Cloud Director Workflow Extensibility for VM Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current VM migration in hybrid cloud systems involves significant downtime as customers must create a new VM in the public cloud and then transfer data from a powered-off source VM in the on-premise data center, which is inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A framework for workflow extensibility in cloud computing systems that allows externally written services to be registered with a cloud director, enabling phase associations and determining execution orders for seamless VM migration between on-premise and public clouds, thereby reducing downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a new VM is created from scratch in the public cloud and data is transferred from a powered-off source VM, then VM migration between on-premise data center and public cloud is achieved, but significant downtime occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating the target VM in the public cloud before the source VM is powered off. The VM is created in a suspended state with a placeholder configuration, and the actual data transfer occurs while the source VM is still running. This allows the target VM to be ready in advance, eliminating the downtime that would otherwise be required to create the VM after the source is shut down.
2Adaptability or versatility
If external services are registered with cloud director, then workflow extensibility and seamless VM migration are enabled, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an intermediary approach by introducing external services as separate, independently deployable components that communicate with the cloud director through standardized phase associations. These external services act as mediators that extend workflow functionality without requiring modifications to the core cloud director system. The phase association mechanism provides a standardized interface that manages the complexity of integrating multiple external services.
Data Source
AI summary
An example method of extending a cloud director configured to manage a cloud computing system includes: receiving requests to register external services with the cloud director; generating phase associations between the external services and an extensible phase of a workflow of the cloud director; executing the workflow of the cloud director and, in response to reaching the extensible phase, determining an execution order for at least one of the phase associations; and sending a message from the cloud director to each external service of the at least one phase association based on the execution order.