Multi-region Virtual Data Center Template Replication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional processes for instantiating a virtual data center environment from a template suffer from significant latency due to the time required to copy data across geographic distances to the physical data center, which becomes more acute as the number of templates and desired locations increases.
Innovation Solution
A facility that maintains template data at multiple selected physical data centers, allowing for quick instantiation of environments without the need for data copying at instantiation time, and enables user interface management for specifying data center locations and region-specific resource substitution for seamless replication across data centers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If template data is copied to multiple physical data centers for rapid instantiation, then environment instantiation speed is improved, but data storage and management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-copying template data to multiple physical data centers before instantiation is needed. The template management system maintains replicated copies of template data across selected data centers, so when instantiation is required, the data is already available at the target location, eliminating copy time during instantiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The template management system acts as an intermediary between the template source and multiple physical data centers. It manages the replication process, tracks template instances across different data centers, and coordinates the distribution of template data, simplifying the complexity of multi-location data management.
2Reliability
If template data is replicated across more data centers, then availability and accessibility are improved, but the time required for initial data copying increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the data copying action in advance during template replication, not during instantiation. By pre-replicating template data to multiple data centers, the system ensures availability without incurring copy time at the moment of instantiation, as the data is already prepared and cached at target locations.
3Ease of operation
If a single template is used across multiple regions, then operational simplicity is improved, but region-specific resource conflicts may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by allowing region-specific modifications to template instances while maintaining the base template structure. Each data center can have its own instance of the template with region-specific resources (such as local storage systems or network configurations) that are appropriate for that location, while still being based on the same template.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables dynamic adaptation where template instances can be customized for different regions. The template management system tracks which data centers have which template instances and allows for dynamic configuration of region-specific resources while maintaining the overall template structure and relationships.
Data Source
AI summary
A facility for distributing a template recording a past state of a virtual computing environment is described. The facility accesses a list of physical data centers at which the template is to be available for immediate use to instantiate a new virtual computing environments. The facility causes the template to be stored at each physical data center on the list.