Client-Side Upstream Failure Detection and Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Clients connected to data centers cannot detect failures between the content provider and the data center, leading to interruptions in live content delivery, such as sports scores or news feeds, and require user intervention for connection re-establishment.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where clients can automatically detect upstream failures and seamlessly switch to a different data center by using status messages and IP address lists that include global and specific addresses, allowing secure connections without user intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If clients connect to data centers for content delivery, then content routing capability is improved, but failure detection capability deteriorates because clients cannot detect upstream failures between content provider and data center
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where the client can detect upstream failures by monitoring the data feed content itself. The client detects failures by identifying duplicate sequential identifiers in the data feed, which indicates that data is not being properly forwarded from the content provider through the data center. This intermediary detection method allows the client to sense upstream failures without directly monitoring the independent connection between content provider and data center.
2Device complexity
If manual connection re-establishment is required after failure, then system complexity is reduced, but productivity deteriorates due to user intervention requirements and downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the client to automatically detect upstream failures and autonomously switch to a different data center without requiring user intervention. The client monitors the data feed for failure indicators (duplicate sequential identifiers) and automatically initiates reconnection to an alternative data center, thereby maintaining content delivery continuity while keeping the system relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring multiple data centers and establishing backup connections before failures occur. The client is pre-equipped with knowledge of alternative data centers and can immediately switch to a standby data center upon detecting a failure, eliminating downtime without requiring complex real-time decision-making or user intervention.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple data centers are used for content routing, then system adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple connection management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the data center infrastructure into multiple independent, functionally equivalent data centers. Each data center can independently route content from the content provider to clients. This segmentation allows the system to distribute the load and provides redundancy, while the client manages connections to multiple segmented data centers through a standardized failure detection and switching mechanism, thereby reducing the perceived complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The content provider provides content to the first data center, which then provides the content to the client. The client determines that a failure between content provider and the first data center may have occurred. When the client determines that a failure may have occurred, the client may connect to a second data center to receive content from the content provider through the second data center. Accordingly, the failure is detected and additionally, automatic failure recovery may be provided at the client.