Memory Virtual Appliance for Centralized Data Sharing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional approaches to memory usage in modern data centers are ad-hoc and focused on single functionalities, relying on special-purpose hardware and software, failing to provide a unified solution for centralized and peer-to-peer memory management as data centers evolve and introduce new functionalities.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a memory virtual appliance that uses a virtual machine to manage memory segments, encapsulating data with a virtualization wrapper to enable sharing among clients and provide a rich access interface, allowing for flexible management of memory resources independent of client instructions, and supporting resilience and replication without performance compromise.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional ad-hoc memory approaches are used, then single functionality is achieved, but adaptability and versatility are limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvememory functionality adaptabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a universal memory management system using virtual machines that can perform multiple functions including centralized management, peer-to-peer communication, data replication, and resilience operations. The virtual machine framework allows a single system to adapt to different memory management scenarios and functionalities without requiring separate specialized systems for each purpose.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The virtual machine acts as an intermediary layer between physical memory hardware and various memory management functions. This intermediary abstraction enables flexible configuration of memory management approaches (centralized vs. peer-to-peer) without direct manipulation of underlying hardware, thereby increasing adaptability while managing complexity through standardized interfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If centralized memory management is implemented, then coordination control is improved, but system performance may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvememory management coordinationVSAvoidmemory access performance

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically switches between centralized and peer-to-peer memory management modes based on operational requirements. The virtual machine can operate in centralized mode for coordinated control during failure scenarios, or transition to peer-to-peer mode for high-performance operations, allowing the system to optimize between reliability and performance based on current conditions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements data replication through virtual machine instances that maintain copies of memory data across multiple locations. This copying mechanism ensures reliability and fault tolerance while allowing read operations to be performed locally at peer nodes, thereby maintaining performance during normal operation while ensuring coordination during failure scenarios.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Productivity

If peer-to-peer memory management is used, then system performance is improved, but coordination and control are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvememory access performanceVSAvoidcoordination control

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The virtual machine incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor system state and operational conditions to determine when to switch between centralized and peer-to-peer modes. This feedback enables the system to maintain high performance during normal operation while automatically coordinating control when failure conditions are detected, thus balancing performance and reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Adaptability or versatility

If data is decoupled from specific devices, then adaptability and sharing capability are improved, but data management complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata sharing capabilityVSAvoiddata management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The virtual machine serves as an intermediary that manages the decoupling of data from physical devices. It provides standardized interfaces for data access, replication, and sharing, thereby enabling flexible data management across the system while containing the complexity of device-independent data handling within the virtual machine layer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments data management functions into separate virtual machine operations, allowing data to be independently managed, replicated, and shared without being tied to specific physical devices. This segmentation enables flexible data sharing while managing complexity through modular, encapsulated functions within the virtual machine framework.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS8812400B2Managing a memory segment using a memory virtual appliance

Publication Date: 2014.08.19 HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEV LP

AI summary

In a method for managing a memory segment through use of a memory virtual appliance, data is encapsulated with the memory virtual appliance, in which the memory virtual appliance comprises a virtual machine configured to manage a memory segment in a physical memory. In addition, the memory virtual appliance is implemented using a virtualization wrapper comprising computer readable code enabling the encapsulated data to be shared among a plurality of clients. Moreover, the encapsulated data is stored in the memory segment controlled by the memory virtual appliance.