Service continuation system and service continuation method between active and standby virtual servers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11954509-B2
Application number	US-201917053628-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 23, 2019
Priority date	May 9, 2018
Publication date	Apr 9, 2024
Grant date	Apr 9, 2024

Abstract

In a case where an active system virtual server detects stopping of a heartbeat received from a standby system virtual server, the active system virtual server notifies a coordination apparatus of the detection of the stopping of a heartbeat. In addition, the active system virtual server reports whether or not a service is operating to the coordination apparatus. The coordination apparatus instructs the standby system virtual server to restart the system in a case where the stopping of a heartbeat and the operation of a service are received. The standby system virtual server restarts the service, restarts an operating system, or restarts the operating system in a case where the restart of the service is not successful, in response to an instruction for restarting the system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A service continuation system comprising:
an active system virtual server configured to provide a service through a network;
a standby system virtual server configured to transmit a heartbeat to and receive a heartbeat from the active system virtual server and provide the service in a case where a heartbeat from the active system virtual server is stopped; and
a coordination apparatus which is communicatively connected to the active system virtual server and the standby system virtual server,
wherein the active system virtual server includes
an active system service unit, including one or more processors, configured to provide the service,
an active system node monitoring unit, including one or more processors, configured to notify the coordination apparatus of the stopping of a heartbeat in a case where a heartbeat from the standby system virtual server is not received for a predetermined period of time, and
an active system service monitoring unit, including one or more processors, configured to report whether or not the active system service unit is operating to the coordination apparatus,
the standby system virtual server includes
a standby system service unit, including one or more processors, configured to provide the service, and
a standby system service recovery unit, including one or more processors, configured to execute a system restart, in response to receiving a restart instruction from the coordination apparatus, including (i) restart of the standby system service unit, and (ii) restart of an operating system of the standby system virtual server after the restart of the standby system service unit is not successful, and
the coordination apparatus includes a coordination control unit, including one or more processors, configured to send the restart instruction to the standby system virtual server in a case where the stopping of a heartbeat is received and a report indicating that the active system service unit is operating is received from the active system virtual server, wherein the coordination apparatus is further configured to:
determine that the restart of the operating system of the standby system virtual server fails, and
instruct a management system in a virtualization environment in which the standby system virtual server is operated to restart the standby system virtual server, thereby causing the standby system virtual server to be restarted.

2. The service continuation system according to claim 1 , wherein
the active system virtual server further includes an active system service recovery unit including one or more processors,
the active system service monitoring unit detects a service stop failure indicating that the active system service unit is not able to stop the service and notifies the coordination apparatus of the detection of the service stop failure,
the coordination control unit instructs the active system virtual server to stop the system in a case where the service stop failure is received from the active system virtual server, and
the active system service recovery unit executes stopping of the operating system of the active system virtual server in a case where an instruction for stopping the system is received from the coordination apparatus.

3. The service continuation system according to claim 2 , wherein in a case where the active system service recovery unit fails in the stop of the operating system of the active system virtual server, the coordination apparatus instructs a management system in a virtualization environment in which the active system virtual server is operated to stop the active system virtual server.

4. The service continuation system of claim 1 , wherein:
the active system service monitoring unit is configured to detect a service stop failure indicating that the active system service unit is not able to stop the service and notifies the coordination apparatus of the detection of the service stop failure,
the active system virtual server further comprises:
an active system service recovery unit, including one or more processors, configured to execute stopping of an operating system of the active system virtual server in a case where an instruction for stopping the system is received from the coordination apparatus, and
the coordination control unit is configured to instruct the active system virtual server to stop the system in a case where the service stop failure is received from the active system virtual server.

5. The service continuation system of claim 1 , wherein:
in a case where the active system virtual server does not receive a heartbeat from the standby system virtual server for a predetermined period of time and the service is operating, the active system virtual server, including one or more processors, is configured to: execute (i) instructing the standby system virtual server to restart the system of the standby system virtual server, and (ii) instructing a management system in a virtualization environment in which the standby system virtual server is operated to restart the standby system virtual server after the restart of the system is not successful, and
the standby system virtual server includes one or more processors configured to execute (i) restart of a process for providing the service, and (ii) restart of an operating system of the standby system virtual server after the restart of the process is not successful, in a case where an instruction for restarting the system is received.

6. The service continuation system of claim 1 , wherein
the active system service monitoring unit is configured to detect a service stop failure indicating that the active system service unit is not able to stop the service, and further comprising:
an active system service recovery unit, including one or more processors, configured to execute any one of stopping an operating system of the active system virtual server and instructing a management system in a virtualization environment in which the active system virtual server is operated to stop the active system virtual server, in a case where the active system service monitoring unit has detected the service stop failure.

7. A service continuation method of a service continuation system including an active system virtual server configured to provide a service through a network, a standby system virtual server configured to transmit a heartbeat to and from the active system virtual server and provide the service in a case where a heartbeat from the active system virtual server is stopped, and a coordination apparatus which is communicatively connected to the active system virtual server and the standby system virtual server, the service continuation method comprising:
at the active system virtual server,
providing the service,
determining that a heartbeat from the standby system virtual server is not received for a predetermined period of time;
notifying the coordination apparatus of the stopping of the heartbeat, and
reporting whether or not the service is operating to the coordination apparatus;
at the standby system virtual server,
receiving a restart instruction from the coordination apparatus;
executing a system restart, in response to receiving the restart instruction from the coordination apparatus, including (i) restart of the service of the standby system virtual server, and (ii) restart of an operating system of the standby system virtual server after the restart of the service of the standby system virtual server is not successful; and
at the coordination apparatus,
receiving, from the active system virtual server, (i) a notification of the stopping of the heartbeat, and (ii) a report indicating that the service is operating;
sending the restart instruction to the standby system virtua

Assignees

• Nippon Telegraph & Telephone

Inventors

• Onai Nobuo
• Tanji Naoyuki
• Take Naoki
• Takahashi Kensuke
• Tanaka Hiroyuki
• Kato Hiroshi
• Yazaki Hiroyuki

Classifications

• G06F9/45558 Primary

  Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects · CPC title

• G06F11/0757

  by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs · CPC title

• G06F11/1438 Primary

  Restarting or rejuvenating · CPC title

• G06F11/1484

  involving virtual machines · CPC title

• G06F2009/4557

  Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing · CPC title