Predictive synchronization for clustered devices

• US 8,902,900 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2013
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Check Point Software Technologies Limited
• Original Assignee: Check Point Software Technologies Limited
• Inventors: Erman, Amir, Perlmutter, Amnon, Weissman, Ben Zion
• Primary Examiner(s): ABELSON, RONALD B
• Application Number:
  US13/765,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20130156040A1
• Time in Patent Office: 657 Days
• Field of Search: 370/389, 370/392, 370/503
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/46 Cluster building
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0218 Distributed architectures, e.g. distributed firewalls
• 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 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/00 Arrangements for synchronising receiver with transmitter synchronisation of generators of electric oscillations or pulses H03L7/00

Abstract

A method and system is provided for a scalable clustered system. The method and system may handle asynchronous traffic as well as session backup. In the method and system, a home cluster member having ownership of a local session predicts designation of a an other cluster member to receive a packet associated with the local session and sends appropriate state information or forwarding instruction to the other network member.

Claims

1. A. method of synchronizing a clustered system having at least a first member and a second member, the method comprising:

a) relaying from the first member to the second member information associated with a reply packet that has an altered connection designator before arrival of said reply packet to the second member, and

b) predicting designation of the second member to receive said reply packet,

wherein said relaying is subsequent to said predicting.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said predicting includes computing a deterministic function.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said predicting includes computing a hashing function.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said relaying is unicast.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

c) discarding of an illegitimate packet by the first member.