US 5,495,582 A · System and method for interprocessor routing through an established communication session in a loosely coupled computer complex

Abstract

A system and method for allowing communications sessions to be established between two or more computer processors and a remote terminal in a communications network where only one host to terminal session may be created. The system allows processors in a loosely coupled processor complex to determine whether another of the processors has an existing communications session with the requested remote device. If so, any new request for a communications session with that remote device will be routed through the processor with the established link. The interprocessor routing uses service transaction programs within each of the processors in a loosely coupled complex to establish the required communications sessions and to serve as an intermediary for passing messages between the requesting host and the remote device.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A method for communicating between a plurality of computer logical devices, wherein the communications between said logical devices occurs over at least one communications session operating according to a communications protocol, said method comprising the steps of:

initiating a request from a first one of said plurality of logical devices to establish a communications session with a second one of said plurality of logical devices;
in response to said request, testing to identify any other logical device of said plurality of logical devices having an existing communications session with said second one of said plurality of logical devices;
in response to the failure to identify another logical device having an existing communications session with said second one of said plurality of logical devices, establishing direct communications between said first logical device and said second logical device;
and
in response to the identification of another logical device having an existing communications session with said second one of said plurality of logical devices, relaying messages between said first and second logical devices through said identified other logical device.

2 more elements

A system for communicating between a plurality of loosely coupled processors and a remote logical device over a communications network having a communications protocol, said loosely coupled processors and said remote logical device being interconnected via said network, the system comprising:

means for initiating a request from one of said plurality of loosely coupled processors to communicate over said network with said remote logical device;
means responsive to said request for identifying any other of said plurality of loosely coupled processors having an existing communications session over said network with said remote logical device;
means responsive to the failure to identify another of said plurality of loosely coupled processors having an existing communications session with said remote logical device for establishing direct communications between said one of said plurality of loosely coupled processors and said remote logical device;
and
means responsive to the identification of another of said plurality of loosely coupled processors having an existing communications session with said remote logical device for communicating over said network between said one of said plurality of loosely coupled processors and said remote logical device by relaying communications through said other of said plurality of loosely coupled processors.

2 more elements

A computer program product having a computer readable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for establishing communications over a network between one of a plurality of loosely coupled processors and a remote logical device, said loosely coupled processors and said remote logical device being interconnected by said network, the computer program product comprising:

means for initiating a request from one of said plurality of loosely coupled processors to communicate over said network with said remote logical device;
means responsive to said request for identifying any other of said plurality of loosely coupled processors having an existing communications session over said network with said remote logical device;
means responsive to the failure to identify another of said plurality of loosely coupled processors having an existing communications session with said remote logical device for establishing direct communications between said one of said plurality of loosely coupled processors and said remote logical device;
and
means responsive to the identification of another of said plurality of loosely coupled processors having an existing communications session with said remote logical device for communicating over said network between said one of said plurality of loosely coupled processors and said remote logical device by relaying communications through said other of said plurality of loosely coupled processors.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

System and method for interprocessor routing through an established communication session in a loosely coupled computer complex

Life of this patent

System and method for interprocessor routing through an established communication session in a loosely coupled computer complex

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims21