Multi-tenant hosted application system

• US 9,053,162 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Shutt, David Robert, Ott, Michael James, Shah, Nirav Yogesh, Peri, Jagan, Bangalore, Ramesh T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yen, Syling
• Application Number:
  US12/147,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20090049056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,538 Days
• Field of Search: 707/610, 707/640, 707/661, 707/758, 707/782, 707/783, 707/784, 707/791, 707/802, 707/999.201, 707/999.202, 707/999.203, 707/999.204, 709/218, 709/225, 709/226, 718/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

Technologies are described herein for implementing a hosted multi-tenant application system. The server computers utilized to provide the hosted application are organized into logical groupings of server computers called scale groups. One or more tenants are assigned to each scale group. When a new tenant is provisioned, the tenant is assigned to a scale group and a database server in the assigned scale group creates a database for the tenant. An association between the tenant and the scale group is also created in a shared configuration database. When a request is received from a tenant to access the hosted application, the shared configuration database is consulted to locate the scale group hosting the tenant. Once the appropriate scale group has been located, the request is redirected to the appropriate scale group for processing.

Claims

1. A system for providing a hosted application, the system comprising:

at least two scale groups, each scale group being configured to support at least one tenant, wherein each scale group comprises a shared middle-tier and a shared database-tier for providing the hosted application to the tenants assigned thereto, and wherein the scale groups are configured to

determine whether a request has been received for a tenant that has been moved to a different scale group,

create a new temporary sub-domain corresponding to the different scale group for the tenant in response to determining that a request has been received for a tenant that has been moved to a different scale group, and

redirect the request for the tenant to the new temporary sub-domain;

a shared configuration database that is shared by tenants of the hosted application and configured to store mapping data to map an individual assignment of at least two of the tenants of the hosted application to one of the at least two scale groups and tenant customizations for the hosted application; and

a site-wide server computer configured to receive a request for the hosted application from one of the at least two tenants, to search the shared configuration database for mapping data indicating the one of the at least two scale groups associated with the one of the at least two tenants, and to redirect the request to the one of the at least two scale groups associated with the one of the at least two tenants.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the scale group is selected from a plurality of geographically distributed scale groups based, at least partially, upon a geographic location associated with the scale group and a further geographic location associated with the tenant.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the site-wide server computer is assigned to a portal role for providing a non-tenant specific user interface.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the site-wide server computer is assigned to a name role for providing network addresses corresponding to sub-domains that are unique to each tenant.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the site-wide server computer is assigned to a configuration role for providing configuration information to one or more other roles.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the site-wide server computer is assigned to an administration role for performing administrative tasks within the system.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the site-wide server computer is assigned to a router role for redirecting one or more actions to a scale group.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein a computer in the scale group is assigned to an application role for providing the hosted application.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein a computer in the scale group is assigned to an asynchronous processing role for executing asynchronous processes assigned by the application role.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein a computer in the scale group is assigned to a scale group configuration role for maintaining scale group configuration information.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein a computer in the scale group is assigned to a database role for maintaining data for tenants assigned to the scale group.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the hosted application comprises a hosted business application.

13. A method for providing a hosted application, the method comprising:

providing at least two scale groups, each scale group being configured to support at least one tenant;

storing, at a shared configuration database that is shared by tenants of the hosted application including the at least two scale groups, mapping data to map an individual assignment of at least two tenants of the hosted application to one of the at least two scale groups and tenant customizations for the hosted application;

receiving, at a site-wide computer, a request for the hosted application from one of the at least two tenants;

in response to receiving the request, searching the shared configuration database for mapping data indicating the one of the at least two scale groups associated with the one of the at least two tenants, the scale group comprising a database storing a private unshared database associated with the tenant;

redirecting the request for the hosted application from the site-wide server computer to the one of the at least two scale groups associated with the one of the at least two tenants;

providing a response to the redirected request for the hosted application from the one of the at least two scale groups associated with the one of the at least two tenants;

determining if the one of the at least two tenants has been moved to a different scale group;

creating a new temporary sub-domain corresponding to an address for the different scale group in response to determining that the one of the at least two tenants has been moved to the different scale group; and

redirecting the request or the one of the at least two tenants to the new temporary sub-domain.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the site-wide server computers comprise:

at least one site-wide internet-facing server computer assigned to a portal role and a name role, and

at least one site-wide utility server assigned to a configuration role, an administration role, and a router role.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the scale group comprises:

an internet-facing server computer assigned to an application role, and

a scale group utility server assigned to an asynchronous processing role, a scale group configuration role, and a database role.

16. A system for providing a hosted application to tenants, the system comprising:

a plurality of site-wide server computers configured to receive, from a tenant, a request for the hosted application comprising at least two scale groups, each scale group being configured to support at least one tenant, to redirect the request to an assigned scale group associated with the tenant, the assigned scale group comprising a database server storing a private unshared database associated with the tenant, wherein each of the site-wide server computers is assigned to at least one of

a portal role for providing a non-tenant specific user interface,

a name role for providing network addresses corresponding to sub-domains that are unique to each of the tenants,

a configuration role for retrieving configuration information including mapping data to map an individual assignment of at least two tenants of the hosted application to one of the at least two scale groups from a shared configuration database that is shared by the tenants of the hosted application and providing configuration information to one or more other roles,

an administration role for performing administrative tasks within the system, and

a router role for redirecting one or more actions to a scale group; and

a plurality of geographically distributed scale groups including the assigned scale group, each of the scale groups comprising a logical grouping of scale group server computers assigned to at least one of

an application role for providing the hosted application to the tenant,

an asynchronous processing role for executing asynchronous processes assigned by the application role,

a scale group configuration role for maintaining scale group configuration information, and

a database role for maintaining data for tenants assigned to the scale group, the data comprising tenant customizations associated with the hosted application.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the scale group is configured to:

determine if the tenant that has been moved to a different scale group,

create a new temporary sub-domain corresponding to an address for the different scale group, in response to determining that the tenant has been moved to the different scale group, and

redirect the request for the tenant to the new temporary sub-domain.