Pass-Through Driver for Consistent Container Storage Across Clouds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud computing environments often have mismatches in data storage features, making it challenging to implement a consistent set of data storage features like encryption, deduplication, integrity, and replication across multiple cloud environments without human intervention or modifying underlying device drivers.
Innovation Solution
A container specification analyzer generates an updated container specification that uses a pass-through device driver to implement a base set of data storage features, such as encryption, deduplication, and replication, irrespective of the native data storage features offered by the cloud environment, ensuring these features are applied consistently across different cloud environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If native device drivers are used in each cloud environment, then each environment can utilize its own native data storage features, but consistency of data storage features across multiple cloud environments cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pass-through device driver as an intermediary layer between the container and the native cloud storage. This pass-through driver receives storage operations and translates them into operations that work consistently across different cloud environments, while still allowing access to native storage features when needed. The driver acts as a mediator that ensures feature consistency while maintaining adaptability to underlying cloud storage systems.
2Ease of manufacture
If manual configuration is used to implement data storage features, then specific features can be customized, but human involvement is required and the process is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service automation where the pass-through device driver automatically configures and applies the base set of data storage features (encryption, deduplication, integrity, replication) without requiring manual human intervention. The driver autonomously manages the configuration of these features across containers, eliminating the time-consuming manual setup process while maintaining the ability to customize features through automated policies.
3Reliability
If underlying device drivers are modified to implement data storage features, then features can be integrated at the driver level, but changes to underlying device drivers are required which reduces flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage functionality into distinct layers: the pass-through device driver layer that implements the base set of data storage features, and the underlying native cloud storage layer that provides its own native features. This segmentation allows the pass-through driver to reliably implement essential features while remaining flexible and interchangeable, enabling easy changes between different cloud environments without modifying the underlying native drivers.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementing a base set of data storage features for containers across multiple cloud computing environments. A container specification analyzer receives a container specification that identifies a container to be initiated, a volume to be mounted, and a native device driver to communicate with to facilitate mounting the volume. The container specification analyzer changes the container specification to generate an updated container specification that identifies a pass-through device driver to communicate with in lieu of the native device driver and identifies pass-through device driver data that identifies a data storage feature to be performed on data destined for the native device driver. The container specification analyzer returns the updated container specification for processing by a container initiator.