Method and system for selecting a computing device for maintaining a client session in response to a request packet
View Patent ↗A server farm for processing client requests comprising a first server having a first processor and a first network interface controller communicatively coupled to the first processor, and a second server comprising a second processor and communicatively coupled to the first server, wherein the first network interface controller is configured to maintain a state table associated with at least the first server and the second server and respond to receipt of a request packet from a client by, initiating by the first processor execution of a software application associated with the request packet when the state table corresponds to a first state, and selectively forwarding the request packet to the second server when the state table corresponds to a second state.
1. A method comprising:
receiving, at a first computing device, a first packet, wherein the first packet is a request packet originating from a client, wherein the received request packet includes an identifier;
identifying a computing device associated with the identifier;
if the identified computing device is the first computing device, performing a first operation in response to the request packet; and
if the identified computing device is a second computing device, including, in a header of a second packet, a field that indicates the second packet is a forwarded packet, and communicating the second packet to the second computing device to perform the first operation.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the computing device associated with the identifier comprises determining whether the computing device stores a data structure of the connection with the client.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second packet includes the request packet.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the header further comprises a reference, wherein the reference includes an IP address of the client and an IP address of the second computing device.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving the request packet through a global computer network.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising communicating the second packet to the second computing device through a local area network when the identified computing device is the second computing device.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first operation is a socket-based application.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first computing device comprises a network interface card.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first computing device is a first destination server in a server farm and the second computing device is a second destination server in the server farm.
10. A system comprising:
a first computing device configured to:
receive a first packet, wherein the first packet is a request packet originating from a client, wherein the received request packet includes an identifier;
identify a computing device associated with the identifier;
if the identified computing device is the first computing device, perform a first operation in response to the request packet; and
if the identified computing device is a second computing device, include, in a header of a second packet, a field that indicates the second packet is a forwarded packet, and communicate the second packet to the second computing device to perform the first operation.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the identifier is a session identifier.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the session identifier is an HTTP session identifier.
13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the identifier is a URL identifier.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the identifier is an SSL identifier.
15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the first computing device is configured to identify the computing device associated with the identifier by determining whether the computing device stores a data structure of the connection with the client.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium containing computer-executable instructions stored thereon, execution of which by a network processor of an intelligent network interface controller of a first server of an information processing system causes the intelligent network interface controller to perform operations in handling requests from clients referencing a single session that is associated with multiple connections, the operations comprising:
receiving a first packet, wherein the first packet is a request packet originating from a client, wherein the received request packet includes an identifier;
identifying a computing device associated with the identifier;
if the identified computing device is the first computing device, performing a first operation in response to the request packet; and
if the identified computing device is a second computing device, including, in a header of a second packet, a field that indicates the second packet is a forwarded packet, and communicating the second packet to the second computing device to perform the first operation.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 16 , wherein the header includes a reference, wherein the reference includes an IP address of the client and an IP address of the second computing device.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 16 , further comprising receiving the request packet through a global computer network.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 16 , further comprising communicating the second packet to the second computing device through a local area network when the identified computing device is the second computing device.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable memory medium of claim 16 , wherein the first operation is a socket-based application.