METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DYNAMICALLY CHANGING USER SESSION BEHAVIOR BASED ON USER AND/OR GROUP CLASSIFICATION IN RESPONSE TO APPLICATION SERVER DEMAND

• US 20080016214A1
• Filed: 07/14/2006
• Published: 01/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Galluzzo, Joseph D., Chakra, Al, O'Sullivan, Patrick Joseph, Callanan, Sean
• Granted Patent: US 7,805,529 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements

Abstract

A system for dynamically changing session behavior based on user and/or group classification in response to server demand. The system operates to dynamically alter current session behavior experienced by individual users and/or groups of users in response to monitored server demand. An intelligence server provides application servers with actions to be taken to dynamically change current user sessions, in response to current server demand, for example based on rules known by a rules engine within the intelligence server. A ranking system within the intelligence server takes its input from a monitoring system also in the intelligence server, and dynamically keeps track of individual user'"'"'s relative ranks against other users that are actively being monitored.

Claims

1. A method of managing user application sessions, comprising:

monitoring demand for at least one application server system, wherein said monitoring includes detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold;

ranking a plurality of users, wherein said ranking includes determining a relative priority for each of said users; and

responsive to said demand and said relative priority of said at least one user, dynamically modifying at least one current user session of one of said users, wherein said current user session is with said application server system, and wherein said modifying includes allocating resources of said application server system for said current user session based on said relative priority of said one of said users.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said relative priority of said one of said users comprises a priority assigned to a group of users to which said user belongs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said monitoring demand for said application server system comprises determining a current number of user sessions with said application server system, and wherein said threshold comprises a maximum number of user sessions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one application server system comprises a plurality of application server system nodes, wherein said monitoring demand for said application server system comprises determining a current number of users having sessions with each of said application server system nodes, and wherein said threshold comprises a maximum number of user sessions for a single one of said application server system nodes.

5. The method if claim 1, wherein said monitoring demand for said application server system comprises determining a current level of throughput per user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein said at least one application server system comprises a plurality of server system nodes;

wherein said detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold includes detecting that one of said application server system nodes has failed; and

wherein said dynamically modifying said current user session comprises transparently moving said current user session from said one of said application server system nodes that has failed to another one of said application server system nodes.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein said at least one application server system comprises a plurality of application server system nodes;

wherein said detecting that demand for said server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold includes detecting that one of said application server system nodes has failed; and

wherein said dynamically modifying said current user session comprises terminating said current user session such that session data is saved to disk and can be subsequently recovered when the user subsequently logs in at a later time when said demand for said application server system no longer exceeds said predetermined threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein said detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold includes detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a level of demand above which access to certain content on said application server system cannot be provided to both a first group of users and a second group of users without degrading the quality of service provided to said first group of users below an acceptable level; and

wherein said dynamically modifying said current user session comprises disabling access by said second group of users to said certain content on said application server system in the event that said demand for said application server system exceeds said level of demand above which access to said certain content on said application server system cannot be provided to both said first group of users and said second group of users without degrading the quality of service provided to said first group of users below said acceptable level.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said ranking said plurality of users comprises maintaining a list of said users in order of their relative priority, and wherein users are added to said list when they establish sessions with said application server system and removed from said list when they terminate such sessions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said ranking said plurality of users is responsive to activities of said users during respective ones of said sessions.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said ranking said plurality of users is responsive to previous activities of said users during previous sessions.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein said ranking said plurality of users is responsive to group memberships of said users.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said dynamically modifying is responsive to a set of rules.

14. A system including a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having program code stored thereon for managing user application sessions, said program code comprising:

program code for monitoring demand for at least one application server system, wherein said monitoring includes detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold;

program code for ranking a plurality of users, wherein said ranking includes determining a relative priority for each of said users; and

program code for, responsive to said demand and said relative priority of said at least one user, dynamically modifying at least one current user session of one of said users, wherein said current user session is with said application server system, and wherein said modifying includes allocating resources of said application server system for said current user session based on said relative priority of said one of said users.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said relative priority of said one of said users comprises a priority assigned to a group of users to which said user belongs.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein said program code for monitoring demand for said application server system comprises program code for determining a current number of user sessions with said application server system, and wherein said threshold comprises a maximum number of user sessions.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein said at least one application server system comprises a plurality of application server system nodes, wherein said program code for monitoring demand for said application server system comprises program code for determining a current number of users having sessions with each of said application server system nodes, and wherein said threshold comprises a maximum number of user sessions for a single one of said application server system nodes.

18. The system if claim 14, wherein said program code for monitoring demand for said application server system comprises program code for determining a current level of throughput per user.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

wherein said at least one application server system comprises a plurality of server system nodes;

wherein said program code for detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold includes program code for detecting that one of said application server system nodes has failed; and

wherein said program code for dynamically modifying said current user session comprises program code for transparently moving said current user session from said one of said application server system nodes that has failed to another one of said application server system nodes.

20. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

wherein said at least one application server system comprises a plurality of application server system nodes;

wherein said program code for detecting that demand for said server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold includes program code for detecting that one of said application server system nodes has failed; and

wherein said program code for dynamically modifying said current user session comprises program code for terminating said current user session such that session data is saved to disk and can be subsequently recovered when the user subsequently logs in at a later time when said demand for said application server system no longer exceeds said predetermined threshold.

21. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

wherein said program code for detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold includes program code for detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a level of demand above which access to certain content on said application server system cannot be provided to both a first group of users and a second group of users without degrading the quality of service provided to said first group of users below an acceptable level; and

wherein said program code for dynamically modifying said current user session comprises program code for disabling access by said second group of users to said certain content on said application server system in the event that said demand for said application server system exceeds said level of demand above which access to said certain content on said application server system cannot be provided to both said first group of users and said second group of users without degrading the quality of service provided to said first group of users below said acceptable level.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein said program code for ranking said plurality of users comprises program code for maintaining a list of said users in order of their relative priority, and wherein users are added to said list when they establish sessions with said application server system and removed from said list when they terminate such sessions.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said program code for ranking said plurality of users is responsive to activities of said users during respective ones of said sessions.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein said program code for ranking said plurality of users is responsive to previous activities of said users during previous sessions.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein said program code for ranking said plurality of users is responsive to group memberships of said users.

26. The system of claim 14, wherein said program code for dynamically modifying is responsive to a set of rules.

27. A computer program product including a computer readable medium, said computer readable medium having program code stored thereon for managing user application sessions, said program code comprising:

program code for monitoring demand for at least one application server system, wherein said monitoring includes detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold;

program code for ranking a plurality of users, wherein said ranking includes determining a relative priority for each of said users; and

program code for, responsive to said demand and said relative priority of said at least one user, dynamically modifying at least one current user session of one of said users, wherein said current user session is with said application server system, and wherein said modifying includes allocating resources of said application server system for said current user session based on said relative priority of said one of said users.

28. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, said computer data signal having stored thereon program code for managing user application sessions, said program code comprising:

program code for monitoring demand for at least one application server system, wherein said monitoring includes detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold;

program code for ranking a plurality of users, wherein said ranking includes determining a relative priority for each of said users; and

program code for, responsive to said demand and said relative priority of said at least one user, dynamically modifying at least one current user session of one of said users, wherein said current user session is with said application server system, and wherein said modifying includes allocating resources of said application server system for said current user session based on said relative priority of said one of said users.

29. A system for managing user application sessions, said program code comprising:

means for monitoring demand for at least one application server system, wherein said monitoring includes detecting that demand for said application server system has exceeded a predetermined threshold;

means for ranking a plurality of users, wherein said ranking includes determining a relative priority for each of said users; and

means for, responsive to said demand and said relative priority of said at least one user, dynamically modifying at least one current user session of one of said users, wherein said current user session is with said application server system, and wherein said modifying includes allocating resources of said application server system for said current user session based on said relative priority of said one of said users.