Hypervisor Hibernation for Low-Downtime Host Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for migrating virtual machines and hypervisors between computing environments are complex and result in lengthy downtime, disrupting mission-critical processes and user experience.
Innovation Solution
Techniques for hibernating a hypervisor and its virtual machines, capturing their states, and transferring them to a different host computing system, where the hypervisor's logical view is reconciled with the new environment to ensure seamless operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If virtual machines and hypervisors are migrated using existing methods, then the migration can be completed, but the downtime is lengthy and mission-critical processes are disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by capturing the state of virtual machines and hypervisors before migration. The system captures memory states, processor states, and device states in advance, allowing the virtualization environment to be quickly restored on the target host without lengthy downtime. This pre-capture of states enables rapid restoration and minimizes disruption to mission-critical processes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the state of each individual VM is stored and reconstructed, then the virtualization environment can be restored, but the procedure is very complex and incurs lengthy downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the capture and restoration processes by implementing a unified state capture mechanism that captures the entire virtualization environment state (including hypervisor and multiple VMs) as an integrated unit. This unified approach simplifies the reconstruction procedure on the target host, avoiding the complexity of individually managing and restoring each VM's state separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a comprehensive state snapshot of the source virtualization environment that can be transferred and restored on the target host. The system captures memory images, processor registers, and device states, creating a copy of the entire runtime state that can be quickly instantiated on the target system without complex reconstruction logic.
3Ease of operation
If migration is performed without state capture, then the process is simpler, but the virtual machine activities are disturbed and user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by quiescing the virtualization environment before state capture. This brief quiescence period allows the system to freeze VM activities momentarily, capture their states, and then restore them on the target host. This approach maintains simplicity while ensuring activity continuity, as the quiescence is temporary and followed by rapid restoration.
Data Source
AI summary
Upon receiving a request to hibernate a hypervisor of a virtualization system running on a first computer, acts are carried out to capture a state of the hypervisor, where the state of the hypervisor comprises hypervisor logical resource parameters and an execution state of the hypervisor. After hibernating the hypervisor by quiescing the hypervisor and storing the state of the hypervisor into a data structure, the data structure is moved to a different location. At a later moment in time, the data structure is loaded onto a second computing machine and restored. The restore operation restores the hypervisor and all of its state, including all of the virtual machines of the hypervisor as well as all of the virtual disks and other virtual devices of the virtual machines. Differences between the first computing machine and the second computing machine are reconciled before execution of the hypervisor on the second machine.