NFS Storage Provisioning Workflow in Cloud Infrastructure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud computing systems face challenges in efficiently configuring and provisioning network-connected storage services that meet user-defined requirements for resource allocation, security, and resource classes within cloud infrastructure pods.
Innovation Solution
An information model and provisioning workflow that computes configurations for host adaptors and arrays, using a grading and classification system to identify and create logical resources, enabling the creation of operational storage clusters and infrastructure as a service by defining network, storage, and compute configurations, and exposing volumes using NFS with a determined IP address.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual configuration of host adaptors and arrays is performed, then configuration accuracy can be maintained, but provisioning time and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-defines service offerings with complete configuration templates including network settings, storage parameters, and compute resources. When a user selects a service offering, the configuration is automatically computed and applied without manual intervention, achieving both accuracy and speed through pre-prepared templates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system copies and reuses predefined configuration templates for service offerings to create new infrastructure services. This template-based copying mechanism ensures configuration accuracy while dramatically reducing provisioning time by eliminating manual reconfiguration.
2Reliability
If detailed manual configuration of VLANs, network devices, and storage arrays is performed, then security and constraint compliance are improved, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The configuration process is segmented into distinct service offerings, each with predefined network, storage, and compute settings. This segmentation allows security constraints to be encoded in individual service templates rather than complex manual configurations, reducing operational difficulty while maintaining compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary configuration computation layer that translates high-level service offering selections into detailed infrastructure configurations. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of VLAN assignments, network device settings, and storage array configurations automatically, shielding users from operational complexity while ensuring security compliance.
3Productivity
If infrastructure resources are allocated according to predefined service offerings, then provisioning speed increases, but flexibility to meet custom constraints may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides dynamic configuration computation that adapts the predefined service offering templates to specific user selections. When users select different service offerings or customize parameters within constraints, the system dynamically recomputes the configuration, maintaining both speed through template reuse and flexibility through adaptive computation.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for provisioning shared NFS storage in a cloud storage environment having a storage layer, a compute layer, a network layer connecting the storage layer and the computer layer, and a management layer coupled to the compute layer.