Token-Based Event Mapping for Serverless Workflow State
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies face challenges in efficiently mapping events to serverless functions in cloud computing environments, particularly in maintaining the state of workflow instances and scaling with varying traffic loads without requiring users to manage physical servers.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a common token embedded in event messages to map events to workflow instances, where the token is extracted using a workflow specification, allowing for the creation and management of workflow instances, and enabling the processing of events by associating them with specific serverless functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If events are mapped to serverless functions using traditional methods, then server management is required, but this increases device complexity and operational overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically extracts tokens from event messages and maps events to workflow instances without requiring user intervention for server management. The controller autonomously parses event messages, extracts correlation tokens, and manages workflow instance creation and state maintenance, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual server configuration and management
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a controller as an intermediary component that sits between event sources and serverless functions. This controller handles the complex tasks of token extraction, workflow instance management, and event routing, shielding users from the underlying complexity while enabling seamless event-to-function mapping through the token-based mechanism
2Reliability
If physical servers are used to maintain workflow state, then state maintenance is possible, but this increases cost and reduces scalability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of using physical servers to maintain workflow state with an information-based approach using tokens embedded in event messages. The correlation token carries state information through the event stream, allowing workflow state to be maintained without relying on persistent server storage, thereby enabling seamless scaling across distributed serverless infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of state storage from server-based persistent storage to token-based in-message storage. By embedding the correlation token directly in event messages, the workflow state is transformed into a portable, transferable parameter that can be easily maintained across stateless serverless function executions, enabling both reliability and scalability
3Productivity
If token extraction is performed without workflow specification, then processing is faster, but mapping precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-defining the token location and extraction rules in the workflow specification before event processing begins. The workflow specification contains advance instructions about where to find the correlation token in the event message and how to extract it, allowing the controller to quickly and accurately process events without needing to analyze or determine extraction logic at runtime
Data Source
AI summary
A network mapping events to workflow instances. One or more event messages are received with an embedded token from one or more event sources associated with an application. A workflow specification is received that specifies a location of the token embedded in the one or more event messages, and the token is extracted from the one or more event messages using the location of the token specified in the workflow specification. The events are then mapped to a workflow instance of the application based on the token the one or more event messages.