Floating IP Address Mapping for Network Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network connection failover mechanisms are costly and inefficient, especially when session state is involved, as they require re-establishing connections, re-authenticating credentials, and replaying transactions, which can lead to significant downtime and user dissatisfaction.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a new IP address mapping module that uses operating-system supported IP bonding to select and assign floating IP addresses based on application characteristics, such as reliability and speed, allowing for dynamic remapping of network adapters to ensure fault tolerance and minimize downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional connection failover mechanism is used, then connection failure can be recovered, but recovery cost is high and downtime is significant
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing backup network adapters and configuring floating IP addresses before failure occurs. When a network adapter fails, the system can immediately activate pre-configured backup adapters and remap floating IP addresses, avoiding the time-consuming processes of connection re-establishment, re-authentication, and session state replay that would otherwise be required.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces floating IP addresses as an intermediary layer between the application and physical network adapters. This abstraction allows the application to maintain continuous connectivity through IP address remapping when underlying network adapters fail, eliminating the need for application-level connection recovery procedures and reducing downtime.
2Reliability
If traditional connection failover mechanism is used, then connection failure can be recovered, but recovery cost is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing backup network adapters and configuring floating IP addresses before failure occurs. When a network adapter fails, the system can immediately activate pre-configured backup adapters and remap floating IP addresses, avoiding the time-consuming processes of connection re-establishment, re-authentication, and session state replay that would otherwise be required.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces floating IP addresses as an intermediary layer between the application and physical network adapters. This abstraction allows the application to maintain continuous connectivity through IP address remapping when underlying network adapters fail, eliminating the need for application-level connection recovery procedures and reducing downtime.
3Reliability
If floating IP addresses are assigned based on application characteristics, then fault tolerance is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by assigning different floating IP address configurations to different applications based on their specific characteristics and requirements. Each application can be tailored with appropriate backup adapter configurations and failover policies, allowing high-reliability applications to receive enhanced protection while standard applications use simpler configurations, thus managing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The embodiments disclosed herein select and assign a floating IP address (FIP) to an application based on characteristics of the application. Floating IP addresses are assigned a classification, and one or more network adapters are mapped to a FIP according to the FIPs assigned classification. The endpoint of a connection for an application initiating a network connection with a target application may be assigned a floating IP address according to attributes of the application being consistent with the classification of a FIP. Applications may be grouped according to their respective classification, and the group of applications may share a corresponding FIP. FIPs may be dynamically configured for an application with mapped network adapters selected based on the attributes of the application. An application's characteristics may change during executions, and the network adapters mapped to the FIP assigned to the application's connection may be reassigned.