SoC Volume Management for Bare-Metal Server Provisioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current PXE protocol for provisioning bare-metal servers is time-consuming and complex, requiring approximately 10 minutes for the bare-metal server to request and start an operating system from a remote server, which hampers efficiency and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A request processing method and system on chip architecture that enables fast allocation of bare-metal servers by using a public cloud management component to store and manage system volumes, allowing the bare-metal server to start its operating system directly from a locally stored system volume, reducing the need for remote downloads and manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If PXE protocol is used to download operating system from remote server, then bare-metal server can be provisioned through network, but allocation time is approximately 10 minutes which is too long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-downloading and storing the operating system image in the local memory of the bare-metal server before provisioning is needed. When a provisioning request arrives, the system directly loads the pre-stored image instead of downloading it during allocation, reducing allocation time from 10 minutes to seconds while maintaining the network-based provisioning capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a local copy of the operating system image in the server's memory. Instead of repeatedly downloading the same OS image from the remote PXE server, the system copies the image to local storage once and reuses it for multiple provisioning operations, significantly reducing both time and network dependency
2Ease of operation
If PXE client requests operating system from PXE server, then remote provisioning is enabled, but the process is complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the time-consuming OS download step from the provisioning process by pre-fetching and storing the operating system image in local memory before the provisioning request. This separates the download operation from the allocation operation, making the provisioning process faster and simpler while maintaining remote image management capabilities
3Productivity
If operating system is downloaded from remote server during provisioning, then network-based provisioning is achieved, but allocation speed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-downloading and caching the operating system image in the server's local memory before provisioning is required. This allows the provisioning process to skip the download step and directly load the pre-stored image, increasing allocation speed from minutes to seconds
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces local memory as an intermediary between the remote PXE server and the provisioning process. Instead of directly downloading from remote to install, the system uses local memory as a buffer to store pre-fetched images, enabling faster provisioning while maintaining remote image management
Data Source
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AI summary
This application provides a request processing method, a system on chip, and a public cloud management component. The method is executed by the system on chip. The system on chip is included in a bare-metal server. The bare-metal server further includes a processor. The bare-metal server is included in a distributed storage system. The distributed storage system further includes a public cloud management component. The method includes: receiving, by the system on chip, a volume attaching request sent by the public cloud management component, where the volume attaching request includes an identifier of a system volume; and storing, by the system on chip, the identifier of the system volume based on the volume attaching request, where when the bare-metal server is started, the bare-metal server uses the identifier of the system volume to determine the system volume, and starts an operating system of the bare-metal server based on the system volume, and the system volume stores a file used for starting the operating system of the bare-metal server. The request processing method in embodiments of this application can implement fast allocation of the bare-metal server, thereby improving efficiency and user experience.