US6286111B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Retry mechanism for remote operation failure in distributed computing environment
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1998-09-01
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Granted: 2001-09-04
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Expires: 2018-09-01
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides a mechanism for retrying a system operation on a remote node in a distributed environment. In an “optimistic” embodiment of the invention, a local system issues a set of commands over a network to a remote node to perform a system operation. Responsive to a failure by the remote node to perform the requested system action, the retry mechanism determines whether the remote node could be in a nonoperational state. If the remote node could be in the nonoperational state, the system issues a magic packet to the remote node. Next, the system waits a predetermined period of time for the remote node to be brought to a fully operational state. The system issues the set of commands a second time to the remote node to perform the system operation. In a “preemptive” or “pessimistic” embodiment of the invention, the likelihood that the remote node is in a powered down or similar state is sufficiently high to outweigh the cost of sending a magic packet over the network. Thus, to perform a system operation on a remote node, a magic packet is issued preemptively to the remote node over a network to bring it to a fully operational state. Then, the local system issues a set of commands over the network to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Inventors
- 👤 Jeffrey Phillip Snover
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 02:40
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/14; G06F11/1402; G06F11/1415; G06F11/0703; G06F11/0706; G06F11/0709; H; H04; H04L; H04L43/00; H04L43/08; H04L43/0805; H04L43/0817; G06F11/0793; H04L41/00; H04L41/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
113 words
A method for retrying a system operation on a remote node, comprising the steps of: issuing a set of commands over a network to a remote node to perform a system operation; responsive to a failure by the remote node to perform the requested system operation, determining whether the remote node could be in a node down state; responsive to the determination that the remote node could be in the node down state, issuing a magic packet to the remote node; waiting a predetermined period of time for the remote node to be brought to an operational state; and issuing the set of commands to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
113 words
A method for retrying a system operation on a remote node, comprising the steps of: issuing a set of commands over a network to a remote node to perform a system operation; responsive to a failure by the remote node to perform the requested system operation, determining whether the remote node could be in a node down state; responsive to the determination that the remote node could be in the node down state, issuing a magic packet to the remote node; waiting a predetermined period of time for the remote node to be brought to an operational state; and issuing the set of commands to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of determining that the remote node has been brought to the operational state subsequent to the waiting step.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method as recited in claim 1 the determining step is performed by determining that an acknowledgment has not been received from the remote node.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the set of commands was issued to a first plurality of remote nodes.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
91 words
The method as recited in claim 4 wherein failure is detected in a second plurality of remote nodes which are a subset of the first plurality of nodes, and the method further comprises the steps of: determining a list of remote nodes in the second plurality which are equipped to react to a magic packet and may be in a node down state; issuing a magic packet to each of the remote nodes in the list; and issuing the set of commands to each of the remote nodes in the list.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method as recited in claim 5 wherein remote nodes which have responded to the first issuance of the set of commands or have communicated to a server within a predetermined period of time are not included in the list of remote nodes.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for performing a system operation on a remote node, comprising the steps of: receiving a request to perform the system operation on the remote node; responsive to the request for performing the system operation on the remote node, issuing a magic packet to the remote node over a network; and issuing a set of commands over the network to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for performing a system operation on a remote node, comprising the steps of: receiving a request to perform the system operation on the remote node; responsive to the request for performing the system operation on the remote node, issuing a magic packet to the remote node over a network; and issuing a set of commands over the network to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising the step of determining whether the remote node could be in a node down state prior to issuance of the magic packet and the step of issuing the magic packet is contingent upon a determination of a possible node down state.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising the step of determining a network condition and the step of issuing the magic packet is contingent upon a determination of the network condition.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method as recited in claim 9 wherein the network condition is a network load.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising the step of determining that the remote node is equipped to react to the magic packet and the step of issuing the magic packet is contingent upon a determination of that the remote node is equipped to react to the magic packet.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
73 words
The method as recited in claim 7 further comprising the steps of: receiving a request to perform a system operation on a plurality of remote nodes; determining a list of remote nodes to which send a magic packet, the list being a subset of the plurality of remote nodes; sending a magic packet to each of the remote nodes on the list; and performing the system operation on the plurality of remote nodes.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method as recited in claim 12 wherein the list is determined by selecting remote nodes in the plurality of remote nodes which are equipped to respond to the magic packet.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as recited in claim 12 wherein the list is determined by selecting remote nodes in the plurality of remote nodes for which no recent activity has been recorded.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
131 words
A method for retrying a system operation on a remote node, comprising the steps of: receiving a request to perform a system operation on a remote node; determining a current network state; responsive to determining a first network state, entering an optimistic mode for retrying the system operation, wherein commands are issued to the remote node to perform the system action, and upon failure of the remote node to respond, issuing a magic packet to the remote node and subsequently issuing the commands to the remote node a second time; and responsive to determining a second network state, entering a preemptive mode for retrying the system operation, wherein a magic packet is issued to the remote node prior to issuing the commands to perform the system action to the remote node.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
131 words
A method for retrying a system operation on a remote node, comprising the steps of: receiving a request to perform a system operation on a remote node; determining a current network state; responsive to determining a first network state, entering an optimistic mode for retrying the system operation, wherein commands are issued to the remote node to perform the system action, and upon failure of the remote node to respond, issuing a magic packet to the remote node and subsequently issuing the commands to the remote node a second time; and responsive to determining a second network state, entering a preemptive mode for retrying the system operation, wherein a magic packet is issued to the remote node prior to issuing the commands to perform the system action to the remote node.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as recited in claim 15 further comprising the step of responsive to determining a third network state in which no magic packet is issued to the remote node.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 15 , wherein a set of network conditions which define the first and second network states include a relative network load.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method as recited in claim 15 , a set of network conditions which define the first and second network states include a time of day.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as recited in claim 15 , wherein the request to perform a system operation is a request to perform the system operation on a plurality of remote nodes.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method as recited in claim 19 , further comprising the step of selecting a list of remote nodes to send magic packets from the plurality of remote nodes based on machine type.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method as recited in claim 19 , further comprising the step of accepting user input to define the set of network conditions which define the first and second network states.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as recited in claim 21 , further comprising the step of defining the set of network conditions which define the first and second network states based on past network performance.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
107 words
A computer program product in a computer readable medium for retrying a system operation on a remote node, comprising: means for issuing a set of commands over a network to a remote node to perform a system operation; means responsive to a failure by the remote node to perform the requested system operation for determining whether the remote node could be in a node down state; means responsive to the determination that the remote could be in the node down state for issuing a magic packet to the remote node; and means for issuing the set of commands to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
107 words
A computer program product in a computer readable medium for retrying a system operation on a remote node, comprising: means for issuing a set of commands over a network to a remote node to perform a system operation; means responsive to a failure by the remote node to perform the requested system operation for determining whether the remote node could be in a node down state; means responsive to the determination that the remote could be in the node down state for issuing a magic packet to the remote node; and means for issuing the set of commands to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
72 words
A system for performing a system operation on a remote node, comprising: means for receiving a request to perform the system operation on the remote node; means responsive to the request for performing the system operation on the remote node for issuing a magic packet to the remote node over a network; and means for issuing a set of commands over the network to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
72 words
A system for performing a system operation on a remote node, comprising: means for receiving a request to perform the system operation on the remote node; means responsive to the request for performing the system operation on the remote node for issuing a magic packet to the remote node over a network; and means for issuing a set of commands over the network to the remote node to perform the system operation.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system as recited in claim 24 further comprising means for determining whether the remote node could be in a node down state.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-09-03 | 2005-03-05 | 2005-09-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-09-03 | 2009-03-05 | 2009-09-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-09-03 | 2013-03-05 | 2013-09-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |