Connectivity Migration in Virtual Execution Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Updating or patching a virtual machine's application and guest operating system can terminate stateful connections, causing significant disruptions to users who need to re-login and re-establish connections, leading to negative impacts on service continuity.
Innovation Solution
A system for connectivity migration that captures the state of an application and guest operating system on a first virtual machine, then transfers this state to a second virtual machine, allowing seamless re-establishment of connections without interruption, including capturing and synchronizing the connectivity state, guest operating system state, and application state to ensure continuous service during updates or patches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the application and guest operating system are updated or patched on the virtual machine, then the system can reflect current versions and correct issues, but the stateful connections are terminated requiring users to re-login
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the update process into distinct phases: capturing connectivity state before update, performing the update independently, and then restoring connections using the captured state. This segmentation allows the update operation to proceed without forcing connection termination, as the connectivity state is preserved and reapplied after the update completes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary capture of the connectivity state before the update operation begins. By storing this state information in advance, the system ensures that connection information is available for restoration after the update, preventing connection loss and eliminating the need for user re-login.
2Reliability
If the virtual machine execution is stopped to perform updates, then the application and guest operating system can be patched, but the connections are terminated causing service disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures the connectivity state before stopping the virtual machine execution. This preliminary action ensures that connection information is preserved even when the VM is stopped for updates, allowing rapid restoration of connections and minimizing service downtime.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the connectivity state data during the capture phase. This copied state information can be stored and later applied to restore connections after the update, enabling the VM to be stopped for maintenance without permanent loss of connection state and reducing overall service disruption time.
3Productivity
If connections are re-established after update, then the system can resume operation, but users must re-login and authenticate causing negative impact
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures authentication and connection state information before the update operation. When connections are re-established after the update, this pre-captured state is applied, allowing the system to resume operations with authenticated connections already in place, thereby eliminating the need for users to re-login and authenticate.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains the continuity of connection state through the update process by capturing it beforehand and restoring it afterward. This approach ensures that the useful action of maintaining authenticated connections continues uninterrupted, even though the VM undergoes updates, thus avoiding authentication time loss for users.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein is a system and method of connectivity migration of an executing virtual application and/or guest operating system. State associated with a first instance of an application and/or a guest operating system executing on a first virtual machine is captured. Information regarding connectivity state associated with a plurality of running connections between the first virtual machine and client device(s) is also captured (e.g., layers 2, 3 and 4). The captured state information can be provided to a second virtual machine which utilizes the captured station information to establish state for a second instance of the application, a second instance of the guest operating system, and/or connectivity of the plurality of running connections between the second virtual machine and client device(s). The state of the second instance of the application can be synchronized with the state of the second instance of the guest operating system.