Capacity on-demand in distributed computing environments

• US 9,137,324 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2002
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ims, Steven D., Li, Yongcheng, Lusardi, Richard J., Xing, Jie
• Primary Examiner(s): BLAIR, DOUGLAS B
• Application Number:
  US10/119,820
• Publication Number:
  US 20040049579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,906 Days
• Field of Search: 709/225, 709/235, 709217-219, 717/177, 718/105
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business by using dynamic capacity-on-demand techniques for re-routing traffic in a distributed computing network. When demand on an enterprise'"'"'s resources exceeds some predetermined level, dynamic modifications cause static content (such as images) to be served from resources which are external to the enterprise, such as a caching system which is located close to the enterprise'"'"'s end users. When demand falls below the predetermined level, the modifications are effectively reversed, such that the external resources are no longer used. The predetermined level may apply to a single monitored device, or to a group of monitored devices. The dynamic capacity-on-demand techniques may also be used for dynamic types of content, such as for dynamically re-routing access to an application program executing on an external resource, and may be used for internal capacity-on-demand as well.

Claims

1. A method of using dynamic capacity-on-demand techniques for re-routing traffic in a distributed computing network, comprising:

comparing current workload conditions, at a system which receives a content request to determine which of a nominal mode, an intermediate mode, and a peak mode, the receiving system is operating within;

serving an unmodified version of the requested content while in the nominal mode;

generating a modified version of at least a portion of requested content while in the intermediate mode;

continue serving an unmodified version of the requested content while in the intermediate mode; and

serving the modified version while in the peak mode;

wherein;

the modified version is programmatically created from the unmodified version by rewriting selected ones of one or more embedded content references within the unmodified version; and

the rewritten content references refer to resources which are external to an enterprise in which the receiving system is located, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the external resources; and

the embedded content references in the unmodified version refer to local resources of the enterprise, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the local resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the programmatic creation of the modified version further comprises replacing one or more selected ones of the embedded content references within the unmodified version, such that the replaced content references no longer refer to local resources.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving system is a caching proxy and the current workload conditions pertain to the caching proxy.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving system is a load balancer and the current workload conditions pertain to one or more devices for which the load balancer balances workload.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein one or more threshold values are specified as load balancing policy, and wherein one or more caching proxies are activated to perform the serving step when the modified versions of the requested content are to be served.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the peak mode reflects that current workload conditions exceed a peak mode threshold.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the intermediate mode reflects that current workload conditions exceed an intermediate mode threshold but not the peak mode threshold.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the serving the modified version while in the peak mode only occurs if the peak mode threshold is exceeded when the request for the content is received.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising caching the modified version as a cache variant of the unmodified version.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing a copy of content referenced by the embedded content references on the external resources; and

using the externally-stored copy to serve the subsequent requests.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising creating the modified version according to rules specifying which embedded content references are subject to modification and how those embedded content references should be modified.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the rules are specified using a structured markup language.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the resources are storage resources.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the resources are edgeable applications.

15. A method of using dynamic capacity-on-demand techniques for re-routing traffic in a distributed computing network, comprising:

comparing current workload conditions, at a system which receives a content request to multiple threshold values to determine which of a nominal mode, an intermediate mode, and a peak mode, the receiving system is operating within by determining whether current workload conditions exceed an intermediate mode threshold, a peak mode threshold, or combinations thereof;

serving an unmodified version of the requested content while in the nominal mode;

generating a modified version of at least a portion of requested content while in the intermediate mode;

continue serving an unmodified version of the requested content while in the intermediate mode; and

serving the modified version while in the peak mode;

wherein;

the modified version is programmatically created from the unmodified version by rewriting selected ones of one or more embedded content references within the unmodified version; and

the rewritten content references refer to shared resources which are internal to an enterprise in which the receiving system is located, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the shared internal resources; and

the embedded content references in the unmodified version refer to dedicated resources of the system, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the shared internal resources.

16. A method of hosting content for an enterprise, comprising:

providing storage resources for use by the enterprise;

receiving notification indicating which of a nominal mode, an intermediate mode, and a peak mode the enterprise is operating within after which the content hosting is desired, in which;

an unmodified version of the requested content is served while in the nominal mode;

a modified version of at least a portion of requested content is generated while in the intermediate mode;

an unmodified version of the requested content is still served while in the intermediate mode; and

the modified version is served while in the peak mode;

determining a local storage location on the provided storage resources for storing, at least temporarily, copies of each of one or more selected resources of the enterprise;

storing the copies of the one or more selected resources in the determined local storage locations;

programmatically modifying content of the third party in an intermediate mode to refer to selected ones of the determined local storage locations, such that subsequent requests for content references which are embedded in the programmatically modified content will be automatically diverted from the enterprise; and

serving the copies of particular ones of the one or more selected resources from the determined local storage resources when in the peak mode, responsive to receiving the subsequent diverted requests for the particular ones.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising charging the enterprise for use of the provided storage resources.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising charging the enterprise for serving the copies from the determined local storage resources.

19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising charging the enterprise for storing the copies of the one or more selected resources.

20. A method of providing resources for temporary use by one or more enterprises, comprising:

providing resources for use by a particular enterprise when resources internal to the enterprise are insufficient, as dynamically determined by whether the particular enterprise is operating in a nominal mode, an intermediate mode, or a peak mode, in which;

an unmodified version of the requested content is served while in the nominal mode;

a modified version of at least a portion of requested content is generated while in the intermediate mode;

an unmodified version of the requested content is still served while in the intermediate mode; and

the modified version is served while in the peak mode; and

processing requests for the provided resources upon demand of the particular enterprise

wherein;

the modified version is programmatically created from the unmodified version by rewriting selected ones of one or more embedded content references within the unmodified version; and

the rewritten content references refer to resources which are external to an enterprise in which the receiving system is located, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the external resources; and

the embedded content references in the unmodified version refer to local resources of the enterprise, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the local resources.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising charging the particular enterprise for the processing.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein the resources are storage resources.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein the resources are application resources.

24. A system for using dynamic capacity-on-demand techniques for re-routing traffic in a distributed computing network, comprising:

a processor; and

computer-readable memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processor to;

determine which of a nominal mode, an intermediate mode, and a peak mode a receiving system is operating within;

determine which portion of requested content is modifiable content;

serve an unmodified version of the requested content while in the nominal mode;

generate a modified version of at least a portion of requested content while in the intermediate mode by modifying the modifiable content;

continue to serve an unmodified version of the requested content while in the intermediate mode; and

serve the modified version while in the peak mode;

wherein;

the modified version is programmatically created from the unmodified version by rewriting selected ones of one or more embedded content references within the unmodified version; and

the rewritten content references refer to storage resources which are external to an enterprise in which the receiving system is located, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the external storage resources; and

the embedded content references in the unmodified version refer to local storage resources of the enterprise, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the local storage resources.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein the programmatic creation of the modified version further comprises replacing one or more selected ones of the embedded content references within the unmodified version, wherein that the replaced content references no longer refer to storage resources.

26. The system according to claim 24, wherein the receiving system is a caching proxy and the current workload conditions pertain to the caching proxy.

27. The system according to claim 24, wherein the receiving system is a load balancer and the current workload conditions pertain to one or more devices for which the load balancer balances workload.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein one or more threshold values are specified as load balancing policy, and wherein one or more caching proxies are activated to serve the modified version when the modified versions of the requested content are to be served.

29. The system according to claim 24, wherein the peak mode reflects that the current workload conditions exceed a peak mode threshold.

30. The system according to claim 29, wherein the intermediate mode reflects that current workload conditions exceed an intermediate mode threshold but not the peak mode threshold.

31. The system according to claim 29, wherein serving the modified version while in the peak mode serves the modified version only if the peak mode threshold is exceeded when the request for the content is received.

32. The system according to claim 24, further comprising instructions, executable by the processor to cache the modified version as a cache variant of the unmodified version.

33. The system according to claim 24, further comprising instructions executable by the processor to:

store a copy of content referenced by the embedded content references on the external storage resources; and

use the externally-stored copy to serve the subsequent requests.

34. The system according to claim 24, further comprising instructions, executable by the process to create the modified version according to rules specifying which embedded content references are subject to modification and how those embedded content references should be modified.

35. A computer program product for using dynamic capacity-on-demand techniques for re-routing traffic in a distributed computing network, the computer program product comprising one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media and comprising:

computer-readable program code configured to compare current workload conditions, at a system which receives a content request, to multiple threshold values to determine which of a nominal mode, an intermediate mode, and a peak mode, the receiving system is operating within by determining whether current workload conditions exceed an intermediate mode threshold, a peak mode threshold, or combinations thereof;

computer-readable program code configured to determine which portion of requested content is modifiable content;

computer-readable program code configured to serve an unmodified version of the requested content while in the nominal mode;

computer-readable program code configured to generate a modified version of at least a portion of the requested content while in an intermediate mode by modifying the modifiable content;

computer-readable program code configured to continue to serve an unmodified version of at least of the requested content while in the intermediate mode; and

computer-readable program code configured to serve a modified version of the requested modifiable content while in the peak mode;

computer-readable program code configured to determine whether a receiving system has exited a peak mode by comparing the current workload conditions to an exit peak mode threshold, in which the exit peak mode threshold is different from the peak mode threshold;

wherein;

the modified version is programmatically created from the unmodified version by rewriting selected ones of one or more embedded content references within the unmodified version; and

the rewritten content references refer to storage resources which are external to an enterprise in which the receiving system is located, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the external storage resources; and

the embedded content references in the unmodified version refer to local storage resources of the enterprise, such that subsequent requests for each of the embedded content references are automatically directed to the local storage resources.

36. The computer program product according to claim 35, wherein the programmatic creation of the modified version further comprises replacing one or more selected ones of the embedded content references within the unmodified version, wherein that the replaced content references no longer refer to storage resources.

37. The computer program product according to claim 35, wherein the receiving system is a caching proxy and the current workload conditions pertain to the caching proxy.

38. The computer program product according to claim 35, wherein the receiving system is a load balancer and the current workload conditions pertain to one or more devices for which the load balancer balances workload.

39. The computer program product according to claim 38, wherein one or more threshold values are specified as load balancing policy, and wherein one or more caching proxies are activated to perform the computer-readable program code configured to serve a modified version of the requested content, or an unmodified version of the requested content, depending on the current operational mode when the modified versions of the requested content are to be served.

40. The computer program product according to claim 35, wherein the peak mode reflects that current workload conditions exceed a peak mode threshold.

41. The computer program product according to claim 40, wherein the intermediate mode reflects that current workload conditions exceed an intermediate mode threshold but not the peak mode threshold.

42. The computer program product according to claim 41, further comprising computer-readable program code configured to send corresponding requests to a provider of the external resources to cause the provider to retrieve a copy of content referenced by the embedded content references in response to receiving content requests when the current operating mode is the intermediate mode.

43. The computer program product according to claim 40, wherein the computer-readable program code configured to serve the modified version while in the peak mode only occurs if the peak mode threshold is exceeded when the request for the content is received.

44. The computer program product according to claim 35, further comprising computer-readable program code configured to cache the modified version as a cache variant of the unmodified version.

45. The computer program product according to claim 35, further comprising:

computer-readable program code configured to store a copy of content referenced by the embedded content references on the external storage resources; and

computer-readable program code configured to use the externally-stored copy to serve the subsequent requests.

46. The computer program product according to claim 35, further comprising computer-readable program code configured to create the modified version according to rules specifying which embedded content references are subject to modification and how those embedded content references should be modified.