Relay Apparatus for Multicast Packet Delivery During VM Live Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual machine systems, live migration of virtual machines results in a temporary loss of multicast packet reception due to the time gap between IGMP query messages and JOIN messages, causing delays in multicast packet delivery to destination physical machines.
Innovation Solution
A relay apparatus with a destination storage unit, determination unit, and addition unit that associates multicast packet destinations with addresses and adds the destination physical machine to the multicast group upon live migration, ensuring immediate packet transmission post-migration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If live migration is executed in a virtual machine system with IGMP applied, then the virtual machine can be migrated to another physical machine without stopping service, but the destination physical machine cannot receive multicast packets for a certain time (60-125 seconds) after migration
Solution Approach 1:
The relay apparatus performs preliminary actions by detecting the live migration event and proactively adding the destination physical machine's port to the multicast forwarding table before the destination machine can send its own JOIN message. This preliminary configuration ensures that multicast packets are immediately forwarded to the destination machine upon arrival, eliminating the 60-125 second delay that would otherwise occur while waiting for the next IGMP query cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The relay apparatus acts as an intermediary between the multicast router and the destination physical machine. It intercepts multicast packets intended for the migrated virtual machine and actively forwards them to the destination machine's port, bridging the gap between the router's IGMP query cycle and the destination machine's JOIN message timing. This intermediary function resolves the timing mismatch without requiring changes to the router or destination machine.
2Reliability
If the destination physical machine waits for IGMP query message before sending JOIN message, then IGMP protocol compliance is maintained, but multicast packet delivery is delayed for 60-125 seconds
Solution Approach 1:
The relay apparatus takes preliminary action by pre-configuring the multicast forwarding table to include the destination physical machine's port when live migration is detected. This allows multicast packets to be immediately delivered to the destination machine without waiting for the IGMP query-JOIN message sequence, thereby maintaining protocol compliance while eliminating delivery delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The relay apparatus implements a feedback mechanism by monitoring for live migration events and using this information to dynamically update the multicast forwarding table. When migration is detected, the system feedback loop triggers immediate port addition, creating a responsive system that adapts to changing network conditions while maintaining IGMP protocol compliance.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment of the application, a relay apparatus includes a destination storage unit configured to store the information about a destination of a multicast packet in association with a multicast address; a determination unit configured to determine whether the destination of the multicast packet is a first physical machine on the basis of the destination information stored in the destination storage unit in a migration process in which a virtual machine operating on the first physical machine is migrated to a second physical machine; and an addition unit configured to add information about the second physical machine to the destination information in the destination storage unit, the destination information corresponding to the multicast address that indicates the destination of the first physical machine, if the determination unit determines that the destination of the multicast packet is the first physical machine.