Application Central Controller for Virtual Machine Power Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual machine controllers lack sufficient knowledge about applications running on virtual machines to determine whether to shut down or hibernate hosts, risking damage to ongoing processes and failing to achieve optimal power savings.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an Application Central Controller (APP-CC) that provides a 'complete picture' of application-level information to determine whether shutdown or hibernation is appropriate, allowing for controlled initiation of power management mechanisms such as shutdown or hibernation, and utilizing agents to access necessary information from operating systems and containers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If virtual machine controllers shut down hosts to save power, then electrical power consumption is reduced, but application processes may be damaged due to insufficient knowledge of running applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an Application Central Controller (APP-CC) as an intermediary component that bridges the gap between the virtual machine controller and running applications. The APP-CC collects application-level information, determines shutdown feasibility, and provides this knowledge to the virtual machine controller, enabling safe power management decisions without damaging application processes
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the APP-CC continuously monitors application states and provides information about whether shutdowns are safe. This feedback loop allows the virtual machine controller to make informed decisions about host shutdowns based on real-time application status, preventing harmful shutdowns while enabling power savings
2Loss of energy
If virtual machine controllers lack application knowledge to determine shutdown safety, then system complexity is reduced, but power savings cannot be optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control architecture into distinct functional components: the virtual machine controller handles host management, while the separate Application Central Controller (APP-CC) handles application-level shutdown feasibility determination. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its function, optimizing power savings without overwhelming the virtual machine controller with application monitoring complexity
3Reliability
If hosts remain continuously running to support virtual machines, then application availability is maintained, but electrical power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic host management where hosts can transition between running and shutdown states based on real-time application needs. The APP-CC continuously assesses whether applications can tolerate shutdowns, and hosts are dynamically powered down when safe, and restarted when needed, optimizing the balance between availability and power consumption
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for shutting down a host, such as a computer, server, and the like, to enable power savings. In one aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includes determining whether to shutdown an application at a virtual machine. The determination is made using information from the application. The virtual machine and application operate on a host. A power management mechanism of the host may be initiated to enable a power savings when compared to not shutting down the host. Related apparatus, systems, methods, and articles are also described.