Automated Computing Appliance Cloning via Configuration Bundle
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies face challenges in disaster recovery, system upgrades, and maintaining operational states of computing appliances, particularly in clustered systems, due to time-consuming manual reconfiguration and the complexity of restoring configurations after disasters or software changes.
Innovation Solution
The use of a Configuration Bundle that includes configuration data, software revision levels, and software updates to automatically restore computing appliances to their previous operational state, enabling seamless disaster recovery, migration to new operating software, and recovery of clustered systems without prior backup information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual re-installation and re-configuration methods are used after a disaster, then system restoration can be achieved, but the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically backing up configuration data before disasters occur and automatically restoring it when needed. The backup process captures system state information in advance, and the restoration process automatically retrieves and applies this data when a disaster occurs, eliminating manual re-installation and re-configuration steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of the original system configuration data and stores them in a repository. When restoration is needed, these copies are retrieved and applied to recreate the system's operational state, avoiding the need for manual reconfiguration and significantly reducing restoration time.
2Reliability
If clustered systems are implemented to maintain service availability, then system reliability improves, but configuration complexity and recovery difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cluster configuration management by identifying and backing up specific configuration data for each node and the overall cluster. This segmentation allows individual nodes to be restored independently using their specific configuration data, simplifying the recovery process for complex clustered systems without compromising service availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates and maintains copies of cluster configuration data in a centralized repository. When a node fails, the configuration copy is automatically retrieved and applied to restore the node, simplifying the recovery process for clustered systems while maintaining high service availability through automated operations.
3Reliability
If system upgrades and security patches are applied frequently, then system security and performance improve, but configuration changes and operational state maintenance become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically backing up configuration data before upgrades or security patches are applied. This ensures that the original operational state is preserved and can be restored if needed, making frequent security updates easier to manage without risking configuration loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms that track configuration changes during upgrades and patches. By monitoring and recording these changes, the system can automatically adjust or restore configurations to maintain the desired operational state, reducing the difficulty of managing frequent security updates.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for automatically cloning or migrating a computing appliance while maintaining its operational state. A configuration bundle that includes configuration data, software revision level and a list of system updates is used to recover or duplicate a device's operation state. The system and method can also be utilized to migrate a computing appliance between different operating system while maintaining or replicating the previous operational state.