Hypervisor Delayed Hardware Upgrade Mode for Virtual Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current virtualization systems require VM downtime for hardware changes, which can lead to security issues and complications, especially during live migration or when hypervisors do not support existing VM hardware features, and existing solutions like redundancy or hot plug techniques are either impractical or time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a 'delayed hardware upgrade mode' in the hypervisor that queues commands for VM hardware changes to be executed during the next scheduled reboot, reducing downtime and allowing for seamless migration or load balancing by delaying incompatible hardware changes until VM reboot.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If VM hardware changes are implemented immediately, then hardware compatibility is improved, but VM downtime increases and security risks arise
Solution Approach 1:
The hypervisor queues hardware change commands and executes them during the next scheduled VM reboot, which is a preliminary planned event. This allows hardware compatibility to be improved without causing unexpected downtime, as the reboot was already scheduled to occur soon anyway.
Solution Approach 2:
A command queue acts as an intermediary between hardware change requests and their execution. The queue buffers immediate hardware change commands, allowing them to be staged and executed at an appropriate time during a scheduled reboot, thus avoiding both immediate downtime and security risks associated with ad-hoc reboots.
2Reliability
If redundant VM hardware is implemented, then hardware upgrade continuity is improved, but system complexity and administrative burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of maintaining actual redundant hardware copies, the system uses virtualization to create virtual copies of hardware that can be switched instantly. The hypervisor maintains a queue of hardware configuration changes and applies them during scheduled reboots, providing upgrade continuity without physical redundancy.
3Adaptability or versatility
If hot plug capability is implemented, then hardware change flexibility is improved, but VM cooperation requirements and reconfiguration time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having the VM initiate or acknowledge hardware changes (hot plug approach), the hypervisor proactively queues and executes hardware changes during scheduled reboots. This inverts the control flow, eliminating the need for VM cooperation while maintaining hardware change flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for delayed hardware upgrades in virtualization systems is disclosed. A method of the disclosure includes maintaining, by a hypervisor of a host machine, a delayed hardware upgrade mode that is applicable to virtual machines (VMs) managed by the hypervisor, receiving, by the hypervisor, a command to change VM hardware of one of the VMs managed by the hypervisor, placing, per the delayed hardware upgrade mode maintained by the hypervisor, the command in a delayed command queue associated with the VM to which the command was directed, the delayed command queue maintained by the hypervisor, and executing, by the hypervisor, the command in the delayed command queue when it is determined that the VM has been rebooted, wherein the reboot of the VM is not directly associated with the command.