Virtual Appliance Boot Progress Tracking via Component Dependency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual storage appliances (VSAs) face challenges in accurately reporting boot progress to users, as existing methods are either too variable or inaccurate due to differing configurations and potential crashes, leading to user uncertainty during the boot process.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented to build a data structure describing dependence relationships between components of the VSA, identifying essential and required components for booting, querying their completion statuses, and calculating an estimated completion percentage for accurate progress display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a fixed estimated boot time is programmed into the VSA, then the user can see a progress indication, but the accuracy of the progress indication deteriorates because the expected time is variable depending on configuration and upgrades
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the parameter being measured from a fixed time estimate to a component-based completion status. Instead of using a predetermined time value that varies with configuration, the system measures actual component initialization states and calculates progress based on the proportion of completed components, adapting to any configuration or upgrade scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/time-based progress tracking system with a software-based component status querying system. Instead of relying on temporal measurements that are difficult to standardize, the system uses direct queries to component interfaces to determine completion states, substituting a rigid time-based mechanism with a flexible state-based mechanism.
2Ease of operation
If a fixed estimated boot time is used, then progress can be reported, but reliability deteriorates because progress may be reported even if the VSA has crashed
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously querying component completion statuses during the boot process and using this actual state information to update progress indications. This real-time feedback mechanism ensures that progress reporting reflects the true state of the system, allowing detection of crashes or failures when components fail to report completion, thereby maintaining reliability while providing ongoing progress information.
3Extent of automation
If a list of components is pre-programmed into the boot progress module, then component completion can be queried, but manufacturing precision deteriorates because VSA configuration varies considerably across systems and upgrades
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by designing a component querying mechanism that can adapt to any VSA configuration rather than relying on a fixed component list. The boot progress module can dynamically discover and query any component that implements the appropriate interface, making the system universally applicable across different configurations, hardware platforms, and upgrade scenarios without requiring reprogramming of component lists.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamics by making the set of tracked components variable rather than fixed. Instead of a static pre-programmed list, the system dynamically determines which components to track based on the actual VSA configuration and initialization process, allowing the component set to adapt as the system is upgraded or reconfigured while maintaining automatic tracking capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, performed by a computing device, includes (a) building a data structure that describes dependence relationships between components of a virtual appliance, the components comprising respective computational processes which may be invoked during booting, a dependence relationship indicating that one component must complete before a second component may be invoked, (b) identifying, with reference to the data structure and an essential set of components which were pre-defined to be essential to the virtual appliance, a set of components that must complete for booting to be considered finished, and, after identifying the required set of components, repeatedly (c) querying each required component for its respective completion status, (d) calculating an estimated completion percentage for booting the virtual appliance with reference to the respective completion statuses of each required component versus all required components, and (e) displaying an indication of the completion percentage to a user via a user interface.