Method for replication tracing
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsWilliam A. Spencer, Russell L. Holden, Michael J. Gagnon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a network in which local copies of a shared document are maintained by multiple servers, performance data is gathered and stored during document synchronization via replication. The performance data includes a delay indicator which is associated with the document such that each copy of the document includes a record of which servers and hops were traversed and what delay was experienced at each of those servers and hops. The delays may be calculated by associating a time stamp with the document upon receipt at a server, and subsequently comparing time of receipt at a logically adjacent server with the time stamp. The performance data can be used to locate problems.
Claims7
A method for tracing modification documents conveyed among a plurality of servers in order to replicate changes made by users to a shared document, wherein the method facilitates localization of a source of a problem by an administrator, wherein the shared document is shared across the plurality of servers, comprising:
- creating, at a first one of the servers, a modification document representing only changes made to the shared document by a user of a local computer uniquely associated with the first one of the servers;
- storing, by the first one of the servers, following completion of the changes, a first time stamp in a field of the modification document;
- transmitting the modification document, including the first time stamp in the field of the modification document, from the first one of the servers to a second one of the servers;
- receiving the modification document at the second one of the servers;
- calculating, by the second one of the servers, a second server receipt time equal to a time at which receipt of the modification document at the second one of the servers is completed;
- calculating, by the second one of the servers, a first hop delay value equal to a difference between the first time stamp and the second server receipt time;
- storing, by the second one of the servers, an identity of the first one of the servers together with the first hop delay value into the modification document;
- overwriting, by the second one of the servers, the first time stamp in the field of the modification document with a second time stamp equal to the second server receipt time;
- and
- transmitting, by the second one of the servers, the modification document, including the identity of the first one of the servers, the first hop delay value, and the second time stamp, to a third one of the plurality of servers.
A system for tracing modification documents conveyed among a plurality of servers in order to replicate changes made by users to a shared document, wherein the method facilitates localization of a source of a problem by an administrator, wherein the shared document is shared across the plurality of servers, comprising:
- a first one of the servers for
- creating a modification document representing only changes made to the shared document by a user of a local computer uniquely associated with the first one of the servers,
- storing, following completion of the changes, a first time stamp in a field of the modification document, and
- transmitting the modification document, including the first time stamp in the field of the modification document, to a second one of the servers;
- and
- a second one of the servers for receiving the modification document from the first server,
- calculating a second server receipt time equal to a time at which receipt of the modification document at the second one of the servers is completed,
- calculating a first hop delay value equal to a difference between the first time stamp and the second server receipt time,
- storing an identity of the first one of the servers together with the first hop delay value into the modification document,
- overwriting the first time stamp in the field of the modification document with a second time stamp equal to the second server receipt time, and
- transmitting the modification document, including the identity of the first one of the servers, the first hop delay value, and the second time stamp, to a third one of the plurality of servers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.