Coupled Control Plane Backup for Consistent SDDC Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
In software-defined datacenters (SDDCs), the backup and restore processes for control planes are often uncoupled, leading to inconsistencies and data loss due to separate backups by different administrators, which complicates coordinated recovery.
Innovation Solution
A method for a coupled backup and restore process is implemented, where the virtualization management server and network manager create synchronized backups of the virtual infrastructure and network control planes, ensuring consistency across these planes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If separate uncoupled backups are performed by different administrators for different control planes, then each control plane can be backed up independently, but inconsistencies arise between control planes and data loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate backup operations into a single coordinated backup process. The system manager orchestrates simultaneous backups across virtualization, networking, and storage control planes, ensuring atomicity where all backups succeed or fail together. This eliminates inconsistencies between control planes while maintaining independent backup capability through a unified interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the system manager monitors the state of all control planes and coordinates backup timing. Backup operations provide feedback signals that trigger dependent backups in the correct sequence, ensuring consistency. The system tracks backup status and propagates state changes across all control planes to maintain reliability.
2Reliability
If coordinated coupled backup is implemented across all control planes, then consistency between control planes is maintained, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system manager is designed as a universal component that handles multiple functions: coordinating backups across different control planes, managing dependency relationships, and orchestrating restore operations. This multi-functional approach consolidates complexity into a single system rather than requiring separate coordination mechanisms for each control plane pair.
Solution Approach 2:
The system manager acts as an intermediary between different control planes during backup and restore operations. It mediates the coordination by receiving backup requests, determining the correct sequence based on dependencies, and executing operations in the proper order. This intermediary approach simplifies the overall system by centralizing coordination logic rather than requiring direct complex interactions between all control planes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual remediation is required during recovery processes, then flexibility in handling edge cases is achieved, but time loss and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing dependency relationships between control planes before restore operations begin. The system manager analyzes the interdependencies between virtualization, networking, and storage control planes and creates a restore sequence in advance. This preliminary preparation enables automated recovery without manual intervention while maintaining the ability to handle edge cases through pre-configured dependency rules.
Data Source
AI summary
An example method of data protection in a virtualized computing system, the virtualized computing system including a host cluster, a virtualization management server connected, and a network manager coupled to a physical network, the host cluster having hosts and a virtualization layer executing on hardware platforms of the hosts, is described. The method includes: receiving a backup request; executing, in response to the backup request, a coupled backup of the virtualization management server and the network manager, including: creating a backup of a first database in the virtualization management server, the first database storing first configuration data for a virtual infrastructure (VI) control plane of the host cluster; creating a backup of a second database in the network manager, the second database storing second configuration data for a logical network deployed in the host cluster; and storing the coupled backup in remote storage.