Managing time consistency in a distributed computing system

• US 10,547,401 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2017
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced New Technologies Company Limited (Ant Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Inventors: Yu, Jing
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khan, Hassan A
• Application Number:
  US15/784,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20180041298A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/12 Synchronisation of different clock signals provided by a plurality of clock generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/14 Time supervision arrangements, e.g. real time clock
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0658 Clock or time synchronisation among packet nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of managing time consistency in a distributed computing system includes adjusting a time of a first server in the distributed computing system to a target time. The first server identifies a time offset between the target time and a time of a second server in the distributed computing system. The first server generates a computer instruction to the second server, where the computer instruction includes a time function modified by the time offset.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

determining, by an application server synchronization unit performing time synchronization with a time server in a distributed computing system, that time differences exist among servers in the distributed computing system due to hardware differences between the servers;

adjusting a time of a first server in the distributed computing system to a target time;

identifying, at the first server, a time offset between the target time and a time of a second server in the distributed computing system; and

generating, by the first server, a computer instruction to the second server, wherein the computer instruction includes a time function modified by the time offset, and wherein the time function, when executed by the second server during a simulated service, synchronizes a service time recorded in a database of the second server with the target time without changing a database server time.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first server is an application server.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second server is a database server.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the computer instruction is a database operation instruction.

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

selecting a third server in the distributed computing system as the time server;

adjusting a time of the third server to the target time; and

adjusting the time of the first server based on the time of the third server.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the third server is an application server.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the third server acquires the time of the second server, calculates the time offset between the target time and the time of the second server, and sends the time offset to the first server.

8. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions executable by a computer system to perform operations comprising:

determining, by an application server synchronization unit performing time synchronization with a time server in a distributed computing system, that time differences exist among servers in the distributed computing system due to hardware differences between the servers;

adjusting a time of a first server in the distributed computing system to a target time;

identifying, at the first server, a time offset between the target time and a time of a second server in the distributed computing system; and

generating, by the first server, a computer instruction to the second server, wherein the computer instruction includes a time function modified by the time offset, and wherein the time function, when executed by the second server during a simulated service, synchronizes a service time recorded in a database of the second server with the target time without changing a database server time.

9. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first server is an application server.

10. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the second server is a database server.

11. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the computer instruction is a database operation instruction.

12. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting a third server in the distributed computing system as the time server;

adjusting a time of the third server to the target time; and

adjusting the time of the first server based on the time of the third server.

13. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the third server is an application server.

14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the third server acquires the time of the second server, calculates the time offset between the target time and the time of the second server, and sends the time offset to the first server.

15. A computer-implemented system, comprising:

one or more computers; and

one or more computer memory devices interoperably coupled with the one or more computers and having tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing one or more instructions that, when executed by the one or more computers, perform operations comprising;

determining, by an application server synchronization unit performing time synchronization with a time server in a distributed computing system, that time differences exist among servers in the distributed computing system due to hardware differences between the servers;

adjusting a time of a first server in the distributed computing system to a target time;

identifying, at the first server, a time offset between the target time and a time of a second server in the distributed computing system; and

generating, by the first server, a computer instruction to the second server, wherein the computer instruction includes a time function modified by the time offset, and wherein the time function, when executed by the second server during a simulated service, synchronizes a service time recorded in a database of the second server with the target time without changing a database server time.

16. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, wherein the first server is an application server, and the second server is a database server.

17. The computer-implemented system of claim 16, wherein the computer instruction is a database operation instruction.

18. The computer-implemented system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting a third server in the distributed computing system as the time server;

adjusting a time of the third server to the target time; and

adjusting the time of the first server based on the time of the third server.

19. The computer-implemented system of claim 18, wherein the third server is an application server.

20. The computer-implemented system of claim 18, wherein the third server acquires the time of the second server, calculates the time offset between the target time and the time of the second server, and sends the time offset to the first server.