Hypervisor-Agnostic Identifier Management for Virtual Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current virtual computing systems face disruptions due to manual updates required when hypervisor-specific identifiers of virtual machines change, leading to operational delays and inefficiencies during hypervisor conversions or migrations.
Innovation Solution
An identifier management system that assigns hypervisor-agnostic identifiers to virtual machines, which remain unchanged despite hypervisor-specific identifier updates, ensuring seamless operation by automatically updating mappings from old to new hypervisor-specific identifiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hypervisor-specific identifiers are used for virtual machines, then the virtual machines can be properly managed by the hypervisor, but the identifiers change when the hypervisor type changes, causing operational disruptions and requiring manual updates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces hypervisor-agnostic identifiers as an intermediary layer between the virtual machine and the hypervisor-specific identifier. This mediator maintains consistent identification across different hypervisor types while the hypervisor-specific identifiers can change. The mapping between hypervisor-agnostic and hypervisor-specific identifiers is automatically updated during hypervisor conversion, eliminating manual update requirements and operational disruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the identifier system into two independent parts: hypervisor-agnostic identifiers (stable, used by virtual machines and management systems) and hypervisor-specific identifiers (changeable, assigned by the hypervisor). This segmentation allows the hypervisor-specific identifiers to change during hypervisor conversion while the hypervisor-agnostic identifiers remain constant, resolving the contradiction between stability and adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual updates are performed when hypervisor-specific identifiers change, then the system can adapt to hypervisor changes, but operational delays and inefficiencies occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically updating the mapping between hypervisor-agnostic and hypervisor-specific identifiers during hypervisor conversion. The management system detects the hypervisor conversion event and automatically establishes the mapping relationship, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing update time to zero operational disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing the hypervisor-agnostic identifiers before hypervisor conversion occurs. These stable identifiers are assigned to virtual machines in advance, and the mapping mechanism is prepared beforehand, allowing the system to seamlessly transition to new hypervisor-specific identifiers without manual intervention or operational delays.
3Ease of operation
If hypervisor-specific identifiers are used, then the hypervisor can properly manage virtual machines, but elements using these identifiers must be manually updated when hypervisor type changes
Solution Approach 1:
The hypervisor-agnostic identifier acts as an intermediary that decouples the virtual machine management elements from the hypervisor-specific identifier changes. Elements continue using the stable hypervisor-agnostic identifiers without manual updates, while the mapping to hypervisor-specific identifiers is automatically maintained by the management system during hypervisor conversion.
Solution Approach 2:
The management system implements feedback mechanisms to detect hypervisor conversion events and automatically update the identifier mappings. The system monitors for conversion events, retrieves the new hypervisor-specific identifiers, and automatically establishes the mapping relationships, providing automated feedback-driven updates without manual intervention.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system and method include assigning, by an identifier management system of a virtual computing system, a hypervisor agnostic identifier to a virtual machine. The system and method also include creating a mapping of the hypervisor agnostic identifier to a first hypervisor specific identifier of the virtual machine, including storing the mapping in a database, and updating the mapping in response to a second hypervisor specific identifier being associated with the virtual machine. The updated mapping maps the hypervisor agnostic identifier to the second hypervisor specific identifier. The system and method further include making available the hypervisor agnostic identifier for use by other elements of the virtual computing system instead of the first hypervisor specific identifier and the second hypervisor specific identifier. The first hypervisor specific identifier and the second hypervisor specific identifier are hypervisor specific, while the hypervisor agnostic identifier is not hypervisor specific.