System and method for request priority transfer across nodes in a multi-tier data processing system network

1. A method of transferring request prioritizations in a dataprocessing system network, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first data processing system, a transaction request;

identifying a priority of the transaction request; processing, by the first data processing system, the transaction request in a network layer of the first data processing system according to the priority; and

conveying the transaction request to a second data processing system, wherein the second data processing system processes the transaction request in a network layer of the second data processing system according to the priority.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said identifying is performed by a filter interfaced with a network stack of the first data processing system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data processing system comprises a front-end node of the second data processing system.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

establishing a plurality of connections between the first data processing system and the second data processing system, wherein a first connection of the plurality of connections has a first priority associated therewith and a second connection of the plurality of connections has a second priority associated therewith.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said conveying further comprises:

determining that the priority of the transaction request corresponds to the first priority; and

transmitting the transaction request on the first connection.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said identifying further comprises:

determining a destination address of the first data processing system to which the transaction request was addressed.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

mapping the destination address to a source address of the first data processing system, wherein the source address is a source address of a connection between the first data processing system and the second data processing system, and wherein the source address is associated with the priority.

8. A computer program product in a computer readable storage medium for transferring request prioritizations in a data processing system network, the computer program product comprising:

first instructions that receive a transaction request at a first data processing system;

second instructions that identify a priority of the transaction request;

third instructions that process the transaction request at a network layer of the first data processing system; and

fourth instructions that convey the transaction request to a second data processing system for processing of the transaction request at a network layer of the second data processing system according to the priority.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the second instructions comprise a filter interfaced with a network stack of the first data processing system.

10. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the first data processing system comprises a front-end node of the second data processing system.

11. The computer program product of claim 8 , further comprising:

fifth instructions that establish a plurality of connections between the first data processing system and the second data processing system, wherein a first connection of the plurality of connections has a first priority associated therewith and a second connection of the plurality of connections has a second priority associated therewith.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the fourth instructions further comprise:

sixth instructions that determine that the priority of the transaction request corresponds to the first priority; and

seventh instructions that transmit the transaction request on the first connection.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the second instructions further comprise:

fifth instructions that determine a destination address of the first data processing system to which the transaction request was addressed.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 , further comprising:

sixth instructions that map the destination address to a source address of the first data processing system, wherein the source address is a source address of a connection between the first data processing system and the second data processing system, and wherein the source address is associated with the priority.

15. A data processing system for transferring request prioritizations in a data processing system network, comprising:

a network interface card that receives a transaction request;

a memory that contains a priority filter as a set of instructions; and

a processing unit, responsive to execution of the set of instructions, that identifies a priority of the transaction request and processes the transaction request at a network layer of the data processing system, and transmits the transaction request on a first connection of a plurality of connections, wherein each of the plurality of connections has an associated priority, and the first connection has a first associated priority that corresponds to the priority of the transaction request.

16. The data processing system of claim 15 , wherein the priority filter is interfaced with a network stack maintained in the memory.

17. The data processing system of claim 15 , wherein the priority filter identifies the priority of the transaction request by reading a destination address of the data processing system in the transaction request.

18. The data processing system of claim 17 , wherein the priority filter maps the destination address with a source address of the data processing system used for sending data on the first connection.

19. The data processing system of claim 15 , further comprising:

a second network interface card that terminates the plurality of connections with a second data processing system.

20. The data processing system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of connections terminate at a second data processing system, and wherein the second data processing system is configured to process the transaction request at a network layer of the second data processing system according to the priority.