Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates generally to interconnected computers and, more particularly, to a system and method for providing global scale service mobility and disaster recovery. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A cluster of computers is a group of interconnected computers, which can present a unified system image. The computers in a cluster, which are known as the “cluster nodes”, typically share a disk, a disk array, or another nonvolatile memory. Computers which are merely networked, such as computers on the Internet or on a local area network, are not a cluster because they necessarily appear to users as a collection of independent connected computers rather than a single computing system. “Users” may include both human users and application programs. Unless expressly indicated otherwise, “programs” includes computer programs, tasks, threads, processes, routines, and other interpreted or compiled computer software. 
   Although every node in a cluster might be the same type of computer, a major advantage of clusters is their support for heterogeneous nodes. One possible example is an interconnection of a graphics workstation, a diskless computer, a laptop, a symmetric multiprocessor, a new server, and an older version of the server. Advantages of heterogeneity are discussed below. To qualify as a cluster, the interconnected computers must present a unified interface. That is, it must be possible to run an application program on the cluster without requiring the application program to distribute itself between the nodes. This is accomplished in part by providing cluster system software which manages use of the nodes by application programs. 
   In addition, the cluster typically provides rapid peer to peer communication between nodes. Communication over a local area network is sometimes used, but faster interconnections are much preferred. Compared to a local area network, a cluster area network usually has a much lower latency and much higher bandwidth. In that respect, cluster area networks resemble a bus. But unlike a bus, a cluster interconnection can be plugged into computers without adding signal lines to a backplane or motherboard. 
   Clusters may improve performance in several ways. For instance, clusters may improve computing system availability. “Availability” refers to the availability of the overall cluster for use by application programs, as opposed to the status of individual cluster nodes. Of course, one way to improve cluster availability is to improve the reliability of the individual nodes. 
   However, at some point it becomes cost-effective to use less reliable nodes and replace nodes when they fail. A node failure should not interfere significantly with an application program unless every node fails; if it must degrade, then cluster performance should degrade gracefully. Clusters should also be flexible with respect to node addition, so that applications benefit when a node is restored or a new node is added. Ideally, the application should run faster when nodes are added, and it should not halt when a node crashes or is removed for maintenance or upgrades. Adaptation to changes in node presence provides benefits in the form of increased heterogeneity, improved scalability, and better access to upgrades. Heterogeneity allows special purpose computers such as digital signal processors, massively parallel processors, or graphics engines to be added to a cluster when their special abilities will most benefit a particular application, with the option of removing the special purpose node for later standalone use or use in another cluster. Heterogeneity allows clusters to be formed using presently owned or leased computers, thereby increasing cluster availability and reducing cost. Scalability allows cluster performance to be incrementally improved by adding new nodes as one&#39;s budget permits. The ability to add heterogeneous nodes also makes it possible to add improved hardware and software incrementally. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a method and system for recovering from a complete location specific cluster failure. Services and data exhibit two levels of mobility with the use of the invention. The first level is intra-cluster high availability (i.e., mobility of services with retained access to shared data within the boundary of a cluster). This provides high availability for a company at a specific physical location; one example would be a data-center in Manhattan. The second level is inter-cluster high availability (i.e. the mobility of services with retained access to shared data between clusters). This provides high availability for a company across physical locations; one example would be a failover of a service from a data-center in Manhattan to a redundant data-center in New Jersey. 
   Disaster recovery is actually a specific example of the more general case of service mobility. When a network service and its attendant data is considered as a single logical entity, that entity can be migrated from one physical location to another. Therefore, it&#39;s possible to collocate users with their network service and migrate both from one physical location to another. This level of mobility makes the service and its data central, and the servers peripheral. Servers thus become anonymous processing elements that dynamically instantiate network services and connect them to their external data and users 
   Moreover, a method and system to resolve a cluster failure in a networked environment is described. The method can include: configuring the application program in an external directory based distributed configuration repository accessible to all servers in the first cluster; automatically replicating the application program&#39;s configuration via the external directory thus making it accessible to the second cluster; mirroring the application program&#39;s data between a first mirrored volume accessible to the first cluster in the first location and a second mirrored volume accessible to the second cluster in the second location; detecting failure of the first cluster; activating the second mirrored volume on the second cluster; and restarting the application program on the second cluster. 
   Therefore, in accordance with the previous summary, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     To illustrate the manner in which the advantages and features of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention will be given with reference to the attached drawings. These drawings only illustrate selected aspects of the invention and thus do not limit the invention&#39;s scope. In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating one of many clustered computer systems suitable for use according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram further illustrating two nodes in a cluster according to the invention; and 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of the preferred embodiment. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Before detailing the architectures of the invention, the meaning of several important terms is clarified. Specific examples are given to illustrate aspects of the invention, but those of skill in the art will understand that other examples may also fall within the meaning of the terms used. Some terms are also defined, either explicitly or implicitly, elsewhere herein. 
   Some Terminology 
   As used here, “cluster” means a group of at least two interconnected computers (“nodes”) which can present a unified system image. Note that the cluster may also support execution of cluster-aware applications which pierce the unified system image to directly influence or control the division of labor between nodes. In most cases, but not all, the cluster will also include a shared disk or shared disk array or other shared nonvolatile storage subsystem which is directly accessible to more than one, and usually all, of the nodes. The interconnected cluster nodes form a “system area network” which differs from legacy networks in that system area networks support presentation of a unified system image while legacy networks do not. Bandwidth and latency are thus measured with respect to local area networks and other legacy networks, and the numbers will change as the technologies of both system area networks and legacy networks advance. As used here, “legacy network” includes many local area networks, wide area networks, metropolitan area networks, and/or various “Internet” networks such as the World Wide Web, a private Internet, a secure Internet, a virtual private network, an extranet, or an intranet. Clusters may be standalone, or they may be connected to one or more legacy networks; discussions of the cluster as a “node” on a legacy network should not be confused with discussions of intra-cluster nodes. Clusters may also use a legacy network as a backup link, as discussed in connection with  FIG. 2 , for instance. 
   Clusters Generally 
   One of many possible clusters suitable for use according to the invention is shown in  FIG. 1 , as indicated by the arrow labeled  100 . The cluster  100  includes several servers  102  and a workstation node  104 ; other suitable clusters may contain other combinations of servers, workstations, diskless computers, laptops, multiprocessors, mainframes, so-called “network computers” or “lean clients”, personal digital assistants, and/or other computers as nodes  106 . 
   The illustrated cluster  100  includes a special-purpose node  108 ; other clusters may contain additional such nodes  108  or omit such nodes  108 . The special-purpose node  108  is a computer tailored, by special-purpose hardware and/or software (usually both), to perform particular tasks more efficiently than general purpose servers  102  or workstations  104 . To give but a few of the many possible examples, the node  108  may be a graphics engine designed for rendering computer-generated images, a digital signal processor designed for enhancing visual or audio signals, a parallel processor designed for query or transaction processing, a symmetric multiprocessor designed for molecular modeling or other numeric simulations, or some other special-purpose computer or computer system (the node  108  could itself be a cluster which is presently dedicated to a specific application). 
   Although clusters are typically formed using standalone computers as nodes  106 , embedded computer systems such as those used in automated manufacturing, process control, real-time sensing, and other facilities and devices may also serve as nodes  106 . Clusters may also include I/O systems, such as printers, process controllers, sensors, numerically controlled manufacturing or rapid prototyping devices, robots, other data or control ports, or other interfaces with the world outside the cluster. 
   The nodes  106  communicate through a system area network  110  using interconnects  112 . Suitable interconnects  112  include Scalable Coherent Interface (LAMP) interconnects, serial express (SciLite), asynchronous transfer mode, HiPPI, Super HiPPI, FibreChannel, Myrinet, Tandem ServerNet, Infiniband and SerialBus (IEEE 10 1394/“FireWire”) interconnects. The system area network  110  includes software for routing, switching, transport, and other networking functions. 
   The illustrated cluster also includes a shared disk array  114 , such as a redundant array of disks. Other cluster embodiments include other shared nonvolatile storage such as uninterruptible-power-supply-backed random access memory. At least two servers  102  have access to the shared disks  114  through a channel  116  which does not rely on the interconnects  112  to operate. 
   One or more servers  102  may connect the cluster to a network  118  of workstations or mobile clients  120  and/or connect the cluster to other networks  122 . The networks  118  and  122  are legacy networks (as opposed to system area networks) which may include communications or networking software such as the software available from Novell, Microsoft, and other vendors, and may operate using TCP/IP, SPX, IPX, and other protocols over twisted pair, coaxial, or optical fiber cables, telephone lines, satellites, microwave relays, modulated AC power lines, and/or other data transmission known to those of skill in the art. The networks  118  and  122  may encompass smaller networks and/or be connectable to other networks through a gateway or similar mechanism. 
   As suggested by  FIG. 1 , at least one of the nodes  106  is capable of using a floppy drive, tape drive, optical drive, magneto-optical drive, or other means to read a storage medium  124 . A suitable storage medium  124  includes a magnetic, optical, or other computer-readable storage device having a specific physical configuration. Suitable storage devices include floppy disks, hard disks, tape, CD-ROMs, PROMs, random access memory, and other computer system storage devices. The physical configuration represents data and instructions which cause the cluster and/or its nodes to operate in a specific and predefined manner as described herein. Thus, the medium  124  can embody a program, functions, and/or instructions that are executable by computer(s) to assist cluster resource management. 
   Cluster Nodes 
   An overview of two cluster nodes  200 ,  202  and their immediate environment is now given with reference to  FIG. 2 . The nodes  200 ,  202  are interconnected by interconnects  112  and one or more system area network switches  204 . Suitable interconnects  112  and switches  204  can include commercially available devices from Intel, Cisco, Brocade, QLogic and other suppliers. 
   In the illustrated cluster, the nodes  200  and  202  are also connected by a backup link  206  such as an RS-232 link, an Ethernet, or another local area network. The relatively low bandwidth and/or high latency of the backup link  206  in comparison to the system area network  112 ,  204  requires that use of the backup link be infrequent; the backup link  206  is typically used only in emergencies such as a failure of the system area network interconnection. 
   Other clusters do not include the backup link  206 . Indeed, as explained below, the present invention provides a substitute for the backup link  206  in the form of an emergency communication channel using a shared disk in the storage area network  114 . However, the inventive emergency communication channel may also be used to advantage clusters that include a backup link  206 , to provide additional redundancy in communication paths. As discussed below, each of the illustrated nodes  200 ,  202  includes software, hardware in the form of processors and memory, and sharable resources which have been allocated to the node. Node A  200  also contains a pool  212  of resources which are not presently allocated. 
   The node  106  software includes a local operating system  208  such as Novell NetWare, Microsoft Windows NT, UNIX, IBM AIX, Linux, or another operating system (NETWARE is a mark of Novell; WINDOWS NT is a mark of Microsoft). 
   The illustrated node  106  software also includes a debugger  214 . Cluster debuggers will generally be more complex than debuggers on standalone computers. For instance, it may be desirable to have every node  106  enter into debugging mode when one node  106  enters that mode. For this reason, and for convenience, the debuggers  214  on separate nodes  106  preferably communicate with one another, either through the system area network switch  204 , the backup link  206 , or an emergency communication channel. 
   Each node  106  includes one or more processors  216 . Suitable processors include commercially available processors such as Intel processors, Motorola processors, Digital Equipment processors, and others. The processors  216  may include PALs, ASICs, microcoded engines, numeric or graphics coprocessors, processor cache, associated logic, and other processing hardware and firmware. Each node  106  also includes local memory  218  for storing data and instructions used and manipulated by the processors, including data and instructions for the software described above or elsewhere herein. The local memory may include RAM, ROM, flash memory, or other memory devices. The illustrated nodes  200 ,  202  also include shared memory  220  which is accessible by other nodes  106 . Other cluster  100  configurations place all shared memory on a single node  106 , or in a separate device which supports memory transfers but lacks a processor  216 . 
   Each of the illustrated nodes  106  also contains resources  222  which have been allocated to the node  106  from the resource pool  212 . As noted, the allocated resources may be memory buffers (residing in shared memory  220 ); credits toward bandwidth, priority or other scarce cluster resources, or any other computational resource which it is more cost-effective to share among nodes than it is to dedicate permanently to each node. By contrast, the processors  216  and interconnects  112  are typically dedicated rather than pooled. At other times during execution of instructions by the nodes  106 , one or both the illustrated nodes  106  might have returned the resources to the pool  212 . In other clusters, the pool  212  and/or associated structures that manage the allocation could also be distributed among several nodes  106  instead of residing on a single node  200 . 
   Server clusters that are deployed using NetWare6, Novell Cluster Services and eDirectory provide location transparent mobility (failover) for network services. Because most Novell services are configured via eDirectory, they do not have to be tightly coupled to one particular server or another. This makes it possible to run a network service on one server, then, restart the same service on another server should the first server fail. This service-level mobility is a direct consequence of directory-based configuration. In other clustering solutions, services are configured via the registry or other server centric configuration files that bind the service to a particular physical server. This makes it difficult to migrate a service to another server because its configuration information is essentially statically bound to the server it was installed on. In these other cluster products, various schemes are employed to automatically replicate server centric registry or flat file based configuration across servers. In Linux, for example, service configuration is often represented by “.conf” files and scripts in the /etc/rc directories. To migrate a service from one server to another requires the copying and customization of configuration files to the other server. Customization of one server&#39;s files for another is often required because of server specific dependencies like network configuration. 
   Additionally, services are freely able to migrate from one server to another when their persistent data is accessible from any physical server. Servers attached to a storage area network (SAN) enable this capability. When attached to a SAN, any server can do block level I/O to any shared disk. For NetWare6, the Novell Storage Services file system was enhanced to fully support server independent hosting by eliminating server-centric metadata in the filesystem. NSS stores NDS globally unique identifiers in file system disk blocks to represent access control, ownership and other metadata. NSS filesystems can be activated by any server attached to the SAN (provided server are in the same NDS tree). The combination of server independent directory based service configuration, file system metadata and SAN based shared disk accessibility enables service mobility. 
   Novell Cluster Services is driven by NDS objects called cluster resources. Each cluster resource object represents a service that is dynamically instantiated by servers in the cluster. The service&#39;s data is held on shared disks accessible via the storage area network. Third party SAN hardware companies provide the means to replicate disk blocks between disk arrays in different locations. For example, when a NetWare server writes a disk block to a local disk array across the SAN, the disk array firmware commits that write to its local disk but also posts the write to a secondary disk in a second disk array. The first and second disk arrays can be separated by large distance. These disk array products expose a notion of primary versus secondary disk. The primary disk is the disk that is in use by the NetWare server or servers. The secondary disk cannot be accessed directly by NetWare servers but is kept in sync with I/O activity on its primary partner disk. If the location that contains the primary disk should fail, the secondary disk is promoted to become a primary, and then servers in the secondary location are able to access the same data. In this situation, even though the data is available at the second location, the service that is configured to use the data is not available there. The invention inherits the idea of primary versus secondary disk. 
   A mobile network service is the combination of data plus service configuration. Additionally, the service&#39;s code is static and assumed to be available across all servers. Moreover, the code is constant: what gives a mobile network service its personality is its configuration and persistent data (i.e., a directory enabled MySQL database). Each cluster resource is considered primary in its original location. DirXML is used to automatically generate a secondary copy of the cluster resource and other related objects for the secondary location. In practice, this means copying one set of objects from one cluster container to another in the same NDS tree. The replication process requires that the cluster resource objects be modified to suite their new location. For example, when a primary cluster resource is copied to make a secondary cluster resource, additional commands are added to the cluster resource load script to instruct the hardware to switch over access to the secondary disk from primary to secondary. DirXML can be used to automate the site-specific modification of cluster resources. For example, it might be necessary to modify cluster resource load scripts or other objects to alter name to IP address advertisement for service names to match whatever network is available at the secondary location. 
   Now turning to  FIG. 3 , the following example shows how this works. In this example, there are three clusters: a first cluster  300  and a second cluster  303  and a third cluster  305 . The first cluster  300  has two cluster volume resources: cluster volume resource A  302  and second cluster volume resource B  304 . The third cluster  305  will not be active in this example, but is shown for illustration purposes only. 
   Additionally, the second cluster  303  has two cluster volume resources: cluster volume resource X  306  and cluster volume resource Y  308 . Moreover, in this example, the primary site for cluster volume resources X  306  and Y  308  is second cluster  303 , and the primary site for cluster volume resources A  302  and B  304  is first cluster  300 . 
   In the case where cluster  303  fails, cluster resources  306  and  308  need to be available at cluster  300 . In order to accomplish this, the invention implements two extra cluster volume resources that mirror volume X and volume Y called mirror X  310  and mirror Y  312 . Mirror X  310  and mirror Y  312  start in the offline state during normal operation; in the case of using Novell&#39;s Netware, the mirrors  310  and  312  are created by DirXML&#39;ing the cluster resources from the second cluster  303  to the first cluster  300  and are NDS objects. 
   In the load script of mirror X  310 , the script commands are present to make its LUN primary at the first cluster  300 . Thus, when the second cluster  303  fails (a catastrophe), an administrator at the first cluster  300  only needs to online the mirror X  310  and Y  312  cluster resources. 
   The administrator could even online the mirrors via a command line interface on Netware version 6 once an email or other indication is received indicating that the second cluster  303  has failed. 
   Furthermore, in this example, volumes A  302  and B  304  also have mirror resources at the second cluster  303 , called mirror A  314  and B  316  to deal with the case when the first cluster  300  fails. 
   It is understood that several modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: g