Independent Virtual Disk Lifecycle Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Typical virtual infrastructure management tools are unable to manage virtual disks independently without manual and burdensome operations, and virtual disks cannot exist independently of virtual machines, leading to their destruction when the machine is destroyed.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an independent virtual disk system that assigns a unique identifier to a virtual disk, allowing it to survive and be detached from a virtual machine, stored, and reattached to another machine, with the ability to be cloned and dynamically resized, and managed independently through a virtual infrastructure management system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If virtual disk is tied to virtual machine lifecycle, then virtual machine management is simplified, but virtual disk independence and flexibility are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the virtual disk from the virtual machine lifecycle by introducing independent virtual disk entities that can exist separately. Virtual disks are assigned unique identifiers and can be detached from virtual machines, allowing independent management, preservation, and reattachment to different virtual machines without being bound to the original machine's lifecycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual disk manager as an intermediary component that handles virtual disk operations independently from virtual machine management. This mediator enables virtual disks to be created, preserved, detached, and reattached without requiring manual operations or being tied to virtual machine creation/destruction cycles.
2Loss of energy
If virtual disk is destroyed with virtual machine, then resource cleanup is automated, but data persistence and reuse are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary actions by creating virtual disks as independent entities before they are needed by virtual machines. Virtual disks can be created, stored, and preserved in advance with their unique identifiers registered in the virtual disk manager, allowing them to survive virtual machine destruction and be reused later without manual recreation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables discarding virtual disk associations with virtual machines while recovering the virtual disks themselves for reuse. When a virtual machine is destroyed, the virtual disk is not destroyed but rather detached and preserved in the virtual disk manager, allowing it to be recovered and attached to new virtual machines, thus preventing data loss while maintaining resource efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If manual operations are required for virtual disk management, then fine-grained control is achieved, but operational complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the virtual disk manager automatically handles virtual disk operations such as creation, registration, detachment, and reattachment. The system autonomously manages virtual disk lifecycles without requiring manual user intervention, reducing operational complexity and time consumption while maintaining fine-grained control through programmatic interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for preserving an independent virtual disk. The method, includes attaching an independent virtual disk to a first virtual machine, and preserving said independent virtual disk when the independent virtual disk is detached from the first virtual machine.