JP2007243467A - Blade type system and connection management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly arrange connections in the case of an increase/decrease in function blades in a blade type system. <P>SOLUTION: When the number of function blades with an operating attribute is increased through the extension of the function blades, a blade connection management section 255e applies arrangement evaluation of connections, when the movement of the connections is required, the processing required for the movement of the connection is carried out. When the number of function blades with the operating attribute is decreased through the elimination of the function blades, and the deleted function blades are not in a hot-standby state, the blade connection management section 255e executes arrangement evaluation of the connections, and when the movement of the connections is required, the processing required for the movement of the connection is carried out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plurality of functional blades responsible for connection between a plurality of application servers that provide application services to a plurality of clients via a network, a management blade that manages the plurality of functional blades, and an application. Blade type system having routers and switch blades for communication with servers and clients, and connection management method thereof, particularly blade type capable of appropriately rearranging connections when adding or reducing functional blades The present invention relates to a system and a connection management method thereof.

  In recent years, construction of a standby redundant blade type system that performs hot standby using functional blades of n operation m standby has been performed in various fields. Here, n active m standby is a configuration in which m functional blades wait for n functional blades in operation, and a standby redundant system can be efficiently constructed by n active m standbys. .

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a blade type server system using a blade type system as a relay device that performs load distribution to an application server group that provides application services to clients. Further, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that makes it unnecessary to stop system operation even when the number of active blades and standby blades is changed, such as deletion or addition due to a failure.

JP 2005-293430 A

  However, in the conventional blade server system, when functional blades are added, the connection processing of the existing operation blade does not move directly to the expansion operation blade. There was a problem that it took time.

  For example, in FIG. 18, conventionally, when “functional blade 3” is added, the connections of “functional blade 1” and “functional blade 2” do not move to “functional blade 3”. It took time for the loads to be equalized between “functional blade 2” and “functional blade 3”.

  In addition, the conventional blade server system has a problem that even when an operation blade is deleted in a maintenance plan or the like, it cannot be deleted unless it is confirmed in advance that there is no connection in the operation blade. For example, in FIG. 19, conventionally, “function blade 3” cannot be deleted unless the connection of “function blade 3” in the operating state is disconnected.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, and a blade type system capable of appropriately rearranging connections when adding or reducing functional blades, and the connection thereof The purpose is to provide a management method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a blade type system according to the invention of claim 1 is provided between a plurality of application servers that provide application services to a plurality of clients via a network, and the plurality of clients. A blade type system having a plurality of functional blades responsible for the connection, a management blade that manages the plurality of functional blades, and a router / switch blade that communicates with an application server and a client. Manages the placement status of connections to functional blades, evaluates whether or not connections need to be moved between functional blades when adding functional blades, and based on the results of the evaluation, the router / switch blade and connection source And destination Comprising a connection management means for instructing the processor blade movement of the connection made, the router switch blade, characterized by comprising a connection distributing means for changing the allocation destination of connection based on the instruction of the management blade.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the management blade manages the arrangement state of the connection to the functional blade, and evaluates whether or not it is necessary to move the connection between the functional blades when the functional blade is added. Based on the results, the router / switch blade and the function blade that is the connection source / destination are instructed to move the connection, and the router / switch blade is configured to change the connection distribution destination based on the instruction from the management blade. As a result, connections can be rearranged as the number of function blades increases.

  Further, in the blade type system according to the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, the connection management means is configured to issue a deletion instruction to the function blade in operation when the function blade in operation fails. If there is no standby function blade corresponding to the function blade in operation, the destination of connection placed in the function blade in operation is determined, and the router / switch blade and the A function blade is instructed to move a connection to a function blade that is in operation and a function blade that is a connection destination, and the connection distribution unit changes a connection distribution destination based on a migration instruction of the management blade.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when a function blade in operation fails or when there is an instruction to delete the function blade in operation, the management blade supports the function blade in operation. If there is no functional blade that is waiting to be determined, the destination of the connection placed on the active functional blade is determined, and the router / switch blade, the functional blade in operation, and the functional blade that is the destination of the connection Since the router / switch blade is configured to change the connection distribution destination based on the management blade's migration instruction, the connection of the functional blade that is failed or deleted is automatically transferred to other functional blades. Can be migrated.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the blade type system according to the first or second aspect, wherein the connection management means distributes connections to the functional blades based on information relating to a connection arrangement method of each functional blade. The connection distribution means receives the connection distribution rule, and distributes the newly established connection to the functional blade based on the received connection distribution rule. Each functional blade notifies the management blade of information relating to the newly established connection as information for the connection management means to manage the arrangement state of the connection to the functional blade.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the management blade creates a connection distribution rule for distributing connections to the functional blade based on the information related to the connection arrangement method of each functional blade, and notifies the router / switch blade of the connection distribution rule. The router / switch blade receives the connection distribution rule, distributes the newly established connection to the functional blade based on the received connection distribution rule, and each functional blade sends information on the newly established connection to the connection Since it is configured to notify the management blade as information for managing the arrangement state to the functional blade, appropriate connection arrangement can be performed based on the connection arrangement method of each functional blade.

  The blade type system according to a fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the third aspect of the invention, the connection management means monitors whether the connection is distributed according to the connection distribution rule.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the management blade is configured to monitor whether the connection is distributed according to the connection distribution rule, it is confirmed whether or not the connection distribution function is operating normally. can do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connection management method comprising: a plurality of application servers that provide application services to a plurality of clients via a network; a plurality of functional blades that handle connections between the plurality of clients; A connection management method for a blade type system having a management blade that manages a plurality of functional blades and a router / switch blade that communicates with an application server and a client. The movement process at the time of instructing the movement of the connection to the router / switch blade and the function blade as the movement source and destination of the connection based on the evaluation result, Roux Switch blades, characterized in that it contains, and additional time allocation changing step of changing the distribution destination of connection based on the instruction of the management blade.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the management blade evaluates whether or not connection movement is required between the function blades when the function blades are added, and based on the evaluation result, the router / switch blade and the connection move source Since the router / switch blade is configured to change the connection distribution destination based on the management blade instructions, the connection is re-established as the number of function blades is increased. Can be arranged.

  According to the first and fifth aspects of the present invention, since the connection is rearranged in accordance with the addition of the functional blade, there is an effect that the connection can be appropriately arranged.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 2, since the connection of the function blade to be failed or deleted is automatically transferred to another function blade, the function blade in operation can be deleted regardless of the presence or absence of the connection. Play.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the appropriate connection is arranged based on the connection arrangement method of each functional blade, the user can realize the optimum connection arrangement only by specifying the connection arrangement method. There is an effect.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since it is possible to confirm whether or not the connection distribution function is operating normally, it is possible to easily detect an abnormality in the system.

  Exemplary embodiments of a blade system and a connection management method thereof according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the configuration of the blade type system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of the blade type system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, this blade type system 20 is provided between an application server 14 and 15 that provides an application service such as a web service and an e-mail service to clients 11 and 12 via a network 13 and the client 11 and 12. The blade server system 1 is configured together with the application servers 14 and 15 and the switch 16 for switching the application servers.

  For convenience of explanation, only two clients and two application servers are shown here. However, an arbitrary number of clients are connected to the network 13, and the blade server system 1 includes an arbitrary number of application servers. Composed.

  The blade type system 20 has functions such as load distribution, security management, bandwidth control, SSL-VPN accelerator, and the like for the application servers 14 and 15. The function blades 21 to 23, the router / switch blade 24, and the management blade 25 Have

  For convenience of explanation, only three functional blades are shown here, but the blade-type system 20 can include more functional blades. Since the functional blades 21 to 23 have the same functional configuration, the functional blade 21 will be described here. Further, although there are two management blades 25, an active system and a standby system, since they have the same functional configuration, only one management blade 25 is shown in FIG.

  The functional blade 21 is a device responsible for connection between each client and the application server distributed to each client, and includes an IF unit 211, a storage unit 212, and a control unit 213.

  The IF unit 211 is an interface for communicating with the router / switch blade 24, and is specifically a network interface card (hereinafter referred to as “NIC”).

  The storage unit 212 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as “HDD”), and includes a configuration information storage unit 212a and a connection information storage unit 212b. The configuration information storage unit 212a is a storage unit that stores configuration information sent from the management blade 25, and the connection information storage unit 212b is connection information that is information related to a communication protocol necessary for communication between the client and the application server. It is a storage unit for storing (port number, IP address, etc.).

  The control unit 213 is a control unit that controls the functional blade 21 using the storage unit 212, and includes a device duplication unit 213a. The apparatus duplexing unit 213a is a processing unit that performs processing to configure a duplex system that shares connection information based on the configuration information stored in the configuration information storage unit 212a. That is, the apparatus duplication unit 213a has a function blade notification function, a negotiation function, a standby function switching function, and the like as functions necessary for establishing an n operation m standby hot standby configuration.

  The router / switch blade 24 is a router that communicates with the clients 11 and 12 via the network 13 and relays communication between the management blade 25 and the functional blades 21 to 23, and includes a connection distribution unit 241.

  The connection distribution unit 241 is a processing unit that receives connection distribution rules from the management blade 25 and distributes connections to specific functional blades based on the accepted connection distribution rules.

  Here, the connection distribution rule is a rule created by the management blade 25 based on the connection arrangement method information of each functional blade. For example, when the connection arrangement method of all the functional blades is “equal connection arrangement”, the connection distribution rule is to distribute the connections equally to the functional blades. In addition, when the connection arrangement method of a certain functional blade A specifies the maximum number of connections and the connection arrangement method of the remaining functional blades is “equal connection arrangement”, the connections are evenly distributed to the functional blades. When the number of connections of blade A reaches the maximum number of connections, the connection distribution rule is to distribute connections to the remaining functional blades.

  In addition, when the connection is moved, the connection distribution unit 241 temporarily stops distribution of the packet corresponding to the connection to be moved based on an instruction from the management blade 25.

  The management blade 25 is a blade that manages the operation of the functional blades 21 to 23, and includes an IF unit 251, an input unit 252, a display unit 253, a storage unit 254, and a control unit 255.

  The IF unit 251 is an interface for communicating with the router / switch blade 24, and is specifically a NIC. The input unit 252 is an operation terminal used when a user inputs an instruction, and is a keyboard, a mouse, or the like. The display unit 253 is a display device used to display the state of the blade type system 20 and to input an instruction by the user.

  The storage unit 254 is a storage device such as an HDD, and includes a configuration information storage unit 254a. The configuration information storage unit 254a is a storage unit that stores hot standby configuration information of the blade type system 20.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of hot standby configuration information. As shown in the figure, the hot standby configuration information includes an HS group name for identifying the hot standby configuration information, a mounting position indicating a functional blade mounting slot, the number of operation function blades and the number of standby function blades in hot standby. And the configuration information of each active blade and standby blade. Specifically, “configuration information 1” and “configuration information 2” are configuration information of functional blades whose attributes are active, and “standby configuration information” is configuration information of functional blades whose attributes are standby. .

  Each configuration information includes an identification ID for identifying an operation-standby pair, an individual IP address assigned to a functional blade, and an individual IP address used when performing communication within the blade type system 20 , The representative IP address that is an IP address used when the clients 11 and 12 access the blade server system 1 and information on the connection arrangement method are included.

  Here, the connection arrangement method is information used to create a connection distribution rule, and specifically includes “equal connection arrangement”, “priority connection arrangement”, and the maximum number of connections.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the control unit 255 is a control unit that controls the management blade 25 using the storage unit 254, and includes an environment construction unit 255 a, a blade detection unit 255 b, a blade failure detection unit 255 c, and a blade deletion unit. 255d and a blade connection management unit 255e.

  The environment construction unit 255a constructs a virtual configuration from the hot standby configuration information, and constructs an environment so that, when the blade detection unit 255b detects the installation of the functional blade, the configuration information corresponding to the functional blade can be loaded. It is a processing part to perform.

  The blade detection unit 255b is a processing unit that detects the installation of the functional blade, sequentially extracts the configuration information from the hot standby configuration information, and loads the configuration information on the detected functional blade. Further, when the blade detection unit 255b completes loading of the configuration information to the functional blade, the blade detection unit 255b notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the incorporation of the blade, and also notifies the connection arrangement method information in the configuration information. To do.

  The blade failure detection unit 255c is a processing unit that detects an abnormality of the functional blade and issues a switching instruction to the functional blade that is affected by the failure of the functional blade in which the abnormality is detected. Here, the affected functional blades are standby blades for the failed operational blade and all operational blades that use the standby blade as the standby blade when the failed functional blade is the active blade. However, the failed functional blade is excluded from the affected functional blades.

  Further, when receiving a switching response from the standby blade, the blade failure detection unit 255c loads the configuration information of the functional blade that has detected the abnormality into the standby blade, and notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the switching.

  The blade deletion unit 255d is a processing unit that receives a functional blade deletion instruction from the operation terminal and prepares the functional blade to be deleted to take over the connection. Details of the preparation for connection takeover performed by the functional blade to be deleted will be described later.

  The blade connection management unit 255e is a management unit that manages the connection arrangement of functional blades. The blade connection management unit 255e creates a connection distribution rule based on the connection arrangement method information and notifies the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24.

  The blade connection management unit 255e re-evaluates the connection arrangement based on the information on the connection arrangement method when adding or removing functional blades, and if it is determined that the connection needs to be moved, The source and destination functional blades and the router / switch blade 24 are controlled to move the connection.

  The blade connection management unit 255e can appropriately arrange connections between functional blades by performing connection migration rule notification to the router / switch blade 24 and connection migration control based on re-evaluation of the connection arrangement. .

  Hereinafter, processing of the blade type system 20 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, processing up to establishment of a hot standby configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining functional blade detection processing by the blade detection unit 255b.

  A plurality of NICs having a global MAC address are mounted on the functional blade, and the functional blade automatically generates a link local IP address as shown in FIG. 4 from the MAC address in the initial state. As shown in FIG. 4, in the link local IP address, the first 64 bytes are a network address having X′fe80 ′ as the first 2 bytes, and the second 64 bytes are a MAC address. The blade detection unit 255b detects the installation of the functional blade by the proximity search of the link local IP address mounted on the functional blade.

  Alternatively, the functional blade automatically generates a link local IP address as shown in FIG. 5 from the mounting position ID in the initial state. As shown in FIG. 5, in the link local IP address, the first 64 bytes are a network address having X′fe80 ′ as the first 2 bytes, and the second 64 bytes are a mounting position ID. The blade detection unit 255b detects the mounting position from the hardware contact of the functional blade, and detects the mounting of the functional blade. (The blade detection unit 255b automatically recognizes the link local IP address of the functional blade from the detection mounting position of the functional blade.)

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the hot standby configuration establishment processing by the blade type system 20. The blade detection unit 255b sends the configuration information to the link local IP addresses of the functional blades 21 to 23. Then, the functional blades 21 to 23 expand the sent configuration information, and set the configuration information identification ID, operation / standby attribute information, representative IP address, and individual IP address.

  Here, as a control packet (configuration information transfer control packet) for sending configuration information, an extended protocol based on VRRP is used and the configuration information is included in the data part. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a control packet. As shown in the figure, the control packet includes an IP header, a VRRP header, a VRRP extension header, and configuration information. Here, the VRRP extension header includes the following data.

Version information: Protocol generation Control data type: Control packet type Identification ID: For pair identification Message length: Control packet data length Control packet sequence number: Control packet sequence control number

  The control packet includes a self-device survival control packet, a negotiation request control packet, a negotiation response control packet, a switching notification control packet, a switching instruction control packet, and a switching response control packet. The control packet is determined by the control data type present in the extension header.

  The local device survival control packet is a control packet in which a functional blade periodically transmits survival information, which is information indicating its own survival, to other functional blades. When transmission of the local device survival control packet is interrupted, the management blade 25 detects that the functional blade has failed.

  The negotiation request control packet is a control packet for requesting negotiation for configuring a duplex system between the active blade and the standby blade, and is transmitted from the active blade to the standby blade. The negotiation response control packet is a control packet that responds to the negotiation request control packet, and is transmitted from the standby blade to the operation blade.

  The switching notification control packet is a control packet transmitted from the failed operation blade to the management blade 25 and notifies the failure. The switching instruction control packet is a control packet in which the management blade 25 that has received the switching notification control packet from the failed functional blade issues a switching instruction to the functional blade affected by the failure.

  When this switching instruction control packet is received, the functional blade that does not match the identification ID included in the switching instruction control packet cancels the duplex system, shifts to a single operation, stops transmitting connection information, and matches the identification ID. The standby blade that transmits the switching response control packet to the management blade 25 notifies the management blade 25 of the transition to the operation blade.

  Returning to FIG. 6, after setting the configuration information, the functional blade transmits its own device survival control packet to the subnetwork to which the individual IP address belongs by the device duplication units 213a to 233a at regular intervals. Then, upon receiving the own device survival control packet from the functional blade 23 that is a pair of functional blades, the device duplication units 213a and 223a transmit a negotiation request control packet to shift to the device duplication state, and negotiate response control packet. Wait for reception. When the negotiation response control packet is received, the apparatus duplication units 213a and 223a start the apparatus duplication operation and enable connection information to be transferred to the functional blade 23.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the processing procedure of the blade type system 20 until the hot standby configuration is established. As shown in the figure, the blade type system 20 establishes a hot standby configuration in the following procedure.

  (1) When the management blade 25 detects the mounting of the functional blade 21, it identifies the configuration information of the hot standby group to which it belongs from the detected mounting position, and loads the configuration information of the first operational attribute on the detected functional blade 21 To do. After the loaded configuration information is expanded and set, the functional blade 21 transmits its own device survival control packet at regular intervals in order to start a single operation.

  (2) When the management blade 25 detects the mounting of the next functional blade 22, it identifies the configuration information of the hot standby group to which it belongs from the detected mounting position, and the configuration information of the next operational attribute is detected. To load. The functional blade 22 expands and loads the loaded configuration information, and then transmits its own device survival control packet at regular intervals in order to start a single operation.

  (3) When the management blade 25 detects the mounting of the next functional blade 23, it identifies the configuration information of the hot standby group to which it belongs from the detected mounting position, and searches for the configuration information of the next operational attribute. Since the configuration information of the next operation attribute is not included in the configuration information, the configuration information of the standby attribute is loaded onto the detected functional blade 23. After the loaded configuration information is expanded and set, the function blade 23 transmits its own device survival control packet at regular intervals in order to start a single operation. If there are a plurality of identification IDs in the configuration information of the standby attribute, the own device survival control packet is transmitted in units of identification IDs.

  (4) When the functional blade 21 receives the self-device survival control packet from the paired functional blade 23, the functional blade 21 transmits a negotiation request control packet and waits for reception of the negotiation response control packet in order to shift to the device duplex state. When the negotiation response control packet is received, each of the functional blades 21 and 23 starts the apparatus duplication operation and enables connection information to be transferred from the functional blade 21 having the operation attribute to the functional blade 23 having the standby attribute.

  (5) When the functional blade 22 receives the own device survival control packet from the paired functional blade 23, the functional blade 22 transmits a negotiation request control packet and waits for reception of the negotiation response control packet in order to shift to the device duplex state. When the negotiation response control packet is received, each functional blade 22, 23 starts the apparatus duplication operation, and enables connection information to be transferred from the operational attribute functional blade 22 to the standby attribute functional blade 23.

  Next, functional blade failure detection processing by the management blade 25 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for describing functional blade failure detection processing by the blade failure detection unit 255c.

  As shown in the figure, the blade failure detection unit 255c of the management blade 25 recognizes the failure of the functional blade 22 by receiving the switching notification control packet from the failed functional blade 22 or detecting the interruption of the own device survival control packet. To do. When the blade failure detection unit 255c detects a failure of the functional blade 22, the functional blade having only the standby attribute here is the functional blade 23, and therefore all the functional blades except the failed functional blade 22 in the hot standby group. A switching instruction control packet in which the identification ID of the failed functional blade 22 is set is transmitted.

  When there are a plurality of functional blades with the standby attribute in the hot standby group, the blade failure detection unit 255c determines the functional blade that is affected by the failure of the functional blade 22, and switches to all the affected functional blades. An instruction control packet is transmitted.

  When the switching instruction control packet is received, the functional blade 21 whose identification IDs of the switching instruction control packet do not coincide with each other cancels the device duplex state by receiving the switching instruction control packet, and shifts to the single operation to transfer the connection information. stop.

  Further, the functional blade 23 having the same identification ID in the switching instruction control packet transmits a switching response control packet to make the management blade 25 recognize that the standby attribute has been changed to the operational attribute. At this time, the functional blade 23 discards unnecessary connection information and cancels the apparatus duplication operation with another functional blade (here, the functional blade 21).

  When the blade failure detection unit 255c receives the switching response control packet, the blade failure management unit 255c notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the blade switching, and the configuration information loaded on the functional blade 22 that has detected the failure is returned to the switching response control packet. Loading on the blade 23. The functional blade 23 sets the loaded configuration information, develops the connection information transferred from the failed functional blade 22, and takes over control of the failed functional blade 22.

  Note that when a functional blade with a standby attribute fails, the blade failure detection unit 255c does not transmit a switching instruction control packet, and the functional blade with each operation attribute has a device failure due to the disruption of its own device survival control packet from the standby attribute. Eliminates the duplex state and shifts to single operation.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the state transition of hot standby for device duplication within a hot standby group. As shown in the figure, after the initial state and single operation state, the operation attribute functional blade changes to the operation negotiate state and duplex operation state, and when its own device survival packet disruption is detected from the corresponding standby attribute blade, Transitioning to the operation state, the functional blade having the standby attribute transitions to the standby negotiation state and the duplex standby state, and transitions to the single operation state when receiving the switching instruction control packet. In FIG. 10, there are functional blade statuses of operation attributes from the single operation state, and the states transition independently of each other.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the processing procedure of the functional blade failure detection processing by the management blade 25. As shown in the figure, the management blade 25 responds to a functional blade failure in the following procedure.

  (1) The client and the server communicate with each other via the function blade 22, and the function blade 22 performs processing necessary for the operation in the device duplex state with the function blade 23.

  (2) When a failure occurs in the functional blade 22, the functional blade 22 transmits a switching notification control packet to the management blade 25 in the case of a minor failure that can be notified of an error. On the other hand, if an error notification cannot be made, a disruption of the own device survival control packet from the functional blade 22 occurs, and the management blade 25 detects the disruption of the own device survival control packet of the functional blade 22. Thereby, the management blade 25 recognizes the failure of the function blade 22.

  (3) When the management blade 25 detects a failure of the functional blade 22, the management blade 25 transmits a switching instruction control packet in which the identification ID of the failed functional blade is set to all the functional blades in the hot standby group. Then, the functional blade (the functional blade 21 in FIG. 11) whose control packet identification IDs do not match cancels the device duplication state by receiving the control packet, shifts to a single operation, and stops the transfer of connection information. On the other hand, the functional blade (the functional blade 23 in FIG. 11) having the same control packet identification information transmits a switching response control packet to make the management blade 25 recognize that the standby attribute is shifted to the operational attribute. At this time, the functional blade 23 discards unnecessary connection information and cancels the device duplication operation with the other functional blades 21. When the management blade 25 receives the switching response control packet, the management blade 25 loads the configuration information loaded on the functional blade 22 in which the failure is detected onto the functional blade 23 that has returned the switching response control packet. The functional blade 23 that has transmitted the switching response control packet expands and sets the loaded configuration information. Then, the connection information transferred from the failed functional blade 22 is expanded, and control of the failed functional blade 22 is taken over.

  Next, functional blade deletion processing by the management blade 25 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining functional blade deletion processing in the hot standby state by the management blade 25.

  As shown in the figure, when receiving a functional blade deletion request from the operation terminal, the blade deletion unit 255d of the management blade 25 transmits a blade deletion instruction control packet to the target functional blade (here, the functional blade 22). The target functional blade 22 is prepared to take over the connection process.

  Then, since the functional blade 22 to be deleted has a pair of standby functional blades (here, functional blade 23), the blade deletion response control packet is transmitted to the management blade 25, and preparation for deletion is completed. And stops sending the own device survival control packet.

  Then, the blade failure detection unit 255c of the management blade 25 recognizes the deletion of the functional blade 22 as a failure by detecting the disruption of the own device survival control packet from the deleted functional blade 22. Then, when the blade failure detection unit 255c detects a failure (deletion) of the functional blade 22, since there is one functional blade having a standby attribute here, all except the failure (deletion) functional blade 22 in the hot standby group. The switching instruction control packet in which the identification ID of the failed functional blade is set is transmitted to the functional blade.

  If there are a plurality of functional blades with the standby attribute in the hot standby group, the blade failure detection unit 255c determines which functional blade is affected by the failure of the functional blade 22, and switches to all affected functional blades. Send a control packet.

  When the switching instruction control packet is received, the functional blades whose identification IDs of the switching instruction control packet do not coincide with each other cancel the duplex state by receiving the switching instruction control packet, and shift to the single operation to stop the transfer of connection information. .

  On the other hand, the functional blade (in this case, the functional blade 23 having the standby attribute) having the same identification ID in the switching instruction control packet transmits a switching response control packet to the management blade 25 to shift from the standby attribute to the operational attribute. Recognize. At this time, the functional blade 23 discards unnecessary connection information and cancels the device duplication operation with other functional blades.

  When the blade failure detection unit 255c receives the switching response control packet, the blade failure detection unit 255c notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the blade switching, and the configuration information loaded on the functional blade 22 that has detected the failure (deletion) is displayed. Is loaded into the function blade 23 that has returned. The functional blade 23 sets the loaded configuration information, develops the connection information transferred from the failed functional blade 22, and takes over control of the failed functional blade 22.

  When the functional blade with the standby attribute has failed (deleted), the blade failure detection unit 255c does not transmit the switching instruction control packet, and the functional blade with each operation attribute has its own device survival control packet from the standby attribute. Due to this disruption, the redundant state of the device is canceled and the operation shifts to a single operation.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for describing functional blade deletion processing in a non-hot standby state by the management blade 25. As shown in the figure, when receiving a functional blade deletion request from the operation terminal, the blade deletion unit 255d of the management blade 25 transmits a blade deletion instruction control packet to the target functional blade (here, the functional blade 22). The target functional blade 22 is prepared to take over the connection process.

  Then, since there is no pair of standby functional blades to be deleted, the functional blade 22 to be deleted transmits a connection delegation request control packet to the blade connection management unit 255e and makes a request to move the connection to another functional blade. Do.

  When the blade connection management unit 255e receives the connection delegation request control packet, the blade connection management unit 255e re-evaluates the connection arrangement in another functional blade to determine the connection destination, and here, the destination is determined to be the functional blade 21. If so, a connection movement instruction control packet is transmitted to the functional blade 22 to be deleted and the functional blade 21 of the connection movement destination. At the same time, it requests the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24 to temporarily stop packet distribution. This request is made by a control packet or a command.

  When receiving the connection movement instruction control packet, the functional blade 22 to be deleted deletes the corresponding connection information and transmits a connection movement response control packet. The connection destination functional blade 21 stores the corresponding connection information and transmits a connection movement response control packet.

  Then, the blade connection management unit 255e recognizes the completion of the movement of the connection by receiving the connection movement response control packet from the movement source (deletion target) and the movement destination. As a result, the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24 is requested to change the connection distribution destination, and the packet distribution of the corresponding connection is resumed. This request is made by a control packet or a command.

  The blade connection management unit 255e transmits a connection delegation response control packet to the functional blade 22 to be deleted when the connection is moved by the same process for all the connections of the functional blade 22 to be deleted.

  When receiving the connection delegation response control packet, the functional blade 22 to be deleted recognizes that all connections have been delegated, transmits a blade deletion response control packet, and stops transmitting its own device survival control packet.

  Then, the blade failure detection unit 255c of the management blade 25 recognizes the deletion of the functional blade 22 as a failure by detecting the disruption of the own device survival control packet from the deleted functional blade 22. Then, when the blade failure detection unit 255c detects a failure (deletion) of the functional blade 22, since there is one functional blade having the standby attribute here, the failure (deletion) functional blade 22 in the hot standby group is excluded. A switching instruction control packet in which the identification ID of the failed functional blade is set is transmitted to all functional blades.

  If there are a plurality of functional blades with the standby attribute in the hot standby group, the blade failure detection unit 255c determines which functional blade is affected by the failure of the functional blade 22, and switches to all affected functional blades. Send a control packet.

  When the switching instruction control packet is received, the functional blades whose identification IDs of the switching instruction control packet do not coincide with each other cancel the device duplex state by receiving the control packet, and shift to the single operation to stop the transfer of the connection information. However, since there is no standby blade corresponding to the failed function blade 22 here because of the non-hot standby state, the duplexed state of the device is not actually canceled.

  On the other hand, the functional blade having the same identification ID in the switching instruction control packet transmits a switching response control packet to make the management blade 25 recognize that the standby attribute is shifted to the operational attribute. At this time, the functional blade 23 discards unnecessary connection information and cancels the device duplication operation with other functional blades. However, since there is no standby blade corresponding to the failed functional blade 22 here because of the non-hot standby state, the switching response control packet is not actually transmitted.

  As described above, when a functional blade having an operation attribute is deleted in a non-hot standby state, the blade connection management unit 255e re-evaluates the connection arrangement of the functional blade having another operation attribute, and the connection of the functional blade to be deleted. Can be deleted regardless of whether or not there is a connection.

  When the functional blade with the standby attribute has failed (deleted), the blade failure detection unit 255c does not transmit the switching instruction control packet, and the functional blade with each operation attribute has its own device survival control packet from the standby attribute. Due to this disruption, the redundant state of the device is canceled and the operation shifts to a single operation.

  Next, connection arrangement processing by the blade type system 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining connection arrangement processing by the blade type system 20.

  As shown in the figure, the blade connection management unit 255e of the management blade 25 receives the information on the functional blade connection arrangement method by receiving the blade incorporation notification control packet from the blade detection unit 255b.

  The blade connection management unit 255e creates a connection distribution rule according to the connection arrangement method of each functional blade, and notifies the connection distribution rule of the router / switch blade 24 of the created connection distribution rule.

  Then, the connection distribution unit 241 distributes the received packet to any functional blade according to the connection distribution rule received from the blade connection management unit 255e, learns connection distribution information, and distributes packets of the same connection to the same functional blade. Try to divide.

  When the functional blade establishes the connection, the functional blade transmits a connection information notification control packet to the blade connection management unit 255e. Here, the connection information notification control packet is a variable length control packet that can notify a plurality of connection information at a time.

  Then, the blade connection management unit 255e receives the connection information notification control packet, thereby recognizing the arrangement of the connections in each functional blade and monitoring the arrangement of the connection arrangement method. As a result, if the connection arrangement is not the arrangement specified by the connection arrangement method, the user is notified of the abnormality. The management blade 25 recognizes that the connection arrangement of the functional blade needs to be evaluated by receiving the blade incorporation notification control packet or the connection delegation request control packet.

  FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining connection arrangement processing by the blade type system 20 when a functional blade is added. As shown in the figure, when the functional blade 23 is added, the blade connection management unit 255e of the management blade 25 receives the blade built-in notification control packet from the blade detection unit 255b, and the connection arrangement method of the functional blade 23 Receive information.

  Then, the blade connection management unit 255e creates a connection distribution rule based on the connection information and arrangement method information of each functional blade, notifies the connection distribution unit 241, and whether there is a need to move the connection between the functional blades. Evaluate.

  As a result, when connection movement between functional blades is necessary, the blade connection management unit 255e transmits a connection movement instruction control packet to the functional blade that is the connection movement source and the functional blade that is the connection movement destination. Here, the connection movement instruction control packet is a variable length control packet that can notify a plurality of connection information at a time.

  At the same time, the blade connection management unit 255e requests the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24 to temporarily stop packet distribution. This request is made by a control packet or a command.

  Then, the function blade of the connection movement source deletes the corresponding connection information and transmits a connection movement response control packet. In addition, the connection destination functional blade stores the corresponding connection information and transmits a connection movement response control packet.

  Then, the blade connection management unit 255e recognizes the completion of the movement of the connection by receiving the connection movement response control packet from the movement source and the movement destination. As a result, the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24 is requested to change the connection distribution destination, and the packet distribution of the corresponding connection is resumed. This request is made by a control packet or a command. Then, the blade connection management unit 255e performs the above-described processing as much as necessary to move the connection.

  In this way, when a functional blade is added, the blade connection management unit 255e evaluates whether connection movement between functional blades is necessary based on the operation attribute functional blade connection information and arrangement method information. When there is a need for connection movement, the connection arrangement can be automatically transferred to an appropriate arrangement according to the connection arrangement method of each functional blade.

  Next, an example of connection movement will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of connection movement. The figure shows the blade type system 20 when the client 11, the client 12, the application server 14, and the application server 15 communicate via the blade type system 20 between “network 1” and “network 2” having different address systems. Even when a device failure occurs, the communication is continued by hot standby switching.

  In FIG. 16, the user creates hot standby configuration information (hereinafter referred to as “HSG information”) as shown in FIG. 17 in which the functional blade has a hot standby configuration of n operation m standby (2 operation 1 standby in FIG. 16). From the operation terminal of the blade type system 20, the setting is requested to the environment construction unit 255 a of the management blade 25. FIG. 17 shows an example in which the definition of two operation-standby pairs is included in one piece of configuration information.

  When the blade detection unit 255b of the management blade 25 detects that the function blade 21 is mounted at the location where the HSG information is mounted, the configuration information “configuration information 1” of the HSG information is loaded onto the detected function blade 21, and the function blade 21 is loaded. Expands the configuration information “configuration information 1” of the loaded HSG information and sets the operation.

  When the blade detection unit 255b of the management blade 25 detects that the function blade 22 is mounted at the location where the HSG information is mounted, the configuration information “configuration information 2” of the HSG information is loaded onto the detected function blade 22, and the function blade 22 is loaded. Expands the configuration information “configuration information 2” of the loaded HSG information and sets the operation.

  When the blade detection unit 255b of the management blade 25 detects the installation of the functional blade 23 at the location where the HSG information is mounted, since the two functional blades have already been activated as operation blades with the hot standby configuration information of the HSG information, the HSG The configuration information “standby configuration information” of the information is loaded onto the detected functional blade 23, and the functional blade 23 expands the configuration information “standby configuration information” of the loaded HSG information to set standby.

  At this time, each time a functional blade is incorporated, the blade detection unit 255b of the management blade 25 notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the management blade 25 of information on the connection arrangement method. When all the functional blades 21 to 23 on which the blade detection unit 255b of the management blade 25 is mounted are detected and the configuration information of the HSG information is expanded to the functional blades 21 to 23, the configuration of the functional blades 21 to 23 is duplicated. Receiving the functional blade existence information transmitted by the units 213a to 233a by the device redundancy units 213a to 233a of the respective functional blades, the hot standby configuration of n operation m standby (2 operation 1 standby in FIG. 16) is recognized between the blades. To do.

  Then, in order to start the operation by the hot standby configuration, the device redundancy unit of the functional blade performs the hot standby of “configuration information 1” with the functional blade 21 and the functional blade 23, and the hot standby of “configuration information 2” with the functional blade 22. And the functional blade 23 negotiates between the functional blades. When the negotiation is completed, the operation in the hot standby configuration becomes possible, and the function blade 21 of “configuration information 1” and the function blade 22 of “configuration information 2” are in the operation operation state.

  Then, the blade connection management unit 255e of the management blade 25 generates a connection distribution rule from the information on the connection arrangement method of all the functional blades and transmits it to the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24.

  Then, the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24 allocates the connection establishment from the client 11 to the application server 14 to the function blade 21, and the function blade 21 relays communication to the application server 14 and waits for connection information. Are transferred to the function blade 23. At the same time, the functional blade 21 notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the management blade 25 of connection information.

  The connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24 establishes the connection from the client 12 to the application server 15 based on the connection distribution rule corresponding to the fact that all the connection arrangement methods are equal. The function blade 22 relays communication to the application server 15 and transfers the connection information to the standby function blade 23. At the same time, the functional blade 22 notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the management blade 25 of connection information.

  When a failure occurs in the function blade 22, the blade failure detection unit 255c of the management blade 25 detects the failure of the function blade 22, and changes the standby attribute of the function blade 23 to the operation attribute for the function blade in the hot standby group. In order to notify the change, a switching instruction is transmitted.

  Then, the apparatus duplication unit 213a of the functional blade 21 receives the switching instruction and recognizes that the hot standby configuration has been eliminated. Further, the apparatus duplication unit 233a of the functional blade 23 transmits a switching response to shift to the operation attribute.

  When the blade failure detection unit 255c of the management blade 25 receives the switching response, the blade detection unit 255b loads the configuration information “configuration information 2” to the functional blade 23, and the functional blade 23 receives the configuration information “configuration information 2”. To expand the settings. Then, the apparatus duplication unit 233a of the functional blade 23 expands the connection information of the functional blade 22 at the time of the standby attribute and discards the connection information of the functional blade 21 in order to shift to the operation attribute.

  The blade failure detection unit 255c of the management blade 25 notifies the blade connection management unit 255e of the blade switching when the function blade is switched due to the failure detection of the function blade 22.

  Then, the blade connection management unit 255e changes the connection information of the functional blade 22 to the functional blade 23 by receiving the blade switching notification, and sends the distribution information for the functional blade 22 to the connection distribution unit 241 of the router / switch blade 24. Is changed to the function blade 23.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the number of functional blades is increased due to the addition of functional blades, the blade connection management unit 255e evaluates the connection and the connection needs to be moved. In this case, since the processing necessary for moving the connection is performed, it is possible to quickly shift to the arrangement of the connection arrangement method specified by the hot standby configuration information.

  In this embodiment, when the function blade is deleted and the number of function blades having the operation attribute is decreased, if the deleted function blade is in a non-hot standby state, the blade connection management unit 255e arranges the connection. When the evaluation is performed and the movement of the connection is necessary, the processing necessary for the movement of the connection is performed. Therefore, the functional blade having the operation attribute can be deleted regardless of the presence or absence of the connection.

  In this embodiment, the standby redundant system that performs hot standby has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to a non-hot standby system.

(Supplementary Note 1) A plurality of application servers that provide application services to a plurality of clients via a network, a plurality of function blades that handle connections between the plurality of clients, and a management blade that manages the plurality of function blades A blade type system having a router and a switch blade for communicating with an application server and a client,
The management blade manages the arrangement state of the connection to the functional blade, evaluates whether or not connection movement is necessary between the functional blades when adding the functional blade, and based on the evaluation result, the router switch Connection management means for instructing the movement of the connection to the blade and the function blade that is the movement source and destination of the connection,
The router / switch blade is provided with connection distribution means for changing a connection distribution destination based on an instruction from the management blade.

(Appendix 2) The connection management means is in a standby state corresponding to a function blade in operation when the function blade in operation fails or when there is an instruction to delete the function blade in operation. When there is no function blade, the destination of connection placed in the function blade in operation is determined, and the router / switch blade and the function blade in operation and the function blade to which the connection is moved are connected. Instruct to move,
The blade type system according to appendix 1, wherein the connection distribution unit changes a connection distribution destination based on a migration instruction of the management blade.

(Appendix 3) The connection management means creates a connection distribution rule for distributing connections to functional blades based on information on the connection arrangement method of each functional blade, and notifies the router / switch blade of the connection distribution rules.
The connection distribution means receives the connection distribution rule, and distributes a newly established connection to functional blades based on the received connection distribution rule.
Each functional blade has connection information notification means for notifying the management blade of information relating to the newly established connection as information for the connection management means to manage the arrangement state of the connection to the functional blade. The blade-type system according to appendix 1 or 2, characterized by the above.

(Supplementary note 4) The blade type system according to supplementary note 3, wherein the connection management means monitors whether the connection is distributed according to the connection distribution rule.

(Supplementary Note 5) The blade type system according to Supplementary Note 3 or 4, wherein the information related to the connection arrangement method is included in hot standby configuration information that defines a hot standby configuration of the system.

(Supplementary Note 6) A plurality of application blades that provide application services to a plurality of clients via a network, a plurality of function blades that handle connections between the plurality of clients, and a management blade that manages the plurality of function blades A connection management method for a blade type system having a router / switch blade that communicates with an application server and a client,
The management blade evaluates whether it is necessary to move connections between function blades when adding function blades. Based on the results of the evaluation, the management blade is assigned to the function blade that is the source and destination of the connection. The transfer process at the time of extension that instructs the transfer of the connection,
The router / switch blade changes an allocation distribution change step for changing a connection distribution destination based on an instruction from the management blade;
The connection management method characterized by including.

(Supplementary note 7) When a function blade in operation fails or when a deletion instruction is given to the function blade in operation, the management blade is in a standby function corresponding to the function blade in operation When there is no blade, the destination of the connection placed in the function blade in operation is determined, and the connection is transferred to the router / switch blade and the function blade in operation and the function blade to which the connection is moved. A move process at the time of deletion that instructs
The router / switch blade changes at the time of deletion to change the connection distribution destination based on the migration instruction of the management blade;
The connection management method according to appendix 6, further comprising:

(Supplementary Note 8) A rule notification step in which the management blade creates a connection distribution rule for distributing a connection to a functional blade based on information on a connection arrangement method of each functional blade, and notifies the router / switch blade of the connection distribution rule. ,
The router / switch blade receives the connection distribution rule, and distributes a newly established connection to functional blades based on the received connection distribution rule;
A connection information notification step in which the function blade notifies the management blade of information regarding the newly established connection as information for managing the arrangement state of the connection to the function blade;
The connection management method according to appendix 6 or 7, further comprising:

(Supplementary note 9) The connection management method according to supplementary note 8, further comprising a monitoring step of monitoring whether the management blade is performing connection distribution according to the connection distribution rule.

(Supplementary note 10) The connection management method according to supplementary note 8 or 9, wherein the information related to the connection arrangement method is included in hot standby configuration information that defines a hot standby configuration of the system.

  As described above, the blade type system and the connection management method thereof according to the present invention are useful for a server system that provides an application service to a client via a network, and particularly in accordance with a change in the operation state of the system. This is suitable when you want to quickly place an appropriate connection to the operation blade.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the blade type | system | group system which concerns on a present Example. It is a figure which shows an example of hot standby structure information. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the function blade detection process by a blade detection part. It is a figure which shows an example of a link local IP address. It is a figure which shows the other example of a link local IP address. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the hot standby structure establishment process by a blade type | system | group system. It is a figure showing the composition of a control packet. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the process sequence of the blade type | system | group system until hot standby structure establishment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the functional blade failure detection process by a blade failure detection part. It is a figure which shows the state transition of a hot standby about apparatus duplication in a hot standby group. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the process sequence of the functional blade failure detection process by a management blade. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the functional blade deletion process in the hot standby state by a management blade. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the functional blade deletion process in the non-hot standby state by a management blade. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the connection arrangement | positioning process by a blade type system. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the connection arrangement | positioning process by the blade type system in the case of adding a functional blade. It is a figure which shows an example of a connection movement. It is a figure which shows an example of hot standby structure information. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the conventional connection management system at the time of the blade addition in the hot standby system of a blade-type system. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the conventional connection management system at the time of the blade deletion in the hot standby system of a blade type | system | group.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Blade type server system 11,12 Client 13 Network 14,15 Application server 16 Switch 20 Blade type system 21,22,23 Function blade 24 Router switch blade 25 Management blade 211,221,231 IF section 212,222,232 Memory Units 212a, 222a, 232a Configuration information storage units 212b, 222b, 232b Connection information storage units 213, 223, 233 Control units 213a, 223a, 233a Device duplication unit 241 Connection distribution unit 251 IF unit 252 Input unit 253 Display unit 254 Storage unit 254a Configuration information storage unit 255 Control unit 255a Environment construction unit 255b Blade detection unit 255c Blade failure detection unit 255d Blade deletion unit 255e Blade connection Processing section

Claims (5)

A plurality of application servers that provide application services to a plurality of clients via a network, a plurality of function blades that handle connections between the plurality of clients, a management blade that manages the plurality of function blades, an application server, and A blade type system having a router and a switch blade for communicating with a client,
The management blade manages the arrangement state of the connection to the functional blade, evaluates whether or not connection movement is necessary between the functional blades when adding the functional blade, and based on the evaluation result, the router switch Connection management means for instructing the movement of the connection to the blade and the function blade that is the movement source and destination of the connection,
The router / switch blade is provided with connection distribution means for changing a connection distribution destination based on an instruction from the management blade. When the function blade in operation fails or when there is an instruction to delete the function blade in operation, the connection management means has no function blade in standby corresponding to the function blade in operation. The destination of the connection placed in the function blade in operation is determined, and the router / switch blade and the function blade in operation and the function blade as the connection destination are instructed to move the connection. ,
The blade type system according to claim 1, wherein the connection distribution unit changes a connection distribution destination based on a migration instruction of the management blade. The connection management means creates a connection distribution rule for distributing connections to functional blades based on information on the connection arrangement method of each functional blade, and notifies the router / switch blade,
The connection distribution means receives the connection distribution rule, and distributes a newly established connection to functional blades based on the received connection distribution rule.
Each functional blade has connection information notification means for notifying the management blade of information relating to the newly established connection as information for the connection management means to manage the arrangement state of the connection to the functional blade. The blade-type system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.   The blade type system according to claim 3, wherein the connection management means monitors whether or not connection distribution is performed according to the connection distribution rule. A plurality of application servers that provide application services to a plurality of clients via a network, a plurality of function blades that handle connections between the plurality of clients, a management blade that manages the plurality of function blades, an application server, and A connection management method for a blade type system having a router and a switch blade for communicating with a client,
The management blade evaluates whether it is necessary to move connections between function blades when adding function blades. Based on the results of the evaluation, the management blade is assigned to the function blade that is the source and destination of the connection. The transfer process at the time of extension that instructs the transfer of the connection,
The router / switch blade changes an allocation distribution change step for changing a connection distribution destination based on an instruction from the management blade;
The connection management method characterized by including.

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