Server clustering in a computing-on-demand system

• US 8,782,238 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2010
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Witt, Emily Katherine, Cooke, Richard, Everhart, William Thomas Jr., Patel, Jinendrakumar, Kumar, Vijay
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Ian N
• Assistant Examiner(s): La, Phong
• Application Number:
  US12/940,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20120117241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 370/216, 370/217, 370/218, 370/219, 370/220, 370/221, 370/254, 714/2, 714/4.11, 714/4.12, 714/11, 714/12, 714/13, 714/51, 714/54, 709/226
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/203 using migration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0654 using network fault recovery ring fault isolation or reconfiguration in loop networks without recovery actions by a network management system H04L12/437
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1004 Server selection for load balancing

Abstract

A device may provision two or more servers, each of the servers including a first network interface. In addition, the device may enable a second network interface in each of the provisioned servers, create a shared volume, assign the shared volume to each of the provisioned servers, and enable a clustering application on each of the provisioned servers to form a cluster comprising the provisioned servers, the cluster having a heartbeat via the second network interfaces.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a portal device and from a client application, a user request to provision a cluster, wherein the client application includes a browser;

provisioning, by at least one device in response to the request, two or more servers, each of the servers including a corresponding first network interface;

enabling, by at least one device, a corresponding second network interface in each of the provisioned servers;

creating, by at least one device, a shared volume;

assigning, by at least one device, the shared volume to each of the provisioned servers;

enabling a clustering application on each of the provisioned servers, wherein the enabled clustering application creates the cluster comprising the provisioned servers, the cluster having a heartbeat via the second network interfaces; and

fencing, via a power control device, one of the two or more servers when a different one of the two or more servers fails.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein provisioning the two or more servers includes:

provisioning virtual servers;

or

provisioning physical servers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the shared volume includes:

creating a quorum disk.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

placing a first server of the provisioned servers in a standby mode; and

placing a second server of the provisioned servers in an active mode.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

activating the first server when the second server fails.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

preventing the second server from writing to the shared volume after the second server fails.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein preventing the second server from writing includes:

powering down the second server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the shared volume includes:

mapping the shared volume to one of the provisioned servers;

rescanning the shared volume at the one of the provisioned servers; and

formatting the shared volume at the one of the provisioned servers.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

mounting the shared volume at a mount point on the one of the provisioned servers; and

recording the mount point and an identifier for the shared volume in a file system table (FSTAB) on the one of the provisioned servers.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a job to be performed in response to the request; and

storing the job in a database,

wherein the job includes instructions for one or more devices to provision the cluster.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a cluster name;

reserving an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the cluster at a network device; and

registering the cluster name and the IP address at a domain name server.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising de-provisioning the cluster.

13. A system comprising:

first logic comprising at least one processor to;

generate a job for provisioning a cluster, wherein the cluster includes at least one standby device and an active device that are interconnected via a heartbeat network, and wherein in response to a failure of the active device, the standby device becomes active and operates in place of the failed active device; and

place the job in a database;

second logic comprising at least one processor to drive an execution of the job in the database, the job comprising instructions for one or more of devices in the system to;

provision two servers, each of the two servers including a first network interface;

enable a second network interface in each of the provisioned servers, wherein each of the second network interfaces includes at least one of an Ethernet interface or an Internet Protocol (IP) network interface;

create a shared volume;

assign the shared volume to each of the provisioned servers; and

create a cluster from the provisioned servers, the cluster having a heartbeat over the second network interfaces;

a portal device to receive a user request to provision the cluster, from a client application on a remote device, wherein the client application includes a browser; and

a power control device for fencing one of the two servers when the one of the two servers fails.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first logic is configured to instantiate at least one of:

a cluster object that corresponds to the cluster in the system;

an application object that represents an application in the system;

or

a storage volume object that represents a storage volume in the system.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the two servers include:

virtual servers or physical servers.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the job includes further comprising instructions for the one or more of devices in the system to:

create a cluster name for the cluster;

reserve an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the cluster at a network device; and

register the cluster name and the IP address at a domain name server.

16. Non-transitory computer-readable media comprising computer executable instructions for causing one or more processors to:

receive, at a portal device, a user request to provision two or more devices, from a client application on a remote device, wherein the client application includes a browser;

provision two or more devices, each of the devices including a first network interface in response to the user request;

enable a second network interface in each of the provisioned devices;

create a quorum disk;

assign a logical volume associated with the quorum disk to each of the provisioned devices,

install a clustering application on each of the provisioned devices,

enable the clustering application and a heartbeat between the provisioned devices via the second network interfaces in the provisioned devices; and

fencing, via a power control device, one of the two or more devices when a different one of the two or more devices fails.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the two or more devices include:

virtual servers or physical servers.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, further comprising computer-executable instructions for causing the one or more processors to:

create a cluster name for the two or more devices;

reserve an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the cluster name at a network device; and

register the cluster name and the IP address at a domain name server.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the computer-executable instructions include further instructions for causing the one or more processors to:

instantiate a cluster object, in a memory, that corresponds to the two or more devices.