Fujitsu Intros New Messaging Technology for Server Load Distribution

Fujitsu (News - Alert) Laboratories Limited, a Tokyo-based provider of IT-based business solutions, recently unveiled a new messaging technology that can handle server load distribution even when there is increase in volume of terminals or applications running on the service delivery platform (SDP), according to the company

 

Varieties of network services (fixed-line services, mobile phone services, internet services, enterprise VPN services) are being used in the network world today. However, combining different services is a very difficult task.

 

Service delivery platforms (SDPs) are one approach to solve the above task/problem. In a SDP, software is made available as elements called as ‘service elements’ that implement common network functions - such as collection and distribution of data - across multiple network services. These service elements run on a common platform, which facilitates in combining different services into applications.

 

Generally, SDPs are made available via network service providers and carrier. With the help of SDPs, application service providers can reduce developmental volume as well as can develop applications, which link various services, faster and in an efficient way.

 

Fujitsu said that it has developed SDP-related technologies and has also developed data-storage technologies in the form of service elements that has the capability to gather and distribute real-time data (obtained on-site from people or objects through RFID tags or sensors).

 

However, when the number of terminals and sensors increase as well as variety of applications loaded increases using a SDP, there will be a bottleneck situation - created by the service elements. This weakens or stops the usability of services that are offered to application users. In order to address such a situation, server load is distributed and allocated.

 

The distribution of server load is done by allocating the service elements to multiple servers, and also through equal distribution of the messages that are exchanged between applications and terminals or sensors, to multiple servers. With conventional load distribution methods involving shared service elements (distributed over multiple servers communicating over various communications protocols), there is no guarantee that a server and service elements will remain linked between each protocol.

 

Keeping this in mind, Fujitsu came-up with a new technology for SDP messages by incorporating ‘terminal/application data-gathering mechanism’ and ‘message routing control mechanism’ in to it. These mechanisms facilitate sensors, terminals, and applications to allocate service elements (shared over different communication protocols to several servers) via load distribution, depending on the scale of the service.

 

The terminal/application data-gathering mechanism collects data that identifies each application or terminal (the identifier) as well as the correspondence information that specifies the server to which that service element has been allocated for load distribution.

 

The message routing control mechanism controls the access route to the service. This is done by setting the correspondence between the identifier (collected by the terminal/application data-gathering mechanism) and the server in advance - on the equipment that handles load distribution of the varying communication protocols. This will facilitate new terminal or application to access the service element on the appropriate server.