Hypervisor Descriptor Conversion for VM Network Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods require a physical network interface card driver to be installed on a virtual machine for data access, which is inconvenient and inefficient, as different drivers are needed for different virtual machine operating systems, making it difficult for a physical interface card to access data on a virtual machine without proper driver installation.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves a Hypervisor that virtualizes a physical network interface card into a virtual machine network interface card, allowing the physical interface card to access data by converting descriptors using SR-IOV technology, enabling data access without the need for a driver installation on the virtual machine, thereby simplifying the process and improving efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a physical network interface card driver is installed on a virtual machine, then the physical interface card can access data on the virtual machine, but the complexity of driver installation and compatibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a descriptor conversion mechanism as an intermediary between the virtual machine's virtual queue and the physical interface card's physical queue. The Hypervisor converts descriptors from the virtual queue format to the physical queue format, enabling data access without requiring the physical interface card driver to be installed on the virtual machine. This intermediary layer resolves the contradiction by maintaining reliable data access while eliminating driver installation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the driver installation requirement from the virtual machine environment by implementing direct memory access through the Hypervisor. The physical interface card accesses data directly through the Host's memory via the Hypervisor's descriptor conversion, removing the need for driver software to be present on the virtual machine. This extraction eliminates the complexity of driver installation and compatibility issues.
2Reliability
If different drivers are developed for different virtual machine operating systems, then data access is enabled, but the time and effort required for setup increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal descriptor conversion mechanism in the Hypervisor that works across different virtual machine operating systems. Instead of requiring system-specific drivers, the Hypervisor provides a unified interface that converts descriptors from any virtual queue format to the physical queue format. This universality eliminates the need for different drivers for different operating systems, significantly reducing setup time and effort.
3Productivity
If a physical interface card accesses data through a virtual machine network interface card, then data communication is achieved, but the data access speed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data access path into two independent queues: a virtual queue managed by the virtual machine network interface card and a physical queue managed by the physical interface card. The Hypervisor converts descriptors between these segmented queues, allowing the physical interface card to access data directly through the Host's memory without going through the virtual machine's network stack. This segmentation enables parallel processing and eliminates the bottleneck of virtual machine network interface card processing, significantly improving data access speed.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A data access method provided in embodiments of the present invention is applied to a host, and a virtual machine runs on the host. A processor of the host converts a first descriptor recognized by a virtual machine interface card of the virtual machine into a second descriptor recognized by a physical interface card of the host. The first descriptor includes a virtual machine physical memory address and a data length of accessible data. The physical interface card of the host obtains, based on the second descriptor, a physical address that is in a memory and to which the virtual machine physical memory address is mapped, and accesses the accessible data according to the physical address in the memory.