METHOD OF FAILURE DETECTION IN AN OPERATING SYSTEM
Method of failure detection in an operating system, the method comprising sending a request from a client to a server through a router, storing a token at the router, carrying out the request at the server, and returning a reply from the server to the client through the router, wherein the method comprises the alternative steps of, in response to a failure in the server, generating at the router an error reply based on the token and returning the error reply from the router to the client.
1 . (canceled)
2 . The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of removing the token as the reply passes the router.
3 . The method of claim 16 wherein the operating system is configured to notify the router in response to the failure in the server process.
4 . The method of claim 16 wherein the operating system comprises a network interface, and wherein the server is local to the operating system, and the router is associated with the network interface.
5 . The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of handling a retransmission of the request at the router.
6 . The method of claim 16 wherein the operating system comprises a network interface, and wherein the client is local to the operating system, and the router is associated with the network interface.
7 . The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of setting a retransmission timer at the router.
8 . The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of caching the request.
9 . The method of claim 16 wherein the router is configured to connect through a plurality of links, wherein the router is connected to the client by a first link of the plurality of links and the router is connected to the server by a second link of the plurality of links.
10 . The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of maintaining at the router for each link of the plurality of links a table of tokens, each token associated with at least one request of a plurality of requests.
11 . The method of claim 10 wherein each entry in the table is associated with an index, wherein the request and the reply carry the index.
12 . The method of claim 16 wherein the failure in the server takes the form of a crash of the server.
13 . (canceled)
14 . A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions for performing a method when the program is run on a computer, the method comprising the steps of:
sending a request from a client process to a server process through a router, wherein the client process, the server process and the router are inside an individual computer;
storing a token at the router;
carrying out the request at the server process and returning a reply from the server process to the client process through the router when there is no failure in the server process; and
generating at the router an error reply based on the token and returning the error reply from the router to the client when there is a failure in the server process, wherein the failure is detected by an operating system of the individual computer.
15 . (canceled)
16 . A method for notification, comprising the steps of:
sending a request from a client process to a server process through a router, wherein the client process, the server process and the router are inside an individual computer;
storing a token at the router;
carrying out the request at the server process and returning a reply from the server process to the client process through the router when there is no failure in the server process; and
generating at the router an error reply based on the token and returning the error reply from the router to the client when there is a failure in the server process, wherein the failure is detected by an operating system of the individual computer.
17 . A digital data storage medium encoding a machine-executable program of instructions to perform a method, the method comprising the steps of:
sending a request from a client process to a server process through a router, wherein the client process, the server process and the router are inside an individual computer;
storing a token at the router;
carrying out the request at the server process and returning a reply from the server process to the client process through the router when there is no failure in the server process; and
generating at the router an error reply based on the token and returning the error reply from the router to the client when there is a failure in the server process, wherein the failure is detected by an operating system of the individual computer.