JP2025141750A - Accounting system - Google Patents

Abstract

An accounting system capable of more reliably executing accounting processing is provided.
[Solution] The accounting system comprises a server 10 in a first cloud system 1 provided by a first platform provider and an auxiliary server 20 in a second cloud system 2 provided by a second platform provider different from the first platform provider, wherein the server 10 receives access from a client system 4 and executes accounting system processing, synchronizes databases for executing the accounting system processing between the server 10 and the auxiliary server 20, and switches to the auxiliary server 20 to execute the accounting system processing.
[Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an accounting system.

In a cloud system, multiple server computers are synchronized with each other, and if one server fails, processing is switched to another server. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a duplicated server system in which one of the duplicated server units acts as the main system and provides services to multiple terminals, while the other server unit acts as the secondary system.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-330814

One aspect is to provide an accounting system that can perform accounting processing more reliably.

In one aspect, the accounting system includes a server in a first cloud system provided by a first platform provider and an auxiliary server in a second cloud system provided by a second platform provider different from the first platform provider, and the server receives access from a client system to perform accounting system processing, synchronizes databases for performing the accounting system processing between the server and the auxiliary server, and switches to the auxiliary server to perform the accounting system processing.

On the one hand, accounting processing can be performed more reliably.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of an accounting system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a server. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the configuration of an operational environment and a standby environment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure executed by an accounting system. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of a subroutine of step S12. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of a subroutine of step S17.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof.
(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of an accounting system. In this embodiment, an accounting system is described that synchronizes data between clouds in a multi-cloud environment, selects one of the cloud environments, and executes accounting processing for online banking operations. The accounting system includes a first cloud system 1, a second cloud system 2, an administrator terminal 3, and client systems 4, 4, 4, etc. Each device is connected to a network N such as the Internet for communication.

The first cloud system 1 is a cloud system provided by a first platform provider and is composed of multiple servers 10, 10, 10... In this embodiment, Microsoft Azure (registered trademark) provided by Microsoft (registered trademark) Corporation is assumed as the first cloud system 1. As described below, in this embodiment, the first cloud system 1 functions as the main accounting system and performs various accounting processing for online banking operations.

In the following description, the first cloud system 1 will be referred to as the "operational environment 1."

For convenience, in Figure 1, each server 10 is illustrated as a different piece of hardware (server computer), but the servers 10, 10, 10, etc. may also be virtual machines virtually constructed on the same physical server. This also applies to the container platform 30 and quorum device 40 described below.

In addition to servers 10, operational environment 1 also includes a container platform 30 and a quorum device 40 (e.g., a server computer). The container platform 30 is a container (application execution platform) that executes applications related to online banking operations (e.g., deposit transactions, withdrawal transactions, etc. for savings accounts). The quorum device 40 is a computer that monitors the status of the databases of each server 10. The functions of each device will be described later.

The second cloud system 2 is a cloud system provided by a second platform provider different from the first platform provider, and is composed of multiple auxiliary servers 20, 20, 20.... In this embodiment, the second cloud system 2 is assumed to be Google Cloud Platform (registered trademark) provided by Google (registered trademark). In this embodiment, the second cloud system 2 functions as a backup accounting system, and performs accounting system processing in the event of a failure or other problem in the operational environment 1.

In the following description, the second cloud system 2 will be referred to as the "standby environment 2."

In addition, as with the operational environment 1, in the standby environment 2, each auxiliary server 20 may be a virtual machine built on the same physical server.

In addition, the standby environment 2 is equipped with a container base 50 and a quorum device 60, just like the operational environment 1.

Administrator terminal 3 is a terminal device operated by the administrator of this system, such as a personal computer. When this system receives a request to switch the execution environment from the administrator via administrator terminal 3, it switches the environment in which accounting processing is executed from operational environment 1 to standby environment 2.

Client system 4 is a client that receives online services related to banking operations. Client system 4 may be an internal bank system (e.g., deposit transactions for ordinary savings accounts, withdrawal transactions, etc.) or an external bank system (e.g., BaaS (Business as a Service), FinTech company services, etc.). This system receives access from client system 4 and performs accounting processing.

In this embodiment, we will explain an accounting system that performs online banking-related processing as an example, but this system may also be applied to systems that perform financial processing other than banking.

2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 10. The server 10 includes a control unit 11, a main memory unit 12, a communication unit 13, and an auxiliary memory unit .
The control unit 11 has one or more arithmetic processing devices such as a central processing unit (CPU), a micro-processing unit (MPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), etc., and performs various information processing, control processing, etc. by reading and executing a program P stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14. The main storage unit 12 is a temporary storage area such as a static random access memory (SRAM) or a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and temporarily stores data necessary for the control unit 11 to execute arithmetic processing. The communication unit 13 is a communication module for performing communication-related processing, and transmits and receives information to and from the outside.

The auxiliary memory unit 14 is a non-volatile storage area such as a large-capacity memory or hard disk, and stores the program P (program product) and other data required for the control unit 11 to execute processing. The auxiliary memory unit 14 also stores the accounting system ledger DB 140. The accounting system ledger DB 140 is a database that stores the results of accounting system processing (transaction logs), and is a database required for the server 10 to execute accounting system processing.

For convenience, this embodiment will be described assuming that there is a single accounting ledger DB 140, but the server 10 may synchronize multiple databases with the auxiliary server 20.

The auxiliary storage unit 14 may also be an external storage device connected to the server 10. The server 10 may also be a multi-computer consisting of multiple computers, or may be a virtual machine virtually constructed using software.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the server 10 is not limited to the above configuration, and may include, for example, an input unit that accepts operational input, a display unit that displays images, etc. The server 10 may also be equipped with a reading unit that reads portable storage media 1a such as CD (Compact Disk)-ROM or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, and may read and execute the program P from the portable storage medium 1a.

The hardware configuration of the auxiliary server 20 is similar to that of the server 10, so illustrations and descriptions of the hardware configuration of the auxiliary server 20 will be omitted in this embodiment.

Figure 3 shows an example configuration of an operational environment 1 and a standby environment 2. The following provides an overview of this embodiment.

As described above, in this system, accounting processing (hereinafter also referred to as "transactions") is primarily performed in operational environment 1, and in the event of a failure or other problem in operational environment 1, accounting processing is performed in standby environment 2, which is a backup environment. Operational environment 1 is, for example, Microsoft Azure, and standby environment 2 is, for example, Google Cloud Platform. Server 10 in operational environment 1 and auxiliary server 20 in standby environment 2 are so-called SQL servers, and can configure "basic availability groups" and "distributed availability groups," as described below.

In this embodiment, multiple servers 10 and auxiliary servers 20 (two each in Figure 3) are used in each of the operational environment 1 and standby environment 2. The servers 10, 10 and auxiliary servers 20, 20 each constitute a different availability group.

An availability group is a technology that bundles multiple SQL servers (nodes) and abstracts them to clients as if they were a single logical SQL server; it is an option that can be set on an SQL server. An availability group can be composed of one main SQL server (Primary) and up to eight sub-SQL servers (Secondary). The main SQL server and sub-SQL servers synchronize their databases in real time using either synchronous commit mode or asynchronous commit mode, as described below.

As described above, the servers 10, 10 of the operational environment 1 and the auxiliary servers 20, 20 of the standby environment 2 each constitute a different availability group. Of the servers 10, 10 of the operational environment 1, one of the servers 10 functions as the main server computer (Primary), and the other server 10 functions as a sub-server computer (Secondary). The main server 10 accepts transactions via an availability listener from applications related to online banking services (e.g., deposit transactions, withdrawal transactions, etc.) deployed on the container platform 30.

An availability listener is a service that serves as the logical endpoint (connection destination) from the client's perspective when an availability group is configured. By placing an availability listener between the SQL server and the client, the client can connect without having to be aware of which SQL server it is connecting to.

When a transaction is received from a client system 4 via the container platform 30, the main server 10 executes the transaction. The transaction log is sent to the sub-server 10 in real time, and the accounting ledger DB 140 is synchronized.

If the main server 10 stops operating for some reason (such as a failure), the transaction is automatically switched over to the sub-server 10 (failover, shown as "F/O" in Figure 3), allowing users to continue receiving online services.

Which of the servers 10, 10 is designated as the main server is determined by a quorum (voting) based on heartbeat communication. The servers 10, 10 and quorum device 40 in operational environment 1 periodically send and receive heartbeat signals to monitor the health of each other's databases. The servers 10, 10 and quorum device 40 each have voting rights, and the main server 10 to execute transactions is selected by majority vote. In other words, if a majority of the servers 10, 10 and quorum device 40 determine that a server 10 is "normal," that server 10 is selected as the main server. Because the decision is made by majority vote, it is desirable that the total number of servers 10 and quorum devices 40 be an odd number. For example, as shown in Figure 3, if there are three servers 10 and quorum devices 40, the majority is determined from a total of three voting rights. Therefore, if one node (server 10) stops, the remaining two-thirds maintain the majority, and the cluster can survive.

The basic processing operations are the same for standby environment 2. Of the auxiliary servers 20 in standby environment 2, one of them functions as the main server computer (Forwarder), and the other auxiliary server 20 functions as a sub-server computer (Secondary). The main auxiliary server 20 accepts and executes transactions via an availability listener from applications related to online banking (savings deposit transactions, withdrawal transactions, etc.) deployed on the container platform 50, and synchronizes the transaction log with the sub-auxiliary server 20. If the main auxiliary server 20 stops operating, it automatically switches to the sub-auxiliary server 20. As with operational environment 1, switching of auxiliary servers 20 is based on a quorum (voting) based on heartbeat communication.

In this embodiment, to enable processing to be switched between production environment 1 and standby environment 2, transaction logs executed in production environment 1 are synchronized with standby environment 2. Specifically, a distributed availability group is configured spanning the availability group configured in production environment 1 and the availability group configured in standby environment 2.

A distributed availability group is an availability group that spans two or more different availability groups, and is an option that can be configured on SQL Server. The availability groups that make up a distributed availability group do not need to be in the same location; they can be placed in an on-premises physical environment, an on-premises virtual environment, a public cloud environment, etc., and a distributed availability group can be configured between these availability groups.

As shown in Figure 3, in this embodiment, a distributed availability group is formed between an availability group consisting of servers 10, 10 in operational environment 1 and an availability group consisting of auxiliary servers 20, 20 in standby environment 2. Server 10 (Primary) in operational environment 1 sends and receives transaction logs to and from auxiliary server 20 (Forwarder) in standby environment 2, and synchronizes the accounting ledger DB 140. In this embodiment, synchronization is performed between server 10 and auxiliary server 20 in synchronous commit mode rather than asynchronous commit mode.

Synchronous commit mode is a mode in which, when synchronizing databases between nodes (server 10 and auxiliary server 20), the main node waits for a response from the sub-node indicating that the database has been synchronized before proceeding with the transaction. In contrast, asynchronous commit mode is a mode in which the transaction proceeds without waiting for data propagation (response) to each node. Asynchronous commit mode has superior processing speed, but there is a possibility of data loss when switching nodes. In this embodiment, synchronization is performed in synchronous commit mode to prevent data loss.

If operational environment 1 stops operating for some reason (for example, a failure due to a large-scale disaster), transactions are executed by switching to auxiliary server 20 in standby environment 2. Switching from operational environment 1 to standby environment 2 is performed manually by the administrator via administrator terminal 3. However, if auxiliary server 20 in standby environment 2 cannot communicate with server 10 in operational environment 1, specifically if it is unable to access or operate the database (accounting ledger DB 140) in operational environment 1, or if the databases in operational environment 1 and standby environment 2 cannot be synchronized, a forced failover will occur.

If production environment 1 is restored while standby environment 2 is running, an inconsistency (split-brain) will occur, where the primary and quorum of the availability group exist in both production environment 1 and standby environment 2. For this reason, communication between server 10 and auxiliary server 20 is cut off while standby environment 2 is running.

As described above, this system configures a distributed availability group (with quorum devices 40, 60) spanning the availability group of production environment 1 and the availability group of standby environment 2. This configuration provides the following benefits. Compared to a case where servers 10, 10 in production environment 1 and servers 20, 20 in standby environment 2 are combined into a single availability group, the administrator does not need to perform the operation of separating production environment 1 when switching to standby environment 2. It also eliminates the need to change the failover mode (changing the failover mode of the sub-auxiliary server 20 from "manual" to "automatic" so that automatic failover occurs when the main auxiliary server 20 in standby environment 2 is stopped). Furthermore, by adding quorum devices 40, 60 and performing synchronous commit (voting), the number of nodes required for each environment can be reduced.

As described above, according to this embodiment, not only is synchronization achieved between the servers 10, 10 in the operational environment 1, but by providing a standby environment 2 as a backup execution environment, accounting system processing can be executed more reliably.

4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed by the accounting system. The processing executed by the accounting system will be described with reference to FIG.
The servers 10 and the quorum device 40 in the operational environment 1 communicate with each other through heartbeats, and select the server 10 that will execute accounting processing by majority vote (step S11). The selected server 10 receives access from the client system 4 and executes a subroutine that executes accounting processing (step S12).

The accounting system determines whether a request to switch the environment (cloud system) in which accounting system processing is executed has been received from the administrator terminal 3 (step S13). If it determines that a switching request has not been received (S13: NO), the accounting system returns processing to step S11.

If it is determined that the switching request has been received (S13: YES), the accounting system switches the environment in which accounting system processing is performed from the operational environment (first cloud system) 1 to the standby environment (second cloud system) 2 (step S14). The auxiliary server 20 in the standby environment 2 cuts off communication with the server 10 in the operational environment 1 (step S15). The multiple auxiliary servers 20 in the standby environment 2 and the quorum device 60 communicate with each other using heartbeats, and the auxiliary server 20 that will perform accounting system processing is selected by majority vote (step S16). The selected auxiliary server 20 receives access from the client system 4 and executes a subroutine that performs accounting system processing (step S17), thereby completing the series of processes.

5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the subroutine of step S12. The processing contents of the subroutine of the accounting system processing in step S12 will be described with reference to FIG.
The client system 4 requests the server 10 to execute accounting system processing (step S31). The server 10 executes the accounting system processing (step S32). The server 10 sends the results of the accounting system processing (transaction log) to the auxiliary server 20 in the standby environment 2 and synchronizes the accounting system ledger DB 140 (step S33). In response, the auxiliary server 20 outputs a response to the server 10 in the operational environment 1 indicating that the accounting system ledger DB 140 has been synchronized (step S34). When the server 10 receives this response from the auxiliary server 20, it outputs the results of the accounting system processing to the client system 4 (step S35) and returns the subroutine.

6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the subroutine of step S17. The processing contents of the subroutine of the accounting system processing in step S17 will be described with reference to FIG.
The client system 4 requests the auxiliary server 20 to execute accounting processing (step S51). The auxiliary server 20 executes the accounting processing (step S52). The auxiliary server 20 outputs the results of the accounting processing to the client system 4 (step S53) and returns the subroutine.

As a result, this embodiment allows accounting system processing to be executed more reliably.

The embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the meaning described above, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

The matters described in each embodiment can be combined with each other. Furthermore, the independent claims and dependent claims described in the claims can be combined with each other in any and all combinations, regardless of the citation format. Furthermore, although the claims use a format in which a claim cites two or more other claims (multi-claim format), this is not limited to this. A format in which multiple claims cite at least one other multiple claim (multi-multi-claim) can also be used.

1. Operational environment (first cloud system)
10 Server 11 Control unit 12 Main memory unit 13 Communication unit 14 Auxiliary memory unit P Program 30 Container platform 40 Quorum device 2 Standby environment (second cloud system)
20 Auxiliary server 50 Container platform 60 Quorum device 3 Administrator terminal 4 Client system

Claims (6)

a server in a first cloud system provided by a first platform provider;
an auxiliary server in a second cloud system provided by a second platform provider different from the first platform provider;
The server receives access from the client system and executes accounting processing;
Synchronizing databases for executing the accounting system processing between the server and the auxiliary server;
An accounting system that switches to the auxiliary server and executes the accounting processing. the server in the first cloud system is configured by a plurality of servers synchronized with each other within the first cloud system;
The accounting system according to claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary server in the second cloud system is configured by a plurality of auxiliary servers that are synchronized with each other within the second cloud system. the server and the auxiliary server are SQL servers;
The plurality of servers and the plurality of auxiliary servers each constitute a different availability group in which the plurality of server computers operate as a single server computer;
The accounting system according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of servers and the plurality of auxiliary servers constitute a distributed availability group that is an availability group spanning a plurality of availability groups. Further, a quorum device is disposed in each of the first cloud system and the second cloud system,
the plurality of servers and the quorum device communicate with each other through heartbeat communication to select the server that will perform the accounting system processing by majority vote;
The accounting system according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of auxiliary servers and the quorum device communicate with each other through heartbeat communication to select the auxiliary server that performs the accounting system processing by majority vote. The accounting system according to claim 1 , wherein when a server computer that executes the accounting system processing is switched from the server to the auxiliary server, communication between the server and the auxiliary server is interrupted. The accounting system according to claim 1 , wherein the server outputs a result of the accounting system processing to the client system when the server receives a response from the auxiliary server indicating that the database has been synchronized.