User action recovery in internet SAGAs (iSAGAs)

Abstract

With the expansion of Web sites to include business functions, a user’s typical interaction with a Web site is a multi-step process. The loss of connection, or other system failure, can result in the loss of work accumulated before the disruption. This work must then be repeated — often at significant cost in time and computation. In some environments, such as wireless scenarios, these costs can include battery power as well. This paper presents a protocol for recovering from such scenarios. We first describe Internet-based interactions using the familiar concepts of transactions and recovery. Using these abstractions, we then describe a protocol for recovering users to valid states in Internet interactions.