Sparse File Redirection for Virtual Desktop Storage Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual desktop environments, the limited guest file system space leads to redundant storage of files with the same contents, inefficient storage of frequently and infrequently accessed files across different types of storage devices, resulting in suboptimal storage usage.
Innovation Solution
Distributing files from a disk image of a guest operating system to external storage devices, using placeholder sparse files within the virtual desktop environment to redirect access, and automatically moving files based on access frequency and storage device speed to optimize storage usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If files are stored within the guest file system, then file access is simple and direct, but storage space is wasted due to redundant copies of identical files across multiple virtual desktop instances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces sparse files as intermediary objects that redirect file access from the guest file system to external storage. When a file is accessed within the virtual desktop environment, the sparse file acts as a mediator that transparently redirects the access to the corresponding file stored externally, eliminating redundant copies while maintaining simple access semantics for the guest operating system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves file storage from the traditional two-dimensional guest file system space to an external third dimension (host file system or external storage device). This dimensional shift allows multiple virtual desktop instances to share the same external storage space while maintaining their own view of the files through sparse file redirection, thus eliminating redundancy without compromising access simplicity.
2Speed
If all files are stored on fast storage devices, then file access speed is maximized, but storage cost and resource usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by placing frequently accessed files on fast storage devices and infrequently accessed files on slow storage devices. The system monitors file access patterns and automatically migrates files between storage tiers, ensuring that each file is stored on the most appropriate storage medium based on its specific access requirements, thus optimizing both speed and resource usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic file placement that adapts to changing access patterns. Files are not statically assigned to fixed storage locations but are dynamically migrated between fast and slow storage devices based on real-time or periodic analysis of access frequency. This dynamic approach ensures that storage resources are continuously optimized to match actual usage patterns.
3Quantity of substance
If files are distributed to external storage devices, then storage efficiency improves through deduplication, but file access complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sparse file serves as an intermediary that abstracts the complexity of external storage access from the guest operating system and applications. The guest OS interacts with the sparse file exactly as it would with a local file, while the sparse file handling logic transparently manages the redirection to external storage, thus maintaining ease of operation despite distributed storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy (sparse file) in the guest file system that references the actual file data stored externally. This copying mechanism allows the guest OS to work with familiar file objects while the actual data resides externally, eliminating the need for the guest OS to directly manage complex distributed storage protocols and maintaining operational simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, a method that includes receiving, from within a guest operating system, a request to create a data file in a guest file system of the guest operating system. The method further includes in response to the receipt of the request to create the data file, creating an external data file in a first storage device for a file system outside the guest file system, creating a sparse file in the guest file system, and storing metadata that directs requests to access the sparse file from within the guest operating system to the external data file in the first storage device.