Unified Resource Visualization for Virtualized Hosts
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtualized computer environments, administrators face challenges in visualizing the effectiveness of load balancing and resource policies due to limited visibility into resource utilization, particularly for individual virtual machines, making it difficult to correlate data across multiple displays.
Innovation Solution
A graphical representation is used to combine multiple dimensions of resource allocation and usage information for host computers and virtual machines on a single display, with color-coding indicating resource allocation relative to entitlement, allowing for clearer visualization of resource usage and potential migration impacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If multiple displays are used to show different types of resource utilization information, then information completeness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates because it is difficult to correlate data across multiple displays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple dimensions of resource allocation and usage information that were previously displayed across multiple separate displays into a single unified graphical representation. This integration allows administrators to view host computer resource usage, virtual machine resource usage, and resource allocation effectiveness all in one display, eliminating the difficulty of correlating data across multiple displays while maintaining information completeness
Solution Approach 2:
The graphical representation serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays overall host computer CPU utilization, shows individual virtual machine resource usage through segmented bars, indicates resource allocation effectiveness through color-coding, and provides correlation between host and virtual machine levels. This multi-functional single display replaces what previously required multiple specialized displays
2Ease of operation
If resource graphs show overall CPU utilization for each host computer, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of information worsens because no information about resources provided to individual virtual machines is displayed
Solution Approach 1:
The graphical representation segments the resource utilization display at the virtual machine level by dividing each host computer's resource bar into sections, where each section corresponds to a specific virtual machine. This segmentation allows the graph to maintain its simplicity for monitoring host-level usage while simultaneously providing detailed information about individual virtual machine resource consumption within the same visual structure
Data Source
AI summary
A graphical display combines multiple dimensions of information relating to resource allocation and usage by a group of computer systems and sub-systems of the computer systems. The graphical display includes a series of graphics, each indicating resource usage by one of the computer systems. In addition, each graphic has multiple sections. Each section of the graphic indicates resource usage by a sub-system that is within the computer system represented by the graphic. Each section of the graphics may also be color-coded. The color code indicates the amount of resources the associated sub-system is receiving relative to the amount of resources that has been designated for that sub-system.