Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer network managing – Computer network monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-29
2001-11-13
Meky, Moustafa M. (Department: 2757)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer network managing
Computer network monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
active
06317786
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to managing web servers and, more particularly, to a web service system that allows a system operator to manage multiple web servers.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Web servers are used to respond to user's web page requests. A web server monitors one or more computer network address/port endpoints for web page requests and responds to the web page requests sent to an endpoint by transmitting web pages to the requester. Such web servers may be implemented with a software program running on a general purpose computer. The service capacity of a web server limits the number of web page requests that may be received and responded to.
For web applications that generate a significant amount of requests, web page application providers may use two or more web servers. Each web page request may be directed towards one of the web servers, and that one of the web servers responds to that web page request. In this way the requests are divided among the web servers. The web page requester may or may not have knowledge that there are a plurality of web servers responding to requests for a particular application.
In one web service system, the requester has knowledge that the application is available from more than one web server. The requester selects a web server, and requests a web page from that server. The web server responds to that web page request by providing a web page. This system has the disadvantage of requiring that the requester be aware of the various web servers. It has the additional disadvantage of having the web server selection be out of the control of the web service system.
In another system with multiple web servers, the domain name system (“DNS”) that is in use in the Internet may be used to divide requests among a plurality of web servers. In normal use, a DNS server is used to match a web server name with a network address/port endpoint. A DNS request provides the DNS server with the name of a web server, and the DNS server responds with the network address/port endpoint of that web server. In the web service system that uses a DNS server to distribute requests to multiple web servers, when a web server name is submitted to the DNS server, the DNS server responds with one of the several address/port endpoints associated with the multiple web servers. In this way, DNS requests with the same DNS name may be responded to with different web servers having different network address/port endpoints. In this way, the DNS server can divide the requests among the servers. This has the advantage of not requiring the requester to have knowledge of the web service system architecture. One disadvantage of this system is that the DNS server must do more work than usually required to match names with endpoints, and this extra work may decrease the throughput of the DNS server. Another disadvantage is that the DNS server may not know how many web page requests are associated with a DNS request. Each response of the DNS server may be cached in other DNS servers for some period of time, and so one DNS request response may result in an unpredictably large number of web page requests being directed to the one web server, and that server may become overloaded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention features a system for monitoring a first web server. The system includes a first web server interface for access by the first web server and for providing at least some of the information about web page requests. The system also includes an agent for receiving the information from the first web server interface and for providing at least some of the information. The system also includes a manager for receiving the information provided by the agent.
Embodiments of this aspect of the invention can include the following features, for example, the system can be for also monitoring a plurality of web servers comprising at least the first web server and a second web server. This system also includes a second web server interface for access by the second web server and for providing information related to requests for web pages. The agent can receive information from the first web server interface and the second web server interface. The first web server, the first web server interface, and the agent can be resident on the same computer. The first web server interface can comprise a dynamically loaded library of functions for execution by the first web server.
The manager can receive the information, and the received information can be stored on one or more storage devices. The information related to requests for web pages can include the request received by the first web server, the time that the request was received by the first web server, and the time that a response was processed by the first web server. The manager can be a child process of a watcher, and the agent can be a child process of a watcher.
The system also can include an interceptor for receiving a request for a web page and for forwarding the request to one of the plurality of web servers. The interceptor can forward the request to one of the plurality of web servers so that the request load is distributed among the plurality of web servers. The interceptor can forward the request to one of the plurality of web servers so that the request load is balanced among the plurality of web servers. The interceptor can be a child process of a watcher. The manager can receive and process the information and provide at least some of the processed information to the interceptor. At least some of the processed information can be used by the interceptor to determine the plurality of web servers to which the interceptor should forward the request.
The system also can include a console for displaying system status information. The manager can receive and process the information and provide at least some of the processed information to the console.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a system for distributing web page requests. This system includes a first web server for providing web pages in response to web page requests and a second web server for providing web pages in response to web page requests. The system also includes an interceptor for receiving web page requests. The interceptor chooses, for each of the web page requests, one of the first web server and the second web server to be a chosen web server for that web page request. The interceptor refers each of the web page requests to the chosen web server for that web page request.
In yet another aspect, the invention involves a method for monitoring a web server. The method includes receiving a web page request by a web server, responding to the request by accessing a web server interface and thereby providing information about the request to the web server interface, and providing by the web server interface at least some of the information about the request to an agent. This method also can include providing, by the agent, at least some of the information about the request to a manager. The method also can include processing the information about the request by the manager to form processed information and transmitting the processed information to an interceptor. The method can further include receiving the processed information at the interceptor and choosing a web server to which a request is referred based at least in part on the processed information.
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Abbott Freeland
DeBettencourt Jason
Lara Marco
Yamane Stanley
Meky Moustafa M.
Testa Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP
Webspective Software, Inc.
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