International Business Machines Corporation

Alfred Bundgaard Christensen

David Anthony Herr

John Andrew Aiken, Jr

Mark William McClintock

Wesley McMillan Devine

Roy Frank Brabson

Constantinos Kassimis

A TCP/IP socket extension may bind a single socket to more than one IP address. The socket API extension may allow a user to bind a socket to a list of IP addresses instead of a single IP address. Additional socket APIs may allow applications to bind an existing socket to one or more additional IP addresses. Bind-specific support may enhance a user's capability to specify one or more IPv4 addresses and/or IPv6 addresses or other addresses to bind to a generic server information handling system (IHS). The method may convert a generic server IHS into a bind-specific server IHS that accepts new connections over both the IPv4 and IPv6 network transports and/or other network transports without requiring changes to the server IHS. A modified TCP/IP stack may provide support for multiple sockets. The method may map multiple address/port/protocol tuples to the same socket.

Binding multiple addresses to a socket in a network system

Methods, systems and computer program products provide communications with a plurality of application instances using a plurality of communication protocol stacks and a single Internet Protocol (IP) address. A stack is established as a routing stack associated with the single IP address. Other stacks which are associated with the single IP address are defined as candidate target stacks and an identification of candidate target stacks and the routing stack is distributed to the stacks. The routing stack is notified when an application associated with a candidate target stack listens to a port of the IP address to establish a current actual target stack. A request to establish a connection to the IP address and the port of the IP address is received and a routing table entry corresponding to the current actual target stack is created to provide a routing path from the routing stack to the current actual target stack. Communications to the port of the IP address received by the routing stack are routed based on the routing table.

System having a single IP address associated with communication protocol stacks in a cluster of processing systems

Methods, systems and computer program products provide for transferring a virtual Internet Protocol address (VIPA) between communication protocol stacks including at least a first communication protocol stack and a second communication protocol stack. Ownership of the VIPA is established at the second communication protocol stack and connections to the first communication protocol stack utilizing the VIPA are maintained. TCP/IP messages for the connections to the first communication protocol stack are routed through the second communication protocol stack so as to non-disruptively move the VIPA from the first communication protocol stack to the second communication protocol stack.

Methods, systems and computer program products for non-disruptively transferring a virtual internet protocol address between communication protocol stacks

Cluster-wide port assignments in a workload distribution system in a cluster of data processing systems are provided such that a unique port may be provided for a socket. Establishing ports associated with workload distribution is also provided by allowing either enumerated ports and/or all ports of a common IP address to be associated with workload distribution. Workload distribution is provided in a cluster of data processing systems where a single IP address may be associated with a plurality of data processing systems and/or protocol stacks in the cluster of data processing systems and a port of the single IP address may be shared among multiple data processing systems and/or protocol stacks or may be unique among the plurality of data processing systems and/or protocol stacks.

Systems, method and computer program products for cluster workload distribution without preconfigured port identification by utilizing a port of multiple ports associated with a single IP address

Methods, systems and computer program products provide for recovery from a failure of a primary routing communication protocol stack which routes communications over connections to a virtual Internet Protocol address (VIPA) and at least one port associated with the VIPA to a plurality of other communication protocol stacks associated by the primary routing stack and with the VIPA and the at least one port. At least one backup routing communication protocol stack is identified. The backup routing stack stores an identification of stacks associated with the VIPA and the at least one port as candidate target stacks. Messages are received at the backup routing stack identifying stacks having application instances bound to the VIPA and listening on the at least one port as current actual target stacks. Connections to the VIPA and the at least one port for current actual target stacks are also identified and a routing table constructed from the received messages so as to provide routing path information to current actual target stacks associated with the connection. Messages on the connections to the VIPA and the at least one port are routed through the backup stack utilizing the constructed routing table.

Growing community of inventors

Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Alfred Bundgaard Christensen