Network Service Continuity via Echo Server Fault Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network service continuity management technologies fail to accurately distinguish between network and server faults, leading to unnecessary server disconnections and service disruptions, especially in mobile environments where temporary network issues are misdiagnosed as server malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A continuity management method that involves sending a heartbeat signal to a service server and, upon failing to receive a response, sending a packet to an echo server to determine whether the issue lies with the server or the network based on the response received from the echo server, thereby accurately diagnosing faults and maintaining service continuity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the client periodically communicates with the service server to inspect service state, then service continuity can be monitored, but false fault diagnosis occurs when network temporary disconnection is misidentified as server malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an echo server as an intermediary component to assist in fault diagnosis. When the client fails to receive a response from the service server, it sends a test packet to the echo server. The echo server acts as a mediator to determine whether the failure is due to network issues or server issues, thereby resolving the false diagnosis problem between network temporary disconnection and server malfunction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the fault diagnosis process into two distinct pathways: one for network fault detection (using echo server response) and another for server fault detection (using service server response). This segmentation allows the system to accurately identify the specific source of failure rather than treating all connection failures uniformly
2Adaptability or versatility
If the client attempts to connect to a second server upon diagnosing first server failure, then service availability may be improved, but service continuity is damaged when the initial server was actually operational
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the client receives diagnostic information from the echo server about the actual status of the service server. This feedback loop prevents premature server switching by providing accurate fault location information, ensuring that clients only switch servers when the original server is truly unavailable rather than experiencing temporary network issues
3Device complexity
If the system uses only heartbeat signals between client and service server, then the communication protocol is simple, but the system cannot distinguish between network faults and server faults
Solution Approach 1:
The echo server serves as an intermediary diagnostic tool that adds minimal complexity to the communication protocol while significantly improving fault detection capability. The client sends a simple test packet to the echo server when heartbeat fails, and the echo server's response provides clear information about network versus server faults without requiring complex protocol changes
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is non-transitory computer-readable recording media storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a continuity management method that includes sending a heartbeat signal to a service server that provides a service over a network, sending a packet to an echo server in response to failing to receive a response signal to the heartbeat signal from the service server, and determining whether to continue the service based on whether a response to the packet is received from the echo server.