US 6,665,304 B2 · Method and apparatus for providing an integrated cluster alias address

Abstract

In accordance with the present invention, a method is disclosed for making a cluster of processor nodes appear as a single processor node to client applications that operate in conjunction with that cluster. More particularly, the cluster is provided with a skinny stack application for selecting a processor node, to which a connection will be established, after consideration has been given to the TCP port numbers that the processor node is listening for. Further, the cluster is provided with a method for tunneling data packets between processor nodes of the cluster such that the data packets do not have to be re-transmitted across a network. Further still, the cluster is provided with a virtual subnet to which the cluster alias address is associated. The route to that subnet is advertised to the network routers by the processor nodes that are associated with the virtual subnet. Lastly, the cluster is provided with a method for substituting a processor node of the cluster in place of a processor node that has failed, for the duration of the routing failover delay. Using such a method, data packets directed to the failed processor node are prevented from being dropped during that routing failover delay.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method for selecting a destination processor node of a cluster of processor nodes sharing a cluster alias address such that a client application can establish a connection to the cluster, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request, at any receiving processor node identified by the cluster alias address, from the client application, for requesting establishment of a connection to the cluster, the request containing a port number;
and
selecting, using the receiving processor node, a destination processor node from the cluster of processor nodes sharing the cluster alias address, based on whether the destination processor node is monitoring the port number, the port number being maintained in a look up table on each processor node sharing the cluster alias address, the look up table being dynamically modified as each receiving processor node listens, and stops listening, for the port number;
wherein the selecting step accesses the look up table each time the request is received.

1 more element

A computer system, comprising:

a client processor node executing a client application, the client application monitoring a port number;
a plurality of processor nodes coupled together to form a cluster sharing a cluster alias address, the cluster being responsive to the client processor node, each processor node of the cluster including a CPU for executing a skinny stack application for selecting one node from the plurality of processor nodes sharing the cluster alias address, based on whether the destination processor node is monitoring the port number, such that the selected node serves as a destination processor node;
and
a receiver application executed on the destination processor node for monitoring the port number, the port number being maintained in a look up table on the plurality of processor nodes sharing the cluster alias address, the look up table being dynamically modified as each receiver application listens, and stops listening, for the port number;
wherein the skinny stack application accesses the look up table each time the skinny stack application is executed.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for providing an integrated cluster alias address

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for providing an integrated cluster alias address

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16