Method, management node and processing node for continuous availability in cloud environment

A management node for use in a cloud environment, wherein the cloud environment comprises a plurality of layers, each layer of the plurality of layers includes at least two processing nodes, and each processing node in a layer of the plurality of layers is operable to pull jobs from the processing nodes in the upper layer of the plurality of layers and prepare jobs for the processing nodes in the under layer of the plurality of layers, the management node comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory including computer-executable code,
• wherein the at least one memory and the computer-executable code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the management node to:
• receive measurement reports from the plurality of layers, wherein the measurement report of said each processing node comprises information about any jobs pulled from the upper layer and any jobs pulled by the under layer;
• and
• determine information about failure in the cloud environment based on the measurement reports.

The management node according to 11, wherein the management node can be configured to act as a backup management node for another management node;

• and
• wherein the management node is further caused to:
• check whether the another management node has not synchronized with the backup management node for a second predetermined period;
• in response to a positive checking result, initiate a vote about the alive/dead status of the another management node to the processing nodes in the plurality of layers;
• receive vote data from the processing nodes in the plurality of layers;
• and
• determine failure information related to the another management node based on the vote data.