Hot-Plug Virtual Disk Granular Recovery

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Solution Overview

Problem

In cloud computing environments, existing recovery methods are inefficient as they require mounting entire virtual machines for data access, which is resource-intensive and limits multitenant cloud tenants due to virtual machine limitations, and do not allow secure access to data stored in cloud providers' networks without copying data within limited virtual machine disks.

Innovation Solution

The method employs hot-plug virtual disks for granular recovery, allowing selective mounting of virtual disks containing required data, such as databases, from backup images, using a guest agent that initiates recovery procedures and stores metadata for precise resource recovery, enabling secure access without full virtual machine mounting.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If entire virtual machines are mounted for data access, then complete data recovery is enabled, but resource consumption increases and virtual machine limitations are imposed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata recovery completenessVSAvoidresource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the virtual machine backup into individual virtual disk components. Instead of mounting the entire virtual machine, only the specific virtual disk containing the required data is mounted to the virtual machine instance. This segmentation enables selective data recovery, reducing resource consumption while maintaining recovery completeness for the needed data portion.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If entire virtual machines are mounted for data access, then complete data recovery is enabled, but virtual machine limitations are imposed on multitenant cloud tenants

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata recovery completenessVSAvoidcloud tenant flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic mounting of virtual disks based on the specific recovery needs of each cloud tenant. The system allows cloud tenants to selectively mount only the virtual disks they need rather than being constrained by fixed virtual machine boundaries. This dynamic approach enhances adaptability and versatility for multitenant cloud environments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If data is accessed without copying to virtual machine disks, then security is improved, but data access capability is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata securityVSAvoiddata access capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a hot-plug virtual disk as an intermediary component between the backup storage and the virtual machine instance. The virtual disk is mounted to the virtual machine, providing a secure interface that enables data access without requiring data to be copied into the virtual machine's internal disk space. This intermediary approach maintains security boundaries while facilitating ease of operation for data recovery.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11243696B1Granular recovery using hot-plug virtual disks

Publication Date: 2022.02.08 ACRONIS INT

AI summary

A method, computer program product, computing system, and system for using hot-plug virtual disks in granular recovery are described. The method may include receiving, at a cloud computing site, a backup configuration including a list of protected resources associated with a cloud computing tenant. The method may further include mounting a hot-plug virtual disk to a virtual machine including the protected resources associated with the cloud computing tenant. The method may also include collecting metadata corresponding to the protected resources associated with the cloud computing tenant. The method may additionally include generating, at the cloud computing site, a backup of the virtual machine including the protected resources associated with the cloud computing tenant. Moreover, the method may include storing the metadata corresponding to the protected resources associated with the cloud computing tenant and storing the backup of the virtual machine including the protected resources associated with the cloud computing tenant.