Caching system and method

• US 10,803,015 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2018
• Issued: 10/13/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Frerking, John Randy, Jackson, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Thai, Hanh B
• Application Number:
  US15/953,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20180246903A1
• Time in Patent Office: 911 Days
• Field of Search: 707638
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2023 Failover techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2041 with more than one idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0871 Allocation or management of cache space
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/172 Caching, prefetching or hoarding of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/23 Updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/907 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/50 Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/82 Solving problems relating to consistency ensuring consistency in mirrored systems G06F11/2064
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/835 Timestamp
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0604 Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1004 Server selection for load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Disclosed is a caching system for processing web-based service requests. The caching system includes one or more pluralities of servers coupled to one or more online common storage. Each one of the plurality of servers processes caching service requests from one or more clients coupled to the plurality of servers. Each one of the plurality of servers is capable of operating in an active/single mode, and active/active mode, or an active/standby mode. A timestamp exchange process is used to update or eliminate outdated database records.

Claims

1. An online caching system comprising:

a first server resident at a first site, wherein the first server is communicatively coupled to a client, and wherein the first server processes a caching service request from the client;

a first online storage communicatively coupled to the first server, wherein the first server stores a first database record comprising a key/value data in the first online storage;

a second server resident at a second site, wherein the second server is communicatively coupled to the first server by a dark port, wherein the dark port is not available to the client for communication; and

a second online storage communicatively coupled to the second server, wherein the second server stores a second database record comprising the key/value data in the second online storage;

wherein the first server deletes the first database record in response to determining that both a) a first timestamp of the first database record and stored in the first online storage has expired, and b) a second timestamp of the second database record and stored in the second online storage has expired.

2. The online caching system of claim 1, wherein the second server deletes the second database record in response to determining that both a) the first timestamp has expired, and b) the second timestamp has expired.

3. The online caching system of claim 1, wherein the first server and the second server are each operable in either an active/active mode, or an active/standby mode.

4. The online caching system of claim 1, wherein the key/value data is associated with the caching service request.

5. The online caching system of claim 1, wherein the second server stores the second database record in the second online storage in response to receiving the caching service request from the first server.

6. A method of processing a caching service request from a client, the method comprising:

caching a first database record in a first online storage, wherein the first database record comprises a key/value data associated with the caching service request and a first timestamp;

caching a second database record in a second online storage, wherein the second database record comprises the key/value data and a second timestamp;

determining, by the first server, that the first timestamp has expired;

sending a timestamp update request from the first server to the second server via a dark port, wherein the dark port is not available to the client for communication;

receiving, by the first server, an indication that the second timestamp has expired; and

deleting the first database record and the second database record in response to determining that both the first timestamp and the second timestamp have expired.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising sending, by the first server, the caching service request to the second server.