I/O Request Routing for Virtual Machine Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
In desktop cloud solutions, the long I/O path to remote shared storage causes delays in writing requests, affecting user experience due to increased access traffic on the remote shared storage area.
Innovation Solution
A method that differentiates between file types (temporary, user, and system files) and writes only user and system files to the remote shared storage area, while storing temporary files locally, and optionally caching frequently used user and system files for reduced access traffic and improved performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all I/O write requests are written to remote shared storage area, then data consistency is ensured, but access traffic on remote shared storage increases and I/O delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments I/O write requests into two categories: temporary files and non-temporary files (user files and system files). Temporary files are handled locally without remote storage operations, while non-temporary files are written to remote shared storage. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by eliminating unnecessary remote I/O operations for temporary files, reducing access traffic and delay while maintaining data consistency for important files.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts temporary files from the general I/O write request processing flow and handles them separately through local storage only. By taking out temporary files from the remote storage path, the system reduces access traffic on remote shared storage and decreases I/O delay, while still ensuring data consistency for non-temporary files that require remote persistence.
2Reliability
If all I/O write requests are written to remote shared storage area, then data persistence is ensured, but access traffic on remote shared storage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments I/O write requests based on file type, separating temporary files from non-temporary files. Temporary files are stored only locally, eliminating their contribution to remote storage access traffic. Non-temporary files continue to be written to remote shared storage to ensure data persistence. This segmentation reduces the quantity of data transmitted to remote storage while maintaining persistence for important files.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts temporary files from the remote storage write operations, handling them exclusively through local persistent storage. This extraction removes unnecessary traffic from the remote shared storage system, reducing access traffic volume while preserving data persistence guarantees for non-temporary files that require remote backup.
3Quantity of substance
If file type differentiation is implemented, then access traffic on remote shared storage is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the host system intelligent about file types through image metadata. The system reads metadata from the virtual disk image to determine whether files are temporary or non-temporary, and applies different storage strategies locally based on this quality assessment. This approach reduces remote access traffic by applying appropriate local storage handling for temporary files, with the metadata-driven classification adding minimal system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for processing an I/O request and a computer system are provided. The method includes: receiving an I/O write request from a virtual machine; writing first data to be written as requested by the I/O write request into a local persistent storage area; determining a file type of a file to which the first data belongs; and writing the first data into a remote shared storage area if the file type of the file to which the first data belongs is a user file or a system file. Thus access traffic on the remote shared storage area can be reduced.