Collector VM Heatmap for Datacenter Utilization Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
In data centers, it is challenging to identify and address user experience degradation caused by highly utilized virtual machines (VMs) in software-defined data centers (SDDC) or physical data centers, as existing methods lack effective monitoring and load balancing solutions.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a collector VM that roams across host machines to collect utilization metrics, generating heatmaps to visualize server utilization, facilitating load balancing and power management by identifying overutilized and underutilized servers, and allowing administrators to direct new workloads accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional monitoring methods are used in data centers, then system simplicity is maintained, but the ability to identify user experience degradation and highly utilized VMs is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a broker component as an intermediary that collects utilization metrics from multiple data sources including VMs, hosts, and network devices. The broker aggregates and normalizes this data before presenting it to the heatmap generation system, thereby improving measurement precision without requiring direct complex integration between all monitoring components
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates visual copies of utilization data through heatmap representations that mirror the actual server utilization states. These graphical heatmaps provide an accurate visual copy of the underlying data, enabling precise identification of highly utilized VMs and hosts without requiring direct inspection of raw metrics
2Ease of operation
If no visualization tool is implemented, then system complexity remains low, but the ability to identify and address load balancing opportunities is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements heatmaps that use color variations to represent different levels of server utilization. Highly utilized servers are displayed with warmer colors (red/orange) while underutilized servers show cooler colors (green/blue), enabling administrators to quickly identify load balancing opportunities through intuitive visual cues without complex interfaces
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms multi-dimensional utilization data (CPU, memory, storage, network) into a two-dimensional visual representation through heatmaps. This dimensional transformation allows administrators to comprehend complex load distribution patterns across multiple servers simultaneously, improving ease of operation while managing complexity through effective data visualization
3Loss of energy
If server utilization is not monitored effectively, then power management is inefficient, but implementing monitoring increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the broker continuously collects utilization metrics and updates the heatmap visualizations in real-time. This feedback loop enables the system to automatically identify underutilized servers that could be powered down or placed in sleep mode, reducing electricity consumption while maintaining a relatively simple power management approach through visual guidance
Data Source
AI summary
Various examples are disclosed for generating heatmaps and plotting utilization of hosts in a datacenter environment. A collector virtual machine can rove the datacenter and collect utilization data. The utilization data can be plotted on a heatmap to illustrate utilization hotspots in the datacenter environment.