Service Server Failover via Management Server Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional information systems are not robust against failures of service servers, leading to service disruptions when a game server goes down, preventing continuous service provision to terminal apparatuses.
Innovation Solution
An information system comprising multiple service servers and a management server, where each service server includes self-status and other-status storage units, status transmitting and receiving units, and a transfer processing unit to enable seamless service transfer between servers, ensuring continuous service even if one server fails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single service server is used to provide service to terminal apparatuses, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability deteriorates because the system cannot continue providing service when the server fails
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the service provision function across multiple service servers (first service server, second service server, etc.) instead of relying on a single server. Each server can independently provide services to terminal apparatuses, and when one server fails, others can take over, ensuring service continuity while distributing system complexity across modular components
Solution Approach 2:
A management server is introduced as an intermediary that coordinates between multiple service servers and terminal apparatuses. The management server receives service requests, determines which service server should handle each request based on server status information, and manages the overall system, thereby enabling reliable service continuation without requiring complex peer-to-peer coordination between service servers
2Reliability
If multiple service servers are deployed to ensure service continuity, then the reliability improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional servers and coordination mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple service servers are deployed with identical or similar service provision capabilities. Each server can universally provide the same services to terminal apparatuses, allowing any server to take over another's workload when needed. This multi-functionality approach ensures reliability while keeping individual server designs simple and standardized
Solution Approach 2:
The management server implements feedback mechanisms by receiving status information from service servers and using this information to make intelligent routing decisions. The management server determines which service server should handle requests based on current server states, optimizing resource utilization and ensuring service continuity without requiring complex hard-coded coordination rules
3Reliability
If service status information is continuously monitored and transferred between servers, then the reliability improves through automatic failover, but the loss of information increases due to frequent status updates and transfers
Solution Approach 1:
Service servers proactively transmit their status information to the management server before failures occur. The management server maintains up-to-date status information for all service servers and uses this pre-collected information to quickly determine appropriate failover actions when a server fails, eliminating the need for complex real-time information exchange during critical failover moments
Data Source
AI summary
An information system includes: a self-status storage unit in which self-status information is stored; an other-status storage unit in which status information of another service server is stored; a service unit that provides a service to terminal apparatuses; a status transmitting unit that transmits the self-status information to a management server; a status receiving unit that receives other-status information from the management server; a first determining unit that determines whether or not the self-status information satisfies a first condition; and a transfer processing unit that performs transfer processing, which is processing for enabling any one or more terminal apparatuses to which a service is being provided by the service unit to receive a service from another service server, in the case in which it is determined that the first condition is satisfied.