Gateway Server Session State Mirroring for Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional remote access solutions fail to preserve session state during gateway server failures, resulting in terminated sessions and lost data, as neither active/passive nor active/active failover arrangements effectively mirror remote session states for seamless transitions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where incoming data from a client is mirrored to active failover servers, with acknowledgments and responses synchronized to prevent application resource conflicts, allowing a failover server to seamlessly take over as the primary gateway server in case of failure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active/passive failover server arrangement is used, then system redundancy is improved, but session state preservation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements session state copying by maintaining identical copies of session data across multiple servers. The primary server and backup servers each hold complete copies of session state, allowing any server to take over without data loss. This is achieved through synchronized session management where session information is replicated across the server cluster.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring backup servers with complete session state information before any failure occurs. Backup servers are kept in a ready state with all necessary session data already loaded, so when a primary server fails, the transition is immediate and seamless without requiring data transfer or session reconstruction.
2Reliability
If failover server is located on separate physical node, then system reliability is improved, but hardware cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by designing backup servers that can serve multiple functions: they act as standby servers for failover, but can also function as active primary servers when needed. This multi-functionality allows the system to use identical hardware configurations for all servers, optimizing resource utilization and reducing overall hardware requirements compared to having dedicated single-purpose servers.
3Stability of the object's composition
If session state is mirrored to failover server, then session continuity is improved, but data synchronization complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where servers continuously monitor each other's status and session state synchronization. When the primary server receives or processes data, it notifies backup servers to update their copies. This feedback loop ensures all servers maintain identical session state without requiring complex manual synchronization protocols, as the system self-regulates through automated status reporting and data replication triggers.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for providing failover redundancy in a remote access solution includes at least one application resource on a back-end server, and multiple gateway servers. One of the gateway servers is a primary gateway server while the others are failover gateway servers. Each gateway servers hosts a session with at least one executing application instance for the same application, each session on the failover gateway servers maintained in the same state as that on the primary gateway server. The primary gateway server is the only gateway servers allowed to communicate with the application resource(s). The system further includes a client device in communication over a VPN with the primary gateway server, receiving output of the application instance executing on the primary gateway server and displaying the received output on a viewer of the client device. The client device also sends input to the primary gateway server.