Patent ID: 6226377
Filing Date: 2001-05-01
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A method in a computer system for distributing transaction servers to process transactions of a plurality of different types, the transaction types being organized into a plurality of priority levels ordered from highest to lowest, each priority level having one or more transaction types, each transaction type further having a service level goal reflecting the level of service sought for transactions of the transaction type, the method comprising the steps of:identifying transaction servers when they become available to process transactions;for each identified transaction server, in response to the identification of the transaction server:for each priority level, from the highest priority level to the lowest priority level, until the identified transaction server is assigned to process a transaction of a selected type:determining whether assigning the identified transaction server to a transaction of any of the transaction types of the priority level is necessary to meet the service level goal for that transaction type;if it is determined that assigning the identified transaction server to a transaction of any of the transaction types of the priority level is necessary to meet the service level goal for that transaction type, assigning the identified transaction server to process a transaction of one of the transaction types of the priority level; andafter the assigned transaction server has completed processing of the transaction to which it was assigned, reidentifying the assigned transaction server as being available to process additional transactions,such that, for transaction types of a higher priority level relative to transaction types of a lower priority level, an available transaction server cannot be assigned to process a transaction of the transaction type of the lower priority level when the service level goal for the transaction type of the higher priority level is not being satisfied, thus ensuring that transaction servers are distributed in a manner that satisfies service level goals for transaction types in order from the transaction types of the highest priority level toward the transaction types of the lowest priority level.