Virtual Appliance Maintenance via Selective Component Cloning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The maintenance of virtual appliances is complex, especially in large systems with multiple application tiers and virtual machines, requiring updates across entire software stacks, which can lead to inefficiencies and increased downtime.
Innovation Solution
A maintenance descriptor is used to identify new levels for software components, with automated detection and updating of only necessary components, allowing for incremental updates and hot cloning to minimize downtime, enabling efficient and targeted maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire software stack is updated to maintain the virtual appliance, then the virtual appliance maintains consistency across all components, but the maintenance time and system downtime increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the software stack into individual software components (application programs, operating systems, virtual machines) and identifies only those components that require updates. This allows selective updating rather than updating the entire stack, thereby reducing maintenance time while maintaining consistency for components that actually need updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by updating only the necessary software components identified through comparison with the maintenance descriptor, rather than performing a complete update of all software components. This reduces the scope of maintenance operations and minimizes system downtime while ensuring that all necessary updates are applied.
2Reliability
If manual maintenance operations are performed on each software component, then updates can be applied systematically, but the complexity of maintenance increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through automated mechanisms that compare current software component levels against the maintenance descriptor, automatically identify which components need updates, and execute the updates without requiring manual intervention for each component. This reduces maintenance complexity while maintaining update accuracy through systematic automated processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of maintenance from manual to automated by introducing automated comparison logic that evaluates software component versions against the maintenance descriptor. This automated parameter change reduces the complexity of manual operations while ensuring accurate identification and updating of necessary components.
3Ease of manufacture
If updates are applied directly to the running virtual appliance, then the update process is simple, but the system downtime increases and risk of errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a cloned copy of the virtual appliance and applies updates to the clone rather than the running system. This copying approach allows updates to be tested and validated in the cloned environment before deployment, reducing the risk of errors affecting the production system while maintaining update simplicity through the cloning mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by cloning the virtual appliance and applying updates to the clone before replacing the running system. This preliminary update application allows validation of update correctness and reduces the risk of introducing errors to the production system, thereby improving system stability while maintaining a straightforward update process.
Data Source
AI summary
Maintenance of a virtual appliance is provided. The virtual appliance comprises a set of software components each one installed on a corresponding virtual machine. A maintenance descriptor is provided comprising an indication of a new level of at least each one of the software components to be updated thereto. For each software component indicated in the maintenance descriptor, a current level is determined of the software component that is installed on the corresponding virtual machine. A set of old ones of the software components to be actually updated is determined according to a comparison between the corresponding current levels and new levels. The virtual appliance is then cloned. The cloned virtual appliance is updated by updating each old software component thereof to the new level. The virtual appliance is now replaced by the updated cloned virtual appliance.