Operation of a data processing network having a plurality of geographically spaced-apart data centers

• US 9,086,926 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2012
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Dominick, Lutz, Dorn, Karlheinz, Ukis, Vladyslav
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHIU, HO T
• Application Number:
  US13/419,833
• Publication Number:
  US 20120239734A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5033 considering data affinity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5083 Techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/342 between virtual entities, e.g. orchestrators, SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

A method and a device are disclosed for operating a data processing network which includes a plurality of geographically spaced-apart data centers and a large number of client computers, data being transmittable between each of the client computers and at least to one of the data centers, wherein one or more virtual servers is operateable in each of the data centers. According to at least one embodiment, access data is collected including information on geographical location of the client, geographical location of the virtual servers and the degree of utilization of the virtual servers. The access data collected is analyzed and, using the result of analysis, a migration plan, which is improved with respect to the mean latency, is created for the deployment of the virtual servers among the data centers. The virtual servers are migrated between the data centers in accordance with the migration plan.

Claims

1. A method for operating a data processing network including a plurality of geographically spaced-apart data centers and including a plurality of client computers, data being transmittable between each of the client computers and at least to one of the data centers, wherein one or more virtual servers are operatable in each of the data centers, the method comprising:

collecting access data in a database which includes

information on a geographical location of at least one of the client computers,

information on a geographical location of the virtual servers, and

information on a degree of utilization of the virtual servers;

analyzing the access data collected in the database at regular intervals;

creating a migration plan using a result of the analyzing, improved with respect to mean latency, for deployment of the virtual servers among the data centers; and

migrating the virtual servers between the data centers in accordance with the migration plan, wherein

a number of users registered on a called virtual server is acquired for each data processing request as information on a degree of utilization,

for executing a data processing task on a client geographically remote from an instructing data center, the data required for the processing task is combined with a virtual server and an application backend module, implemented thereon, of an application required for the processing task in a workspace unit, and the workspace unit is sent by the instructing data center to an instructed data center relatively closer to the remote client,

the virtual server contained in the workspace unit is operated in the instructed data center, and the application backend module implemented thereon is executed in communication with an application frontend module, implemented on the instructed client, of the associated application, and a processing result is sent back to the instructing data center once the processing task has been executed, and

the application backend module of a deployed software application is implementable on each virtual server, the application frontend module of the software application is implementable on each of the client computers, and the application backend module for processing data processing requests is allocated to each application frontend module.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, the collecting of the access data includes collecting for each of a plurality of data processing requests, at least one of

at least one of an instant and duration of at least one of a data processing task, and

information on an identity of a called virtual server.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein during the analyzing with aid of the access data collected in the database

overloaded virtual servers are identified,

data centers with an over-capacity of virtual servers are identified,

data centers with an under-capacity of virtual servers are identified, and

wherein, during creation of the migration plan, virtual servers are removed from data centers with over-capacity and allocated to data centers with under-capacity.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data allocated to a virtual server is stored locally in the data center allocated to the virtual server.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in addition to the application backend module, the workspace unit contains a download file of the associated application frontend module, which is downloaded from the remote client for executing the processing task.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the workspace unit also contains at least one configuration file with presets for at least one of the application backend module and the application frontend module, and wherein the application backend module or the application frontend module are operated at the instructed data center or the remote client using these presets.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program segments for, when executed on a computer device, causing the computer device to implement the method of claim 1.

8. A device for operating a data processing network including a plurality of geographically spaced-apart data centers, and including a plurality of client computers, data being transmittable between each of the client computers and at least to one of the data centers, wherein one or more virtual servers is operateable in each of the data centers, the device comprising:

a monitoring module allocated to each data center or each virtual server, configured to collect access data which includes

information on the geographical location of at least one of the client computers,

information on the geographical location of the virtual servers and

information on a degree of utilization of the virtual servers;

a database configured to store the collected access data;

an analysis module configured to analyze the access data stored in the database at regular intervals, to create a migration plan, using a result of the analyzing, improved with respect to mean latency, for deployment of the virtual servers among the data centers, and to acquire as information on a degree of utilization the number of clients logged in with a called virtual server for each data processing request;

at least one device, configured to migrate the virtual servers between the data centers in accordance with the migration plan; and

a workspace management module configured to, for executing a data processing task on a client geographically remote from an instructing data center, combine the data required for the processing task with a virtual server and an application backend module, implemented thereon, of a software application required for the processing task in a workspace unit, and configured to send it from the instructing data center to an instructed data center relatively closer to the remote client, wherein

the application backend module of a deployed software application is implementable on each virtual server, the application frontend module of the software application is implementable on each of the client computers, and the application backend module for processing data processing requests is allocated to each application frontend module.

9. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the analysis module is configured to further acquire as access data for each data processing request, at least one of

at least one of an instant and duration of at least one of a data processing task, and

information on an identity of a called virtual server.

10. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein, with aid of the access data collected in the database, the analysis module is further configured to

identify overloaded virtual servers,

identify data centers with an over-capacity of virtual servers,

identify data centers with an under-capacity of virtual servers, and

wherein during creation of the migration plan, the analysis module is further configured to remove virtual servers from data centers with over-capacity and to allocate virtual servers to data centers with under-capacity.

11. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one device configured to migrate the virtual servers is further configured to store data allocated to each server locally in the data center allocated to the server.

12. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein, in addition to the application backend module, the workspace management module is configured to add, to the workspace unit, a download file of the associated application frontend module, downloadable by the remote client from the instructed data center for executing the processing task.

13. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the workspace management module is further configured to additionally add to the workspace unit at least one configuration file with presets for at least one of the application backend module and the application frontend module, with which presets the application backend module or the application frontend module is operatable at the instructed data center or the remote client.