Hypervisor Plugin File System Filter Driver for Proprietary Disk Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Some hypervisors are limited in accessing variously formatted virtual machine disk files due to a lack of disk plugin APIs, restricting the types of disk files that can be used to create guest virtual machines.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating a plugin file with a different format that appears as a native hypervisor disk file, using a file system filter driver to intercept requests and expose proprietary disk files in a native format, allowing hypervisors to access and utilize a wider range of disk file formats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a hypervisor is designed to only access virtual machine disk files with a particular native file format, then the hypervisor maintains simplicity and reliability in its disk file access mechanism, but the adaptability to access variously formatted disk files is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a plugin file system filter driver as an intermediary component between the hypervisor and proprietary disk files. This filter driver intercepts file system requests from the hypervisor and translates them into operations that can access proprietary disk files, allowing the hypervisor to access variously formatted disk files without modifying its core access mechanism or adding complex native support for multiple formats
2Adaptability or versatility
If disk plugin APIs are added to enable third parties to attach disk data from different disk image formats, then the adaptability to access various disk formats improves, but the device complexity and potential reliability issues increase
Solution Approach 1:
The filter driver serves as a reliable intermediary that operates at the file system level, a well-established and stable interface. By using this existing, reliable infrastructure rather than adding new plugin APIs to the hypervisor, the solution maintains hypervisor reliability while still enabling access to multiple disk formats through the filter driver's translation capabilities
3Adaptability or versatility
If the hypervisor directly accesses proprietary disk files with proprietary formats, then direct access speed is maintained, but the adaptability to different formats is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The filter driver performs preliminary actions by intercepting and translating file system requests before they reach the proprietary disk files. This pre-processing of requests at the file system level allows the hypervisor to access proprietary formats through the established fast path of the file system, maintaining access speed while gaining format compatibility
Data Source
AI summary
Exposing proprietary data to a hypervisor as native hypervisor data. In one example embodiment, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media store one or more programs that are configured, when executed, to cause one or more processors to perform a method of exposing proprietary data to a hypervisor as native hypervisor data. The method may include identifying a proprietary disk file having a proprietary file format and creating a plugin file corresponding to the proprietary disk file with the plugin file having a plugin file format which is different from a native hypervisor disk file format.