Work Coordinator Log for Distributed Job State
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Solution Overview
Problem
Building and managing background jobs in distributed computing environments is challenging due to the complexity of coordinating and managing jobs across different components with varying programming models and data models, which can lead to performance issues and user experience problems.
Innovation Solution
A method for scheduling and dispatching jobs in a distributed computing system using a work coordinator that stores job actions and state in a log, allowing worker processes to perform actions and update the log, enabling processor-independent execution and state management through continuation-based runtimes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If background jobs are implemented in distributed environments with multiple components and moving parts, then the system can handle complex coordination and consistency requirements, but the device complexity and difficulty of management increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a work coordinator as an intermediary component that manages job scheduling, dispatching, and state tracking. This coordinator acts as a central mediator between worker processes and job definitions, simplifying the complexity by providing a single point of control rather than requiring direct peer-to-peer coordination between multiple distributed components.
Solution Approach 2:
The work coordinator serves multiple functions: it schedules jobs, dispatches them to workers, tracks their state, and manages the action log. This multi-functional approach reduces system complexity by consolidating what would otherwise require separate specialized components for each function into a single universal coordinator.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple programming models and data models are used across different components, then the system can accommodate diverse requirements, but the ease of operation and understanding of overall architecture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The work coordinator and action log serve as intermediaries that standardize communication between components with different programming models. By translating diverse job definitions and worker responses into a common log-based interface, the system maintains adaptability to different models while providing a unified view for management and monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses serialization and deserialization of job state and action definitions into standardized data structures stored in the log. This copying mechanism allows different programming models to interact through a common data representation, making the overall architecture more understandable while preserving model-specific flexibility.
3Productivity
If web requests are processed synchronously with server work, then the system can maintain simple processing logic, but the productivity and user experience deteriorate due to request backlogs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the request processing into two distinct phases: web request handling (synchronous, immediate response) and background job execution (asynchronous, deferred work). This segmentation allows web requests to return immediately while computationally intensive tasks continue in the background, improving throughput without significantly complicating the web layer architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by queuing job definitions and state in the action log before actual execution. This allows web requests to be acknowledged and responded to immediately, while the actual computationally intensive work is prepared and executed asynchronously in the background, improving overall system productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Scheduling and dispatching jobs for a plurality of different entities. A method includes receiving at a work coordinator, one or more actions associated with a job. The method further includes storing in a log at the work coordinator, keyed on a job key, state for the one or more actions and a list of the one or more actions. The method further includes making calls to one or more worker processes to cause the worker process to perform actions associated with the job. As a result of making calls to one or more worker processes, the method further includes receiving at least one of a change to the list of remaining actions or the state.