Partial Network Traffic Switching for Disaster Recovery Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Disaster recovery testing in cloud environments often disrupts productivity for all customers of a cloud provider, as existing methods require switching off the productive environment to redirect traffic to a backup environment, affecting all users and clients.
Innovation Solution
Implementing partial traffic switching using a Global Traffic Manager (GTM) server to redirect only specific client traffic to a backup environment for testing, while maintaining normal operations for other clients, utilizing triggers and data structures to identify and route test requests to the backup environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all traffic is switched to the backup environment for disaster recovery testing, then the operability of the disaster recovery solution can be tested, but the productivity of all customers is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments network traffic into different categories (test traffic vs. normal traffic) and applies different routing policies to each segment. The Global Traffic Manager identifies test traffic sources and routes only their traffic to the backup environment, while other traffic continues to flow to the productive environment, thus enabling targeted disaster recovery testing without affecting overall customer productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality characteristics to different parts of the traffic flow. Test traffic from specific sources is given special handling (routed to backup environment for testing), while normal traffic maintains its original routing (to productive environment). This local differentiation allows disaster recovery testing to occur for specific clients without impacting the quality of service for other clients
2Reliability
If the productive environment is replaced by the backup environment for testing, then the disaster recovery solution operability can be verified, but the normal operations of all clients are affected
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of switching all traffic to the backup environment (excessive action), the patent implements partial action by switching only the traffic from test sources to the backup environment. This partial switching approach is sufficient to verify disaster recovery operability for specific clients while leaving normal operations of other clients uninterrupted
Solution Approach 2:
The Global Traffic Manager acts as an intermediary between traffic sources and environments. It intelligently routes test traffic to the backup environment while routing normal traffic to the productive environment, thereby mediating between the need for disaster recovery testing and the need to maintain normal operations without direct conflict
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of systems, computer program products, and methods to provide partial network traffic switching are described herein. In an aspect, a request addressed to a computer application is received for routing to a computing environment hosting the application. The computer application is provided simultaneously at a productive computing environment and a backup computing environment. In another aspect, a triggering associated with the application is executed in response to the request to determining whether the request is test request. The request determined as test request is routed for processing by the application provided at the backup computing environment. In yet another aspect, the request is determined as a test request based on a predefined correspondence between the application and a client application sending the request.