Method for distributing heavy task loads across a multiple-computer network by sending a task-available message over the computer network to all other server computers connected to the network
A plurality of server computers connected to computer network processes tasks that are unequally distributed among the server computers. A server sends a task-available message over the computer network to the remaining server computers to request assistance. The received task-available message is processed by some of the servers while others of the servers do not process the message because they are too busy. The servers that process the message respond by requesting a task from the message sending server.
1. A method for allocating computing tasks in a computer network comprising a plurality of server computers each connected to the computer network, the method comprising:
receiving, by the plurality of server computers, variable loads of computing tasks from a plurality of different sources connected to the computer network;
sending, by a first server computer, a task-available message over the computer network to all other server computers connected to the computer network when the first server computer has a heavy task load, wherein the task-available message requests assistance with processing a computing task;
receiving the task-available message by all other server computers, wherein a first group of receiving server computers processes the task-available message and a second group of receiving server computers fails to process the task-available message;
responding to the task-available message, by one of the first group of receiving sever computers, by requesting a task from the first server computer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second group of receiving server computers fails to process the task-available message because the second group of receiving server computers have a heavy task load.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first group of receiving server computers processes the task-available message because the first group of receiving server computers have a light task load.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing tasks are image-rendering tasks.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first server computer sends a first task-available message and a second task-available message consecutively to all other server computers connected to the computer network.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising processing the first task-available message by a first group of the other server computers and processing the second task-available message by a second group of the other server computers, wherein the first group of the other server computers is not the same as the second group of the other server computers.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending, by the first server computer, a first task-available message to a first set of remaining server computers, and sending, by a second server computer, a second task-available message to a second set of remaining server computers, wherein the first set of remaining server computers comprises all server computers connected to the computer network except the first server computer, and wherein the second set of remaining server computers comprises all server computers connected to the computer network except the second server computer.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising processing, by at least one of the first set of remaining server computers, the first task-available message; responding, by the at least one of the first set of remaining server computers, to the first task-available message; processing, by at least one of the second set of remaining server computers, the second task-available message; and responding, by the at least one of the second set of remaining server computers, to the second task-available message.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least one of the first set of remaining server computers that processes and responds to the first task-available message is not the same as the at least one of the second set of remaining server computers that processes and responds to the second task-available message.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of different sources provides work to one of the plurality of server computers independently.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the one or more different sources are remote client computers on the computer network.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the server computers have homogeneous computing resources.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the server computers have heterogeneous computing resources.
14. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of allocating, by the first server computer, a computing task to the one of the first group of receiving server computers in response to a request for the computing task.