RoS (computing)
RoS is the abbreviation for the computing term Request of Service (or requests of service in its plural form). It is used to refer to a request for a specific service or response from a dormant application running on a computer cluster.
Request origins
RoS requests can originate from anywhere, so long as there is an unblocked route to the cluster's control systems. Requests are commonly sent over a network, for example the internet, however they may be sent using other methods like SMS messaging, VPN tunnels, or phone lines. The origins of the RoSs are referred to as either Local or Remote, depending on the scale of the network you are accessing it from.
Local
A local RoS generally originates from somewhere on a local area network within the same geographical area. These requests generally occur within organizations who use custom clusters independently for their own work or research. For example, an employee of a research organization could work within the same building as the cluster, and send a RoS over a computer network to activate a research application on this cluster, in order to carry out his work.
Another use of local RoSs are for on site management and testing of a computer cluster. This can enable testing of new software applications or testing of request load balancing.
Remote
A remote RoS generally originates from somewhere on a wide area network outside of the clusters geographical area. These requests can be received from a variety of sources including:
- Internet Portals
- Fibre Optic Networks
- Phone Lines
- SMS Text Messages
- E-mail Gateways
- VoIP Systems
RoSs sent over network types different from that of the clusters' local network types need to be replicated (i.e. a RoS from a VoIP could not be directly received by the clusters optical fibre connection) via software Replicators (see below). Remote RoSs are generally used by commercial organizations offering services to the public or other organizations. For example, an internet user may send a RoS via a web portal in order to activate a meta search engine, in order to receive a list of cached web sites matching their search.
Replicators
RoS replicators are used on the remote origin scale. They are applications run on gateway devices or exchange servers to replicate incoming RoSs from one network type to another. For example, an SMS messaging server would replicate a request sent by text message, to the cluster over a fibre optic computer network. The Replicator has the responsibility of deciding where any response data from the cluster should go. Obviously, large data streams requested in a RoS could not be sent back via text message, therefore the Replicator redirects the data to another location, usually specified by the initial RoS or by a hard coded variable within the application.