Application Migration Tool for Cloud Compatibility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Applications not originally designed for compute clouds face challenges in migration due to conflicting semantics, code properties, and configuration features that are not compatible with cloud environments, leading to potential errors, data loss, and inefficiencies.

Innovation Solution

A migration tool utilizing a library of rules that applies specific corrective actions for different cloud platforms, addressing semantic behavior, code, storage, database interactions, and operating system aspects to adapt applications for seamless migration to compute clouds.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If applications are migrated to compute clouds using traditional methods, then migration can be performed, but compatibility issues arise due to conflicting semantics, code properties, and configuration features

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveapplication compatibilityVSAvoidmigration complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The migration tool performs preliminary analysis of the application's code, configuration files, and semantic properties before migration. It proactively identifies incompatibilities with cloud environments and generates corrective actions in advance, preventing compatibility issues rather than reacting to them after migration fails.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The migration tool acts as an intermediary between the legacy application and the cloud environment. It translates application-specific semantics and configurations into cloud-compatible forms, mediating the incompatibilities between traditional application designs and cloud platform requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If comprehensive migration analysis is performed to ensure compatibility, then application reliability improves, but migration time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemigration success rateVSAvoidmigration time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The migration tool enables self-service migration by automatically analyzing applications, generating corrective actions, and applying fixes without requiring extensive manual intervention. The tool serves itself by using built-in libraries of cloud platform requirements and compatibility rules to perform comprehensive analysis efficiently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The tool changes parameters such as code structure, configuration settings, and semantic properties to transform applications from legacy formats to cloud-compatible formats. It systematically modifies multiple parameters simultaneously to achieve compatibility while maintaining application functionality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If manual migration processes are used, then flexibility is maintained, but productivity and efficiency decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemigration speedVSAvoidoperation simplicity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The migration tool automates the entire migration process, from analysis to corrective action generation and application. It performs self-service by using embedded knowledge bases of cloud platform requirements to automatically determine necessary modifications without requiring manual expert intervention at each step.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The tool extracts the complex analytical and transformation logic from manual migration processes and encapsulates it in an automated system. It separates the migration expertise from the migration execution, allowing the tool to handle complexity internally while presenting a simple interface to users.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP2726976B1Virtual machine migration tool
Publication Date: 2022.05.25 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP2726976B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2726976B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2726976B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Tools and techniques for migrating applications to compute clouds are described herein. A tool may be used to migrate any arbitrary application to a specific implementation of a compute cloud. The tool may use a library of migration rules, apply the rules to a selected application, and in the process generate migration output. The migration output may be advisory information, revised code, patches, or the like. There may be different sets of rules for different cloud compute platforms, allowing the application to be migrated to different clouds. The rules may describe a wide range of application features and corresponding corrective actions for migrating the application. Rules may specify semantic behavior of the application, code or calls, storage, database instances, interactions with databases, operating systems hosting the application, and others.