Container Peripheral Device Access via Profile Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Peripheral devices are not consistently available to virtual machines and containers across different host computing systems in a distributed computing resource cluster, limiting access and resource utilization.
Innovation Solution
A device profile management system is implemented to identify and manage peripheral device access needs, allowing containers to be instantiated or migrated to host machines with compatible resources, ensuring access to necessary devices through device profile comparison and network-based provisioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If virtual machines and containers are deployed across multiple host computing systems in a distributed cluster, then resource utilization and system flexibility are improved, but peripheral device availability and access consistency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a peripheral device access manager as an intermediary component that mediates between containers and peripheral devices. This manager maintains a mapping between container identifiers and peripheral device identifiers, enabling containers to access devices across different host systems through a centralized coordination mechanism rather than direct connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the traditional host-machine level device access to a multi-dimensional hierarchy involving clusters, hosts, and containers. By introducing a peripheral device access manager that operates at the cluster level and maintains mappings across multiple hosts, the system adds a new dimension of abstraction that enables cross-host device access while maintaining container isolation.
2Reliability
If peripheral devices are attached to specific host computing systems, then device access is straightforward and reliable on that host, but device accessibility to containers on other hosts is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes peripheral devices universally accessible across multiple host systems through the peripheral device access manager. Devices are no longer bound to specific hosts but can be dynamically allocated to any container in the cluster that requires them, enabling a single device to serve multiple containers across different hosts.
Solution Approach 2:
The peripheral device access manager acts as a mediator that translates container device access requests into host-level device allocations. It maintains mappings between container identifiers and peripheral device identifiers, enabling containers on different hosts to access the same physical devices through this intermediary layer.
3Productivity
If containers are migrated between host computing systems, then workload flexibility and load balancing are improved, but peripheral device access continuity is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the peripheral device access manager continuously monitors container migrations and updates device mappings accordingly. When a container is migrated to a different host, the manager detects this change and recalibrates the device access mappings to ensure continuous availability of peripheral devices to the container's new location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic device mapping that adapts to container migrations in real-time. The peripheral device access manager maintains flexible mappings between containers and devices that can be dynamically reassigned when containers move between hosts, ensuring device access continuity without requiring manual reconfiguration.
Data Source
AI summary
Peripheral device access support in a distributed computing resource cluster is described. In one example, an application can be supported in a container on a virtual machine in a distributed computing resource cluster. A need or requisite of the container for access to a peripheral device is identified. A device profile is created for the container and associated with the isolation environment. The device profile can be relied upon to check and confirm the compliance of one or peripheral devices on various host machines in the resource cluster. First, one or more host machines having access to the peripheral device are identified in the resource cluster. Then, a check for compliance of the peripheral device on one or more of the host machines is performed based on the device profile. The container is instantiated for the application on one of the host machines based on the check for compliance.