Independent Load Balancing for PPPoE Servers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current load balancing processes for PPPoE servers often rely on intervening intermediate nodes that do not accurately assess the utilization of BRAS hosts, leading to inefficient distribution of sessions, and may require direct negotiations among neighboring hosts, which is not always feasible.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a balancer process within each PPPoE server that delays responses based on the current processing load, allowing less utilized servers to more likely establish new sessions by calculating a delay interval based on the load metric and scaling factor, thereby distributing sessions without intermediate node intervention or neighbor negotiations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If current load balancing processes use intervening intermediate nodes to distribute sessions, then session distribution can be achieved, but the assessment of BRAS host utilization is inaccurate and the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the intermediate node from the load balancing architecture. Each BRAS host independently determines its own utilization metric and makes load balancing decisions without requiring external assessment, thereby eliminating the complexity of intermediate nodes while improving measurement accuracy through direct self-assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
Each BRAS host autonomously evaluates its own utilization metric and makes independent load balancing decisions. This self-service approach eliminates the need for external intermediate nodes to assess utilization, directly resolving the contradiction between accurate measurement and system complexity.
2Productivity
If current load balancing processes require direct negotiations among neighboring hosts, then load distribution can be achieved, but the implementation complexity increases and feasibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the negotiation mechanism from the load balancing process. Instead of requiring hosts to negotiate with neighboring hosts, each host independently evaluates its utilization and makes decisions autonomously, eliminating the complex negotiation infrastructure while maintaining effective load distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
Each BRAS host independently determines its own load status and makes load balancing decisions without external negotiation. This self-service mechanism simplifies the system by removing the need for complex inter-host negotiation protocols while preserving productivity through autonomous decision-making.
3Productivity
If BRAS hosts respond immediately to PPPoE requests, then response speed is fast, but heavily utilized servers become overloaded while less utilized servers remain underused
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having each BRAS host evaluate its utilization metric before responding to PPPoE requests. Based on this pre-assessment, hosts can proactively delay responses or redirect requests to less utilized servers, preventing overload before it occurs while maintaining overall system productivity through intelligent load distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a request message at a local node in a communications network from a remote node in the communication network. The request message holds data that indicates a request for a particular service from the local node. A load metric that indicates a current processing load at the local node is determined. A response delay time, for responding to the request message, is determined based on the load metric. A response message is sent after the response delay time. The response message indicates the local node is able to provide the particular service for the remote node. The delay time allows the local node to make it more likely that a less busy node will respond earlier in time to a request message from the same remote node and provide the particular service.