Emulating Physical Functions for Virtual Machine Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The limited number of virtual functions in network nodes leads to denied access requests, especially in quality-of-service sensitive environments, where existing resource control methods are inadequate for dynamic and high-demand scenarios.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus emulates or para virtualizes a physical function of a network resource when the number of available virtual functions falls below a predefined threshold, allowing for extended access and prioritization of virtual machines, thereby enhancing resource management and compliance with Quality of Service (QoS) policies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of virtual functions is increased to serve more virtual machines, then resource access scalability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a copy of the physical function (emulated physical function) when virtual functions are exhausted. Instead of adding more hardware virtual functions, the system creates a software-based copy that mimics the physical function's behavior, allowing additional virtual machines to access the resource through this emulated interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The emulated physical function acts as an intermediary layer between virtual machines and the actual physical resource. When virtual functions are occupied, the system routes requests through this emulated function, which then manages access to the underlying resource, effectively mediating between the limited hardware capabilities and unlimited virtual machine demands.
2Reliability
If virtual functions are allocated to all requesting virtual machines, then service availability is improved, but resource control capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between providing direct virtual function access and emulated physical function access based on availability. When virtual functions are available, they are allocated directly; when exhausted, the system transitions to emulated access mode, allowing continuous service while maintaining control flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors the availability of virtual functions and uses this feedback to determine whether to allocate virtual functions directly or to activate emulated physical function access. This feedback mechanism ensures service continuity while maintaining resource control based on current system state.
3Productivity
If emulated physical functions are created to extend access, then resource utilization is improved, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies emulated physical function access partially - only when virtual functions are exhausted. This partial action approach allows the system to maintain high performance through direct virtual function allocation most of the time, while using emulation only as needed to prevent service denial, thus balancing resource utilization with processing overhead.
Data Source
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AI summary
It is provided an apparatus comprising interface circuitry, machine-readable instructions, and processing circuitry to execute the machine-readable instructions. The machine-readable instructions comprise instructions to receive a request of a virtual machine to access a resource of a network node, determine whether a number of available virtual functions associated to the resource falls below a predefined threshold and, if it is determined that the number of available virtual functions falls below the predefined threshold, emulate and/or para virtualize a physical function associated to the resource. The machine-readable instructions further comprise instructions to provide access to the resource via the emulated and/or para virtualized physical function for the virtual machine.