Method and apparatus for providing process pair protection for complex applications
US6477663B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 7, 1999 |
| Grant date | Nov 5, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 7, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/2048
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing process-pair protection to complex applications is provided. The apparatus of the present invention includes a process-pair manager or PPM. The PPM is replicated so that a respective PPM is deployed on each of two computer systems. Each computer system also hosts a watchdog process that monitors and restarts the PPM in case of PPM failures. Each PPM communicates with a respective instance of an application. The application instances may include one or more processes along with associated resources. During normal operation the primary application provides service and periodically checkpoints its state to the backup application. The backup application functions in a standby mode. The two PPMs communicate with each other and exchange messages as state changes occur. The apparatus also includes in each computer system a node watcher that is the PPM of failures of the remote computer system. This way, each monitor the state of the other application instance and the health of the computer system on which it is resident. If a failure of the primary application or of the computer system where it runs is detected, the PPM managing the backup application …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.