Cloud Datastore Management via Unified API Provisioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cloud service providers face challenges in providing storage functionality for host machines without internal storage memories and in scaling host machines and storage independently, leading to a cumbersome process that affects user experience.
Innovation Solution
A method for provisioning a software-defined data center (SDDC) in a cloud environment, where a control plane deploys host machines with hypervisors and instantiates datastores with block volume storage units, maintaining a mapping of datastores to host machines to facilitate efficient storage management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If storage resources are added to a customer's data center, then storage capacity is improved, but the process becomes cumbersome requiring access to multiple APIs and manual attachment to each host machine
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate API operations into a single unified API call. Instead of requiring separate operations to create storage resources, identify host machines, and manually attach storage to each host, the invention merges these discrete steps into one automated provisioning operation that handles the entire storage deployment process through a single interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically identifying host machines and attaching storage resources without requiring manual intervention. The provisioning process autonomously completes the entire workflow from storage creation to host machine attachment, eliminating the need for users to manually configure each connection step.
2Adaptability or versatility
If host machines and storage are scaled independently, then flexibility is improved, but the complexity of managing separate provisioning processes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains segmentation by allowing independent scaling of host machines and storage resources while managing the complexity through separate, dedicated API interfaces. Each resource type can be provisioned independently through its own streamlined API, preserving flexibility while reducing the complexity that would arise from managing a single complex multi-resource provisioning process.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein is a data center provisioning service offered by a cloud services provider. A control plane of a service offered in a cloud environment that is provided by a first service provider receives a request to create a data center. The control plane provisions the data center in a tenancy of a customer in the cloud environment by: (i) deploying a plurality of host machines in the tenancy of the customer in the cloud environment, wherein each host machine included in the plurality of host machines includes a hypervisor that is provided by a second service provider, installed thereon, and (ii) instantiating a plurality of datastores, each datastore comprising a plurality of block volume storage units. The control plane maintains a mapping corresponding to an association of each datastore included in the plurality of datastores with at least one host machine included in the plurality of host machines.