Storage Manager Automatic Failover Logic

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional systems for managing storage connections in virtualization platforms require manual reconfiguration and creation of new storage domains when underlying physical storage devices fail, leading to operational burdens and potential human errors.

Innovation Solution

A storage manager identifies failures in primary storage devices, associates backup storage devices with the storage domain, and redirects access without modifying the storage domain, allowing hosts and virtual machines to remain connected without reconfiguration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If manual reconfiguration is performed when storage devices fail, then storage connections can be restored, but operational burden increases and human errors may occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage connection reliabilityVSAvoidstorage management ease

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The storage manager automatically detects storage device failures, identifies backup storage devices, and performs reconfiguration without human intervention. The system serves itself by monitoring storage health, triggering failover procedures, and updating storage domain configurations autonomously, eliminating the need for manual operational intervention while maintaining connection reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The storage manager continuously monitors the health status of storage devices and uses this feedback to automatically initiate failover procedures when failures are detected. The system receives feedback about storage device status, processes this information, and triggers appropriate reconfiguration actions, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains storage availability without manual intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If new storage domains are created when primary storage fails, then storage access is restored, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage access reliabilityVSAvoidstorage domain complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The storage domain serves as an intermediary layer between hosts and physical storage devices. When storage devices fail, the storage manager updates the mapping within the existing storage domain rather than creating new domains. This intermediary approach allows the system to abstract the complexity of storage device changes from hosts, maintaining simple access paths while handling complex failover logic internally

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The existing storage domain structure is designed to be universal and can accommodate multiple sets of physical storage devices. Rather than creating specialized new storage domains for backup devices, the system reuses the existing storage domain framework to map to different physical storage sets, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining storage access reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Reliability

If manual updates are performed for each VM configuration, then storage connectivity is restored, but time is lost and errors may occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage connectivity reliabilityVSAvoidreconfiguration time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The storage manager automatically updates VM configurations by monitoring storage device status and triggering reconfiguration procedures without administrator intervention. The system self-updates configuration files, refreshes VM storage connections, and restores connectivity autonomously, eliminating the time loss and potential errors associated with manual configuration updates

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

Backup storage devices are pre-configured and ready before failures occur. When a failure is detected, the storage manager immediately activates the pre-prepared backup configurations, avoiding the need for time-consuming manual setup. The failover capability is prepared in advance, enabling rapid restoration of storage connectivity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS9459975B2Managing storage connections

Publication Date: 2016.10.04 RED HAT ISRAEL

AI summary

A processing device identifies a failure with at least one physical storage device of a first set of physical storage devices accessible to a virtualized environment via a logical storage domain. The logical storage domain has an assigned address. The processing device identifies a backup of the first set of physical storage devices. The backup includes a second set of physical storage devices. The processing device also prevents the virtualized environment from accessing the first set of physical storage devices. The processing device associates the second set of physical storage devices with the logical storage domain to cause storage access of the virtualized environment to be redirected to the second set of physical storage devices via the logical storage domain.