Re-routing incoming email for a multi-tenant database system

• US 9,264,388 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2013
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Humphreys, Joseph, Mencke, Rasmus
• Primary Examiner(s): RECEK, JASON D
• Application Number:
  US13/897,157
• Publication Number:
  US 20130311583A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

A method for processing email for a multi-tenant database system is presented here. The system includes a plurality of data centers and a plurality of instances of a multi-tenant database system core. Each data center implements at least one instance of the multi-tenant database core. The method receives an incoming email at a first local mail transfer agent (MTA) of a first data center, wherein the incoming email is erroneously directed to a first instance of the multi-tenant database system core. The method continues by searching a private domain name service (DNS) database maintained at the first data center, based on an identifier of the first instance and an identifier of the first data center. The method then obtains an identifier associated with a second data center of the plurality of data centers, and routes the incoming email in accordance with the identifier of the second data center.

Claims

1. A method for processing email for a multi-tenant database system comprising a plurality of data centers and a plurality of instances of a multi-tenant database system core, each of the plurality of data centers implementing at least one of the plurality of instances of the multi-tenant database core, the method comprising:

maintaining, at each of the plurality of data centers, an instantiation of a private domain name service (DNS) database, the private DNS database comprising a respective DNS entry for every possible combination of one of the plurality of data centers and one of the instances of the multi-tenant database system core;

receiving an incoming email at a first local mail transfer agent (MTA) of a first data center of the plurality of data centers, the incoming email directed to an incoming email address comprising a first domain string that includes a pod token;

redirecting the incoming email to a redirected email address comprising a second domain string that includes the pod token and a data center token that identifies the first data center;

obtaining, from the instantiation of the private DNS database maintained at the first data center, a destination location for the redirected email address, wherein the destination location is obtained from the respective DNS entry that includes a combination of the pod token and the data center token; and

routing the incoming email to the destination location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pod token is formatted as a subdomain of the first domain string.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data center token is formatted as a subdomain of the second domain string.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pod token is formatted as a subdomain of the second domain string.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the obtaining obtains a destination internet protocol (IP) address for the redirected email address; and

the routing routes the incoming email to the destination IP address.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the destination IP address identifies one of the plurality of instances of the multi-tenant database system core that is implemented at the first data center.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the destination IP address identifies a second data center of the plurality of data centers.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the destination IP address identifies a second local MTA of a second data center of the plurality of data centers.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating all instantiations of the private DNS database when a tenant of the multi-tenant database system moves from one of the plurality of data centers to another of the plurality of data centers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the incoming email is a once-redirected email;

the first domain string includes the pod token and a third data center token that identifies a third data center of the plurality of data centers; and

the redirecting replaces the third data center token with the first data center token.