IP Library › Granted Patent US 8,612,616
Granted Patent B2
US 8,612,616 · App. 13/619,944 · Granted Dec 17, 2013

Client load distribution

Inventors: G. Paul Koning (New Boston, NH); Peter C. Hayden (Mount Vernon, NH); Paula Long (Hollis, NH); Daniel E. Suman (Westford, MA)
Assignee: Dell Products, L.P.
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,612,616
App. No.
13/619,944
Filed
Sep 14, 2012
Granted
Dec 17, 2013
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2457
USPC
709/226
Abstract

Systems and methods for providing an efficient partitioned resource server. In one embodiment, the partitioned resource server comprises a plurality of individual servers, and the individual servers appear to be equivalent to a client. Each of the individual servers may include a routing table that includes a reference for each resource that is maintained on the partitioned resource server. Requests from a client are processed as a function of the routing table to route the request to the individual server that maintains or has control over the resource of interest.

Claims (41)

1. A system for managing a set of connections between a plurality of clients and a plurality of storage servers based on system load, comprising:

a plurality of storage servers having a set of resources partitioned thereon, such that for any one of the resources a first portion of said resource is located on one of the storage servers and a second portion of said resource is located on a different storage server of the plurality of storage servers;

at least two load monitor processes coupled for communication with each other across the plurality of storage servers and generating a measure of system load and a measure of client load on each of the plurality of storage servers; and

a storage service process responsive to results generated by the load monitor processes and maintaining at least one volume of storage partitioned across the plurality of storage servers wherein repartitioning the set of connections distributes the client load across the plurality of storage servers.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a client distribution process responsive to the generated measure of system load and repartitioning the set of client connections for distributing client load.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

a load distribution process for determining resource loads when moving client connections among storage servers.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

a client allocation process for causing a client to communicate with a selected one of said plurality of storage servers.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

a client allocation process for distributing incoming client requests across said plurality of storage servers, wherein the incoming client requests form respective connections between the clients and the plurality of storage servers.

6. A system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the client distribution process includes a round robin distribution process.

7. A system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the client distribution process includes a client redirection process.

8. A system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the client distribution process includes a disconnect process for dynamically disconnecting a client from a first storage server and reconnecting to a second storage server.

9. A system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

an application program executing on at least one of the storage servers and transferring a client connection to a different storage server.

10. A system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

an adaptive client distribution process adaptively distributing client connections across the plurality of storage servers as a function of dynamic variations in measured system load.

11. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a storage device for providing storage resources to the plurality of clients.

12. A method of managing client load distribution, comprising:

connecting a plurality of clients and a plurality of storage servers such that there is a set of communication connections between the plurality of clients and the plurality of storage servers;

partitioning a set of resources on the plurality of storage servers such that for any one of the resources a first portion of said resource is located on one of the storage servers and a second portion of said resource is located on a different storage server of the plurality of storage servers;

monitoring load across the plurality of storage servers in a manner that generates a measure of overall system load and a measure of client load on each of the plurality of storage servers; and

in response to outcomes of the load monitoring, providing at least one volume of storage partitioned across the plurality of storage servers wherein repartitioning the set of connections distributes the client load across the plurality of storage servers.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising:

responsive to the generated measure of system load, repartitioning the set of client connections for distributing client load.

14. A method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising:

a determining resource loads when moving client connections among storage servers.

15. A method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising:

causing a client to communicate with a selected one of said plurality of storage servers.

16. A method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising:

distributing incoming client requests across said plurality of storage servers, wherein the incoming client requests form respective connections between the clients and the plurality of storage servers.

17. A method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the client distribution process includes a round robin distribution process.

18. A method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the client distribution process includes a client redirection process.

19. A method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the client distribution process includes a disconnect process for dynamically disconnecting a client from a first storage server and reconnecting to a second storage server.

20. A method as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising:

executing an application program on at least one of the storage servers and transferring a client connection to a different storage server.

21. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

adaptively distributing client connections across the plurality of storage servers as a function of dynamic variations in measured system load.

Assignments (16)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053546/0001) Recorded Jun 23, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 071642/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (045455/0001) Recorded May 20, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061753/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (040136/0001) Recorded Apr 26, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061324/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 3, 2021
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 058216/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 22, 2020
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053546/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 21, 2019
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 049452/0223 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040134/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040136/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040040/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040065/0618 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040065/0216 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (TERM LOAN) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: DELL INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 031899/0261 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (NOTES) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS FIRST LIEN COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 031897/0348 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (ABL) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: DELL INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 031898/0001 →
MERGER Recorded Oct 3, 2013
From: EQUALLOGIC, INC.
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 031341/0528 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 3, 2013
From: KONING, G. PAUL; HAYDEN, PETER C.; LONG, PAULA; LEE, HSIN H.; SUBRAMANIAN, VASUDEVAN; VEKIARIDES, LAZARUS J.; GOLUGURI, SATYANARAYANA R.
To: EQUALLOGIC, INC.
Reel/Frame 031341/0536 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 10762985 · Jan 21, 2004
Provisional Application 60441810 · Jan 21, 2003
Related Publication 20130254400A1 · Sep 26, 2013