Storage System SLO Enforcement for Virtual Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data storage systems lack effective mechanisms to enforce service level objectives (SLOs) for I/O operations across virtual machines, leading to inconsistent priority treatment and resource mismanagement, as SLOs defined on host or virtualizer systems are not synchronized with the storage system, resulting in disparate priority handling of I/O operations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that associates SLOs defined for a storage network with virtual machines running on host systems, where SLOs are communicated and stored on the storage system, allowing it to process I/O operations based on assigned service level objectives, ensuring consistent priority and resource allocation across multiple hosts and storage devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If service level objectives are defined only on host or virtualizer systems, then SLO configuration is simplified, but SLO enforcement becomes inconsistent across storage operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (storage system with SLO translation layer) that receives SLO definitions from host/virtualizer systems and translates them into storage-specific priority treatments. This intermediary ensures that SLOs are consistently enforced across the storage subsystem while maintaining the simplicity of definition at the host level.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the SLO enforcement process into distinct layers: SLO definition at host level, SLO translation at storage interface level, and SLO execution at storage operation level. This segmentation allows each layer to handle its specific function, maintaining both configuration simplicity and enforcement consistency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple host systems access a single storage device, then resource sharing is improved, but I/O priority management becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal SLO translation mechanism that handles I/O operations from multiple host systems through a single standardized interface. The storage system receives SLO definitions and automatically translates them into appropriate priority treatments for different I/O operations, providing multi-functional priority management without increasing operational complexity.
3Reliability
If SLOs are applied to virtual machines on storage system, then I/O performance consistency is improved, but system configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The storage system automatically receives SLO definitions from host/virtualizer systems and performs self-service translation into storage-specific priority treatments. This automation reduces configuration complexity while ensuring consistent I/O performance for virtual machines, as the system handles the complex translation process without requiring manual intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
Service level objectives (SLOs) defined for a storage system are associated with VMs running on hosts. For an I/O operation for a virtual machine (VM) running on a host system, storage processing is performed on the I/O operation in accordance with the SLO defined for the VM. The same storage system-defined SLOs may be applied to VMs running on multiple host systems. SLOs may be maintained by the storage array and shared with one or more host systems in I/O communication with the storage system. SLOs may be defined using a user interface of a storage system, host system, virtualizer control station or other component of a storage network, and communicated to the storage system, which may maintain the SLOs, and may disseminate them to one or more hosts. The SLOs then may be associated with VMs running on the hosts and tagged to I/O communications corresponding to the VMs.