Load Balancer HTTP Parsing Offload for Backend Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern workloads running on container orchestrated systems with load balancers face inefficiencies due to duplicate HTTP parsing at backend servers, which increases overhead and reduces performance.
Innovation Solution
The method involves a load balancer receiving a client request, parsing it using an HTTP parser, and then invoking a lambda function specific to the backend server's language requirements to serialize the request before sending it to the backend server, thereby offloading parsing overhead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If backend servers perform duplicate HTTP parsing of client requests, then they can process requests independently, but parsing overhead increases and performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the HTTP parsing function from backend servers and relocates it to the load balancer. The load balancer parses incoming HTTP requests and converts them to serialized format, eliminating the need for backend servers to perform duplicate parsing operations. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining independent request processing capability while removing the harmful parsing overhead from backend servers.
Solution Approach 2:
The load balancer performs HTTP parsing and request serialization in advance before forwarding requests to backend servers. By completing the parsing operation preliminarily at the load balancer, the system eliminates the need for backend servers to repeat this operation, thus reducing their workload and improving overall system productivity while maintaining processing independence.
2Productivity
If load balancers perform language-specific parsing and serialization, then backend server workload is reduced, but load balancer complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of request format from standard HTTP to language-specific serialized format. The load balancer transforms HTTP requests into serialized representations tailored to the specific backend server's programming language requirements. This parameter transformation enables the load balancer to offload parsing work while the complexity is managed through automated serialization logic rather than manual parsing code on each backend server.
3Adaptability or versatility
If duplicate HTTP parsing is performed at backend servers, then request processing is flexible, but response time increases and throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the time-consuming HTTP parsing operation from backend servers and performs it at the load balancer. This removes the parsing bottleneck from the critical request processing path at backend servers, directly reducing response time and increasing throughput while preserving the flexibility of how backend servers handle the already-parsed request data.
Data Source
AI summary
Terminating and serializing HTTP load is provided. The method comprising receiving, by a load balancer, a client request. An HTTP parser in the load balancer is invokes, which parses the client request. A lambda function in the load balancer is then invoked, wherein the lambda function specifies data format requirements for a language used in a backend server. The load balancer parses the client request according to the lambda function in a manner specific to the language used in the backend server. The load balancer then serializes the client request according to the lambda function in a manner specific to the language used in the backend server. The load balancer sends the serialized client request to the backend server.