Oracle International Corporation

Jonathan Creighton

Andrey Gusev

Alok Kumar Srivastava

Sameer Arun Joshi

Surojit Chatterjee

Raj Kumar

Raj K Kammend

David Brower

Sarat B Kakarla

Kannabran Viswanathan

Ashwinee Khaladkar

Suman R Bezawada

Carol L Colrain

Juan Tellez

Vinay Manivel

Ken Lee

Soo Huey Wong

Khethavath Param Singh

Sampath Ravindhran

A process that executes client software in a computer, hereinafter client process, starts execution of at least a portion of server software, hereinafter listener. The client process retrieves from the listener, an identifier of a port in the computer, at which the listener waits to receive one or more messages, which may contain commands. The client process connects to a server process in another computer and sends only to the server process, at least a command and client information that includes at least the port identifier of its listener. Any remote computer(s) that may receive and execute the command, use the client information to send back information related to the command, directly to the port identifier of the listener started by the client process. Any messages received at the listener's port identifier are processed, e.g. by displaying any output generated in execution of the command by the remote computer(s).

Sending a command with client information to allow any remote server to communicate directly with client

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for facilitating an upgrade of a cluster of servers in the presence of one or more inaccessible nodes in the cluster. During operation, the system upgrades a version of a distributed software program on each of a plurality of nodes in the cluster. The system may detect that one or more nodes of the cluster are inaccessible. The system continues to upgrade nodes in the cluster other than the one or more nodes that were detected to be inaccessible, in which upgrading involves installing and activating a newer version of the distributed software on the nodes being upgraded. The system then upgrades an acting version of the cluster.

Forcibly completing upgrade of distributed software in presence of failures

A method and apparatus for resource dispersion in a clusterware system is provided. The resource profiles for resources within a cluster of nodes are stored. Each resource profile includes attributes for a resource. One or more of the attributes in one of the resource profiles includes a dispersion dependency attribute that specifies that the resource is preferably not co-located with another resource. Resources are placed within the cluster based, at least in part, on the dispersion preference.

Dispersion dependency in oracle clusterware

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for facilitating an upgrade of a cluster of servers in the presence of one or more inaccessible nodes in the cluster. During operation, the system receives an instruction to upgrade an older version of a distributed software program installed on each of a plurality of nodes forming the cluster. The system installs and activates a newer version of software on a subset of the plurality of nodes, the subset having fewer nodes than the entire cluster. The system receives an instruction to forcibly upgrade the cluster. Subsequently, the system upgrades the cluster so that the subset of nodes operate with the newer version of software, in which each node remains a member of the cluster during the upgrade.

A method and computer-readable storage representing resources in a cluster by a plurality of attribute-value pairs that together are part of a 'resource profile,' in which each attribute-value pair defines all, or a portion of, a management policy that applies to the resource. A clusterware manager configures a resource according to the resource profile, and follows a resource profile syntax that specifies a runtime value for the resource in which an actual value is substituted at runtime.

Special values in oracle clusterware resource profiles

A cluster management system dynamically assigns a category to a server node based on the server node's attributes. The system can detect a change in value of a server attribute of a first server node. Then, in response to detecting the change in value of the server attribute, the system identifies a plurality of server attributes for the first server node, and dynamically assigns to the first server node a category that matches the server attributes. Further, the system can add the server node to a server pool that has a matching category with the server node.

Assigning server categories to server nodes in a heterogeneous cluster

A method and computer-readable storage representing resources in a cluster by a plurality of attribute-value pairs that together are part of a 'resource profile,' in which each attribute-value pair defines all, or a portion of, a management policy that applies to the resource. Included is a built-in resource type called a 'Local Resource' type. Local resources that are attached to the server are instantiated with a combination of the resource profile and values of the Local Resource type.

'Local resource' type as a way to automate management of infrastructure resources in oracle clusterware

A cluster management system can facilitate determining a response to a hypothetical event by a computer cluster. During operation, the system can receive a request for a policy outcome from a user, such that the request can indicate a hypothetical event within a computer cluster. Next, the system determines a cluster state that includes state information from a plurality of server nodes in the cluster. The system then generates a response plan to the hypothetical event based on the cluster state, without executing the response plan in the cluster. The response plan indicates actions that are to be performed by server nodes in the cluster in response to the hypothetical event. The system then provides the response plan to the user.

System and method for generating a response plan for a hypothetical event

A clusterware manager configures a resource according to resource attributes values specified by a resource profile. The resource profile conforms to a resource profile syntax that the clusterware manager is configured to interpret pursuant to clusterware manager software. The resource profile syntax prescribes a start dependency syntax defining a dependency between a first resource and a second resource in which the second resource must be in an online state before the first resource is started. The resource profile syntax further prescribes a stop dependency syntax defining a dependency between a first resource and a second resource in which the first resource is brought in an off-line state when the second resource leaves an online state.

Unidirectional resource and type dependencies in oracle clusterware

A clusterware manager on a cluster of nodes interprets a resource profile. The resource profile defines resource profile attributes. The attributes include at least one attribute that defines a cluster dependency based on resource type. The attribute does not identify any particular resource of that resource type. Dependencies between resources are managed based on the attribute that specifies the cluster dependency.

Dependency on a resource type

In an application executing in multiple computers connected by a network, an instance of the application is deleted from a group of instances that share a resource, such as a database. Specifically the to-be-deleted instance is shut down, followed by deleting connectivity between the to-be-deleted instance and the network, and then deleting an object of the to-be-deleted instance. Each of these acts is performed automatically without user input, once the user issues an instruction to delete the to-be-deleted instance.

Online instance deletion in a multi-instance computer system

A system and techniques are described for managing key-value pairs using an architecture that does not restrict its users to any specific platform or storage subsystem. According to one aspect of the invention, the repository is portable in that the architecture need not change based on the environment and platform in which the repository is used. Rather, the portion of the architecture that is platform-specific is limited to plug-ins at a storage abstraction layer of the repository. The plug-ins expose the same storage abstraction interface to the other layers of the repository, but are implemented to interact with different platforms and storage subsystems. Consequently, in response to being ported from one platform to another, the repository may simply change the plug-in to invoke for persistent storage operations.

Persistent key-value repository with a pluggable architecture to abstract physical storage

A composite resource is established that includes a plurality of members. Each of the members is capable of providing a comparable service. A coordinator monitors a state of each member of the composite resource. A component requests the service from the coordinator. The coordinator arranges for the service to be provided to the component by a particular member of the composite resource. When the particular member ceases to be active, the service is automatically provided to the component by another member in the composite resource. A state of the composite resource is maintained independently of the state of each member in the composite resource.

Real composite objects for providing high availability of resources on networked systems

A group of shared-storage resources are being maintained as replicas by the nodes of a cluster. Each node in the cluster maintains a set of pointers to the members of the group. As membership changes, the set of pointers should be changed accordingly. For various, reasons, the set of pointers of a node are not changed and may point to shared-storage resources that are no longer members of the group and/or not point to shared-storage resources that are members of the group. By recording a history of membership changes in the shared-storage resources, and comparing the recording to what a node thinks the shared resources should be, an incorrect set of pointers can be detected and corrective active undertaken.

Detecting and correcting node misconfiguration of information about the location of shared storage resources

A system and method for facilitating an automatic rolling upgrade of distributed software. In a set of computing devices (e.g., a cluster), each node executes the distributed program, but different nodes may operate any number of different versions of the program. During a rolling upgrade of the software, the nodes all operate according to a specified acting version of the software. A node attempting the join the cluster may be required to have a software version at least equal to the acting version. When all nodes have been upgraded to a version newer than the current acting version, the acting version is reset to the lowest software version installed on a node. The rolling upgrade completes automatically when all nodes run at a specified software version (e.g., the most recent) or have the same version installed.

Growing community of inventors

Oakland, CA, United States of America

Jonathan Creighton