Container standby
A redundant server configuration with immediate backup server readiness addresses the challenge of high costs and downtime in conventional standby systems, achieving efficient and cost-effective rapid recovery and high availability.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-09
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-19
AI Technical Summary
Conventional standby systems face challenges in achieving rapid fault response with low operating costs and energy consumption, as hot standby systems incur high costs and energy due to always-on backup servers, while cold standby systems risk prolonged downtime.
A redundant configuration with two or more independently operating servers in the production environment, where client requests are processed normally and data is stored, and a backup server with an identical system is ready to process requests immediately upon failure, ensuring data consistency and minimizing downtime.
This approach reduces operating costs and energy consumption while ensuring rapid recovery and high availability, improving system efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Smart Images
Figure 2026050289000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for improving the continuity and efficiency of IT infrastructure. Specifically, it relates to a container standby system for realizing high availability of systems in on-premises and cloud environments. This system enables rapid recovery in case of system failures and aims to reduce operation costs and energy consumption.
Background Art
[0002] Conventional standby systems are widely known to include two types: hot standby and cold standby. In a hot standby system, the standby server is always in operation, and when a failure occurs in the main server, it is immediately switched, resulting in almost no downtime. However, this method has the drawback that the operation cost and energy consumption increase because the standby server is always running.
[0003] On the other hand, in a cold standby system, the standby server is not normally in operation and is only started when a failure occurs in the main server. This method can suppress the operation cost, but there is a risk of long downtime because it takes time to recover the system.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0004] In the hot standby patent of NEC (Patent No. 2513127), a technology for realizing high availability of a system is disclosed. This technology minimizes the system downtime by immediately switching to the standby server when a failure occurs. In the NEC technology, the standby server is always running in the hot standby system, and data synchronization is performed with the main server to enable rapid recovery in case of a failure.
[0005] However, this technology has the drawback of high operating costs and energy consumption because the backup server is always running. To solve this problem, the present invention aims to provide a new standby system that enables rapid fault response similar to hot standby while reducing costs and energy consumption. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]
[0006] The present invention aims to solve the problems of the prior art described above. Specifically, it aims to provide a standby system that enables rapid fault response like a hot standby system, while keeping operating costs and energy consumption low like a cold standby system. Furthermore, it aims to achieve greater efficiency and improve system availability by integrating and managing multiple systems. [Means for solving the problem]
[0007] This invention provides a redundant configuration to ensure high availability of the system. Specifically, client requests are processed in the production environment under normal circumstances, and the data is stored on a storage server. The production environment consists of two or more servers, each capable of operating independently.
[0008] In the event of a failure, a monitoring system (e.g., Prometheus) detects the failure of the production server and automatically forwards the request to an identical system (Kubernetes container) located on a backup server. This backup server runs the same system as the production server under normal circumstances and is ready to process requests immediately. Furthermore, data processed on the backup server is stored on a storage server and configured to always be up-to-date. In this way, the present invention provides a means to minimize overall system downtime and ensure service continuity. [Effects of the Invention]
[0009] This invention significantly reduces operating costs and energy consumption compared to conventional hot standby and cold standby systems. Furthermore, by shortening recovery time in the event of a system failure, it ensures business continuity and improves customer satisfaction. Additionally, by managing multiple systems in an integrated manner, it improves system efficiency and availability. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the system configuration inside a backup aircraft equipped with a container standby system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of the container standby system according to the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols] 1, 2, 3, 4... System units, 5... System for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications, 6... Tools for orchestrating containers, 7... Operating systems on which each system unit and central backup system run, 8... System users, 9... Monitoring software using Prometheus, 10, 11... Production systems, 12... Container management using Kubernetes, 13... Database, 14... Applications suited to the role of each server, 15... Storage, 16... Backup containers for the 10 production environments, 17... Backup containers for the 11 production environments, 18... Storage that serves as data sharing between the production environment and backup containers, 19... Backups for the 18
Claims
1. A standby system using container technology that is applicable to on-premises and cloud environments, supports multiple system servers, and can provide continuous service even in the event of a failure.
2. A container standby system according to claim 1, comprising the function of monitoring the entire system and collecting information on all containers, and converting this information into numerical data and transmitting it to a client.