Patent ID: 7069324
Filing Date: 2006-06-27
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for assigning traffic buckets to a cache system, the method comprising: a) when a new cache system starts up in a cache cluster having a plurality of cache systems among which a plurality of total buckets are to be allocated, distributing the total buckets among the cache systems, including the new cache system, so that a full bucket allocation is determined for the new cache system and assigning a portion of the full bucket allocation to the new cache system that was determined at start up; b) periodically determining a load of the new cache system; c) each time it is periodically determined that the new cache system is underloaded and buckets have not been previously shed from the new cache system, slowly assigning a portion of the full bucket allocation that was determined at startup without redistributing the total buckets among the cache systems, including the new cache system, unless the cache cluster is operating at a maximum load; d) each time it is periodically determined that the new cache system is underloaded and buckets have been shed previously from the new cache system, slowly re-assigning a portion of the buckets that have been previously shed from the new cache system to the new cache system without redistributing the total buckets among the cache systems, including the new cache system, unless the cache cluster is operating at a maximum load; and e) each time it is periodically determined that the new cache system is overloaded, shedding a portion of the buckets previously assigned to the new cache system without redistributing the total buckets among the cache systems, including the new cache system; wherein each bucket portion corresponds to a portion of the total traffic being handled by the cache cluster.