Configuration Schema Classification for Reversible Virtualization Settings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing configuration management systems in virtualized computing environments fail to track and persist user configuration tasks over time, especially at scale, making it difficult to revert to a specific configuration state and complicating system management.
Innovation Solution
Implement a configuration schema that classifies properties as configuration or state, with vital and cached states, and utilize a key-value store to persist and manage these properties, enabling API calls to update, retrieve, and revert configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If configuration actions are not persisted in a typical software stack, then the system operates with simpler storage requirements, but the ability to track and revert configuration tasks is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining a configuration schema that categorizes all possible configuration properties before they are set. This schema is established upfront in the persistence layer, enabling automatic tracking and persistence of configuration actions without adding complex tracking mechanisms later. The schema includes fields for property names, data types, and categorization (configuration vs. state), which are prepared in advance to capture configuration task history.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary configuration schema layer between the API/business logic layer and the persistence layer. This schema acts as a mediator that automatically captures, categorizes, and persists configuration actions. Instead of directly persisting raw configuration data, the schema intermediate structure organizes and tracks configuration tasks, enabling history tracking while maintaining system simplicity through automated mediation.
2Loss of information
If all configuration properties are tracked and persisted, then complete configuration history is available, but the complexity of managing large-scale systems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by categorizing different properties with different persistence requirements within the configuration schema. Configuration properties are marked to be persisted across reboots, while state properties are not persisted. This local differentiation enables selective tracking of only the necessary configuration actions, reducing the overhead of managing complete history while maintaining productivity through intelligent local-level classification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments configuration properties into distinct categories (configuration vs. state) within the schema structure. This segmentation allows the system to track and persist only configuration actions that require history, while excluding state changes. The schema is divided into specific fields for property names, types, and categories, enabling efficient segmentation of tracking requirements to improve system management productivity at scale.
3Reliability
If configuration state is persisted across reboots, then configuration integrity is maintained, but the ability to distinguish between configuration and state data becomes critical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining the classification structure for configuration and state properties in the configuration schema before data is stored. The schema includes explicit categorization fields that distinguish configuration properties (to be persisted) from state properties (not to be persisted). This preliminary classification framework ensures configuration integrity across reboots while maintaining a relatively simple data structure through advance planning.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtualized computing system includes a plurality of hosts, each of which is configured with a virtualization software for supporting execution of virtual machines therein. A method of managing a configuration of a system service in the virtualized computing system includes upon receiving an API call to operate on a configuration object for the system service that is backed by a configuration schema of the system service, updating a database in accordance with the configuration schema to update or store the configuration of the system service, so that the system service executes with the configuration stored in the database.