Planned Virtual Machine Staging for Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional virtual machine migration techniques face challenges such as high risk of failure due to configuration differences between source and target hosts, inefficiency in manual user intervention, and limitations in automated processes, which can lead to errors and time-consuming reinitialization.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a planned virtual machine that allows user and virtualization platform interaction during migration, enabling configuration validation and resource allocation, thereby reducing errors and improving the migration process efficiency by staging a new virtual machine on the target host.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If conventional virtual machine migration techniques are used, then migration can be performed automatically, but the risk of failure increases due to configuration differences between source and target hosts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a planned virtual machine as an intermediate staging structure before the actual migration occurs. This planned VM allows configuration validation and resource allocation to be performed in advance on the target host, identifying and resolving configuration differences before the realized VM migration begins, thereby reducing failure risk while maintaining automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The planned virtual machine serves as an intermediary between the source realized VM and the target environment. It acts as a mediator that validates configurations and prepares resources without requiring direct migration of the running VM, thus reducing conflicts between automation and reliability requirements.
2Reliability
If manual user intervention is used during migration, then configuration errors can be resolved, but the migration process becomes time-consuming and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The planned virtual machine enables self-service by automatically validating configurations and allocating resources during the staging phase. The system performs self-checks against the target host's capabilities and automatically resolves configuration issues without requiring manual user intervention, maintaining both accuracy and efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The migration system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the planned VM validation process provides information about configuration compatibility and resource availability. This feedback allows the system to automatically adjust configurations and proceed with migration without manual intervention, resolving the contradiction between accuracy and speed.
3Reliability
If a planned virtual machine is created to stage the migration, then configuration validation and resource allocation can be performed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the virtual machine migration process into distinct phases: creating a planned VM for configuration validation, allocating resources, and then converting to a realized VM for actual migration. This segmentation isolates the complexity of configuration management from the migration execution, making the overall process more controllable despite the added structural element.
Solution Approach 2:
The planned virtual machine is a temporary intermediate structure that is discarded after it serves its purpose of validating configuration and allocating resources. Once the realized VM is successfully created and migrated, the planned VM is removed, meaning the additional complexity is transient and does not persist in the final system state.
Data Source
AI summary
A planned virtual machine, for use in staging the construction of a virtual machine. Such a planned virtual machine may be used as part of a method for migrating virtual machines. The method may include creating a planned virtual machine based on a first realized virtual machine or a template, performing a configuration operation on the planned virtual machine, and converting the planned virtual machine to a second realized virtual machine. The configuration operation may comprise interaction with a virtualization platform managing the planned virtual machine and may be based on input provided by a user.