Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for controlling the number of servers in a multisystem cluster

US6230183A · kind A · utility

135Cited by
13References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 11, 1998
Grant dateMay 8, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 11, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2209/505
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for controlling the number of servers in a multisystem cluster. Incoming work requests are organized into service classes, each of which has a queue serviced by servers across the cluster. Each service class has defined for it a local performance index for each particular system of the cluster and a multisystem performance index for the cluster as a whole. Each system selects one service class as a donor class for donating system resources and another service class as a receiver class for receiving system resources, based upon how well the service classes are meeting their goals. Each system then determines the resource bottleneck causing the receiver class to miss its goals. If the resource bottleneck is the number of servers, each system determines whether and how many servers should be added to the receiver class, based upon whether the positive effect of adding such servers on the performance index for the receiver class outweighs the negative effect of adding such servers on the performance measure for the donor class. If a system determines that servers should be added to the receiver class, it then determines the system in the cluster to which the serv…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.