Passive Virtual Server Monitoring via Read-Only Disk Targets
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for passively monitoring virtual servers in a virtualized datacenter environment are inefficient due to the resource overhead of adding passive monitoring agents and the limitations of snapshot-based solutions, which can cause side effects and fail to reliably access the dynamic state of running systems.
Innovation Solution
Creating a read-only target based on the virtual server disk configuration to expose the disk for access by a monitoring crawler, allowing for the acquisition and analysis of features without modifying the system, thereby reducing resource usage and improving access to the dynamic disk state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If passive monitoring agents are installed in each virtual server to perform monitoring functions, then monitoring capability is improved, but resource overhead and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the monitoring function from individual virtual server agents and relocates it to the virtualization infrastructure layer. The host system creates read-only targets of virtual disk images, allowing the monitoring crawler to access and analyze virtual server states without requiring monitoring agents within each guest OS. This extraction eliminates the resource overhead of multiple monitoring agents while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal monitoring approach where a single monitoring crawler on the host system can monitor multiple virtual servers simultaneously through their shared virtualization infrastructure. The read-only target mechanism provides a universal interface that allows one monitoring system to serve multiple virtual servers, replacing the need for individual monitoring agents in each virtual server instance.
2Ease of operation
If snapshot-based solutions are used to access virtual disk state, then data access is simplified, but side effects occur and dynamic state access is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic access mechanism where the read-only target is created on-demand based on the virtual server's active disk configuration. Instead of taking static snapshots that may miss dynamic changes or cause side effects, the system creates read-only targets that reflect the current state of virtual disks, allowing the monitoring crawler to access dynamic state information without interrupting or modifying virtual server operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a read-only target as an intermediary layer between the monitoring crawler and the actual virtual disk images. This intermediary provides simplified read-only access to virtual disk data without requiring the monitoring system to directly interact with running virtual servers, thereby avoiding side effects while maintaining ease of data access. The read-only target acts as a safe mediator that prevents any potential harm to the monitored systems.
3Reliability
If monitoring agents are deployed in each virtual server, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but the footprint and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the monitoring function from multiple individual virtual server agents into a single centralized monitoring crawler running on the host system. By combining monitoring capabilities at the virtualization layer, the system achieves comprehensive monitoring coverage of all virtual servers while eliminating the need for multiple separate monitoring agent instances, thereby reducing the total monitoring footprint and resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present invention provide a solution for passively monitoring a computer system. In an embodiment, a read-only target is created based on the configuration of the virtual server disk used by the virtual server to access the storage associated therewith. This read-only target can be used to expose the virtual server disk for access by a monitoring crawler. Using the read-only target, a monitoring crawler can acquire a set of features regarding the virtual server from the virtual server disk. One or more of this set of features can be analyzed to perform passive monitoring of the virtual server.