System and method for workload-aware request distribution in cluster-based network servers

Abstract

A method and system for workload-aware request in cluster-based network servers. The present invention provides a web server cluster having a plurality of nodes wherein each node comprises a distributor component, a dispatcher component and a server component. In another embodiment, the present provides a method for managing request distribution to a set of files stored on a web server cluster. A request for a file is received at a first node of a plurality of nodes, each node comprising a distributor component, a dispatcher component and a server component. If the request is for a core file, the request is processed at the first node (e.g., processed locally). If the request is for a partitioned file, it is determined whether the request is assigned to be processed locally at the first node or at another node (e.g., processed remotely). If the request is for neither a core file nor a partitioned file, the request is processed at the first node. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for identifying a set of frequently accessed files on a server cluster comprising a number of nodes. Embodiments of the present invention operate to maximize the number of requests served from the total cluster memory of a web server cluster and to minimize the forwarding overhead and disk access overhead by identifying the subset of core files to be processed at any node and by identifying the subset of partitioned files to be processed by different nodes in the cluster.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to the field of web servers. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method for workload-aware request distribution in cluster-based network servers. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Web server clusters are a popular hardware platform in a web hosting infrastructure. Servers based on clusters of workstations are used to meet the growing traffic demands imposed by the World Wide Web. A cluster of servers, arranged to act as a single unit, provides an incremental scalability as it has the ability to grow gradually with demand. However, for clusters to be able to achieve the scalable performance with the cluster size increase, mechanisms and policies are employed for “balanced” request distribution. [0003] Traditional load balancing solutions are represented by two major groups: 1) Domain Name System (DNS) based approaches; and 2) Internet Protocol (IP) / Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HT...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a content-aware request distribution strategy that maximizes the number of requests served from the total cluster memory by logically partitioning files to be served by different servers. It also minimizes the forwarding and disk access overhead by assigning a small set of most frequent files (referred to as the core files) to be served by any node in the cluster. The invention provides a web server cluster with a plurality of nodes, each node comprising a distributor component, a dispatcher component and a server component. The distributor component operates to distribute a request to a specific node, the dispatcher component has stored upon it routing information for the plurality of nodes which is replicated across the plurality of nodes, and the server component operates to process the request. The invention also provides a method for managing request distribution of a set of files stored on a web server cluster and a method for identifying a set of frequently accessed files on a server cluster. The technical effects of the invention include improved performance and efficiency of web server clusters and reduced overhead and latency."

Problems solved by technology

However, DNS based approaches do not recognize either the load of the nodes in a cluster or the content of the request.

This adversely affects efficient memory usage because the content is redundantly replicated across the caches of all the web servers, thus resulting in a significant decrease in overall system performance.

TCP handoff is an expensive operation.

Besides, the cost of the TCP handoff mechanism can vary depending on the implementation and specifics of the underlying hardware.

It could lead to significant forwarding overhead, decreasing the potential performance benefits of the proposed solution.

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