Intermediary Servers Maintain State for Distributed Message Routing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In distributed computing environments, maintaining persistent connectivity across a vast number of devices is challenging due to resource limitations, particularly when intermediary servers manage connections, as they often lose state information during multiplexing, leading to inefficiencies and the need for additional servers.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing intermediary servers that operate using non-network addressable identifiers and maintain authentication states, allowing devices to register and communicate without knowledge of their location, enabling stateless connection management and efficient message routing through a federation of server nodes, including platform, edge, and intermediary servers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If intermediary servers multiplex persistent connections to manage connections between computing devices and platform servers, then the number of servers required is reduced, but state information is lost during multiplexing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces connection servers as intermediary components between edge servers and platform servers. These connection servers maintain the lost state information by storing authentication states and device identifiers, enabling them to multiplex multiple device connections through single connections to platform servers while preserving necessary session state.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new architectural dimension by inserting connection servers into the traditional edge server to platform server connection path. This creates a three-tier architecture (edge servers, connection servers, platform servers) that resolves the contradiction by providing state management capabilities at the connection server layer, enabling multiplexing without state loss.
2Use of energy by moving object
If persistent connections are used between devices and servers, then CPU and memory usage is reduced, but maintaining connectivity across device movement becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic connection management where connection servers maintain authentication states that allow devices to be serviced by any edge server within the federation. When devices move between edge servers, the connection servers dynamically update routing information while preserving persistent connections to platform servers, enabling both energy efficiency and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection servers provide universal service to multiple edge servers and devices, maintaining authentication states that are not tied to specific edge server locations. This allows any authenticated device to maintain persistent connections regardless of which edge server it currently connects to, enabling free movement while preserving connection efficiency.
3Reliability
If intermediary servers maintain authentication state for computing devices, then session persistence is improved, but server resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into multiple connection servers that each maintain authentication states for subsets of devices. This distribution of state management responsibilities across multiple servers prevents any single server from requiring excessive resources, while collectively providing robust session persistence for the entire device population.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of message routing messages via connections in a distributed computing environment. The method includes providing a platform server, a set of intermediary servers, and a set of edge servers. The method includes receiving, by a port at the platform server, a first data message from a first end-point device over a first persistent connection. The message has been routed through a an intermediate server over a second persistent connection. The method includes receiving a second data message from a second end-point device over a third persistent connection where the second data message has been routed through another intermediate server over a fourth persistent connection. The method includes servicing, by a processor at the platform server, the first data message and the second data message where the intermediate servers manage connectivity between the end-point devices and the platform servers.