Cluster-based business process management through eager displacement and on-demand recovery

• US 9,588,806 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Ginkel, Thilo-Alexander, Miltz, Matthias, Balko, Sren, Klinker, Boris
• Primary Examiner(s): Vital, Pierre
• Assistant Examiner(s): LODHI, ANDALIB FT
• Application Number:
  US12/334,414
• Publication Number:
  US 20100153345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,007 Days
• Field of Search: 707/674, 707/688, 707/690, 707/737, 707/749, 707/769, 707/802, 707/803, 707/E17.044, 707/E17.046, 707/E17.061, 707/999.101
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2308 Concurrency control transaction processing G06F9/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2315 Optimistic concurrency control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/466 Transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for transporting processes within a distributed computing system, such as a cluster. In one aspect, the computer-implemented method may receive an event at a first node. The event may correspond to a process instance for handling the received event. The process instance may be transported from a second node to the first node. The process instance may be transported from a persistence when the process instance is inactive and, when the process instance is active, the process instance may be persisted to enable transport to the first node. Related apparatus, systems, methods, and articles are also described.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving an event within a database transaction, via a communications network, at a first node of a plurality of nodes in a distributed computing system sharing a joint database, the first node comprising a first programmable processor, the event corresponding to an instance of a process for executing business logic upon the received event, the instance of the process comprising a set of state variables representing local data that the process operates on, the business logic associated with one or more activities, the one or more activities including an activity performed by a second node of the plurality of nodes, the second node comprising a second programmable processor, the second node being different from the first node;

determining, in response to receiving the event at the first node, a location of the instance of the process to which the event corresponds;

when the location of the instance of the process is at the second node, determining that the instance of the process is active at the second node due to the second node handling the activity;

when the instance of the process is determined to be active at the second node, requesting that the instance of the process be delivered to the first node and waiting until the instance of the process is inactive when the second node has completed the activity;

responding, when the instance of the process is inactive, to a request to release the instance of the process at the second node to change an owner node of the instance of the process from the second node to the first node;

receiving the instance of the process, via the communications network, at the first node after the instance of the process becomes inactive;

delivering, within the first node, the event to the instance of the process;

committing the database transaction to the joint database, after the instance of the process is received and the event is delivered to the instance of the process; and

processing the event based upon the business logic.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the second node, a request to release the instance of the process for transport to the first node, the instance of the process active at the second node.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

persisting, in response to request, the instance of the process, when the instance of the process becomes inactive at the second node.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

responding, when the instance of the process is inactive, to the request to release the instance of the process at the second node.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the determining the location comprises matching an identifier to at least one of a hash table, database look-up, and table look-up.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the process further comprises a set of tokens and their position in a control flow graph.

7. A non-transitory machine readable storage device containing instructions to configure at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving an event within a database transaction, via a communications network, at a first node of a plurality of nodes in a distributed computing system sharing a joint database, the first node comprising a first programmable processor, the event corresponding to an instance of a process for executing business logic upon the received event, the instance of the process comprising a set of state variables representing local data that the process operates on, the business logic associated with one or more activities, the one or more activities including an activity performed by a second node of the plurality of nodes, the second node comprising a second programmable processor, the second node being different from the first node;

determining, in response to receiving the event at the first node, a location of the instance of the process to which the event corresponds;

when the location of the instance of the process is at the second node, determining that the instance of the process is active at the second node due to the second node handling the activity;

when the instance of the process is determined to be active at the second node, requesting that the instance of the process be delivered to the first node and waiting until the instance of the process is inactive when the second node has completed the activity;

responding, when the instance of the process is inactive, to a request to release the instance of the process at the second node to change an owner node of the instance of the process from the second node to the first node;

receiving the instance of the process, via the communications network, at the first node after the instance of the process becomes inactive;

delivering, within the first node, the event to the instance of the process;

committing the database transaction to the joint database, after the instance of the process is received and the event is delivered to the instance of the process; and

processing the event based upon the business logic.

8. The non-transitory machine readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, at the second node, a request to release the instance of the process for transport to the first node, the instance of the process active at the second node.

9. The non-transitory machine readable storage device of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

persisting, in response to request, the instance of the process, when the instance of the process becomes inactive at the second node.

10. The non-transitory machine readable storage device of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

responding, when the instance of the process is inactive, to the request to release the instance of the process at the second node.

11. The non-transitory machine readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the receiving further comprises receiving the instance of the process at the first node from the joint database, and wherein the operations further comprise:

delivering the event to the instance of the process at the first node; and

committing the database transaction only after successful receipt of the instance of the process and delivery of the event to the received instance of the process.

12. The non-transitory machine readable storage device of claim 11, wherein the event originates from a backend application and comprises at least one of a message, a call, a data object, and a notification of task completion.

13. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory, the at least one processor and the memory configured to perform a method comprising;

receiving an event within a database transaction, via a communications network, at a first node of a plurality of nodes in a distributed computing system sharing a joint database, the first node comprising a first programmable processor, the event corresponding to an instance of a process for executing business logic upon the received event, the instance of the process comprising a set of state variables representing local data that the process operates on, the business logic associated with one or more activities, the one or more activities including an activity performed by a second node of the plurality of nodes, the second node comprising a second programmable processor, the second node being different from the first node;

determining, in response to receiving the event at the first node, a location of the instance of the process to which the event corresponds;

when the location of the instance of the process is at the second node, determining that the instance of the process is active at the second node due to the second node handling the activity;

when the instance of the process is determined to be active at the second node, requesting that the instance of the process be delivered to the first node and waiting until the instance of the process is inactive when the second node has completed the activity;

responding, when the instance of the process is inactive, to a request to release the instance of the process at the second node to change an owner node of the instance of the process from the second node to the first node;

receiving the instance of the process, via the communications network, at the first node after the instance of the process becomes inactive;

delivering, within the first node, the event to the instance of the process;

committing the database transaction to the joint database, after the instance of the process is received and the event is delivered to the instance of the process; and

processing the event based upon the business logic.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, at the second node, a request to release the instance of the process for transport to the first node, the instance of the process active at the second node.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

persisting, in response to request, the instance of the process, when the instance of the process becomes inactive at the second node.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

responding, when the instance of the process is inactive, to the request to release the instance of the process at the second node.