Hypervisor Emulated Source Media for Virtual Machine Booting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual machines often cannot boot from source media configured for installing a new operating system without a prior operating system installation, as the firmware cannot locate the bootloader, leading to the need for re-mastering the source media, which is costly and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A hypervisor transforms metadata from the original source media to create an emulated source media configuration that allows the virtual machine to boot without re-mastering, by presenting an emulated source media that includes a bootloader in a location expected by the firmware, enabling the installation of the operating system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the source media is configured for installing a new operating system without a prior operating system installation, then the latest version of the operating system can be installed, but the firmware cannot locate the bootloader and the virtual machine cannot boot
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hypervisor as an intermediary layer between the firmware and the source media. The hypervisor presents an emulated source media configuration to the firmware that includes a bootloader in the expected location, while the actual source media maintains its original configuration for installing the new operating system. This intermediary emulated configuration resolves the contradiction by making the source media appear bootable to the firmware without requiring actual re-mastering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an emulated copy of the source media configuration that is presented to the firmware. This copy includes the necessary bootloader structure in the expected location, allowing the firmware to boot successfully. The original source media remains unchanged, maintaining its capability to install the new operating system version.
2Reliability
If the source media is re-mastered to create a bootable configuration, then the virtual machine can boot and install the operating system, but large memory allocation and upfront time are required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing a complete re-mastering operation that copies and modifies the entire source media, the patent creates a lightweight emulated configuration that presents only the necessary bootloader structure to the firmware. This emulated copy is much smaller and faster to generate than a full re-mastered image, eliminating the time-consuming re-mastering process while maintaining bootability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by creating only the minimal necessary emulated configuration (bootloader structure) rather than performing a complete re-mastering of the entire source media. This partial approach provides sufficient bootability without the overhead of processing the full source media image.
3Reliability
If the source media is re-mastered to create a bootable configuration, then the virtual machine can boot and install the operating system, but large memory allocation is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a minimal emulated configuration copy that presents only the essential bootloader structure to the firmware, rather than creating a full re-mastered copy of the source media. This emulated configuration requires significantly less memory allocation while providing the necessary bootability functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by generating only the minimal necessary emulated configuration data structures required for booting, rather than allocating memory for a complete re-mastered source media image. This reduces memory consumption to the essential minimum needed for firmware compatibility.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a computer system provides a process for executing software that cannot be executed in a first configuration. The computer system determines source media for the software stored in a first data store, the source media being in the first configuration. The computer system retrieves metadata relating to executing the software from the source media. The computer system next transforms the retrieved metadata to generate a second configuration of the source media according to a transformation rule set, where the software can be executed in the second configuration, and stores the transformed metadata in a second data store. Next, the computer system presents the second configuration of the source media based on the transformed metadata. Thereafter, the computer system satisfies a request relating to executing the software using the transformed metadata in the second data store, wherein the request is satisfied based on the second configuration.