Bundled Application Container Entrypoints and Snapshot Rollback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current distributed storage and computation systems lack an efficient method for creating and managing snapshots of databases, which hinders the ability to revert to previous states without corrupting critical data during testing or configuration changes.
Innovation Solution
The system introduces a method for creating snapshots by quiescing compute nodes, finalizing storage segments, and maintaining snapshot hierarchies, allowing for the storage and retrieval of data across multiple storage nodes, enabling efficient rollback and cloning of storage volumes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If snapshots are created by copying entire storage volumes, then data recovery capability is improved, but storage space consumption and system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The storage volume is divided into multiple segments, and only the segments that have been modified since the last snapshot are stored. This allows the system to create snapshots without copying the entire volume, significantly reducing storage space consumption while maintaining the ability to recover data by reconstructing volumes from the segment hierarchy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested segment hierarchy where snapshots are organized in generations, with each snapshot containing segments that differ from its parent snapshot. This nested structure allows efficient storage by only keeping differential segments at each level, enabling data recovery through hierarchical reconstruction without storing complete volume copies at every snapshot point.
2Reliability
If compute nodes are quiesced to ensure consistent snapshots, then data consistency is improved, but system productivity and response time deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-allocating segments and establishing the segment hierarchy structure before actual data changes occur. Snapshot creation is accelerated by having the segment framework ready in advance, allowing the system to quickly capture state information without requiring lengthy compute node quiescence periods, thus maintaining both consistency and productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Snapshots of storage volumes and containers of a bundled application may be created and used to rollback or clone the bundled application. Clone snapshots of storage volumes may be gradually populated with data from prior snapshots to reduce loading on a primary snapshot. Components of cloned applications may communicate with one another using addresses of these components in the parent application. Containers of the bundled application may communicate with an open virtual switch (OVS) that implements flows to implement translation between clone and parent addresses. Containers may be modified to execute operation-specific entrypoint functions prior to invoking an entrypoint of an application instance loaded in the containers.