Distributed caching and cache analysis

• US 9,380,127 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2012
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Inventors: Zhang, Liang
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R
• Application Number:
  US13/517,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20120297010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• Field of Search: 709213-216, 709/201, 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

In a distributed caching system, a Web server may receive, from a user device, a request for a Web service. The Web server may parse the request to identify a cookie included in the request and determine whether the cookie includes allocation information. The allocation information may indicate multiple cache servers temporally store certain data associated with the Web service. The Web server may request for the certain data from the cache servers and then transmit the certain data to the user device. If one of the cache servers fails to respond to the request, the Web server may reallocate the cached data and update the cookie by overwriting the allocation information stored in the cookie.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving, from a user device, a request for data associated with a Web service;

allocating at least one portion of the data associated with the Web service to multiple cache servers;

recording allocation information in a cookie that is designated to the user device, the allocation information indicating a relationship between the at least one portion of the data and the one or more cache servers;

receiving, from the user device, another request for data related to the at least one portion of the data, the other request including the cookie;

identifying the cookie to obtain the allocation information;

facilitating transmission of the at least one portion of the data to the user device based on the allocation information;

requesting the at least one portion of the data from the multiple cache servers;

determining that a cache server of the multiple cache servers fails, within a predetermined time period, to respond to the request for the at least one portion of the data; and

reallocating, in response to the determination that the cache server of the multiple cache servers fails, the at least one portion of the data to another cache server of the multiple cache servers.

2. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise:

updating the allocation information in the cookie to reflect the reallocating.

3. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the reallocating the at least one portion of the data to the other cache server comprises reallocating the at least one portion of the data to the other cache server based on a predetermined order of multiple cache servers.

4. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the one or more cache servers include multiple cache servers, and the acts further comprise:

determining that the multiple cache servers add or remove a cache server;

reallocating the at least one portion of the data to the multiple cache servers based on a predetermined rule; and

updating the allocation information in the cookie to reflect the reallocating.

5. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise:

requesting, from a service provider server, the data;

receiving the data from the service provider; and

identifying the at least one portion of the data from the data received from the service provider server.

6. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the one or more cache servers comprise memcached-type servers.

7. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the allocating the at least one portion of the data comprises allocating the at least one portion of the data based on a HASH rule.

8. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the Web service comprises at least one of a database service, a payment service, and a Web search engine.

9. A computer-implemented method, performed via one or more processors having instructions of the method comprising:

receiving, from a user device, a request for a Web service;

parsing the request to identify a cookie having allocation information indicating that multiple cache servers temporarily store at least one portion of data associated with the Web service;

requesting, from the multiple cache servers, the at least one portion of the data based on the allocation information,

transmitting the requested at least one portion of the data to the user device;

requesting the at least one portion of the data from the multiple cache servers;

determining that a cache server of the multiple cache servers fails, within a predetermined time period, to respond to the request for the at least one portion of the data; and

reallocating, in response to the determination that the cache server of the multiple cache servers fails, the at least one portion of the data to another cache server of the multiple cache servers.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining that the cookie does not have allocation information;

requesting, from a Web service server, particular data associated with the Web service; and

recording allocation information in the cookie designated to the user device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the allocating the particular data to the multiple cache servers comprises allocating the particular data to the multiple cache servers based on a predetermined order of multiple cache servers.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the allocating the particular data comprise allocating the particular data based on a HASH rule.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining that a cache server of the one or more cache servers fails to provide the requested the at least one portion of the data, the one or more cache severs including multiple cache servers;

requesting the at least one portion of the data from a Web service server;

reallocating the at least one portion of the data to another cache server of the multiple cache servers; and

updating the allocation information in the cookie to reflect the reallocating.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining that the one or more cache servers add or delete a cache server, the one or more servers including the multiple cache severs;

reallocating the at least one portion of the data to the multiple cache servers based on a predetermined rule; and

updating the allocation information in the cookie to reflect the reallocating.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more cache servers comprise memcached-type servers.

16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving, from a user device, a request for a Web service;

parsing the request to determine a cookie designated to the user device;

determining whether the cookie has allocation information indicating allocation of data associated with the Web service among multiple cache servers;

requesting the data associated with the Web service from the multiple cache servers;

determining that a cache server of the multiple cache servers fails to respond to the requesting within a predetermined time period; and

reallocating, in response to the determination that the cache server of the multiple cache servers fails, the data associated with the Web service to another cache server of the multiple cache servers,

wherein, in the event that the cookie has the allocation information;

determining the data associated with the Web service based on the allocation information, and

facilitating transmission of the data associated with the Web service to the user device, and

wherein, in the event that the cookie does not have the allocation information;

receiving the data associated with the Web service from a Web service server,

allocating the data associated with the Web service to the multiple cache servers, and

recording the allocation information in the cookie.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the acts further comprise:

determining that there is no cookie included in the request; and

creating the cookie.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the acts further comprise:

updating the allocation information in the cookie to reflect the reallocating.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the acts further comprise:

determining that the multiple cache servers add or delete a cache server;

reallocating the data associated with the Web service to the multiple cache servers based on a predetermined rule; and

updating the allocation information in the cookie to reflect the reallocating.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the multiple cache servers comprise memcached-type servers.