Multi-master referential integrity

• US 8,583,596 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Rowley, Peter Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): HARPER, ELIYAH STONE
• Application Number:
  US11/606,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20080126499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,540 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1, 707/10, 707/1
• US Class Current: 707/610
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• 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 apparatus for maintaining referential integrity in a plurality of directory servers is described. In one embodiment, a first directory server receives a request to operate on an entry in the first directory server. The request is serially repeated in at least one other directory server if the operation on the entry in the first directory server is not valid. The at least one other directory server communicates indirectly with the first directly server.

Claims

1. A method, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first directory server of a plurality of directory servers, a request to perform an operation on an entry in the first directory server;

determining, by the first directory server, whether the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid, wherein the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid when the entry exists in a repository associated with the first directory server, and wherein the operation on the entry in the first directory server is not valid when the entry does not exist in the repository associated with the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid, performing, by the first directory server, the operation on the entry in the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry in the first directory server is not valid, forwarding, by the first directory server, the request to a next directory server of the plurality of directory servers, the next directory server having a multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry in a current directory server is not valid, continuing forwarding, by the current directory server, the request from the current directory server to a next directory server of the plurality of directory servers to find a peer directory server of the plurality of directory servers in which the operation on the entry is valid, the next directory server having the multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry is valid in the peer directory server, performing, by the peer directory server, the request in the peer directory server; and

when the operation on the entry is not valid in any directory server of the plurality of directory servers, returning a failure for the request,

wherein at least one other directory server of the plurality of directory servers is not directly associated with the first directory server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the request is forwarded to only one other directory server at a time, that has not been previously been forwarded to.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

returning a message of a validity of the operation when the operation on the entry is valid in at least one other directory server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein returning a failure for the request to perform the operation comprises:

returning a message of invalidity of the operation to an originating directory server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation on the entry in the current directory server is not valid when the entry is not present in the current directory server, and wherein the operation on the entry is not valid in any directory server of the plurality of directory servers when the entry is not present in any directory server of the plurality of directory servers.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein forwarding the request to the next directory server of the plurality of directory servers further comprises:

adding an identifier of the first directory server to the request.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein forwarding the request from a current directory server to a next directory server further comprises:

adding an identifier of the current directory server to the request when the operation on the entry in the current directory server is not valid.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein forwarding the request from a current directory server to a next directory server further comprises:

forwarding the request to a subsequent directory server,

wherein the subsequent directory server is not identified in the request, and the subsequent directory server has a multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server and the next directory server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the operation on the entry is valid in at least one of the directory servers, operating on the entry in the plurality of directory servers prior to performing the request on the first directory server.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

maintaining referential integrity in the plurality of directory servers without locking the plurality of directory servers.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a first directory server to receive a request to perform an operation on an entry in the first directory server, to determine whether the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid, wherein the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid when the entry exists in a repository associated with the first directory server, and wherein the operation on the entry in the first directory server is not valid when the entry does not exist in the repository associated with the first directory server, to perform the operation on the entry in the first directory server when the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid, to perform the operation on the entry in the first directory server when the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid, to forward the request to a next directory server when the operation on the entry in the first directory server is not valid, the next directory server having a multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server;

a next directory server to forward the request from the next directory server to at least one other directory server when the operation on the entry in the next directory server is not valid;

a current directory server to continue forwarding the request from the current directory server to a next directory server when the operation on the entry in the current directory server is not valid to find a peer directory server in which the operation on the entry is valid, to perform the request in the peer directory server when the operation on the entry is valid in the peer directory server, and to return a failure for the request when the operation on the entry is not valid in any directory server, wherein the first directory server is not directly associated with at least one other directory server, and the next directory server has the multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the request is forwarded to only one other directory server at a time, that has not been previously been forwarded to.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first directory server is to receive a message of a validity of the operation when the operation on the entry is valid in at least one other directory server.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first directory server is to receive the failure for the request to perform the operation, wherein the failure comprises a message of invalidity of the operation.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the operation on the entry in the current directory server is not valid when the entry is not present in the current directory server, and wherein the operation on the entry is not valid in any directory server when the entry is not present in any directory server.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first directory server is to add an identifier of the first directory server to the forwarded request.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the next directory server is to add an identifier of the next directory server to the forwarded request when the operation on the entry in the next directory server is not valid.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the current directory server is to forward the request on the entry to a subsequent directory server,

wherein the subsequent directory server is not identified in the request, and the subsequent directory server has a multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server and the next directory server.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having instructions stored therein, which when executed, cause a computer system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a first directory server of a plurality of directory servers in the computer system, a request to perform an operation on an entry in the first directory server;

determining, by the first directory server, whether the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid, wherein the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid when the entry exists in a repository associated with the first directory server, and wherein the operation on the entry in the first directory server is not valid when the entry does not exist in the repository associated with the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry in the first directory server is valid, performing, by the first directory server, the operation on the entry in the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry in the first directory server is not valid, forwarding, by the first directory server, the request to a next directory server of the plurality of directory servers, the next directory server having a multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry in a current directory server is not valid, continuing forwarding, by the current directory server, the request from the current directory server to a next directory server of the plurality of directory servers to find a peer directory server of the plurality of directory servers in which the operation on the entry is valid, the next directory server having the multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server;

when the operation on the entry is valid in the peer directory server, performing, by the peer directory server, the request in the peer directory server; and

when the operation on the entry is not valid in any directory server of the plurality of directory servers, returning a failure for the request,

wherein at least one other directory server of the plurality of directory servers is not directly associated with the first directory server.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the request is forwarded to only one other directory server at a time, that has not been previously been forwarded to.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

returning a message of a validity of the operation when the operation on the entry is valid in at least one other directory server.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein returning a failure for the request to perform the operation comprises:

returning a message of invalidity of the operation to an originating directory server.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operation on the entry in the current directory server is not valid when the entry is not present in the current directory server, and wherein the operation on the entry is not valid in any directory server of the plurality of directory servers when the entry is not present in any directory server of the plurality of directory servers.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein forwarding the request to the next directory server of the plurality of directory servers further comprises:

adding an identifier of the first directory server to the request.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein forwarding the request from a current directory server to a next directory server further comprises:

adding an identifier of the current directory server to the request when the operation on the entry in the current directory server is not valid.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein forwarding the request from a current directory server to a next directory server further comprises:

forwarding the request to a subsequent directory server,

wherein the subsequent directory server is not identified in the request, and the subsequent directory server has a multi-master replication agreement with the first directory server and the next directory server.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

when the operation on the entry is valid in at least one of the directory servers, operating on the entry in the plurality of directory servers prior to performing the request on the first directory server.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 wherein the operations further comprise:

maintaining referential integrity in the plurality of directory servers without locking the plurality of directory servers.