US 7,584,256 B2Granted

Replicating message queues between clustered email gateway systems

AssigneeBorderware Technologies Inc.

InventorsRobert Osborne, Bill Simpson, Rod Gilchrist

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Abstract

A method of “stateful failover” is provided that allows email gateway systems in a cluster to deliver email messages that have been accepted for delivery by a member of the cluster, but has failed with out delivering the messages. The method involves creating a backup copy of the messages that have been accepted for delivery by one email gateway system in the stateful failover cluster on one or more other email gateway systems in the stateful failover cluster. Upon detecting the failure of the email gateway system that accepted the message, another member of the stateful failover cluster that has access to the backup copy of the message queue takes responsibility for the delivery of the messages on the mirrored queue.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method for processing an email by a plurality of email gateway servers coupled in a cluster, the method comprising:

receiving the email by a first email gateway server, the first email gateway server being configured to relay the email toward a destination and to assign a unique identifier to the email;
copying the email and the unique identifier to a second email gateway server, the second email gateway server being configured to relay the email toward the destination should the relay of the email by the first email gateway server fail;
and
relaying the email toward the destination by the first email gateway server or the second email gateway server, wherein the relaying includes:
the first email gateway server sending the second email gateway server the unique identifier when the first email gateway server has relayed the email toward the destination;
the second email server monitoring the receipt of the unique identifier from the first email gateway server and, upon determining that a pre-selected time period has passed without receiving the unique identifier, the second email gateway server deeming the relaying of the email toward the destination by the first email gateway server to have failed and relaying the email toward the destination by the second email gateway server.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.