Hypervisor Desired State Compliance From Binary Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing the lifecycle of hypervisors in virtualized computing systems is cumbersome and error-prone due to complex software components with inter-dependencies, making it challenging to update or add components without violating dependencies or introducing incompatibilities.
Innovation Solution
A management computer system that retrieves hypervisor binaries to identify installed software components, generates a desired state document, and determines compliance status, simplifying the process by selecting software combinations that avoid incompatibilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual management of hypervisor software components is performed, then flexibility in selecting components is maintained, but the process becomes cumbersome and error-prone due to complex inter-dependencies
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically analyzing the hypervisor binary to identify installed software components, their versions, and inter-dependencies. The compliance checking process automatically determines whether hosts meet desired state requirements without manual intervention, reducing both operational complexity and error rates
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical processes of hypervisor management with automated computational analysis. Binary analysis tools automatically extract software component information, and compliance checking algorithms automatically evaluate desired state requirements, substituting human manual operations with automated computational systems
2Adaptability or versatility
If desired state documents are manually created by compositing software components, then customization is possible, but dependency violations and incompatibilities are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by analyzing the hypervisor binary before creating desired state documents. This advance analysis identifies all software components, versions, and inter-dependencies, allowing the system to pre-validate component compatibility and generate accurate desired state documents that avoid dependency violations
Solution Approach 2:
The compliance checking process provides feedback by automatically comparing host configurations against desired state requirements. This feedback mechanism identifies dependency violations and incompatibilities, allowing administrators to correct issues before deploying desired state configurations
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive software component analysis is performed, then accuracy of desired state documentation is improved, but time and computational resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a copy of the hypervisor binary and performs analysis on the copy rather than the live system. This approach enables comprehensive software component identification and compliance checking without impacting production systems, achieving high measurement precision without operational downtime
Solution Approach 2:
The compliance checking process performs partial action by focusing analysis on specific software components and dependencies relevant to the desired state requirements. Rather than analyzing every possible component, the system targets only those necessary for compliance evaluation, reducing time consumption while maintaining accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
A management computer is configured to manage a desired state for hypervisors of a plurality of host computers, by performing the steps of: retrieving from each of the host computers, a plurality of binary files of a hypervisor executing on the host computer; for the hypervisor of each of the host computers, identifying installed software from the retrieved plurality of binary files, including: (1) a version of a base software image of the hypervisor, and (2) one or more of: a driver of the hypervisor, firmware of the hypervisor, and a software component for a software solution of the hypervisor; and in response to a selection of the identified installed software for the hypervisor of a first host computer: generating a desired state document including the selected installed software; and determining, for each of the host computers, a compliance status of the host computer with the generated desired state document.