Active-Passive Failover via Data Service Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Active-passive applications in cloud environments face difficulties in failover, particularly in identifying and synchronizing the active instance, leading to challenges in resource allocation and efficient instance management.
Innovation Solution
A data service is implemented to manage synchronization among application instances, using an active instance value and last touch value to determine the status of instances, and a failover controller facilitates active-passive failover by loading active-active modules on virtual machines, enabling seamless transition of passive instances to active roles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a synchronization pointer is used to identify the active instance, then the reliability of failover is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional synchronization mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
A data service is introduced as an intermediary component between application instances to manage synchronization. The data service stores synchronization data including active instance identifiers and last touch timestamps, eliminating the need for complex direct coordination between instances while ensuring reliable failover detection
Solution Approach 2:
Application instances periodically call a status function in the data service to refresh their status and receive feedback about the current active instance. This feedback mechanism allows instances to automatically detect when they should become active without complex synchronization protocols
2Speed
If passive instances continuously monitor for failover, then the response time is improved, but the use of energy increases due to continuous status checking
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, instances perform periodic status refreshes by calling the status function at scheduled intervals. This periodic action maintains adequate response time while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous monitoring, as instances only check status when necessary rather than constantly
3Adaptability or versatility
If a separate failover framework is deployed for active-passive applications, then the adaptability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional framework components
Solution Approach 1:
The data service provides a universal synchronization mechanism that can be used by multiple different application types (active-passive, active-active) through a single unified interface. Applications simply need to implement the status function call pattern, eliminating the need for separate dedicated frameworks while maintaining adaptability
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for synchronized active-passive application failover. A data connection to a single data source can be used as a synchronizations point. Interoperating instance side and data source side algorithms coordinate to transition a passive instance to an active instance within a specified period of time when a prior active instance fails. An active-passive controller can operate as an active-active module within an active-active environment to provide active-passive failover to active-passive modules. Application virtual names can be mapped to application instance electronic addresses to assist external modules in establishing application connections to active-passive applications.