Patent ID: 7975024
Filing Date: 2011-07-05
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In a wide area network including at least one workstation computer, at least one client running a client application, a plurality of nodes, each node having at least three sites, each site having a virtualization server, a storage device, a gateway computer and a synchronization computer, wherein the gateway computer and the synchronization computer are operatively connected, performing a method comprising the steps of: maintaining, by a first virtualization server, in real time, virtualization information on the at least one workstation on a first storage device, the first virtualization server and the first storage device being located in a first site within a first node; logging in, from the client application, to a first gateway application being run on a first gateway computer located within the first site; in response to the client application logging in to the first gateway application, operatively connecting the client application to a first virtualization server located in the first site, wherein the virtualization server uses the virtualization information of the at least one workstation to provide a virtualization session to the client; maintaining, at a second site within the first node, in real time a copy of the virtualization information of said at least one workstation computer on a second storage device at said second site, wherein the maintaining is performed by a first synchronization computer at the first site communicating with a second synchronization computer at the second site, wherein the communicating goes through said first and second gateway computers which are respectively operatively connected to said first and second synchronization computers; determining the number of sites within the first node that are available and properly updated for virtualization of the at least one workstation; upon the determination that there are only two sites available and properly updated for virtualization of the at least one workstation in the first node, finding, by the first gateway application, an alternate site within the first node; in response to finding an alternate site in the third node, copying the virtualization information to of said at least one workstation computer to an alternate storage device at said alternate site; upon the determination that there is only one site available and properly updated for virtualization of the at least one workstation in the first node, finding, by the first gateway application, a second node with at least three sites; in response to finding the second node, copying the virtualization information of said at least one workstation computer to three sites within the second node; monitoring for a communications failure between said first site and said second site, said communications failure causing at least one discrepancy between the virtualization information maintained on the first storage device and said copy maintained by the second storage device; upon detecting the communications failure in said first site and the at least one discrepancy in said virtualization information maintained by the first and second storage devices, switching said client application to operatively connect to said second virtualization server at said second site, whereby said second virtualization server continuing said virtualization session using said copy of the virtualization information; and upon said detecting said communications failure in said first site: