JP2009245118A - System and method for providing application service, and method for transferring application - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily perform maintenance among a plurality of application servers while maintaining availability of a system. <P>SOLUTION: A proxy process 21 transmits, to a proxy process 11, application information 231 that is information about an application 221. The process 11 registers the information 231 in a management information recording unit 13, receives a service providing request from a WEB server 30 as a representative, and requests execution of the application 221 to the process 21 on the basis of the information 231. The process 21 executes the application 221 on the basis of the information 231. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides an application providing system and an application for providing a service by executing a plurality of applications included in the first application server and the second application server in response to a service provision request via a network. More particularly, the present invention relates to an application migration method for migrating an application executed on a first application server to a second application server.

  In a Web system that provides a business application service by a server, it is required to continuously operate the system without stopping the service provided by the Web system.

  In recent years, in a three-layer configuration of a standard WEB server, an AP (Application) server, and a DB (Database) server as a Web system, a load distribution mechanism is generally spread for each of the WEB server and the DB server. is doing. Further, the load distribution mechanism of the application server is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  The clustering method disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes a plurality of servers that can provide the same service, a client that uses a service provided by at least one of the servers, and a unique server name assigned to the server, There is a name server that manages a corresponding address, and when there is no response from the first server in response to an address inquiry from a client, the address is inquired to the second server.

The high-availability computer system disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a basic high-availability mechanism in which at least two servers share a shared disk and switches from the active system to the standby system, and a high-availability mechanism different from the basic one. It is a highly available computer system. Then, copy the setting information of the active system to the standby local hard disk beforehand, and if both the active system and the shared disk fail, disconnect the shared disk from the standby system and disconnect it from the standby local hard disk. It is started and is restored.
JP 2000-357160 A JP 2006-227770 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to prepare the same environment in a plurality of servers (application servers). In Patent Document 2, it is necessary to synchronize setting information that is not stored in the shared disk between the active and standby application servers, but the method is not disclosed.

  Therefore, there is a problem that maintenance such as synchronization between a plurality of application servers is complicated. Here, the maintenance refers to addition and deletion of application servers and applications, migration, and the like. Also, it is difficult to execute an application from one application server to the other application server.

  In the present invention, an application service providing system, an application service providing method, and an application service providing method that facilitate maintenance between a plurality of application servers while maintaining the availability of the system. The purpose is to provide an application service migration method.

  In the application service providing system according to the first aspect of the present invention, in response to a service provision request via a network, the first application server provides the first application, and the second application server provides the second application. The service is provided by executing each. The first application server includes a management information storage unit that stores application information related to the first application and the second application, and the provision request on behalf of the first application server and the second application server. And a first proxy process for executing the first application and the second application, wherein the first proxy process receives application information related to the second application from the second application server. Registration means for receiving and registering in the management information storage unit; receiving the provision request; and receiving the provision request to the second application server based on application information relating to the second application stored in the management information storage unit First Execution request means for requesting execution of the application, management information transmission means for transmitting application information related to the second application to the first application server, and the execution Execution means for executing the second application based on a request from the request means.

  As a result, the application server that receives the service provision request on behalf of the application server can manage the application information of the other application server, so that the application of the other application server can be executed based on the application information. Therefore, the plurality of second application servers can be easily replaced while continuing the service provision request.

  The second application server receives the provision request on behalf of the first application server and the second application server, and executes the first application and the second application by the execution unit. A second proxy process, wherein the management information transmission means transmits process information relating to the second proxy process to the first proxy process, and the registration means receives from the second proxy process. The process information is registered in the management information storage unit, and the execution requesting unit refers to the process information stored in the management information storage unit and executes the second application to the second proxy process. It is desirable to request.

  As a result, an application can be executed by communication between proxy processes, and the system can be expanded by an application server having a proxy process having the same function. Therefore, management information can be synchronized between application servers that execute a plurality of applications, and the maintenance of the application server can be performed with a minimum influence on the system.

  In addition, when new process information is registered by the registration unit, the first proxy process has the process information related to the first proxy process and the application related to the first application to the second proxy process. It is desirable to send information. Thereby, management information can be synchronized with the added application server and proxy process.

  Further, when the first proxy process receives a notification that the first application or the second application is activated or interrupted, the first proxy process or the second application is stored in the management information storage unit. Update means for updating application information related to the application is further provided, and when the application information related to the first application is updated by the update means, the updated application information stored in the management information storage unit is stored in the second information. To the proxy process. As a result, application activation and interruption are managed and notified to other application servers, so that the status of each application can be shared between application servers.

  Further, when the execution request unit receives the provision request, the execution request unit may execute the first application based on application information relating to the first application stored in the management information storage unit. As a result, an application in its own application server and an application in another application server can be equivalently distributed and executed, and the application server to be representatively received can be flexibly changed.

  In addition, the first application server includes an application information storage unit that stores an execution code of the first application and setting parameters, and an application information storage unit that interrupts the processing of the first application. The first transmission means for acquiring the execution code and the setting parameter of the first application and transmitting the setting parameter to the second application server, and after interrupting the processing of the first application, Second transmission means for transmitting execution state information indicating an execution state to the second application server, wherein the second application server receives the execution code and the setting from the first transmission means. A parameter is received, and the execution state is received from the second transmission means. Receiving information, it may further comprises a resuming process resuming means the processing of the first application, the based on the execution status information. As a result, it is possible to perform migration of an application being executed between operating application servers while minimizing the influence on the system.

  The application service providing system according to the second aspect of the present invention provides the service by executing the application by the first application server and the second application server in response to the service provision request via the network. Is. The first application server includes an application information storage unit that stores an execution code and setting parameters of the application, and an execution code and setting of the application from the application information storage unit before interrupting the processing of the application. First transmission means for acquiring a parameter and transmitting it to the second application server, and after interrupting the processing of the application, transmitting execution state information indicating the execution state of the application to the second application server A second transmission unit, wherein the second application server receives the execution code and the setting parameter from the first transmission unit, and receives the execution state information from the second transmission unit. And based on the execution state information Processing and resuming processing resuming means of the application are those comprising a.

  As a result, it is possible to perform migration of an application being executed between operating application servers while minimizing the influence on the system.

  The first application server further includes a first proxy process that manages execution of the application, and an interruption notification unit that notifies the first proxy process that the processing of the application has been interrupted. The second application server includes a second proxy process that manages execution of the application, and a restart notification unit that notifies the second proxy process that the processing of the application has been restarted by the processing restarting unit. It is desirable to further comprise. Thus, the status of application migration can be managed by the proxy process by notifying the proxy process that manages the execution of the application of the suspension and restart of the application.

  The first application server further includes an execution state information storage unit that stores the execution state information of the application in the application information storage unit after interrupting the processing of the application, and the second transmission unit includes: It is preferable that the execution state information of the application stored by the execution state information storage unit is acquired from the application information storage unit and transmitted to the second application server. Thereby, the execution state information at the time of interruption of the application can be transferred.

  Further, it is preferable that the first transmission unit is executed in response to an instruction to transfer the application to the second application server. Thereby, it is possible to flexibly shift at an arbitrary timing.

  In the application service providing method according to the first aspect of the present invention, in response to a service provision request via a network, the first application server uses the first application, and the second application server uses the second application. The service is provided by executing each. A management information transmission step of transmitting application information related to the second application from the second application server to the first application server; and the second information transmitted by the transmitting step in the first application server. A registration step of receiving application information related to the application and registering the application information in the management information storage unit; and in the first application server, the first application server and the second application server The provision request is received, and the second application server executes the second application based on the application information related to the second application stored in the management information storage unit. Comprising an execution request step of requesting, at the second application server, and an execution step of executing the second application based on the request by the execution request step a.

  As a result, the application server that receives the service provision request on behalf of the application server can manage the application information of the other application server, so that the application of the other application server can be executed based on the application information. Therefore, the plurality of second application servers can be easily replaced while continuing the service provision request.

  The management information transmission step further transmits process information related to a proxy process that causes the execution means to execute the second application in the second application server, and the registration step includes process information related to the proxy process. The process information is received and registered in the management information storage unit, and the execution request step refers to the process information stored in the management information storage unit, and executes the second application to the proxy process. It is desirable to request.

  As a result, an application can be executed by communication between proxy processes, and the system can be expanded by an application server having a proxy process having the same function. Therefore, management information can be synchronized between application servers that execute a plurality of applications, and the maintenance of the application server can be performed with a minimum influence on the system.

Further, when new process information is registered in the registration step, process information relating to a proxy process for executing the first application in the first application server stored in the management information storage unit, and the first The application service providing method according to claim 12, further comprising a transmission step of transmitting application information related to one application.
Thereby, management information can be synchronized with the added application server and proxy process.

  In addition, when the notification that the first application or the second application is activated or interrupted is received, the update that updates the application information related to the first application or the second application in the management information storage unit It is preferable that the transmission step further includes transmitting the updated application information stored in the management information storage unit when the application information related to the first application is updated in the updating step. As a result, application activation and interruption are managed and notified to other application servers, so that the status of each application can be shared between application servers.

  In the execution requesting step, when the first application server receives the provision request, the execution requesting step determines the first application based on application information related to the first application stored in the management information storage unit. It is desirable to execute. As a result, an application in its own application server and an application in another application server can be equivalently distributed and executed, and the application server to be representatively received can be flexibly changed.

  The application migration method according to the second aspect of the present invention provides an application that provides a service by executing the application by the first application server and the second application server in response to a service provision request via a network. It is in a service providing system. A first transmission step of transmitting the execution code of the application and setting parameters to the second application server before interrupting the processing of the application; and an execution state of the application after interrupting the processing of the application A second transmission step of transmitting execution state information indicating the execution status information to the second application server, the execution code and the setting parameter from the first transmission step, and the execution from the second transmission step. A process resuming step of receiving the state information and resuming the process of the application based on the execution state information. As a result, it is possible to perform migration of an application being executed between operating application servers while minimizing the influence on the system.

  Further, an interruption notification step for notifying the proxy process that manages the execution of the application in the first application server that the processing of the application has been interrupted, and a notification that the processing of the application has been resumed by the processing resumption step. It is desirable to further comprise a restart notification means step for notifying a proxy process that manages execution of the application in the second application server. Thus, the status of application migration can be managed by the proxy process by notifying the proxy process that manages the execution of the application of the suspension and restart of the application.

  In addition, it further includes an execution state information storage step of storing the execution state information of the application in the application information storage unit after interrupting the processing of the application, wherein the second transmission step is stored by the execution state information storage step. It is desirable that the execution state information of the application that has been obtained is acquired from the application information storage unit and transmitted to the second application server. Thereby, the execution state information at the time of interruption of the application can be transferred.

  The first transmission step is preferably executed in response to an instruction to transfer the application to the second application server. Thereby, it is possible to flexibly shift at an arbitrary timing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an application service providing system, an application service providing method, and an application service migration method that facilitate maintenance between a plurality of application servers while maintaining system availability.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted as necessary for the sake of clarity.

Embodiment 1 of the Invention
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an application service providing system 100 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The application service providing system 100 includes an application server 10, an application server 20, a Web server 30, a network 40, and a terminal 50. The web server 30 and the terminal 50 are connected via the network 40. The network 40 may be a communication network such as the Internet, a public network, a dedicated line, and a mobile communication network. Note that a database server may be further connected to the application server 10 and the application server 20 in the application service providing system 100.

  The application service providing system 100 receives a service provision request from the terminal 50 via the network 40 in the Web server 30 and distributes and executes a plurality of applications using the application server 10 and the application server 20 by the Web server 30. Then, the execution results of the plurality of applications are aggregated and returned to the terminal 50 as the service.

  Here, it is assumed that the target application in the application service providing system 100 requires processing proportional to some scale factor and can be executed in parallel.

  The target application is, for example, an application that collects remote data. When remote data collection is performed, the amount of processing increases as the number of collected data objects increases. However, distributed processing can be performed by executing data collection in a shared manner by a plurality of application servers. Alternatively, the target application is an application that performs a large-scale data search, and a search range can be divided and a search can be executed in each application server.

  Therefore, the target application can easily increase the processing amount and increase the processing efficiency simply by increasing the number of application servers that perform distributed processing.

  Note that the number of application servers is not limited to two, the application server 10 and the application server 20. For example, the number of application servers need only be distributed about 10 units.

  The Web server 30 is connected to the application server 10 and the application server 20. The Web server 30 is a general-purpose computer system, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a nonvolatile storage device as components not shown. In the Web server 30, the CPU reads and executes an OS (Operating System) and a WEB server program stored in a RAM, a ROM, or a nonvolatile storage device. Thereby, the Web server 30 operates as a WEB server.

  In addition, the Web server 30 receives the service provision request from the terminal 50, transmits the service provision request to either the application server 10 or the application server 20, and returns the reply content of the service provision request to the terminal 50. To do. Here, the Web server 30 transmits a response request to the application server 10 and the application server 20 by multicast distribution in advance, and transmits the subsequent service provision request to the application server 10 that has responded first. And If the application server 10 that has responded first cannot respond to the service provision request due to some failure, the Web server 30 transmits a response request again by multicast delivery, and responds to the responding application server 20. The provision of the service is maintained by resending the service provision request.

  The application server 10 includes a proxy process 11, an application 121, an application 122, and a management information storage unit 13. The application server 20 is an application server having functions equivalent to those of the application server 10. Further, since the proxy process 21, the application 221, the application 222, and the management information storage unit 23 have the same configuration as the proxy process 11, the application 121, the application 122, and the management information storage unit 13, respectively, description thereof is omitted. The number of applications running on the application server 10 and the application server 20 is not limited to this. For example, in the application service providing system 100, about 10 to 20 applications may be executed in parallel.

  The management information storage unit 13 is a storage device that stores process information 131 and application information 132. The process information 131 is information regarding the proxy process 11 described later. The process information 131 may be connection information such as identification information of the proxy process 11 and a network address of the application server 10 on which the proxy process 11 operates.

  The application information 132 is information related to the application 121 and the application 122 described later. The application information 132 may be, for example, identification information of the application 121 and the application 122, identification information of the proxy process 11 to be managed, or connection information to the application 121 and the application 122. Specific examples of the process information 131 and the application information 132 will be described later with reference to FIG.

The process information 231 stored in the management information storage unit 23 is stored in the proxy process 21.
The application information 232 is information related to the application 221 and the application 222.

  The proxy process 11 receives a service provision request from the Web server 30 on behalf of the application server 10 and the application server 20, refers to the process information 131 and the application information 132 stored in the management information storage unit 13, It is a WEB application that executes an application 121 and an application 122, and an application 221 and an application 222 described later. In particular, the proxy process 11 causes the application 221 and the application 222 to be executed via the proxy process 21 described later. In addition, the proxy process 11 aggregates the execution results of the application 121, the application 122, the application 221, and the application 222 and returns them to the Web server 30. As a result, the Web server 30 can cause a plurality of application servers to perform processing by requesting processing to one application server by the proxy process 11.

  Further, the proxy process 11 responds to a response request from the Web server 30. As a result, the Web server 30 identifies the proxy process 11 that responds first as the transmission destination of the service provision request, and therefore can determine one service provision request window from among a plurality of proxy processes. Here, the proxy process 11 is a window for the service provision request. However, the proxy process 21 can respond to the response request from the Web server 30 first, thereby serving as a window for the service provision request. is there.

  The proxy process 11 communicates with the proxy process 21 that is another proxy process. The proxy process 11 and the proxy process 21 can access each other's applications by exchanging and registering each other's process information and application information. For example, the proxy process 11 transmits process information 131 and application information 132 stored in the management information storage unit 13 to the proxy process 21 at the time of activation. Further, the proxy process 11 receives the process information 231 and application information 232 stored in the management information storage unit 23 from the proxy process 21 and registers them in the management information storage unit 13. Further, the proxy process 11 detects that the execution of the application 121 or the application 122 has been interrupted or resumed, or receives a notification, and updates the application information 132. At the same time, the proxy process 11 transmits the updated application information 132 to the proxy process 21. When the updated application information 232 is received from the proxy process 21, the management information storage unit 13 is updated. Thus, the proxy process can synchronize its own process information and application information with other process information and application information among a plurality of proxy processes, and can share the latest state. .

  The proxy process 11 uses process information 131 and application information 132 stored in the management information storage unit 13 by multicast communication with other application servers connected to the application server 10 when the WEB application is activated. To deliver. Thereby, it is not necessary to register the proxy process of the communication partner in advance, and mutual communication with a plurality of proxy processes becomes possible. Further, the proxy process 11 may notify the proxy process 21 that the proxy process 11 is stopped when the WEB application is stopped. Further, when the proxy process 11 receives a notification that the proxy process 21 is stopped from the proxy process 21, the proxy process 11 may delete the process information 231 and the application information 232 stored in the management information storage unit 13. As a result, the management information storage unit 13 stores available proxy processes and application information.

  Note that communication between the proxy process 11 and the proxy process 21 may be realized by, for example, RPC (Remote Procedure Call), RMI (Remote Method Invocation), or the like. In that case, the process information 131 and the process information 231 may be managed by including parameters required for RPC or RMI.

  The application 121 and the application 122 are application software that realizes the service, and are activated by the proxy process 11. Further, since the application 121 and the application 122 have the same function, they can be distributed and executed.

  The configuration of the application server 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The terminal 50 is a client terminal that is a general-purpose computer system connected to the network 40. The terminal 50 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and a nonvolatile storage device as configurations not shown. In the terminal 50, the CPU reads and executes the OS and WEB browser program stored in the RAM, ROM, or nonvolatile storage device. Thereby, the terminal 50 can transmit a service provision request to the Web server 30 and receive the execution results of the plurality of applications described above.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the application server 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The application server 20 has the same configuration as that shown in FIG. The application server 10 includes a CPU 14, a communication unit 15, a memory 16, and a nonvolatile storage device 17.

  The memory 16 corresponds to the management information storage unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 and is a volatile storage device that stores management information such as a process information table 161 and an application information table 162. The memory 16 stores an OS, a proxy process program 171 and an application program 172 as components not shown. The memory 16 may be a volatile storage device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of management information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The process information table 161 is a storage area for managing the process information 131 of FIG. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the process information table 161. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the process information table 161 includes an attribute indicating an ID that is identification information of a proxy process and an attribute indicating an IP address of an application server on which the proxy process operates. As a result, the proxy process 11 can communicate with other proxy processes including the proxy process 21.

  The application information table 162 is a storage area for managing the application information 132 of FIG. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the application table. As shown in FIG. 3B, the application information table 162 includes an attribute indicating an ID that is identification information of an application and an attribute indicating an ID of a proxy process to which the application belongs, that is, managing the application. Composed. Thereby, the proxy process 11 can specify the ID of the proxy process to which each application belongs, and can request each proxy process to execute the application to which it belongs.

  The configurations of the process information table 161 and the application information table 162 are not limited to those in FIG. For example, the process information table 161 may further manage connection information required for RPC or RMI. The application information table 162 may be an attribute indicating the IP address of the application server on which the application is operating instead of the proxy process ID, and also manages various connection information for executing the application. May be.

  Returning to FIG. The hard disk 17 is a non-volatile storage device that stores a proxy process program 171 and an application program 172. The proxy process program 171 is an execution format program code (hereinafter referred to as an execution code) in which the processing of the proxy process 11 in FIG. 1 is described. The application program 172 is an execution code in which processing of the application 121 in FIG. 1 is described. Note that the memory 16 stores an OS, an execution code of the application 122, a setting parameter file for the proxy process program 171 and the application program 172, and the like as configurations not shown. The hard disk 17 may be a non-volatile storage device such as a flash memory.

  The control unit 14 controls various processes in the application server 10, that is, processes of various programs, access to the communication unit 15, the memory 16, the hard disk 17, and the like. The communication unit 15 performs communication such as data transmission / reception between the Web server 30 and the application server 20.

  FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing management information update processing by the proxy process. Here, the flow of initial registration of management information when the proxy process 11 is activated in the application server 10 while the proxy process 21 is operating in the application server 20 will be described.

  First, the proxy process 11 is activated in the application server 10 (S101). That is, the control unit 14 of the application server 10 reads the proxy process program 171 of the hard disk 17 into the memory 16. As a result, the application server 10 operates as the proxy process 11. At this time, only the process information 131 of the proxy process 11 is stored in the process information table 161, and only the application information 132 of the application 121 and the application 122 is stored in the application information table 162. Hereinafter, the process information table 161 and the application information table 162 will be described as the management information storage unit 13.

  Next, the proxy process 11 notifies the proxy process 21 of its own process information and application information of its own application server (S102). That is, the proxy process 11 reads out process information 131 that is its own process information and application information 132 that is its own application stored in the management information storage unit 13, and processes information 131 by multicast communication from the communication unit 15. And application information 132 is distributed. Here, since the application server 10 and the application server 20 are connected, the process information 131 and the application information 132 are transmitted from the application server 10 to the proxy process 21.

  Subsequently, the proxy process 21 registers the received process information 131 and application information 132 (S103). That is, the proxy process 21 receives the process information 131 and the application information 132 from the proxy process 11 and registers them in the management information storage unit 23. As a result, the proxy process 21 can request the proxy process 11 to execute the application 121 and the application 122.

  Thereafter, the proxy process 21 notifies the proxy process 11 of its own process information and application information of its own application server (S104). That is, the proxy process 21 refers to the process information 131 stored in the management information storage unit 23, and the process information 231 that is its own process information stored in the management information storage unit 23 and its own application Application information 232 is read, and process information 231 and application information 232 are transmitted to the proxy process 11.

  Then, the proxy process 11 registers the received process information 231 and application information 232 (S105). That is, the proxy process 11 receives the process information 231 and the application information 232 from the proxy process 21 and registers them in the management information storage unit 13. As a result, the proxy process 11 can request the proxy process 21 to execute the application 221 and the application 222.

  Note that steps S104 and S105 may be performed only when new process information is registered in step S103. Thereby, redundant communication can be omitted and communication cost can be reduced.

  In addition, after the processing of FIG. 4 is completed, when an application addition, replacement, or deletion update occurs due to maintenance work or failure handling in the application server 10, the update is performed in steps S102 and S103. By notifying only the application information, it is possible to update the application information from the proxy process 11 to the proxy process 21. The same applies when the application 121 or the application 122 is interrupted or resumed. Thereby, the application state management of the application server 10 becomes possible.

  In stopping the proxy process 11, immediately before the stop process of the proxy process 11, the proxy process 11 notifies the proxy process 21 that the process information 131 is stopped. It is also possible to manage the status of the proxy process by deleting the process information 131 from the unit 23.

  Further, as described above, the proxy server 21, the application 221, and the application 222 in the application server 20 can be managed by the same process.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing application execution processing by the proxy process. Here, it is assumed that the proxy process 11 receives a service provision request from the Web server 30. Further, it is assumed that the process information and application information are synchronized between the proxy process 11 and the proxy process 21 as shown in FIG.

  First, the proxy process 11 receives a service provision request from the Web server 30 (S11). Next, the proxy process 11 acquires application information and other process information based on the service provision request (S12). Specifically, the proxy process 11 acquires application information 132 and application information 232 stored in the application information table 162 from the memory 16. The proxy process 11 acquires the process information 231 from the proxy process ID corresponding to the application information 232.

  Thereafter, the proxy process 11 performs steps S13 and S14 in parallel. First, the proxy process 11 executes its own application (S13). That is, the proxy process 11 causes the application 121 and the application 122 to be executed in parallel based on the application information 132.

  The proxy process 11 requests execution of the application managed by another proxy process (S14). That is, the proxy process 11 transmits an execution request to the proxy process 21 based on the process information 231 so that the application 221 and the application 222 are executed in parallel based on the application information 232.

  In response to step S14, the proxy process 21 executes the application 221 and the application 222 in parallel based on the received application information 232. Then, the proxy process 21 returns the execution results of the application 221 and the application 222 to the proxy process 11.

  Thereafter, the proxy process 11 receives an execution result from each executed application (S15). That is, the proxy process 11 receives the execution results from the application 221 and the application 222, and receives the execution results of the application 221 and the application 222 through the proxy process 21.

  Then, the proxy process 11 aggregates the execution results and returns them to the Web server 30 (S16).

  As a result, the proxy process 11 and the proxy process 21 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention enable distributed execution of applications.

  As described above, the application service providing system 100 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention processes the service provision request by any one of the proxy process 11 and the proxy process 21 running on the application server 10 and the application server 20. be able to. In addition, since process information and application information can be synchronized between the proxy process 11 and the proxy process 21, even if another application server having the same configuration as the application server 10 is added, changed, or deleted, the system It can operate without stopping. Therefore, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, maintenance between a plurality of application servers can be facilitated while maintaining system availability.

Embodiment 2 of the Invention
Subsequently, an example of the application migration method according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be exemplified below. In the second embodiment of the present invention, as a modification of the application service providing system 100 illustrated in the first embodiment of the present invention, the application is executed in an application server that has an application executed in response to one service provision request. Even in the middle, it is an application migration method for migrating to another application server and continuously executing processing. For example, when a plurality of different applications are executed in parallel on a plurality of application servers in response to one service provision request, the application executed on one application server is not always introduced in advance on the other application server. Absent. In that case, the processing of the application being executed cannot be continued simply by introducing the application to the other application server. This is because internal information is generated on the memory when the application is executed in the application server. Here, the internal information is, for example, an internal variable at the time of execution of the application, data to be temporarily stored, an input value that is different for each activation such as a session ID at the time of activation of the application, or the like. Therefore, Embodiment 2 of the present invention shows a method of migrating to another application server including internal information generated on a memory when executing an application while ensuring system availability.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the application service providing system 200 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the application service providing system 200, the application server 10 and the application server 20 are changed to a migration source application server 10a and a migration destination application server 20a as compared to FIG. The migration source application server 10 a includes an application 123 and a migration unit 18, and the migration destination application server 20 a includes an application 223 and a migration unit 28. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. Only the differences from FIG. 1 will be described below.

  The application 123 is application software having a function different from that of the application 223. However, the application 123 and the application 223 read and execute the internal information output file when there is an internal information output file in which the internal information in the execution state on the memory of the application is output as a file when starting up. Is possible. In addition, the application 123 and the application 223 can receive a process interruption instruction and output the internal information on the memory at the time of interruption to a file.

  The application 123 is activated by the proxy process 11, and the application information 132 is information related to the application 123 here. Similarly, the application 223 is activated by the proxy process 21, and the application information 232 is information related to the application 223 here. The number of applications running on the migration source application server 10a and the migration destination application server 20a is not limited to this.

  The migration unit 18 performs a process of transmitting the execution code, setting parameter file, and internal information file of the application 123 to the migration destination application server 20a, and a process of notifying the proxy process 11 that the application 123 has been suspended or resumed. Application software. The migration unit 28 is application software that performs a process of receiving various information transmitted from the migration unit 18 and a notification process similar to that of the migration unit 18. The transfer means 18 and the transfer means 28 may be application software having the same function.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the application server 10a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the application server 20a is the same as that shown in FIG. The migration source application server 10a is obtained by replacing the memory 16 and the hard disk 17 with the memory 16a and the hard disk 17a as compared with the application server 10 of FIG. Other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG. Only the differences from FIG. 2 will be described below.

  Compared with the memory 16, the memory 16 a is a volatile storage device that further stores an execution code 163, a parameter 164, and internal information 165 being executed. The hard disk 17a is a non-volatile storage device that stores the parameter file 173, the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption, and the migration program 175, as compared with the hard disk 17, with the application program 172 replaced with the application program 172a. is there.

  The application program 172a is an execution code describing the processing of the application 123 in FIG. The parameter file 173 is a file in which a set of setting values to be input when the application program 172a is started is described. The application program 172 a and the parameter file 173 are read from the hard disk 17 a by the control unit 14, stored in the memory 16 a as the execution code 163 and the parameter 164, and executed as the application 123. At this time, by executing the application 123, internal information 165 being executed indicating the execution state of the application 123 is generated in the memory 16a. The internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption is a file in which internal information 165 being executed when the application 123 is interrupted is output from the memory 16a to the hard disk 17a.

  The migration program 175 is an execution code describing the processing of the migration means 18 in FIG. The migration program 175 is executed as the migration means 18 by being read from the hard disk 17a by the control unit 14 and stored in the memory 16a.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing application processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Although the application 123 executed in the migration source application server 10a is illustrated here, the same processing is performed for the application 223 executed in the migration destination application server 20a.

  First, the application 123 receives as input the parameter file 173 and the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption (S21). In other words, the control unit 14 starts up as the application 123 by reading the application program 172a from the hard disk 17a and storing it in the memory 16a. Then, the application 123 receives the parameter file 173 stored in the hard disk 17a and the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption as input, and performs an initialization process. If the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption does not exist in the hard disk 17a, the application 123 performs initial processing using default values included in the parameter file 173.

  Next, the application 123 executes processing of the main application (S22). Note that the processing content of step S22 differs for each application.

  Thereafter, the application 123 confirms whether or not there is an interruption instruction for interrupting the processing (S23). That is, the application 123 includes an interface that accepts an input of an interruption instruction from the outside, and confirms the presence or absence of the interruption instruction at an arbitrary timing. If it is determined that there is no interruption instruction, the process returns to step S22. If it is determined that there is an interruption instruction, the process proceeds to step S24.

  The application 123 interrupts the process (S24). For example, an interrupt is generated for the process being executed by the proxy process 11, and the process is interrupted.

  Thereafter, the application 123 outputs the internal information at the time of interruption as a file (S25). That is, the application 123 reads the internal information 165 being executed stored in the memory 16a, and stores it in the hard disk 17a as an internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption.

  FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an application migration method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Here, an example in which the migration unit 18 and the migration unit 28 migrate the application 123 being executed on the migration source application server 10a to the migration destination application server 20a will be described.

  First, the migration unit 18 transmits the application program 172a and the parameter file 173 to the migration unit 28 (S201). In other words, the migration unit 18 reads the execution code of the application 123, the application program 172a that is a parameter, and the parameter file 173 from the hard disk 17a while the application 123 is being executed, and transfers the communication unit 15 to the migration destination application server 20a. Send. At this time, in the migration destination application server 20a, the migration unit 28 receives the application program 172a and the parameter file 173, and stores them in the hard disk (not shown) in the migration destination application server 20a.

  Next, the migration unit 18 gives an interruption instruction to the running application 123 (S202). At this time, the application 123 is determined to have an interruption instruction in step S23 of FIG. 8, and the processing of the application 123 is interrupted in step S24. As a result, the internal information 165 being executed on the memory 16a is not updated.

  Then, the migration unit 18 notifies the proxy process 11 that the processing of the application 123 has been interrupted (S203). At this time, the proxy process 11 updates the application information 132 stored in the management information storage unit 13. Therefore, the proxy process 11 does not execute the application 123 in response to subsequent service provision requests. Further, the proxy process 11 notifies the updated application information 132 to other proxy processes. Thus, in subsequent service provision requests, even if a proxy process other than the proxy process 11 serves as a window, it is transmitted that the application 123 cannot be executed on the migration source application server 10a. Do not come to process 11.

  Further, the application 123 saves the internal information of the application 123 at the time of interruption to the hard disk 17a (S204). That is, as in step S25 of FIG. 8, the application 123 stores the internal information 165 being executed stored in the memory 16a as the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption in the hard disk 17a. Note that steps S203 and S204 may be executed in parallel.

  Thereafter, the migration unit 18 transmits the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption to the migration unit 28 (S205). That is, the migration unit 18 reads the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption, which is internal information of the application 123, from the hard disk 17a in the state after the application 123 is interrupted, and transmits it from the communication unit 15 to the destination application server 20a. At this time, in the migration destination application server 20a, the migration means 28 receives the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption and stores it in the hard disk in the migration destination application server 20a. As a result, the execution code, parameters, and internal information for executing the application 123 are acquired in the migration destination application server 20a.

  Then, the migration unit 28 resumes execution of the application based on the internal information (S206). That is, the application 123 is activated in the migration destination application server 20a in the same manner as in step S21 in FIG. At this time, the internal information output file 174 at the time of interruption corresponding to the internal information 165 being executed in the memory 16a at the time of interruption in the migration source application server 10a is read and resumed from the processing at the time of interruption.

  Finally, the migration unit 28 notifies the proxy process 21 that the processing of the application 123 has been resumed (S207). At this time, the proxy process 21 updates the application information 132 stored in the management information storage unit 23. Therefore, the proxy process 21 can execute the application 123 in response to a subsequent service provision request. In addition, the proxy process 21 notifies the updated application information 132 to other proxy processes. Since the proxy process that has become the window for subsequent service provision requests is also informed that the application 123 can be executed in the migration destination application server 20a, an execution request for the application 123 is sent to the proxy process 21. .

  As described above, by the application migration method according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the interruption of the process of the application 123 can be set to the period of steps S202 to S206 in FIG.

  Generally, an execution code, parameters, and internal information exist as an execution environment of an application. Among them, the application program 172a that is an execution code and the parameter file 173 that is a parameter are already stored in the hard disk 17a before the application 123 is started, and are not updated in normal execution. The internal information 165 being executed, which is internal information, is generated and updated on the memory 16a in normal execution, and is deleted from the memory 16a and not left after the execution of the application 123 is completed. However, since it is necessary as the execution state of the application 123, it is necessary to migrate together in order to migrate the application 123 being executed.

  Therefore, in order to migrate while continuing the processing of the application 123 being executed, it is necessary to migrate with the execution code 163, the parameter 164, and the internal information 165 being executed as a set. Further, the internal information 165 being executed cannot be confirmed unless the application 123 is interrupted. Therefore, if the application 123 is interrupted, it is necessary to output the internal information 165 being executed as a file and transmit them together. As a result, the transmission time becomes longer, the system interruption time becomes longer, and the availability becomes lower.

  Therefore, the application program 172a and the parameter file 173 that are not changed even during the execution of the application 123 are transmitted by the migration unit 18 before the application 123 is interrupted, as shown in step S201 of FIG. In addition, as for the internal information 165 being executed for which the data contents are not determined until after the interruption of the application 123, as shown in steps 202 to S205 in FIG. A file is output from the memory 16a to the hard disk 17a and then transmitted. As a result, the transmission time can be shortened compared to transmitting the execution code, the parameter, and the internal information together. That is, the interruption time of the application can be minimized.

  Further, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary to use an expensive RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) disk or a dedicated high-speed network, and the system availability can be maintained. Therefore, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, maintenance between a plurality of application servers can be facilitated while maintaining system availability.

Other Embodiments of the Invention
In the application service providing system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, each application server has an equivalent function, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, for an application server other than the application server that executes the window proxy process serving as the window, a function for receiving an execution request from the window proxy process and executing its own application and its application information to the proxy process There may be a plurality of servers including subordinate proxy processes having a function of notifying. In this case, the addition and deletion of the server can be managed by the window proxy process, and it is possible to flexibly add servers with subordinate proxy processes, and maintain the availability of the system while maintaining the availability of the system. Maintenance can be facilitated.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention described above.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the application service provision system 100 concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the application server 10 concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the management information concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the structural example of a process table. (B) is a figure which shows the structural example of an application table. It is a sequence diagram which shows the update process of the management information by a proxy process. It is a flowchart figure which shows the application execution process by a proxy process. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the application service provision system 200 concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the application server 10a concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process of the application program concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the application transfer method concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Application service provision system 10 Application server 11 Proxy process 121 Application 122 Application 13 Management information storage part 131 Process information 132 Application information 14 Control part 15 Communication part 16 Memory 161 Process information table 162 Application information table 17 Hard disk 171 Proxy process program 172 Application Program 20 Application server 21 Proxy process 221 Application 222 Application 23 Management information storage unit 231 Process information 232 Application information 30 Web server 40 Network 50 Terminal 200 Application service providing system 10a Migration source application server 123 Application 18 Migration means 20a Destination application server 223 Application 28 Migration means 16a Memory 163 Execution code 164 Parameter 165 Internal information being executed 17a Hard disk 172a Application program 173 Parameter file 174 Internal information output file 175 migration program

Claims (19)

An application service providing system that provides a service provision request by executing a first application by a first application server and a second application by a second application server in response to a service provision request via a network. There,
The first application server is
A management information storage unit for storing application information related to the first application and the second application;
A first proxy process that receives the provision request on behalf of the first application server and the second application server, and executes the first application and the second application;
The first proxy process is:
Registration means for receiving application information related to the second application from the second application server and registering it in the management information storage unit;
Execution request means for receiving the provision request and requesting the second application server to execute the second application based on application information relating to the second application stored in the management information storage unit; ,
The second application server is
Management information transmitting means for transmitting application information related to the second application to the first application server;
An application service providing system comprising: execution means for executing the second application based on a request from the execution request means. The second application server is
A second proxy process that receives the provision request on behalf of the first application server and the second application server, and causes the execution means to execute the first application and the second application;
The management information transmitting means transmits process information related to the second proxy process to the first proxy process,
The registration means registers the process information received from the second proxy process in the management information storage unit,
The execution request unit refers to the process information stored in the management information storage unit, and requests the second proxy process to execute the second application. Application service providing system.   When new process information is registered by the registration unit, the first proxy process sends process information related to the first proxy process and application information related to the first application to the second proxy process. The application service providing system according to claim 2, wherein transmission is performed. The first proxy process is:
Update means for updating application information related to the first application or the second application in the management information storage unit when receiving a notification that the first application or the second application is activated or interrupted In addition,
The application information related to the first application is updated by the updating means, and the updated application information stored in the management information storage unit is transmitted to the second proxy process. Item 4. The application service providing system according to Item 3.   The execution request unit, when receiving the provision request, causes the first application to be executed based on application information related to the first application stored in the management information storage unit. The application service providing system according to any one of 1 to 4. The first application server is
An application information storage unit that stores an execution code of the first application and a setting parameter;
First transmission means for obtaining an execution code and a setting parameter of the first application from the application information storage unit and transmitting them to the second application server before interrupting the processing of the first application; ,
Second transmission means for transmitting execution state information indicating an execution state of the first application to the second application server after interrupting the processing of the first application;
The second application server is
The execution code and the setting parameter are received from the first transmission unit, the execution state information is received from the second transmission unit, and the processing of the first application is resumed based on the execution state information. The application service providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: a process resuming unit. An application service providing system for providing a service by executing an application with a first application server and a second application server in response to a service provision request via a network,
The first application server is
An application information storage unit that stores an execution code of the application and setting parameters;
Before interrupting the processing of the application, first transmission means for acquiring the execution code of the application and setting parameters from the application information storage unit, and transmitting to the second application server;
And second transmission means for transmitting execution state information indicating an execution state of the application to the second application server after interrupting the processing of the application,
The second application server is
Process resumption of receiving the execution code and the setting parameter from the first transmission unit, receiving the execution state information from the second transmission unit, and resuming processing of the application based on the execution state information Means for providing an application service. The first application server is
A first proxy process that manages execution of the application;
An interruption notification means for notifying the first proxy process that the processing of the application has been interrupted;
The second application server is
A second proxy process that manages execution of the application;
The application service providing system according to claim 7, further comprising: restart notification means for notifying the second proxy process that the processing of the application has been restarted by the processing restarting means. The first application server is
After interrupting the processing of the application, further comprising execution state information storage means for storing the execution state information of the application in the application information storage unit,
The second transmission means acquires the execution state information of the application stored by the execution state information storage means from the application information storage unit, and transmits it to the second application server. The application service providing system according to claim 7 or 8.   10. The application service providing system according to claim 7, wherein the first transmission unit is executed in response to an instruction to migrate the application to the second application server. 11. . An application service providing method for providing a service by a first application server executing a first application and a second application server executing a second application in response to a service provision request via a network. There,
A management information transmission step of transmitting application information related to the second application from the second application server to the first application server;
In the first application server, a registration step of receiving application information related to the second application transmitted in the transmitting step and registering the application information in a management information storage unit;
The first application server receives the provision request on behalf of the first application server and the second application server, and stores application information related to the second application stored in the management information storage unit. An execution requesting step for requesting the second application server to execute the second application based on the second application server,
An application service providing method comprising: an execution step of executing the second application based on a request by the execution request step in the second application server. The management information transmission step further transmits process information related to a proxy process that causes the execution unit to execute the second application in the second application server,
The registration step receives process information related to the proxy process, registers the process information in the management information storage unit,
12. The application service according to claim 11, wherein the execution requesting step refers to the process information stored in the management information storage unit and requests the proxy process to execute the second application. How to provide.   When new process information is registered by the registration step, process information relating to a proxy process for executing the first application in the first application server stored in the management information storage unit, and the first The application service providing method according to claim 12, further comprising a transmission step of transmitting application information related to the application. An update step of updating application information related to the first application or the second application in the management information storage unit when the notification that the first application or the second application is activated or interrupted is received. In addition,
The transmission step transmits the updated application information stored in the management information storage unit when application information related to the first application is updated by the updating step. Application service providing method described in 1.   The execution requesting step causes the first application server to execute the first application based on application information related to the first application stored in the management information storage unit when the provision request is received by the first application server. 15. The application service providing method according to claim 11, wherein the application service is provided. An application migration method in an application service providing system for providing a service by executing an application by a first application server and a second application server in response to a service provision request via a network,
A first transmission step of transmitting the execution code of the application and setting parameters to the second application server before interrupting the processing of the application;
A second transmission step of transmitting execution state information indicating an execution state of the application to the second application server after interrupting the processing of the application;
Process resumption of receiving the execution code and the setting parameter from the first transmission step, receiving the execution state information from the second transmission step, and resuming processing of the application based on the execution state information And an application migration method comprising steps. An interruption notification step of notifying the proxy process that manages the execution of the application in the first application server that the processing of the application has been interrupted;
The application transition according to claim 16, further comprising: a restart notifying unit that notifies the proxy process that manages the execution of the application in the second application server that the processing of the application has been restarted by the process restarting step. Method. An execution state information storage step of storing the execution state information of the application in the application information storage unit after interrupting the processing of the application;
In the second transmission step, the execution state information of the application stored in the execution state information storage step is acquired from the application information storage unit and transmitted to the second application server. The application migration method according to claim 16 or 17.   The application migration method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the first transmission step is executed in response to an instruction to migrate the application to the second application server.

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