Synthetic Application Load Simulation for Safe VM Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for consolidating workloads on host devices, particularly virtual machines, often result in resource overload, impacting existing applications and failing to ensure sufficient resources for migrated applications, leading to suboptimal performance and inefficiencies in resource utilization.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a load generator that creates a synthetic application to simulate the load of the application to be migrated, gradually increasing the load to ensure the target host can handle it without affecting existing applications, using techniques like the High Level Application Model (HLAM) benchmark, to verify resource sufficiency before migration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If virtual machines are consolidated to fewer physical machines, then power consumption and maintenance costs are reduced, but resource overload may occur affecting application performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary validation by generating a synthetic application that simulates the load characteristics of the application to be migrated. This synthetic application is executed on the target host before actual migration to validate that sufficient resources are available. The system monitors host behavior during synthetic execution and only proceeds with migration if validation succeeds, preventing resource overload and performance degradation.
2Productivity
If workload consolidation is performed without validation, then migration speed is improved, but resource sufficiency cannot be guaranteed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a synthetic application that copies the load characteristics, resource requirements, and execution patterns of the actual application to be migrated. This synthetic copy is used to validate target host capacity without requiring the actual application to be present during the validation phase. The synthetic application accurately replicates resource consumption patterns including CPU, memory, and I/O loads.
3Reliability
If synthetic load validation is performed iteratively with increasing load, then resource sufficiency is verified, but validation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic validation by iteratively executing the synthetic application with progressively increasing load levels. The validation process starts with a baseline load and incrementally increases the synthetic load while monitoring host behavior. This dynamic approach allows the system to verify resource sufficiency under varying conditions and determine the maximum sustainable load capacity of the target host.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus and computer program product for program migration, the method comprising: receiving a target host and an application to be migrated to a target host; estimating a target load of the application to be migrated; generating a synthetic application which simulates a simulated load, the simulated load being smaller than the target load; loading the synthetic application to the target host; monitoring behavior of the target host, the synthetic application, or a second application executed thereon; subject to the behavior being satisfactory: if the simulated load is smaller than the target load, then repeating said generating, said loading and said monitoring, wherein said loading is repeated with increased load; and otherwise migrating the application to the target.