HCI Host Upgrade Scoring and VM Migration Overlap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lifecycle management (LCM) upgrades in hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) systems often result in temporary resource inaccessibility and prolonged downtime due to VM migration and resynchronization, necessitating a reduction in upgrade time and minimization of downtime.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines a score for each host based on hardware metrics to select the most suitable host for upgrading, migrates virtual machines to other hosts, and performs the upgrade on the selected host, thereby reducing the number of VM migrations and overlapping upgrade and migration times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hosts are upgraded sequentially with VM migration and resynchronization, then system reliability is maintained, but upgrade time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-migrating virtual machines to target hosts before the actual upgrade process begins. This allows the source host to be upgraded without waiting for VM migration to complete, thereby overlapping the upgrade and migration processes and significantly reducing total upgrade time while maintaining system reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous useful action by allowing the upgrade process to proceed concurrently with VM migration and resynchronization operations. Instead of waiting for each migration to complete before starting the upgrade, the system maintains continuous progress on multiple fronts simultaneously, improving overall productivity without compromising reliability
2Reliability
If hosts are put into maintenance mode for upgrading, then upgrade reliability is ensured, but service availability deteriorates and downtime increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary VM migration to target hosts before the source host enters maintenance mode. This preliminary action ensures that services continue to be available on target hosts while the source host is upgraded, minimizing downtime and maintaining service availability throughout the upgrade process
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses target hosts as intermediary carriers for virtual machines during the upgrade process. VMs are migrated to these intermediary hosts that remain operational, allowing the source host to be upgraded without service interruption. The intermediary hosts bridge the gap between old and new system states, eliminating downtime
3Manufacturing precision
If VM resynchronization is performed after host upgrade, then data consistency is maintained, but total upgrade time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs VM resynchronization in parallel with other upgrade operations rather than sequentially. While the source host is being upgraded and other hosts are being prepared, the resynchronization process occurs concurrently, ensuring data consistency is maintained without adding to the total upgrade time
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary data synchronization preparations before the actual upgrade, pre-establishing replication relationships and data flow paths. This preliminary setup allows resynchronization to occur more efficiently during the upgrade process, maintaining data consistency while minimizing the time impact
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system may include at least one processor and a memory. The information handling system may be configured to perform an upgrade of a plurality of hosts of an information handling system cluster by: determining a score for each host based on hardware metrics of each host; based on the determined scores, selecting a first host for upgrading; migrating virtual machines from the first host to one or more other hosts; and causing the first host to perform the upgrade.