Maintenance of message serialization in multi-queue messaging environments

• US 9,141,446 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2008
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Kessler, Joerg
• Primary Examiner(s): Kraft, Shih-Wei
• Application Number:
  US12/258,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20100107176A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,524 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/548 Queue
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

Messages may be provided to a source queue in serialized order, each message associated with a serialization context. The messages may be buffered in the source queue until a transmission time is reached, in turn, for each buffered message. Transmission-ready messages may be sent from the source queue according to the serialized order, using the serialization context, while continuing to store existing messages that are not yet transmission-ready. A queue assignment of the serialization context may be changed to a target queue. Subsequent messages may be provided with the serialization context to the target queue for buffering therein, while remaining transmission-ready messages may be continued to be sent from the source queue. The existing messages from the source queue associated with the serialization context may be determined to have been sent, and the subsequent messages may be sent from the target queue in serialized order, using the serialization context.

Claims

1. A computer system for managing a plurality of related messages generated by an application in a serial order and a serialization context generated by the application for each of the plurality of related messages to ensure that the plurality of related messages are transmitted in the serial order, the computer system comprising:

at least one processor;

instructions recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by the at least one processor; and

the computer system further includes

a queue assignment handler configured to associate the serialization context of the plurality of related messages with a source queue used to transmit a sequence of the related messages in the serial order based on the serialization context and configured to receive a change in queue assignment of the serialization context from the source queue to a target queue;

a queue monitor configured to monitor the related messages associated with the source queue and the target queue to assist with maintaining the sequence of the related messages in the serial order;

a queue scheduler configured to execute the change in queue assignment, including being configured to

schedule transmission of the related messages to and from the source queue and the target queue so as to maintain the sequence of the related messages in the serial order;

determine, from the queue assignment handler, the change in queue assignment of the serialization context from the source queue to the target queue;

suspend transmission of existing messages of the related messages from the source queue and the target queue, and disable a placement of subsequent messages of the related messages into the source queue;

schedule placement of the subsequent messages of the related messages within the target queue;

resume transmission of the existing messages of the related messages from the source queue;

receive, from the queue monitor, notification of completion of the transmission of the existing messages of the related messages from the source queue; and

after receiving the notification of completion of the transmission of the existing messages of the related messages from the source queue, transmit the subsequent messages of the related messages from the target queue to thereby maintain transmission of the sequence of the related messages in the serial order using the serialization context;

wherein the source queue is included within a plurality of source queues, each having at least one serialization context, and wherein the change in queue assignment includes a consolidation of the serialization contexts of all of the plurality of source queues into association with the target queue;

wherein the queue assignment handler is configured to select the plurality of source queues from among a larger pool of source queues;

wherein the serialization context includes an identifier received from the application that originates the related messages, and that is associated with each of the related messages; and

wherein the queue scheduler is configured to execute the change in queue assignment, including being configured to

schedule an initial transmission of the related messages from the source queue using the serialization context, prior to the change in queue assignment, and

begin transmission of the subsequent messages from the target queue, using the serialization context, subsequent to the notification.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the queue assignment handler is configured to select the plurality of source queues from among the larger pool of source queues based on an efficiency selection criteria associated with optimizing an increase in efficiency of processing of the related message resulting from the consolidation.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the efficiency selection criteria is determined based on a delay associated with the change in queue assignment when using the plurality of source queues compared to a corresponding delay associated with using at least one other combination of source queues from the larger pool of source queues.

4. The system of claim 1 comprising:

a view generator configured to generate a queue management user interface providing fields to receive queue designations of the source queue and the target queue from a user; and

a request handler configured to receive the queue designations and forward the queue designations to the queue assignment handler.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the target queue is created at a time of the change in queue assignment in order to receive the serialization context.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the queue assignment handler is configured to determine, before executing the change in queue assignment, that a delay associated with the change in queue assignment will be less than a time saved in processing the related messages using the target queue, relative to continued processing of the related messages using the source queue.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein, after disabling of the source queue from receiving the subsequent messages, the queue monitor is configured to create a lookup storage in which at least a last message of the existing messages of the source queue is identified with respect to the serialization context and the target queue, and wherein the queue monitor is configured to monitor the lookup storage to determine the notification of completion of the transmission of the existing messages from the source queue.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the serialization context is configured to provide a mechanism to maintain transmission of the sequence of the related messages in the serial order from the source queue and the target queue.

9. A computer program product tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and including executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:

generate a plurality of related messages in a serial order and generate a serialization context for each of the plurality of related messages to ensure that the plurality of related messages are transmitted in the serial order;

determine a change in assignment of the serialization context from a source queue to a target queue, the serialization context being associated with the plurality of related messages and being used to maintain a sequence of the related messages in the serial order during transmission thereof from the source queue and the target queue;

initiate a transition period in which the serialization context is associated with both the source queue and the target queue, and in which a first subset of the related messages in the serial order are present in the source queue and a second subset of the related messages in the serial order are present in the target queue;

transmit, during the transition period, all of the first subset of related messages until the source queue is empty of the first subset of related messages;

terminate the transition period including associating the serialization context exclusively with the target queue;

transmit the second subset of related messages in the serial order from the target queue to maintain transmission of the sequence of the related messages in the serial order using the serialization context;

wherein the source queue is included within a plurality of source queues, each having at least one serialization context, and wherein the serialization contexts of all of the plurality of the plurality of source queues are associated with the target queue during the transition period and the change in assignment includes a consolidation of the serialization contexts of all of the plurality of source queues into association with the target queue;

wherein the plurality of source queues is selected from among a larger pool of source queues;

wherein the serialization context includes an identifier received from an application that originates the related messages, and that is associated with each of the related messages; and

wherein the change in assignment includes

scheduling an initial transmission of the related messages from the source queue using the serialization context, prior to the change in assignment, and

beginning transmission of the second subset of the related messages from the target queue, using the serialization context, subsequent to a notification of completion of the transmission of the first subset of the related messages from the source queue.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the executable code, when executed, causes the data processing apparatus to:

generate a queue management user interface providing fields to receive queue designations of the source queue and the target queue from a user; and

receive the change in assignment of a serialization context, including identification of the source queue and the target queue, from the queue designations received via the fields.

11. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the executable code, when executed, causes the data processing apparatus to:

monitor transmission of the first subset of related messages during the transition period, to determine that the source queue is empty of the first subset of related messages.

12. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the executable code, when executed, causes the data processing apparatus to:

create a lookup storage in which at least a last message of the first subset of related messages of the source queue is identified with respect to the serialization context and the target queue; and

use the lookup storage to determine that all of the first subset of related messages have been transmitted so that the source queue is empty of the first subset of related messages.

13. A method comprising:

generating, by at least one processor, a plurality of first related messages in a serialized order and generating a first serialization context for each of the plurality of first related messages to ensure that the plurality of first related messages are transmitted in the serialized order;

providing, by the at least one processor, the plurality of first related messages in a sequence to a first source queue in the serialized order, each first related message associated with the first serialization context;

buffering, by the at least one processor, the first related messages in the first source queue until a transmission time is reached, in turn, for each buffered message of the first related messages;

sending, by the at least one processor, transmission-ready messages of the first related messages from the first source queue in the sequence according to the serialized order, using the first serialization context, while continuing to store existing messages of the first related messages that are not yet transmission-ready;

changing, by the at least one processor, a queue assignment of the first serialization context to a target queue;

providing, by the at least one processor, subsequent messages of the first related messages with the serialization context to the target queue for buffering therein, while continuing to send remaining transmission-ready messages of the first related messages from the first source queue;

determining, by the at least one processor, that all of the existing messages from the first source queue associated with the serialization context have been sent;

after determining that all of the existing messages from the first source queue associated with the serialization context have been sent, sending, by the at least one processor, the subsequent messages from the target queue according to the sequence in serialized order, using the serialization context;

wherein the first source queue is included within a plurality of source queues, each having at least one serialization context, and wherein changing the queue assignment includes a consolidation of the serialization contexts of all of the plurality of source queues into association with the target queue;

wherein the plurality of source queues is selected from among a larger pool of source queues;

wherein the first serialization context includes a first identifier received from an application that originates the first related messages, and that is associated with each of the first related messages; and

changing the queue assignment includes

scheduling, by the at least one processor, an initial transmission of the first related messages from the source queue using the serialization context, prior to changing the queue assignment, and

beginning, by the at least one processor, transmission of the subsequent messages from the target queue, using the serialization context, subsequent to a notification of completion of the transmission of the first related messages from the source queue.

14. The method of claim 13 comprising:

generating a plurality of second related messages in a serialized order and generating a second serialization context for each of the plurality of second related messages to ensure that the plurality of second related messages are transmitted in the serial order;

providing the plurality of second related messages to a second source queue in the serialized order, each second related message associated with the second serialization context;

buffering the second related messages in the second source queue until a transmission time is reached, in turn, for each;

sending transmission-ready second messages of the second related messages from the second source queue according to the serialized order, using the second serialization context, while continuing to store remaining second messages of the second related messages that are not yet transmission- ready;

changing a second queue assignment of the second serialization context to the target queue, in association with the changing of the queue assignment of the first serialization context to the target queue;

providing subsequent second messages of the second related messages with the second serialization context to the target queue for buffering therein, while continuing to send the remaining second messages of the transmission-ready second messages from the second source queue;

determining that all of the related second messages from the second source queue associated with the second serialization context have been sent; and

sending the subsequent second messages from the target queue in serialized order, using the second serialization context.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the first source queue and the second source queue are among a plurality of source queues, the first and second source queues associated with the first and second serialization contexts, respectively, and associated with the first and second related messages, respectively, wherein the first and second serialization contexts are consolidated with respect to the target queue to increase an efficiency of processing of the associated first and second related messages.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein determining that all of the first related messages from the first source queue associated with the first serialization context have been sent comprises:

creating a lookup storage in which at least a last message of the existing messages of the first source queue is identified with respect to the first serialization context and the target queue; and

using the lookup storage to determine that all of the existing messages of the first source queue have been transmitted so that the first source queue is empty thereof.