Method and system for providing load balancing for virtualized application workspaces

• US 9,317,333 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnissa, LLC
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilkinson, Anthony J., Benson, Mark, Hayward, Patrick W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Keehn, Richard G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahmed, Mohammed
• Application Number:
  US11/929,312
• Publication Number:
  US 20080147787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,094 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/229
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/282 Hierarchical databases, e.g. IMS, LDAP data stores or Lotus Notes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4523 using lightweight directory access protocol [LDAP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1023 based on a hash applied to IP addresses or costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1031 Controlling of the operation of servers by a load balancer, e.g. adding or removing servers that serve requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing load balancing are provided. Example embodiments provide a Application Workspace System “AWS” which enables users to access remote server-based applications using the same interface that they use to access local applications, without needing to know where the application is being accessed. In one embodiment, a load balancing message bus is provided that performs load balancing and resource discovery within the AWS. For example, the AWS may use a broadcast message-bus based load balancing to determine which servers to use to launch remote application access requests or to perform session management. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and it is submitted with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for providing load balancing for remote application sessions to be executed on one or more of a plurality of servers, comprising:

generating, on a client device, a virtual workspace for a user based on a point of access associated with the user, the virtual workspace including a first icon for a local application running on the client device and a second icon for a remote application running on the one or more of the plurality of servers;

receiving a request to launch the remote application;

in response to the request to launch the remote application, broadcasting a message to a message bus to request an available session for executing the remote application on the one or more of the plurality of servers, the message bus having the one or more of the plurality of servers subscribed to an event that corresponds to the session related request for the available session;

receiving a response over the message bus from one or more of the plurality of servers, the response containing a set of statistical information related to the one or more of the plurality of servers;

sorting the responding one or more servers according to the statistical information received over the message bus, wherein the sorting further comprises

computing a score for each of the responding one or more servers based on the statistical information received over the message bus, wherein computing the score comprises computing the score based on a number of sessions serviced by the one or more servers, a percentage of committed bytes used by the one or more servers, and average processor utilization for the one or more servers, and wherein computing the score also comprises averaging a first value associated with the number of sessions, a second value associated with the percentage of committed bytes, and a third value associated with the average processor utilization;

storing each of the responding one or more servers into a data structure;

sorting the data structure based on the score to generate a sorted data structure; and

selecting the one of the responding one or more servers based on the sorted data structure to provide the available session for executing the remote application based on the sorting of the data structure.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the message bus is a JMS compliant message bus.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the session related request is for a connection.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of servers comprise Terminal Servers.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of servers comprise at least one of a streaming data service, a hosted virtual operating environment, or a terminal service.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the statistical information further comprises a number of current sessions being serviced by a server, a percentage of memory being used by the server, and an average processor time being utilized by the server.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing content that, when executed, controls a computing system to perform a method comprising:

generating, on a client device, a virtual workspace for a user based on a point of access associated with the user, the virtual workspace including icons for a local application running on the client device and a remote application running on the one or more of the plurality of servers;

receiving a request to launch the remote application;

in response to the request to launch the remote application, broadcasting a message to a message bus to request an available session for executing the remote application on the one or more of a plurality of server computing systems, the message bus having the one or more of the plurality of server computing systems subscribed to an event that corresponds to the session related request for the available session;

receiving a response over the message bus from one or more of the plurality of server computing systems, the response containing a set of statistical information related to the one or more of the plurality of server computing systems;

sorting the responding one or more server computing systems based according to the statistical information received over the message bus, wherein the sorting further comprises

computing a score for each of the responding one or more server computing systems based on the statistical information received over the message bus, wherein computing the score comprises computing the score based on a number of sessions serviced by the one or more servers, a percentage of committed bytes used by the one or more servers, and average processor utilization for the one or more servers, and wherein computing the score also comprises averaging a first value associated with the number of sessions, a second value associated with the percentage of committed bytes, and a third value associated with the average processor utilization;

storing each of the responding one or more server computing systems into a data structure;

sorting the data structure based on the score; and

selecting the one of the responding one or more server computing systems to provide the available session for executing the remote application based on the sorting of the data structure.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6 wherein the computer-readable medium is at least one of a memory in a computing device or a data transmission medium transmitting a generated signal containing the content.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6 wherein the content is instructions that, when executed, cause the computing system to perform the method.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the statistical information further comprises a number of current sessions being serviced by a server, a percentage of memory being used by the server, and an average processor time being utilized by the server.

9. A system comprising:

a virtual workspace generated for a user on a client device based on a point of access associated with the user, the virtual workspace including icons for a local application running on the client device and a remote application;

a plurality of servers each configured to be able to execute the remote application on behalf of a remote process;

a message bus and associated protocol configured to receive one or more messages to be distributed to the plurality of servers registered to receive the message; and

a requesting process that controls session management, the requesting process executing on an application server and configured, when executed, to;

receive a request to launch the remote application;

in response to the request to launch the remote application, send a session related message to the message bus to request an available session for executing a remote application,

receive one or more responses from one or more responding servers of the plurality of servers, the one or more responses including a set of statistical information related to the one or more of the plurality of server computing systems;

sort the responding one or more servers according to the statistical information received in the one or more responses, wherein the sorting further comprises

computing a score for each of the responding one or more servers based on the statistical information received over the message bus, wherein computing the score comprises computing the score based on a number of sessions serviced by the one or more servers, a percentage of committed bytes used by the one or more servers, and average processor utilization for the one or more servers, and wherein computing the score also comprises averaging a first value associated with the number of sessions, a second value associated with the percentage of committed bytes, and a third value associated with the average processor utilization;

storing each of the responding one or more servers into a data structure;

sorting the data structure based on the score; and

select the one of the responding one or more servers to provide the available session for executing the remote application based on the sorting of the data structure.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the message bus is a JMS compliant message bus.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the session related message is a request for a connection to a session.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein at least one of the servers provides terminal services.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein at least one of the servers provides a hosted virtual operating environment.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the statistical information further comprises a number of current sessions being serviced by a server, a percentage of memory being used by the server, and an average processor time being utilized by the server.