Vmware, Inc.

Zeeshan Altaf Lokhandwala

Medhavi Dhawan

Maithem Munshed

Dahlia Malkhi

Michael Wei

Anny Martinez Manzanilla

Ragnar Edholm

Srinivas Neginhal

Rajneesh Bajpai

Cheng Zhang

Ming Wen

Vjekoslav Brajkovic

Jiaqi Chen

Roger Michoud

Saeed A Behnam

David Tsai

Certain embodiments described herein are directed to methods and systems for adding one or more nodes to a first cluster including a first node in a computer system. A method performed by the first node comprises receiving a first request from a second node to join the first cluster. The method also comprises retrieving a first cluster configuration associated with the first cluster from a distributed database through a first database server (DBS) and creating a second cluster configuration using the first cluster configuration and information received from the second node as part of the request. The method further comprises populating a first one or more local trust stores of a first one or more processes executing on the first node with a second one or more security certificates of a second one or more processes executing on the second node. The method further comprises writing the second cluster configuration to the distributed database and returning the second cluster configuration to the second node.

Methods and systems for securely and efficiently clustering distributed processes using a consistent database

A log unit provides a shared log for recording updates on data objects. Garbage collection is performed locally and in-place by the log unit. In a marking portion of the garbage collection process, the log unit identifies and marks log entries that record supersedable updates. In a deallocation portion of the process, the log unit deallocates at least portions of the marked log entries that contain supersedable updates.

In-place garbage collection of a sharded, replicated distributed state machine based on supersedable operations

Certain embodiments described relate to methods and systems for adding one or more nodes to a first cluster including a first node in a computer system. A method performed by the first node comprises retrieving a first cluster configuration associated with the first cluster from a distributed database through a first database server (DBS) and creating a second cluster configuration using the first cluster configuration and information received from a second node as part of a request to join the first cluster. The method further comprises populating a first one or more local trust stores of a first one or more processes executing on the first node with a second one or more security certificates of a second one or more processes executing on the second node. The method further comprises writing the second cluster configuration to the distributed database and returning the second cluster configuration to the second node.

A log unit provides a shared log for recording updates on data objects. Garbage collection is performed locally and in-place by the log unit. In a marking portion of the garbage collection process, the log unit identifies and marks log entries that record mergeable updates. In a deallocation portion of the process, the log unit merges one or more mergeable log entries and deallocates at least portions of the merged log entries.

In-place garbage collection of a sharded, replicated distributed state machine based on mergeable operations

Techniques for implementing dynamic timeout-based fault detection in a distributed system are provided. In one set of embodiments, a node of the distributed system can set a timeout interval to a minimum value and transmit poll messages to other nodes in the distributed system. The node can further wait for acknowledgement messages from all of the other nodes, where the acknowledgement messages are responsive to the poll messages, and can check whether it has received the acknowledgement messages from all of the other nodes within the timeout interval. If the node has failed to receive an acknowledgement message from at least one of the other nodes within the timeout interval and if the timeout interval is less than a maximum value, the node can increment the timeout interval by a delta value and can repeat the setting, the transmitting, the waiting, and the checking steps.

Dynamic timeout-based fault detection

A shared log in a distributed system provides for direct access to the most current data state of an object stored in the shared log. Directly accessing the data state of an object obviates the need for a client to replay all the transactions stored in the shared log made on the object.

Direct access to object state in a shared log

In accordance with disclosed embodiments, a shared log system includes a sequencer to verify transactions that comprise a source object and one or more members of the source object (source data objects), a target object and one or more members of the target object (target data objects), and a snapshot time reference. The sequencer verifies transaction using the snapshot time to determine whether the data states of the source data objects at the time of the snapshot time represent their most current data state in a shared log.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Zeeshan Altaf Lokhandwala