SIP Session Zone Failover with Active-Active Load Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication systems, particularly in UCaaS platforms, face challenges with scalability and stability during failovers in telephony services, leading to issues like system instability, data loss, and dropped calls due to shared resource management and replication of application states across session initiation protocol (SIP) zones.
Innovation Solution
Implementing active-active standby communication sessions using SIP processes between two active session zones in a first datacenter and a standby session zone in a second datacenter, with synchronized caches and redundant load balancers and session border controllers to ensure seamless failover in case of failures, maintaining call continuity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If shared resource management is used across SIP zones, then resource utilization is improved, but system stability deteriorates during failovers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the telephony system into separate session zones (first session zone, second session zone) with distinct resource pools. Each zone has its own load balancers, session border controllers, and caching mechanisms, preventing resource contention and instability during failovers between zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The standby session zone is pre-configured with synchronized cache data and redundant load balancer settings before any failure occurs. When a failure is detected in the active session zone, the standby zone is already prepared to assume operations, eliminating instability during the transition.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If application states are replicated across SIP zones, then service continuity is improved, but data loss occurs during failovers
Solution Approach 1:
The cache controller continuously synchronizes application state data to the standby session zone's cache in advance. This preliminary replication ensures that when failover occurs, the standby zone already possesses complete state information, preventing data loss while maintaining continuous service.
Solution Approach 2:
The cache controller monitors data synchronization status between active and standby zones, using feedback mechanisms to ensure complete state replication before failover. This feedback loop prevents information loss by verifying data consistency.
3Reliability
If redundant load balancers and session border controllers are deployed, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple redundant components (load balancers, session border controllers) are merged into coordinated functional units. The active and standby load balancers work together as a unified failover pair, and the cache controller manages all redundancy logic centrally, simplifying the overall system architecture despite the increased number of components.
4Reliability
If failover mechanisms are implemented, then service stability is improved, but system interruptions occur
Solution Approach 1:
The standby session zone is pre-positioned with all necessary configuration data, cache contents, and connection states before any failure occurs. When a failure is detected, the failover process is merely a switchpoint rather than a reconstruction, eliminating interruptions and reducing failover time to minimal levels.
Data Source
AI summary
Load balancing is maintained for communication sessions using multiple active session zones in a first datacenter and a standby session zone in a second datacenter. In the event of a failure at a first active session zone at the first datacenter, a failover to the second active session zone at the first datacenter is performed such that there are no interruptions in the active sessions. In the event of a failure at both active session zones at the first datacenter, a failover to the second datacenter is performed.