Synchronized failover for active-passive applications

• US 8,959,385 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2014
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ma, Tianchi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Yolanda L
• Application Number:
  US14/268,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20140245060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 291 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 714/4.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/006 Identification G06F11/2289 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0757 by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1482 by means of middleware or OS functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1484 involving virtual machines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2007 using redundant communication media
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2025 using centralised failover control functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2028 eliminating a faulty processor or activating a spare
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3423 where the assessed time is active or idle time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for synchronized active-passive application failover. A data connection to a single data source can be used as a synchronizations point. Interoperating instance side and data source side algorithms coordinate to transition a passive instance to an active instance within a specified period of time when a prior active instance fails. An active-passive controller can operate as an active-active module within an active-active environment to provide active-passive failover to active-passive modules. Application virtual names can be mapped to application instance electronic addresses to assist external modules in establishing application connections to active-passive applications.

Claims

1. A computing system comprising:

one or more processor; and

one or more hardware storage devices having stored computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, implement a method for hosting a failover controller that facilitates active-passive failover for an application, the computing system interoperating with one or more computer systems in a distributed system, the distributed system natively supporting active-active failover, wherein the method includes;

an act of loading one or more active-active modules for one or more active-active applications on an instance of a virtual machine running in the distributed system;

an act of loading an active-passive failover controller on the instance of the virtual machine, the active-passive failover controller loaded as a stateless module having active-active failover within the distributed system, the active-passive failover controller exposing a synchronization point to refresh status for instances of active-passive applications such that when an active instance fails an available passive instance can take over as a new active instance;

an act of hosting a plurality of instances of an active-passive application in the active-passive failover controller, the plurality of instances including a currently active instance and one or more passive instances;

an act of each of the plurality of instances calling the active-passive controller to refresh status;

an act of the currently active instance failing; and

an act of a passive instance becoming a new active instance based on refreshed statuses for the plurality of instances, the passive instance selected from among the one or more passive instances.

2. The computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein an act of the currently active instance failing comprises an act of detecting the currently active instance has timed out.

3. The computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein loading the active-passive failover controller on the instance of the virtual machine comprises an act of loading the active-passive failover controller on a cloud instance virtual machine.

4. The computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of hosting a plurality of instances of an active-passive application comprises an act of hosting a plurality of instances of a cloud based scheduler.

5. The computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the passive instance is selected to become the new active instance from among the one or more passive instances based on status information returned from the synchronization point.

6. The computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the new active instance registers an electronic address with a virtual name that is used by other modules to locate the new active instance.

7. The computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the method also includes an act of detecting that the currently active instance has failed in response to detecting that a stored last touch value associated with a status of the currently active instance is greater than a predetermined idle time out value.

8. The computing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more active-active applications includes a scheduler application.

9. One or more hardware storage devices having stored computer-executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, implement a method for hosting a failover controller that facilitates active-passive failover for an application, the computing system interoperating with one or more computer systems in a distributed system, the distributed system natively supporting active-active failover, wherein the method includes:

an act of loading one or more active-active modules for one or more active-active applications on an instance of a virtual machine running in the distributed system;

an act of loading an active-passive failover controller on the instance of the virtual machine, the active-passive failover controller loaded as a stateless module having active-active failover within the distributed system, the active-passive failover controller exposing a synchronization point to refresh status for instances of active-passive applications such that when an active instance fails an available passive instance can take over as a new active instance;

an act of hosting a plurality of instances of an active-passive application in the active-passive failover controller, the plurality of instances including a currently active instance and one or more passive instances;

an act of each of the plurality of instances calling the active-passive controller to refresh status;

an act of the currently active instance failing; and

an act of a passive instance becoming a new active instance based on refreshed statuses for the plurality of instances, the passive instance selected from among the one or more passive instances.

10. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 9, wherein an act of the currently active instance failing comprises an act of detecting the currently active instance has timed out.

11. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 9, wherein loading the active-passive failover controller on the instance of the virtual machine comprises an act of loading the active-passive failover controller on a cloud instance virtual machine.

12. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 9, wherein the act of hosting a plurality of instances of an active-passive application comprises an act of hosting a plurality of instances of a cloud based scheduler.

13. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 9, wherein the passive instance is selected to become the new active instance from among the one or more passive instances based on status information returned from the synchronization point.

14. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 9, wherein the new active instance registers an electronic address with a virtual name that is used by other modules to locate the new active instance to a host file refreshing framework, wherein the host file refreshing framework flushes out mappings from network addresses to virtual name registrations to modules within the distributed network that utilize a host file client for the host file refreshing framework such that any of the one or more modules can use the registration to connect to the active-passive application, and which results in at least one module from among the one or more modules, connecting to the passive-active application by using the virtual name to connect to the currently active instance.

15. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 9, wherein the method also includes an act of detecting that the currently active instance has failed in response to detecting that a stored last touch value associated with a status of the currently active instance is greater than a predetermined idle time out value.

16. One or more hardware storage devices having stored computer-executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, implement a method for indicating the location of an active instance within a distributed system, the computing system interoperating with one or more computer systems in the distributed system, a plurality of instances of an active-passive module running in the distributed system, the plurality of instances including an active instance and one or more passive instances, wherein a virtual name is assigned to the active-passive module within the distributed system and wherein the method includes:

an act of a passive instance, from among the one or more passive instances, becoming a currently active instance due to the active instance failing;

an act of the currently active instance registering a network address for the virtual name to a host file refreshing framework, and wherein the host file refreshing framework flushes out mappings from network addresses to virtual name registrations to modules within the distributed network that utilize a host file client for the host file refreshing framework such that any of the one or more modules can use the registration to connect to the active-passive application, and which results in at least one module from among the one or more modules, connecting to the active-passive application by using the virtual name to connect to the currently active instance.

17. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 16, wherein the flushing of the registration of the network address for the virtual name to one or more modules includes flushing the registration of the network address to one or more cloud-based modules.

18. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 16, wherein at least one cloud-based module connects to the currently active instance.

19. The one or more hardware storage devices as recited in claim 16, wherein the passive-active application is a scheduler.

20. The one or more hardware storage devices of claim 16, wherein the computer program product comprises the computing system with the one or more processors.