Persistent Volume Plugin for Container Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtualized computing environments face challenges in providing persistent storage and data services for containers, as they typically offer these services at the virtual machine level, making it difficult to support standalone virtual machine disk objects associated with containers.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a plugin module that wraps storage containers with a virtual machine, allowing data services to be applied to persistent volumes or consistency groups, enabling persistent storage and data management for containers across multiple applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data services are provided at the virtual machine level, then data protection and management capabilities are improved, but support for container-specific persistent storage is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a virtual machine wrapper that encapsulates the container storage object, allowing the container to access storage through a nested virtualization layer. The wrapper VM contains the persistent volume, which is then mounted by the container, creating a nested structure where container storage is provided through a VM wrapper.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine wrapper acts as an intermediary between the container and the persistent storage system. It receives storage requests from the container and translates them into VM-level operations, enabling containers to leverage VM-level data services while maintaining container-specific storage management.
2Adaptability or versatility
If containers use standalone virtual machine disk objects, then container portability and flexibility are improved, but integration with native data services is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the container storage object with a virtual machine wrapper to create a unified storage solution. The container volume and VM disk object are combined into a single persistent volume that can be accessed by both the container and managed by VM-level data services, eliminating the need for separate standalone disk objects.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If persistent storage is implemented for containers, then data persistence across container lifecycles is improved, but system complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual machine wrapper provides multi-functional capability by serving both as a container storage mechanism and as a persistent volume manager. It handles container lifecycle management, data persistence, and integration with VM-level data services simultaneously, reducing the need for separate specialized components.
Data Source
AI summary
Architectures and techniques for providing persistent volume functionality are disclosed. A storage container having a virtual storage volume to be persisted across multiple applications is created. The multiple applications hosted in one or more application containers. The storage container is placed within a virtual machine object. The virtual machine object containing the storage container is stored in a computer-readable memory as a persistent virtual storage volume.