Controllerless Network Connection Selection via Distributed Server Status
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network technologies rely on central controllers for load balancing and redundancy, limiting the ability of remote applications to intelligently direct connections based on server status and location, and requiring physical colocation of servers, which increases costs and vulnerability to single points of failure.
Innovation Solution
A controllerless system where each server in a group is configured with a unique identifier and posts its status and connection details to a central database, allowing remote clients to query and connect to the most suitable server based on their needs without relying on an intermediate controller, enabling distributed and asynchronous network connection management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a central load balancer is used to direct traffic to backend servers, then load balancing and redundancy are achieved, but the system becomes dependent on a single point of failure and loses the ability to distribute intelligence to remote applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the load balancing and redundancy functionality from the central load balancer and distributes it to remote applications. Each application receives a list of available servers and can independently select which server to connect to, eliminating the single point of failure while maintaining load balancing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
Remote applications are empowered to make their own connection decisions without requiring central controller intervention. Applications query the database for available servers and autonomously determine which server to connect to based on their specific needs, distributing the intelligence throughout the system.
2Ease of manufacture
If servers are physically collocated and virtualized as a single unit, then redundancy is simplified, but the ability to deploy servers in different physical and logical locations is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the virtualization approach by allowing each server to be independently managed and located anywhere in the network. Instead of virtualizing servers as a single physical unit, each server maintains its own identity and can be deployed in different physical and logical locations while still being part of the same service group.
3Ease of operation
If remote applications have no visibility into server status details, then connection setup is simplified, but the ability to intelligently direct connections based on server conditions is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where servers asynchronously post their status information (such as operational state, capacity, and other metrics) to a central database. Remote applications query this database to obtain real-time server status information, enabling intelligent connection decisions while maintaining simple connection establishment procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is that of systems and methods for controllerless and distributed network connections to servers on a network by remote clients seeking their services. The invention comprises a server database where servers within a server group identified by a groupname may post unique identifiers (UIDs) for retrieval by group clients configured with the groupname, which may query the server database for server connection information such as uptime, downtime, and congestion in order to select a server for a preferential connection based on an overall availability profile as determined by the group client. The methods described herein eliminate a separate controller and thereby eliminate the single point of failure (SPOF) represented by connection controllers and load balancers in a network as are common in the current state of the art. Servers in the server group may periodically refresh their connection details to enable group client to server connections based on dynamic real-time updates, establishing a high-availability server group for the provision of services.