Cloud Shadow Setup for Upgrade Error Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional techniques for upgrading virtualized environments often result in downtime and data loss due to hidden dependencies and compatibility issues, which are not adequately addressed, leading to hesitancy in performing upgrades.
Innovation Solution
Generating a shadow setup that replicates the live cloud environment, allowing for simulated upgrades and changes to identify potential errors before applying them to the live environment, thereby reducing the risk of upgrade failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If upgrades are performed directly in the live cloud environment, then productivity is improved through updated functionality, but reliability deteriorates due to hidden dependencies and compatibility issues causing downtime and data loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a shadow setup that replicates the live cloud environment before performing upgrades. This preliminary action allows all upgrade operations to be tested and validated in the shadow environment first, identifying hidden dependencies and compatibility issues before they affect the live system. The shadow setup serves as a safe testing ground where upgrades can be performed without risk to production systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the live cloud environment called a shadow setup. This copy includes replicated computing resources, storage resources, and networking resources that mirror the live environment's configuration and state. By working with this copy instead of the live system, the patent enables safe upgrade testing while preserving the original live environment's stability and reliability.
2Reliability
If a shadow setup is created to test upgrades, then reliability is improved by identifying errors before live upgrades, but device complexity increases due to the additional shadow environment infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a shadow setup that is a copy of the live cloud environment, including shadow computing resources, shadow storage resources, and shadow networking resources. This copying approach allows complete replication of the live environment's complexity in a controlled shadow version, enabling thorough upgrade testing without adding permanent complexity to the production system. The shadow environment can be created, tested, and then discarded or updated based on results.
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow setup is created as a preliminary step before actual upgrades to the live environment. This temporary preliminary infrastructure allows for comprehensive error identification and validation. Once the shadow setup successfully validates the upgrade path, it can be decommissioned or used as a reference for implementing the upgrade in the live environment, preventing permanent complexity accumulation.
3Device complexity
If upgrades are performed without testing in a shadow environment, then device complexity is minimized, but loss of information increases due to potential data loss from upgrade failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a shadow setup that replicates the live environment's data and configuration. By performing upgrade operations on this copy rather than the live system, any potential data loss or corruption is confined to the shadow environment and does not affect the live production data. This copying mechanism protects against information loss while enabling comprehensive upgrade validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The shadow setup performs preliminary upgrade testing before any changes are applied to the live environment. This preliminary validation identifies potential data loss risks, compatibility issues, and configuration errors in advance. By catching these issues in the shadow environment first, the patent prevents data loss in the live system while maintaining relatively simple infrastructure requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus to generate a shadow setup based on a cloud environment and upgrade the shadow setup to identify upgrade-related errors are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a topology deployment determiner to deploy a shadow setup corresponding to a replica version of a live cloud environment; an upgrade coordinator to upgrade one or more components of the shadow setup; and a reporter to generate a report corresponding to the upgrade.