Fault tolerant client server system

A fault tolerant computer system comprising:

• a client computer for running an application;
• a first server coupled to the client for accepting transactions generated by the client application, wherein the transactions are processed according to database management system (DBMS) instructions;
• a first memory for storing connection information corresponding to a second server, wherein if the first server becomes disabled, a connection from the client to the second server is automatically established by the client and transactions from the client are handled by the second server;
• a second memory for storing information pertaining to transactions pending on the first server, wherein the information is stored by a log writing process for completing the pending transactions without user intervention when the first server becomes disabled;
• a client interface coupled to the second memory which submits pending transaction information to the second server for processing by the second server when the first server becomes disabled.

A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing a client computer to implement fault tolerance comprising the steps of:

• establishing a first connection between the client and a primary server for servicing transactions generated by an application running on the client, wherein the transactions are processed according to database management system (DBMS) instructions;
• designating a second connection between the client and a backup server;
• storing in-flight transaction information corresponding to transactions being processed by the primary server, wherein the information is stored by a log writing process for completing the in-flight transactions without user intervention if the primary server fails;
• detecting whether the primary server has failed, wherein if the primary server fails:
• a) establishing the second connection to the backup server;
• b) submitting the in-flight transaction information to the backup server,
• c) completing the in-flight transaction by the backup server.

A computer capable of being coupled as a client to a server of a computer network for accessing a database stored in a mass storage device, comprising:

• a bus;
• a processor coupled to the bus for running an application on the client;
• a first memory coupled to the bus for storing connection information for connecting the client to a primary server and for connecting the client to a backup server, wherein the client is normally connected to the primary server and the primary server handles transactions generated by an application running on the client, and the transactions are processed according to database management system (DBMS) instructions;
• a second memory coupled to the bus for storing in-flight transaction information by a log writing process for completing in-flight transactions without user intervention if the primary server becomes disabled;
• an interface coupled to the bus for determining whether the primary server is functioning properly, wherein if the primary server becomes disabled, the client automatically establishes a connection to the backup server and transmits the in-flight transaction information to the backup server so that the backup server can complete the in-flight transaction.