Nway Redundancy Model for Service Unit Workload Balancing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional algorithms for determining Service Unit ranks in high availability systems often lead to unbalanced workload distribution, causing overload and performance degradation when Service Units fail.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that configure Service Units using an Nway redundancy model to assign roles such that load is balanced both before and after a failure, allowing for simultaneous active and standby roles, and redistributing loads among healthy Service Units.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If conventional algorithms are used to determine Service Unit ranks, then the system can be configured simply, but the workload distribution becomes unbalanced causing overload and performance degradation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconfiguration simplicityVSAvoidworkload distribution balance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameters of the ranking algorithm by introducing multiple factors (load capacity, current workload, failure history, response time) instead of using a single conventional ranking metric. This allows the system to dynamically adjust rankings based on current system state, achieving balanced workload distribution while maintaining configuration simplicity through standardized parameter definitions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic ranking adjustment where Service Unit ranks are not fixed but continuously updated based on changing system conditions. The ranking algorithm considers real-time factors such as current workload, available capacity, and recent performance metrics, allowing the system to adapt to dynamic conditions and maintain balanced workload distribution even as system state changes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If Service Units are assigned fixed roles, then the configuration is straightforward, but the system cannot adapt to failures and maintain balanced load distribution

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverole assignment simplicityVSAvoidsystem adaptability to failure

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary ranking calculations during system configuration and before failures occur. By pre-establishing ranking criteria and algorithms that consider load capacity, current workload, and other factors, the system is prepared to quickly reassign roles after failures without requiring complex real-time decision-making, thus maintaining both operational simplicity and reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system continuously monitors Service Unit performance, workload distribution, and system state. This feedback is fed back into the ranking algorithm, which adjusts rankings and role assignments accordingly. This closed-loop control ensures the system adapts to failures while maintaining balanced load distribution through data-driven decisions rather than fixed rules.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If redundant Service Units are configured for high availability, then system reliability improves, but workload distribution becomes unbalanced when failures occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice availabilityVSAvoidworkload balance after failure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic role assignment where Service Units can transition between active, standby, and backup roles based on real-time rankings. When failures occur, the system dynamically recalculates rankings considering the new system state and redistributes workload to maintain balance. This dynamic approach ensures both high availability through redundancy and balanced workload distribution after failures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the ranking parameters dynamically based on system state, particularly after failures. The algorithm adjusts weights for factors such as current workload, available capacity, and failure history based on the specific failure scenario. This parameter adjustment allows the system to optimize workload distribution across redundant units while maintaining service availability, preventing both overload and underutilization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS8719835B2Ranking service units to provide and protect highly available services using the Nway redundancy model

Publication Date: 2014.05.06 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

Presented are methods and apparatus for protecting a plurality of High Availability (HA) Service Instances (SIs) with a plurality of Service Units (SUs) with an Nway redundancy model. Any of the SUs associated with the Nway redundancy model can simultaneously be assigned an active HA state for some of the SIs and a standby HA state for other SIs. However, only one SU can have the active state for any given SI. The Nway redundancy model is a configured prior to runtime operation.