Live Migration Circuit for VM Session Continuity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Cloud computing technologies face challenges in transferring real-time applications, such as secure voice data applications, due to potential interruptions and impracticality of updating applications during migration, leading to connection timeouts and service termination.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a live virtual machine (VM) migration system that uses a live migration circuit, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), to suspend VM activity, manage communication links, and buffer session state changes, ensuring session continuity and reducing processor load during migration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Duration of action of stationary object

If real-time applications are transferred during VM migration, then application continuity is maintained, but connection timeouts and service termination occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplication continuityVSAvoidconnection stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Duration of action of stationary objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by capturing and buffering session state changes at the source host before VM migration completes. This includes pre-capturing network session information, authentication states, and communication contexts, then replaying these buffered states at the destination host to maintain continuous service without connection timeouts

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary session management mechanism that decouples the VM migration process from the network session continuity. This intermediary buffers and manages session states independently, allowing the VM to migrate while the session state is preserved and replayed, thus preventing connection termination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Stability of the object's composition

If application updates are transferred during migration, then data consistency is maintained, but transfer speed becomes impractical

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata consistencyVSAvoidmigration speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the migration process into separate components: VM image transfer, session state capture, and session state replay. This allows the application data transfer to proceed independently while session state changes are captured and applied separately, maintaining data consistency without slowing down the overall migration speed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary capture of session state changes during the migration process, buffering these changes separately from the main VM image transfer. This allows the application updates to be transferred at full speed while session state consistency is maintained through the buffered replay of state changes at the destination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of time

If VM migration is performed quickly, then downtime is reduced, but session state synchronization becomes problematic

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemigration downtimeVSAvoidsession state synchronization

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary capture and buffering of session state changes at the source host before migration completes. This buffered session state information is then replayed at the destination host, ensuring synchronization occurs rapidly without extending migration downtime

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent maintains continuity of useful action by continuously capturing session state changes throughout the migration process rather than pausing to synchronize. This continuous capture approach, combined with buffered replay at the destination, ensures session state synchronization is achieved quickly without extending downtime

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS11537419B2Virtual machine migration while maintaining live network links

Publication Date: 2022.12.27 INTEL CORP

AI summary

Disclosed is a source host including a processor. The processor operates a virtual machine (VM) to communicate network traffic over a communication link. The processor also initiates migration of the VM to a destination host. The processor also suspends the VM during migration of the VM to the destination host. The source host also includes a live migration circuit coupled to the processor. The live migration circuit manages a session associated with the communication link while the VM is suspended during migration. The live migration circuit buffers changes to a session state and transfers the buffered session state changes to the destination host for replay after the VM is reactivated on the destination host. The live migration circuit keeps the sessions alive during migration to alleviate connection losses.