Method and apparatus for indirectly assessing a status of an active entity
AssigneeUnify GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsRodrigo Biermayr, Evandro Hauenstein, David Wiebe, Thomas Nagel
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Abstract
A method and system permit a backup entity of a redundant apparatus of a communication system that shares control of hardware resources or other network resources with an active entity to indirectly determine a status of the active entity based upon behavior and reaction to actions it takes in connection with resources it shares control of with the active entity. Such a method and system permit the backup entity to deduce the state of the active entity without having any a hardware connection or other communication connection with the active entity.
Claims21
A method of providing redundancy comprising:
- a backup entity determining that a failure occurred such that messages are not exchangeable between the backup entity and an active entity;
- the backup entity taking over control of at least one resource from the active entity for a first period of time to oversee or manage the at least one resource in response to the determining that the failure occurred;
- the backup entity dropping control of the at least one resource after the first period of time elapses;
- and
- upon the backup entity determining that the active entity has not reinitiated control of the at least one resource within a second period of time after the backup entity dropped control of the at least one resource, the backup entity determining that the active entity experienced a failure and taking over control of the at least one resource to oversee or manage the at least one resource.
A non-transitory computer readable medium having an application stored thereon that defines steps of a method for a backup entity when the application is executed by the backup entity, the method defined by the application comprising:
- the backup entity determining that a failure occurred such that messages are not exchangeable between the backup entity and an active entity;
- the backup entity taking over control of at least one resource from the active entity for a first period of time to oversee or manage the at least one resource in response to the determining that the failure occurred;
- the backup entity dropping control of the at least one resource after the first period of time elapses;
- and
- upon the backup entity determining that the active entity has not reinitiated control of the at least one resource within a second period of time after the backup entity dropped control of the at least one resource, the backup entity determining that the active entity experienced a failure and taking over control of the at least one resource to oversee or manage the at least one resource.
A communication apparatus comprising:
- a backup entity having at least one processor unit communicatively connected to at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, the backup entity communicatively connectable to an active entity via at least one communication connection, the backup entity configured to determine that a failure occurred that prevents messages from being exchanged between the backup entity and the active entity;
- the backup entity configured to take over control of at least one resource from the active entity for a first period of time to oversee or manage the at least one resource in response to determining that the failure occurred;
- the backup entity configured to drop control of the at least one resource after the first period of time elapses;
- and
- the backup entity configured so that, upon the backup entity determining that the active entity has not reinitiated control of the at least one resource within a second time period after the backup entity dropped control of the at least one resource, the backup entity determining that the active entity experienced a failure and taking over control of the at least one resource to oversee or manage the at least one resource.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.