Method and apparatus for indirectly assessing a status of an active entity

• US 10,133,644 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2016
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RingCentral Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Inventors: Biermayr, Rodrigo, Hauenstein, Evandro, Wiebe, David, Nagel, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): MASKULINSKI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US15/298,387
• Publication Number:
  US 20170039115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2005 using redundant communication controllers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2007 using redundant communication media
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2033 switching over of hardware resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2038 with a single idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1036 Load balancing of requests to servers for services different from user content provisioning, e.g. load balancing across domain name servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A method and system permit a backup entity of a redundant apparatus of a communication system that shares control of hardware resources or other network resources with an active entity to indirectly determine a status of the active entity based upon behavior and reaction to actions it takes in connection with resources it shares control of with the active entity. Such a method and system permit the backup entity to deduce the state of the active entity without having any a hardware connection or other communication connection with the active entity.

Claims

1. A method of providing redundancy comprising:

a backup entity determining that a communication connection failed between the backup entity and an active entity that communicates with the backup entity such that messages are not exchangeable between the backup entity and the active entity via the communication connection between the backup entity and active entity;

the backup entity taking over control of at least one resource from the active entity for a first period of time to oversee or manage the at least one resource in response to the determining that the communication connection failed between the backup entity and the active entity;

the backup entity dropping control of the at least one resource after the first period of time elapses; and

upon the backup entity determining that the active entity has not reinitiated control of the at least one resource within a second period of time after the backup entity dropped control of the at least one resource, the backup entity determining that the active entity experienced a failure and taking over control of the at least one resource to oversee or manage the at least one resource.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising:

the backup entity observing the at least one resource to monitor a status of service associated with the at least one resource within the second period of time to determine whether the status of service is at or exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

3. The method of claim 2 comprising:

the active entity taking over control of the at least one resource during the second period of time after the backup entity performs the dropping control of the at least one resource.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the predetermined threshold value is exceeded when the predetermined threshold value is below or above a pre-selected value.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising:

the active entity taking over control of the at least one resource during the second period of time after the backup entity performs the dropping control of the at least one resource.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the backup entity is a computer comprising at least one processor and non-transitory memory.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one resource and the backup entity are within an enterprise network and the backup entity is a server.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the active entity is within the enterprise network and the active entity is a server.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium having an application stored thereon that defines steps of a method for a backup entity when the application is executed by the backup entity, the method defined by the application comprising:

the backup entity determining that a communication connection failed between the backup entity and an active entity that communicates with the backup entity such that messages are not exchangeable between the backup entity and the active entity via the communication connection between the backup entity and active entity;

the backup entity taking over control of at least one resource from the active entity for a first period of time to oversee or manage the at least one resource in response to the determining that the communication connection failed between the backup entity and the active entity;

the backup entity dropping control of the at least one resource after the first period of time elapses; and

upon the backup entity determining that the active entity has not reinitiated control of the at least one resource within a second period of time after the backup entity dropped control of the at least one resource, the backup entity determining that the active entity experienced a failure and taking over control of the at least one resource to oversee or manage the at least one resource.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the method also comprises:

the backup entity observing the at least one resource to monitor a status of service associated with the at least one resource within the second period of time to determine whether the status of service is at or exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein the predetermined threshold value is exceeded when the predetermined threshold value is below or above a pre-selected value.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the at least one resource and the backup entity are within an enterprise network.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 wherein the backup entity is a computer comprising at least one processor and non-transitory memory.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the at least one communication connection failed when a failure of all communication connections between the active entity and the backup entity occurs such that messages are not exchangeable between the backup entity and the active entity.

15. A communication apparatus comprising:

a backup entity having at least one processor unit communicatively connected to at least one memory, the backup entity communicatively connectable to an active entity via at least one communication connection, the backup entity configured to determine that the communication connection failed between the backup entity and the active entity such that messages are not exchangeable between the backup entity and the active entity via the communication connection between the backup entity and active entity;

the backup entity configured to take over control of at least one resource from the active entity for a first period of time to oversee or manage the at least one resource in response to determining that the communication connection failed between the backup entity and the active entity;

the backup entity configured to drop control of the at least one resource after the first period of time elapses; and

the backup entity configured so that, upon the backup entity determining that the active entity has not reinitiated control of the at least one resource within a second period of time after the backup entity dropped control of the at least one resource, the backup entity determining that the active entity experienced a failure and taking over control of the at least one resource to oversee or manage the at least one resource.

16. The communication apparatus of claim 15 comprising:

the at least one resource communicatively connectable to the active entity and the backup entity.

17. The communication apparatus of claim 16, comprising:

the active entity having at least one processor unit communicatively connected to at least one memory;

the active entity configured to oversee or manage the at least one resource to provide a service and the backup entity configured to provide a redundancy service for the active entity.

18. The communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein the active entity is comprised of a computer device that is configured to monitor the at least one resource to assess a status of service associated with the at least one resource during the first period of time to determine whether the status of service associated with the at least one resource is improved relative to when the at least one resource is overseen or managed by the active entity to determine whether the active entity should retake control of the at least one resource during the second period of time.

19. The communication apparatus of claim 15, wherein the communication apparatus is a communication system, a gateway, or a server;

and

wherein the at least one communication connection fails when there is a failure of all communication connections between the active entity and the backup entity.

20. The communication apparatus of claim 15, wherein the communication apparatus is located within an enterprise network.

21. The communication apparatus of claim 15, wherein:

the backup entity is configured to send at least one first message so that the at least one resource responds to the first message by sending a first acknowledgement of the first message to the active entity; and

wherein the active entity is configured to send at least one second message to the at least one resource message in response to the first acknowledgement such that the at least one resource sends a second acknowledgement to the backup entity in response to receiving the second message.