify a combination of a packet size that is different from the size of the basic heartbeat packet, a protocol being used to transmit the diagnostic heartbeat packet, and a specific bit pattern used in the diagnostic heartbeat packet.