Unified Cloud Snapshot Management for Virtual Instance Reversion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for managing cloud snapshots in virtual computing instances (VCIs) do not allow for the creation of unified snapshots that include the state of all disks, making it difficult to revert a VCI to a previous state effectively.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves creating a single snapshot in the development platform that captures the necessary data to revert a machine to a previous state, and modifying the snapshot creation process to link disks with their snapshots, enabling unified management of boot and data disks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate snapshots are created for each disk, then each disk can be independently backed up, but the complexity of managing multiple snapshots increases and unified reversion capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges separate disk snapshots into a unified snapshot structure that captures the state of all disks (boot disk and data disks) simultaneously. This is achieved by creating a single snapshot object that contains references to snapshots of multiple disks, allowing the system to maintain reliability through comprehensive backup while reducing management complexity through unified operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified snapshot mechanism provides multi-functionality by enabling a single snapshot structure to serve multiple purposes: backing up different disk types (boot and data disks), supporting unified reversion operations, and providing consistent point-in-time captures across all disks. This universal approach eliminates the need for separate snapshot management for each disk type.
2Ease of operation
If a unified snapshot is created to capture all disks, then reversion capability is improved, but the storage space required for snapshots increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested structure where a unified snapshot object contains references to individual disk snapshots. This nested architecture allows the system to store only the necessary snapshot data for each disk while maintaining a unified view, thereby reducing overall storage space requirements compared to storing complete separate snapshots for each disk independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified snapshot structure acts as an intermediary layer between the individual disk snapshots and the reversion operation. This intermediary contains references to the actual snapshot data, allowing the system to manage storage more efficiently by storing snapshot data only once and reusing it through references, while still providing unified reversion capability.
3Reliability
If all disks are included in the snapshot, then complete system state is captured, but the time required for snapshot creation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing snapshots of individual disks in a coordinated manner before finalizing the unified snapshot. The snapshot creation process initiates disk snapshots in advance and combines them into a unified structure, ensuring complete system state capture while managing creation time through efficient coordination of the snapshotting process.
Data Source
AI summary
Managing cloud snapshots in a development platform is described herein. One example method includes creating a snapshot of a virtual computing instance (VCI), provided by a cloud provider, using a development platform, receiving a request to revert to the snapshot, and performing a revert operation responsive to receiving the request. The revert operation can include creating a new boot disk on the cloud provider to replace a current boot disk in the development platform, creating a new data disk to replace a current data disk associated with the VCI, powering off the VCI and detaching the boot disk and the data disk, attaching the new boot disk and the new data disk to the VCI, powering on the VCI, and deleting the detached boot disk and the detached data disk.