U.S. patent application number 13/091335 was filed with the patent office on 2011-10-27 for methods and systems for execution of tenant code in an on-demand service environment including utilization of shared resources and inline governor limit enforcement.
This patent application is currently assigned to SALESFORCE.COM. Invention is credited to Gregory D. Fee, William J. Gallagher.
Application Number | 20110265069 13/091335 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44816766 |
Filed Date | 2011-10-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110265069 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fee; Gregory D. ; et
al. |
October 27, 2011 |
METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR EXECUTION OF TENANT CODE IN AN ON-DEMAND
SERVICE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING UTILIZATION OF SHARED RESOURCES AND
INLINE GOVERNOR LIMIT ENFORCEMENT
Abstract
A method for evaluating bytecode in an on-demand service
environment. A request to compile source code is received in a
multitenant database environment. One or more limit enforcement
mechanisms is/are inserted into the source code to monitor
utilization of one or more corresponding resources within the
multitenant database environment. The source code is compiled to
generate executable code. The executable code is executed within
the multitenant database environment. Resource utilization is
evaluated for the one or more resources in response to executing
code corresponding to at least one of the limit enforcement
mechanisms.
Inventors: |
Fee; Gregory D.; (Seattle,
WA) ; Gallagher; William J.; (Howard, PA) |
Assignee: |
SALESFORCE.COM
San Francisco
CA
|
Family ID: |
44816766 |
Appl. No.: |
13/091335 |
Filed: |
April 21, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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61326385 |
Apr 21, 2010 |
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61326368 |
Apr 21, 2010 |
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61326377 |
Apr 21, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
717/151 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 8/41 20130101; G06F
9/5027 20130101; G06F 12/0866 20130101; G06F 12/0875 20130101; G06F
2209/549 20130101; G06F 2212/45 20130101; G06F 2212/465 20130101;
G06F 16/245 20190101; G06F 12/0811 20130101; G06F 16/172
20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
717/151 |
International
Class: |
G06F 9/45 20060101
G06F009/45 |
Claims
1. A method for evaluating bytecode in an on-demand service
environment, the method comprising: receiving a request to compile
source code in a multitenant database environment; wherein the
multitenant database stores data for multiple client entities each
identified by a tenant identifier (ID) and the user is one of one
or more users associated with the tenant ID, wherein users of each
client entity can only access data identified by a tenant ID
associated with the respective client entity, and wherein the
multitenant database is a hosted database provided by an entity
separate from the client entities, and provides on-demand database
service to the client entities; inserting within the source code
one or more limit enforcement mechanisms to monitor utilization of
one or more corresponding resources within the multitenant database
environment; compiling the source code to generate executable code;
executing the executable code within the multitenant database
environment; evaluating resource utilization for the one or more
resources in response to executing code corresponding to at least
one of the limit enforcement mechanisms.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one limit enforcement
mechanism comprises a synchronous governor mechanism.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the synchronous governor mechanism
monitors at least one of a processor usage, a memory usage and a
bandwidth utilization.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one limit enforcement
mechanism comprises an interrupt-based governor mechanism.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the interrupt-based governor
mechanism monitors at least one of a processor usage, a memory
usage and a bandwidth utilization.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism
comprises at least a self-incrementing/decrementing counter.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism is
triggered during execution of bytecode.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism
causes, in response to a pre-selected threshold being exceeded,
execution of the code.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism
causes, in response to a pre-selected threshold being exceeded,
tearing down of the code structure.
10. An article comprising a computer-readable medium having stored
thereon instructions that, when executed, cause one or more
processors to evaluate bytecode in an on-demand service environment
by: receiving a request to compile source code in a multitenant
database environment; wherein the multitenant database stores data
for multiple client entities each identified by a tenant identifier
(ID) and the user is one of one or more users associated with the
tenant ID, wherein users of each client entity can only access data
identified by a tenant ID associated with the respective client
entity, and wherein the multitenant database is a hosted database
provided by an entity separate from the client entities, and
provides on-demand database service to the client entities;
inserting within the source code one or more limit enforcement
mechanisms to monitor utilization of one or more corresponding
resources within the multitenant database environment; compiling
the source code to generate executable code; executing the
executable code within the multitenant database environment;
evaluating resource utilization for the one or more resources in
response to executing code corresponding to at least one of the
limit enforcement mechanisms.
11. The article of claim 10 wherein the at least one limit
enforcement mechanism comprises a synchronous governor
mechanism.
12. The article of claim 11 wherein the synchronous governor
mechanism monitors at least one of a processor usage, a memory
usage and a bandwidth utilization.
13. The article of claim 10 wherein the at least one limit
enforcement mechanism comprises an interrupt-based governor
mechanism.
14. The article of claim 13 wherein the interrupt-based governor
mechanism monitors at least one of a processor usage, a memory
usage and a bandwidth utilization.
15. The article of claim 10 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism
comprises at least a self-incrementing/decrementing counter.
16. The article of claim 10 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism
is triggered during execution of bytecode.
17. The article of claim 10 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism
causes, in response to a pre-selected threshold being exceeded,
execution of the code.
18. The article of claim 10 wherein the limit enforcement mechanism
causes, in response to a pre-selected threshold being exceeded,
tearing down of the code structure.
19. An apparatus for evaluating bytecode in an on-demand service
environment, the method comprising: means for receiving a request
to compile source code in a multitenant database environment;
wherein the multitenant database stores data for multiple client
entities each identified by a tenant identifier (ID) and the user
is one of one or more users associated with the tenant ID, wherein
users of each client entity can only access data identified by a
tenant ID associated with the respective client entity, and wherein
the multitenant database is a hosted database provided by an entity
separate from the client entities, and provides on-demand database
service to the client entities; means for inserting within the
source code one or more limit enforcement mechanisms to monitor
utilization of one or more corresponding resources within the
multitenant database environment; means for compiling the source
code to generate executable code; means for executing the
executable code within the multitenant database environment; means
for evaluating resource utilization for the one or more resources
in response to executing code corresponding to at least one of the
limit enforcement mechanisms.
Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application 61/326,368 entitled METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR
EVALUATING BYTECODE IN AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING
EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF SHARED RESOURCES AND GOVERNOR LIMIT
ENFORCEMENT, by Gregory D. Fee and William J. Gallagher, filed Apr.
21, 2010 (Attorney Docket No. P001Z1), the entire contents of which
are incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application 61/326,377 entitled METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR
EVALUATING BYTECODE IN AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING
TRANSLATION OF APEX TO BYTECODE, by Gregory D. Fee and William J.
Gallagher, filed Apr. 21, 2010 (Attorney Docket No. P001Z2), the
entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0003] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application 61/326,385 entitled METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR
EVALUATING BYTECODE IN AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING
PROVIDING A MULTI-TENANT, MULTI-LANGUAGE RUNTIME ENVIRONMENTS AND
SYSTEMS, by Gregory D. Fee and William J. Gallagher, filed Apr. 21,
2010 (Attorney Docket No. P001Z3), the entire contents of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0004] The following commonly owned, co-pending United States
patents and patent applications, including the present application,
are related to each other. Each of the other patents/applications
are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety:
[0005] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/______, entitled
"METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR EVALUATING BYTECODE IN AN ON-DEMAND
SERVICE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING TRANSLATION OF APEX TO BYTECODE," by
Gregory D. Fee and William J. Gallagher, filed ______, 2010
(Attorney Docket No. P001-B); and
[0006] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/______, entitled
"METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR UTILIZING BYTECODE IN AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE
ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING PROVIDING A MULTI-TENANT, MULTI-LANGUAGE
RUNTIME ENVIRONMENTS AND SYSTEMS," by Gregory D. Fee and William J.
Gallagher, filed ______, 2010 (Attorney Docket No. P001-C).
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0007] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Embodiments described herein relate generally to evaluation
of bytecode in a database network system. More particularly,
embodiments described herein relate to efficient utilization of
shared resources for evaluation of bytecode.
BACKGROUND
[0009] The subject matter discussed in the background section
should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its
mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned
in the background section or associated with the subject matter of
the background section should not be assumed to have been
previously recognized. The subject matter in the background section
merely represents different approaches.
[0010] In conventional database systems, users access their data
resources in one logical database. A user of such a conventional
system typically retrieves data from and stores data on the system
using the user's own systems. A user system might remotely access
one of a plurality of server systems that might in turn access the
database system. Data retrieval from the system might include the
issuance of a query from the user system to the database system.
The database system might process the request for information
received in the query and send to the user system information
relevant to the request.
[0011] As an on demand platform, Apex.TM. provides a set of
features for building business applications including, for example,
data models and objects to manage data, a workflow engine for
managing collaboration of that data, a user interface model to
handle forms and other interactions, and a Web services application
programming interface (API) for programmatic access and
integration. These platform technologies support custom
applications and integrations, and allow developers to build
applications utilizing this on demand model.
[0012] Apex code is "on demand," running without requiring local
servers or software. Apex code may run in a multi-tenant
environment, providing the economic and manageability benefits of a
shared service while keeping the definition, data and behavior of
each customer's application separate from each other. For
developers, the combination of these capabilities with this
on-demand, multi-tenant delivery provides convenience, scalability,
and safety of an on-demand database, combined with the flexibility
and control of a procedural language.
[0013] Apex code provides a powerful and productive approach to
creating functionality and logic, allowing developers to focus on
elements specific to their application, while leaving other
elements to the platform's framework. Apex code is a successful and
innovative language in part because of its multi-tenant design.
Multitenancy allows Apex to scale to a large number of customers
with a relatively modest hardware investment. Apex code is
abstracted and governed, utilizing only as many resources as is
allowed.
[0014] Performance is a key requirement for any programming
language. It is especially important in a multitenant environment
where processor cycles spent interpreting code for a given customer
have a direct and negative impact on other customers sharing the
same environment. Thus, improving performance not only results in
quicker response times for users but also less impact on other
tenants in terms of the overall load on the system.
[0015] All languages tend to have some start-up cost associated
with getting code into a state where it can be executed. This cost
includes, for example, the processing required to load the
executable form of the code and to link it with dependent code.
Unlike most programming languages, however, start-up costs tend to
dominate in a multi-tenant language where the interpreter may be
called upon to execute code from any one of possibly thousands of
tenants. The ability to cache executable code to avoid the start-up
costs on subsequent requests is limited by the large working set.
In addition, the requests tend to be relatively short, making the
start-up cost a larger proportion of the overall request time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to
refer to like elements. Although the following figures depict
various examples, the invention is not limited to the examples
depicted in the figures.
[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a multitenant
environment;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a technique
for executing code in a multitenant environment;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an environment where an
on-demand database service might be used; and
[0020] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an environment where an
on-demand database service might be used.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] In the following description, numerous specific details are
set forth. However, embodiments may be practiced without these
specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits,
structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order
not to obscure the understanding of this description.
General Overview
[0022] As used herein, the term multi-tenant database system refers
to those systems in which various elements of hardware and software
of the database system may be shared by one or more customers. For
example, a given application server may simultaneously process
requests for a great number of customers, and a given database
table may store rows for a potentially much greater number of
customers.
[0023] In one embodiment, a multi-tenant database system utilizes
tenant identifiers (IDs) within a multi-tenant environment to allow
individual tenants to access their data while preserving the
integrity of other tenant's data. In one embodiment, the
multitenant database stores data for multiple client entities each
identified by a tenant ID having one of one or more users
associated with the tenant ID. Users of each of multiple client
entities can only access data identified by a tenant ID associated
with their respective client entity. In one embodiment, the
multitenant database is a hosted database provided by an entity
separate from the client entities, and provides on-demand and/or
real-time database service to the client entities.
[0024] As used herein, the term bytecode refers to various forms of
instruction sets to be executed by a software interpreter. Bytecode
instructions are also suitable for further compilation into machine
code. Bytecode instructions are processed by software, but have
similarities to hardware instructions. Virtual stack machines are
common execution environments. A bytecode program may be executed
by parsing instructions and directly executing the instructions,
one at a time. Some systems, called dynamic translators, or
"just-in-time" (JIT) compilers, translate bytecode into machine
language as necessary at runtime.
[0025] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a multitenant
environment. The multitenant environment includes multitenant
database 100, which includes multiple tenant data sets 110
corresponding to the tenants of the multitenant environment. In one
embodiment, each tenant has a unique tenant ID that is utilized to
control access to the multitenant environment. In one embodiment,
multitenant database 100 stores data for multiple client entities
each identified by a tenant ID having one of one or more users
associated with the tenant ID.
[0026] The users of each of the multiple client entities can only
access data identified by a tenant ID associated with the
respective client entity. In one embodiment, multitenant database
100 is a hosted database provided by an entity separate from the
client entities, and provides on-demand database service to the
client entities. Multitenant database 100 further includes shared
database engine 120 that provides the functionality of multitenant
database 100 in operating on tenant data sets 110.
[0027] The multitenant environment further includes multitenant
code 150, which includes multiple tenant logic sets 160
corresponding to the tenants of the multitenant environment. In one
embodiment, multitenant code 150 includes code for multiple client
entities each identified by the corresponding tenant IDs. The users
of each of the multiple client entities can only access code
identified by the tenant ID associated with the respective client
entity. In one embodiment, multitenant code 150 is stored in a
hosted database provided by an entity separate from the client
entities, and provides on-demand database service to the client
entities. Multitenant code 150 further includes shared execution
engine 170 that provides the ability to execute code represented by
multitenant code 150. In one embodiment, shared execution engine
170 is a virtual machine.
Execution Environment Overview
[0028] In one embodiment, Apex is implemented as an Abstract Syntax
Tree (AST)-based interpreter. Most compilers parse source code into
an intermediate AST form. An AST interpreter executes directly on
the generated AST in order to interpret the code. A full source
code parse is required to compute the AST. Thus, parsing the Apex
source code is expensive.
[0029] To reduce this parsing cost, the Apex runtime caches the
generated AST in memcached. The term "memcached" refers to a
general-purpose distributed memory caching system often used to
speed up dynamic database-driven applications or websites by
caching data and objects in system memory to reduce the number of
times an external data source (such as a database or API) must be
read. Memcached runs on Unix, Windows and MacOS.
[0030] Storage of the AST in memcached requires the AST to be
serialized into a byte stream. The AST is comprised of a set of
nodes, each representing some construct in the source code (e.g., a
while loop, an add expression, etc.). The set of nodes can become
fairly large, for example, it can be approximately 10.5 times the
source code size in terms of heap consumption. In addition, this
size consists of a very large number of very small Java.TM. or
other bytecode objects. Unfortunately, very large object graphs are
expensive to serialize using Java serialization techniques.
Deserializing the AST from memcached is the dominant cost in many
Apex requests. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems.
[0031] In one embodiment, the Apex interpreter serves as a level of
isolation between customer code and the host virtual machine (VM).
The Apex interpreter may enforce governor limits and brokers
requests to the underlying platform on behalf of customer code. In
one embodiment, the Apex interpreter is not a full-fledged Java
virtual machine. The Apex interpeter may delegate to the real Java
virtual machine (JVM) for various services. Garbage collection is
an example of this. In one embodiment, the Apex interpreter is also
able to delegate to the real JVM on a per type basis.
[0032] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a technique
for executing code in a multitenant environment. The techniques
described with respect to FIG. 2 can be implemented by the systems
and in the environments described herein as well as other systems
and environments that provide multitenant functionality.
[0033] A memory space is established, 210. In a multitenant
environment, a tenant may be provided with one or more secure
portions of memory to execute that tenant's code. In one
embodiment, the tenant ID is utilized to determine authorization to
access a memory location.
[0034] Code to be executed in the memory space is retrieved from
the multitenant database, 220. In one embodiment, the code is
source code that will be compiled. In another embodiment, the
retrieved code may be executable code, for example, bytecode. If
the retrieved code has not yet been compiled, the retrieved code is
compiled, 230.
[0035] In one embodiment, when the source code is compiled, one or
more resource limiter enforcement (or governor) mechanisms are
included in the code at compile time, 230. Multiple types of
limiting mechanisms can be included in the compiled code. By
providing limiting mechanisms in the compiled code, the resulting
compiled code can be self-limiting (or self-managing), which may
result in a more secure and/or more efficient system.
[0036] One type of limiting mechanism that may be utilized is a
synchronous governor. The synchronous governor may monitor one or
more performance characteristics (e.g., processor usage, memory
usage, bandwidth utilization) at pre-selected intervals.
[0037] Another type of limiting mechanism that may be utilized is
an interrupt-based governor. Interrupt-based governing results from
an interrupt trigger being placed in the compiled code. In response
to an interrupt, the interrupt service routine monitors one or more
performance characteristics (e.g., processor usage, memory usage,
bandwidth utilization). Interrupt-based governing allows the
evaluation to be performed outside the memory space established for
the code. This may result in a more secure enforcement.
[0038] Another type of limiting mechanism is use of a
self-incrementing counter that is incremented by and evaluated by
the compiled code during execution. That is, each time a monitored
operation is performed, a corresponding counter is incremented (or
decremented) to monitor use of an associated resource. Various
combinations of incrementing and/or decrementing counters can be
utilized as the code is executed to provide the desired level of
monitoring and enforcement.
[0039] The compiled code is executed, 240. During execution, one or
more limit triggers may be encountered, 250. The code is executed
until a limit trigger is encountered, 240, 250. The limit triggers
correspond to the monitoring mechanisms described above. For
example, during execution, an interrupt may be triggered by
execution of the bytecode. In response to the limit trigger, 250,
an evaluation is performed, 260, to determine if the monitored
characteristic is over the corresponding limit.
[0040] If the monitored characteristic is not over the
corresponding limit, 260, the code may be allowed to continue
execution, 240. If the monitored characteristic is over the
corresponding limit, 260, the execution of the code may be halted
or torn down, 270. Thus, source code may be compiled to provide
full or partial self monitoring of resource utilization that may
result in early termination of the code if designated resource
limits are exceeded.
System Overview
[0041] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an environment 310
wherein an on-demand database service might be used. Environment
310 may include user systems 312, network 314, system 316,
processor system 317, application platform 318, network interface
320, tenant data storage 322, system data storage 324, program code
326, and process space 328. In other embodiments, environment 310
may not have all of the components listed and/or may have other
elements instead of, or in addition to, those listed above.
[0042] Environment 310 is an environment in which an on-demand
database service exists. User system 312 may be any machine or
system that is used by a user to access a database user system. For
example, any of user systems 312 can be a handheld computing
device, a mobile phone, a laptop computer, a work station, and/or a
network of computing devices. As illustrated in FIG. 3 (and in more
detail in FIG. 4) user systems 312 might interact via a network 314
with an on-demand database service, which is system 316.
[0043] An on-demand database service, such as system 316, is a
database system that is made available to outside users that do not
need to necessarily be concerned with building and/or maintaining
the database system, but instead may be available for their use
when the users need the database system (e.g., on the demand of the
users). Some on-demand database services may store information from
one or more tenants stored into tables of a common database image
to form a multi-tenant database system (MTS). Accordingly,
"on-demand database service 316" and "system 316" will be used
interchangeably herein.
[0044] A database image may include one or more database objects. A
relational database management system (RDMS) or the equivalent may
execute storage and retrieval of information against the database
object(s). Application platform 318 may be a framework that allows
the applications of system 316 to run, such as the hardware and/or
software, e.g., the operating system. In an embodiment, on-demand
database service 316 may include an application platform 318 that
enables creation, managing and executing one or more applications
developed by the provider of the on-demand database service, users
accessing the on-demand database service via user systems 312, or
third party application developers accessing the on-demand database
service via user systems 312.
[0045] The users of user systems 312 may differ in their respective
capacities, and the capacity of a particular user system 312 might
be entirely determined by permissions (permission levels) for the
current user. For example, where a salesperson is using a
particular user system 312 to interact with system 316, that user
system has the capacities allotted to that salesperson. However,
while an administrator is using that user system to interact with
system 316, that user system has the capacities allotted to that
administrator. In systems with a hierarchical role model, users at
one permission level may have access to applications, data, and
database information accessible by a lower permission level user,
but may not have access to certain applications, database
information, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission
level. Thus, different users will have different capabilities with
regard to accessing and modifying application and database
information, depending on a user's security or permission
level.
[0046] Network 314 is any network or combination of networks of
devices that communicate with one another. For example, network 314
can be any one or any combination of a LAN (local area network),
WAN (wide area network), telephone network, wireless network,
point-to-point network, star network, token ring network, hub
network, or other appropriate configuration. As the most common
type of computer network in current use is a TCP/IP (Transfer
Control Protocol and Internet Protocol) network, such as the global
internetwork of networks often referred to as the "Internet" with a
capital "I," that network will be used in many of the examples
herein. However, it should be understood that the networks are not
so limited, although TCP/IP is a frequently implemented
protocol.
[0047] User systems 312 might communicate with system 316 using
TCP/IP and, at a higher network level, use other common Internet
protocols to communicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an
example where HTTP is used, user system 312 might include an HTTP
client commonly referred to as a "browser" for sending and
receiving HTTP messages to and from an HTTP server at system 316.
Such an HTTP server might be implemented as the sole network
interface between system 316 and network 314, but other techniques
might be used as well or instead. In some implementations, the
interface between system 316 and network 314 includes load sharing
functionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors to
balance loads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a
plurality of servers. At least as for the users that are accessing
that server, each of the plurality of servers has access to the
MTS' data; however, other alternative configurations may be used
instead.
[0048] In one embodiment, system 316, shown in FIG. 3, implements a
web-based customer relationship management (CRM) system. For
example, in one embodiment, system 316 includes application servers
configured to implement and execute CRM software applications as
well as provide related data, code, forms, webpages and other
information to and from user systems 312 and to store to, and
retrieve from, a database system related data, objects, and Webpage
content.
[0049] With a multi-tenant system, data for multiple tenants may be
stored in the same physical database object, however, tenant data
typically is arranged so that data of one tenant is kept logically
separate from that of other tenants so that one tenant does not
have access to another tenant's data, unless such data is expressly
shared. In certain embodiments, system 316 implements applications
other than, or in addition to, a CRM application. For example,
system 16 may provide tenant access to multiple hosted (standard
and custom) applications, including a CRM application. User (or
third party developer) applications, which may or may not include
CRM, may be supported by the application platform 318, which
manages creation, storage of the applications into one or more
database objects and executing of the applications in a virtual
machine in the process space of the system 316.
[0050] One arrangement for elements of system 316 is shown in FIG.
3, including a network interface 320, application platform 318,
tenant data storage 322 for tenant data 323, system data storage
324 for system data 325 accessible to system 316 and possibly
multiple tenants, program code 326 for implementing various
functions of system 316, and a process space 328 for executing MTS
system processes and tenant-specific processes, such as running
applications as part of an application hosting service. Additional
processes that may execute on system 316 include database indexing
processes.
[0051] Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 3 include
conventional, well-known elements that are explained only briefly
here. For example, each user system 312 could include a desktop
personal computer, workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any
wireless access protocol (WAP) enabled device or any other
computing device capable of interfacing directly or indirectly to
the Internet or other network connection. User system 312 typically
runs an HTTP client, e.g., a browsing program, such as Microsoft's
Internet Explorer browser, Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's
browser, or a WAP-enabled browser in the case of a cell phone, PDA
or other wireless device, or the like, allowing a user (e.g.,
subscriber of the multi-tenant database system) of user system 312
to access, process and view information, pages and applications
available to it from system 316 over network 314.
[0052] Each user system 312 also typically includes one or more
user interface devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, trackball,
touch pad, touch screen, pen or the like, for interacting with a
graphical user interface (GUI) provided by the browser on a display
(e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, etc.) in conjunction with
pages, forms, applications and other information provided by system
316 or other systems or servers. For example, the user interface
device can be used to access data and applications hosted by system
316, and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwise allow a
user to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented to a
user. As discussed above, embodiments are suitable for use with the
Internet, which refers to a specific global internetwork of
networks. However, it should be understood that other networks can
be used instead of the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet,
a virtual private network (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any
LAN or WAN or the like.
[0053] According to one embodiment, each user system 312 and all of
its components are operator configurable using applications, such
as a browser, including computer code run using a central
processing unit such as an Intel Pentium.RTM. processor or the
like. Similarly, system 316 (and additional instances of an MTS,
where more than one is present) and all of their components might
be operator configurable using application(s) including computer
code to run using a central processing unit such as processor
system 317, which may include an Intel Pentium.RTM. processor or
the like, and/or multiple processor units.
[0054] A computer program product embodiment includes a
machine-readable storage medium (media) having instructions stored
thereon/in which can be used to program a computer to perform any
of the processes of the embodiments described herein. Computer code
for operating and configuring system 316 to intercommunicate and to
process webpages, applications and other data and media content as
described herein are preferably downloaded and stored on a hard
disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof, may also be
stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory medium or
device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on any
media capable of storing program code, such as any type of rotating
media including floppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk
(DVD), compact disk (CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks,
and magnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular
memory ICs), or any type of media or device suitable for storing
instructions and/or data.
[0055] Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof,
may be transmitted and downloaded from a software source over a
transmission medium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another
server, as is well known, or transmitted over any other
conventional network connection as is well known (e.g., extranet,
VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communication medium and protocols (e.g.,
TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as are well known. It will
also be appreciated that computer code for implementing embodiments
described herein can be implemented in any programming language
that can be executed on a client system and/or server or server
system such as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup
language, Java.TM., JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting
language, such as VBScript, and many other programming languages as
are well known may be used. (Java.TM. is a trademark of Sun
Microsystems, Inc.).
[0056] According to one embodiment, each system 316 is configured
to provide webpages, forms, applications, data and media content to
user (client) systems 312 to support the access by user systems 312
as tenants of system 316. As such, system 316 provides security
mechanisms to keep each tenant's data separate unless the data is
shared. If more than one MTS is used, they may be located in close
proximity to one another (e.g., in a server farm located in a
single building or campus), or they may be distributed at locations
remote from one another (e.g., one or more servers located in city
A and one or more servers located in city B).
[0057] As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically
and/or physically connected servers distributed locally or across
one or more geographic locations. Additionally, the term "server"
is meant to include a computer system, including processing
hardware and process space(s), and an associated storage system and
database application (e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS). It should also be
understood that "server system" and "server" are often used
interchangeably herein. Similarly, the database object described
herein can be implemented as single databases, a distributed
database, a collection of distributed databases, a database with
redundant online or offline backups or other redundancies, etc.,
and might include a distributed database or storage network and
associated processing intelligence.
[0058] FIG. 4 also illustrates environment 310. However, in FIG. 4
elements of system 316 and various interconnections in an
embodiment are further illustrated. FIG. 4 shows that user system
312 may include processor system 312A, memory system 312B, input
system 312C, and output system 312D. FIG. 4 shows network 314 and
system 316. FIG. 4 also shows that system 316 may include tenant
data storage 322, tenant data 323, system data storage 324, system
data 325, User Interface (UI) 430, Application Program Interface
(API) 432, PL/SOQL 434, save routines 436, application setup
mechanism 438, applications servers 400.sub.1-400.sub.N, system
process space 402, tenant process spaces 404, tenant management
process space 410, tenant storage area 412, user storage 414, and
application metadata 416. In other embodiments, environment 310 may
not have the same elements as those listed above and/or may have
other elements instead of, or in addition to, those listed
above.
[0059] User system 312, network 314, system 316, tenant data
storage 322, and system data storage 324 were discussed above in
FIG. 3. Regarding user system 312, processor system 312A may be any
combination of one or more processors. Memory system 312B may be
any combination of one or more memory devices, short term, and/or
long term memory. Input system 312C may be any combination of input
devices, such as one or more keyboards, mice, trackballs, scanners,
cameras, and/or interfaces to networks. Output system 312D may be
any combination of output devices, such as one or more monitors,
printers, and/or interfaces to networks.
[0060] As shown by FIG. 4, system 316 may include a network
interface 320 (of FIG. 3) implemented as a set of HTTP application
servers 400, an application platform 318, tenant data storage 322,
and system data storage 324. Also shown is system process space
402, including individual tenant process spaces 404 and a tenant
management process space 410. Each application server 400 may be
configured to tenant data storage 322 and the tenant data 323
therein, and system data storage 324 and the system data 325
therein to serve requests of user systems 312. The tenant data 323
might be divided into individual tenant storage areas 412, which
can be either a physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangement
of data. Within each tenant storage area 412, user storage 414 and
application metadata 416 might be similarly allocated for each
user. For example, a copy of a user's most recently used (MRU)
items might be stored to user storage 414. Similarly, a copy of MRU
items for an entire organization that is a tenant might be stored
to tenant storage area 412. A UI 430 provides a user interface and
an API 432 provides an application programmer interface to system
316 resident processes to users and/or developers at user systems
312. The tenant data and the system data may be stored in various
databases, such as one or more Oracle.TM. databases.
[0061] Application platform 318 includes an application setup
mechanism 438 that supports application developers' creation and
management of applications, which may be saved as metadata into
tenant data storage 322 by save routines 436 for execution by
subscribers as one or more tenant process spaces 404 managed by
tenant management process 410 for example. Invocations to such
applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 434 that provides a
programming language style interface extension to API 432. A
detailed description of some PL/SOQL language embodiments is
discussed in commonly owned co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent
Application 60/828,192 entitled, PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE METHOD AND
SYSTEM FOR EXTENDING APIS TO EXECUTE IN CONJUNCTION WITH DATABASE
APIS, by Craig Weissman, filed Oct. 4, 2006, which is incorporated
in its entirety herein for all purposes. Invocations to
applications may be detected by one or more system processes, which
manages retrieving application metadata 416 for the subscriber
making the invocation and executing the metadata as an application
in a virtual machine.
[0062] Each application server 400 may be communicably coupled to
database systems, e.g., having access to system data 325 and tenant
data 323, via a different network connection. For example, one
application server 400.sub.1 might be coupled via the network 314
(e.g., the Internet), another application server 400.sub.N-1 might
be coupled via a direct network link, and another application
server 400.sub.N might be coupled by yet a different network
connection. Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating between
application servers 400 and the database system. However, it will
be apparent to one skilled in the art that other transport
protocols may be used to optimize the system depending on the
network interconnect used.
[0063] In certain embodiments, each application server 400 is
configured to handle requests for any user associated with any
organization that is a tenant. Because it is desirable to be able
to add and remove application servers from the server pool at any
time for any reason, there is preferably no server affinity for a
user and/or organization to a specific application server 400. In
one embodiment, therefore, an interface system implementing a load
balancing function (e.g., an F5 Big-IP load balancer) is
communicably coupled between the application servers 400 and the
user systems 312 to distribute requests to the application servers
400. In one embodiment, the load balancer uses a least connections
algorithm to route user requests to the application servers 400.
Other examples of load balancing algorithms, such as round robin
and observed response time, also can be used. For example, in
certain embodiments, three consecutive requests from the same user
could hit three different application servers 400, and three
requests from different users could hit the same application server
400. In this manner, system 316 is multi-tenant, wherein system 316
handles storage of, and access to, different objects, data and
applications across disparate users and organizations.
[0064] As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that
employs a sales force where each salesperson uses system 316 to
manage their sales process. Thus, a user might maintain contact
data, leads data, customer follow-up data, performance data, goals
and progress data, etc., all applicable to that user's personal
sales process (e.g., in tenant data storage 322). In an example of
a MTS arrangement, since all of the data and the applications to
access, view, modify, report, transmit, calculate, etc., can be
maintained and accessed by a user system having nothing more than
network access, the user can manage his or her sales efforts and
cycles from any of many different user systems. For example, if a
salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internet
access in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates
as to that customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the
lobby.
[0065] While each user's data might be separate from other users'
data regardless of the employers of each user, some data might be
organization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users
or all of the users for a given organization that is a tenant.
Thus, there might be some data structures managed by system 316
that are allocated at the tenant level while other data structures
might be managed at the user level. Because an MTS might support
multiple tenants including possible competitors, the MTS should
have security protocols that keep data, applications, and
application use separate. Also, because many tenants may opt for
access to an MTS rather than maintain their own system, redundancy,
up-time, and backup are additional functions that may be
implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data and
tenant specific data, system 316 might also maintain system level
data usable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level
data might include industry reports, news, postings, and the like
that are sharable among tenants.
[0066] In certain embodiments, user systems 312 (which may be
client systems) communicate with application servers 400 to request
and update system-level and tenant-level data from system 316 that
may require sending one or more queries to tenant data storage 322
and/or system data storage 324. System 316 (e.g., an application
server 400 in system 316) automatically generates one or more SQL
statements (e.g., one or more SQL queries) that are designed to
access the desired information. System data storage 324 may
generate query plans to access the requested data from the
database.
[0067] Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of
objects, such as a set of logical tables, containing data fitted
into predefined categories. A "table" is one representation of a
data object, and may be used herein to simplify the conceptual
description of objects and custom objects. It should be understood
that "table" and "object" may be used interchangeably herein. Each
table generally contains one or more data categories logically
arranged as columns or fields in a viewable schema. Each row or
record of a table contains an instance of data for each category
defined by the fields. For example, a CRM database may include a
table that describes a customer with fields for basic contact
information such as name, address, phone number, fax number, etc.
Another table might describe a purchase order, including fields for
information such as customer, product, sale price, date, etc. In
some multi-tenant database systems, standard entity tables might be
provided for use by all tenants. For CRM database applications,
such standard entities might include tables for Account, Contact,
Lead, and Opportunity data, each containing pre-defined fields. It
should be understood that the word "entity" may also be used
interchangeably herein with "object" and "table".
[0068] In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be
allowed to create and store custom objects, or they may be allowed
to customize standard entities or objects, for example by creating
custom fields for standard objects, including custom index fields.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/817,161, filed Apr. 2, 2004,
entitled "Custom Entities and Fields in a Multi-Tenant Database
System", and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference,
teaches systems and methods for creating custom objects as well as
customizing standard objects in a multi-tenant database system. In
certain embodiments, for example, all custom entity data rows are
stored in a single multi-tenant physical table, which may contain
multiple logical tables per organization. It is transparent to
customers that their multiple "tables" are in fact stored in one
large table or that their data may be stored in the same table as
the data of other customers.
[0069] Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an
embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or
characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is
included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The
appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in
the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment.
[0070] While the invention has been described by way of example and
in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to be understood that
the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the
contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar
arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the
broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications
and similar arrangements.
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