RESILIENT MESSAGING INFRASTRUCTURE

• US 20140047007A1
• Filed: 07/12/2013
• Published: 02/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Plant, Laurence J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,525,585 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1091 Interfacing with client-server systems or between P2P systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/59 Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable

Abstract

A first message resilience client device receives from a second message resilience client device a message and a request to deliver the message to a client/server-based server application executed by a server device on behalf of a remote client/server-based client application executed by the second message resilience client device that originated the message. A determination is made as to whether a connection to the server device that executes the client/server-based server application is currently possible using at least one available connection. In response to determining that the connection to the server device that executes the client/server-based server application is not currently possible, the message is stored locally for one of later delivery to the client/server-based server application and propagation of the message to another message resilience client device on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first message resilience client device from a second message resilience client device, a message and a request to deliver the message to a client/server-based server application executed by a server device on behalf of a remote client/server-based client application executed by the second message resilience client device that originated the message;

determining whether a connection to the server device that executes the client/server-based server application is currently possible via at least one available connection; and

storing, in response to determining that the connection to the server device that executes the client/server-based server application is not currently possible via the at least one available connection, the message locally for one of later delivery to the client/server-based server application and propagation of the message to at least one other message resilience client device on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application executed by the second message resilience client device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that the connection to the server device that executes the client/server-based server application is currently possible via the at least one available connection:

determining whether message presence information that identifies the message exists within a message presence database and indicates whether the message has already been delivered to the client/server-based server application; and

in response to determining that the message presence information that identifies the message exists within the message presence database and indicates that the message has not already been delivered;

sending the message to the client/server-based server application on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application; and

updating the message presence information to indicate that the first message resilience client delivered the message to the client/server-based server application on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, subsequent to storing the message in response to determining that the connection to the server device that executes the client/server-based server application is not currently possible via the at least one available connection, that a new connection is available to the server device that executes the client/server-based server application;

determining whether message presence information that identifies the message exists within a message presence database and indicates whether the message has already been delivered to the client/server-based server application; and

in response to determining that the message presence information that identifies the message exists within the message presence database and indicates that the message has not already been delivered;

sending the message to the client/server-based server application on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application;

deleting the message; and

updating the message presence information to indicate that the first message resilience client delivered the message to the client/server-based server application on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether message presence information that identifies the message exists within a message presence database;

in response to determining that the message presence information that identifies the message does not exist within the message presence database;

creating message presence information within the message presence database that identifies the message and message propagation information within the created message presence information that indicates to other message resilience client devices that the first message resilience client device is operating as a message resilience proxy client device for the second message resilience client device to attempt to deliver the message to the client/server-based server application on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application; and

in response to determining that the message presence information that identifies the message exists within the message presence database;

creating message propagation information within the message presence information that indicates to the other message resilience client devices that the first message resilience client device is operating as the message resilience proxy client device for the second message resilience client device to attempt to deliver the message to the client/server-based server application on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether an alternative connection to any other message resilience client device is available; and

propagating, to at least one other message resilience client device to which the alternative connection is determined to be available, the message and the request to deliver the message to the client/server-based server application on behalf of the remote client/server-based client application executed by the second message resilience client device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining whether message presence information that identifies the message exists within a message presence database;

in response to determining that the message presence information that identifies the message does not exist within the message presence database;

creating message presence information within the message presence database that identifies the message and message propagation information within the created message presence information that identifies each other message resilience client device to which the message and the request to deliver the message is propagated; and

in response to determining that the message presence information that identifies the message exists within the message presence database;

creating message propagation information within the message presence information that identifies each other message resilience client device to which the message and the request to deliver the message is propagated.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting that a local client/server-based client application has originated a local message to send to a locally-targeted client/server-based server application executed by a locally-targeted server device;

determining that a connection to the locally-targeted server device that executes the locally-targeted client/server-based server application is not currently available;

determining that a connection to the at least one other message resilience client device is available; and

sending, to the at least one other message resilience client device, the local message and a request to deliver the local message to the locally-targeted client/server-based server application on behalf of the local client/server-based client application.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining whether message presence information that identifies the local message exists within a message presence database and indicates whether the local message has already been delivered to the locally-targeted client/server-based server application;

in response to determining that the local message has already been delivered;

notifying the local client/server-based client application that the local message has been successfully delivered; and

one of;

deleting the message presence information that identifies the local message from the message presence database; and

updating the message presence information to indicate a time duration for storage of the message presence information by the message presence database; and

in response to determining that the local message has not already been delivered;

sending the local message to the locally-targeted client/server-based server application; and

creating the message presence information that identifies the local message within the message presence database, that indicates that the local message has been delivered to the locally-targeted client/server-based server application, and that indicates the time duration for storage of the message presence information by the message presence database.