Virtual Logical Volume Management via Control Block Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current storage pooling techniques, such as storage gateways and logical volume management, fail to effectively map disk blocks to virtual machine block devices in a SAN environment, leading to performance issues and fragmentation across data centers.
Innovation Solution
A mechanism for virtual logical volume management, where a VM host server writes control blocks to network-capable storage devices, mapping physical storage blocks to virtual storage blocks and assigning them to VMs, creating a unified virtual storage pool that can be allocated and managed efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If storage gateways are used for storage pooling, then storage consolidation is achieved, but performance bottlenecks and latency issues occur due to centralization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the storage gateway function from the system, allowing VMs to access storage directly without going through a centralized gateway. The VM host server writes control blocks directly to storage devices and manages the mapping, eliminating the intermediary storage gateway that caused performance bottlenecks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a control block as an intermediary data structure that enables direct mapping between VM block devices and physical storage blocks. This control block, written by the VM host server, serves as a lightweight mediator that provides storage pooling functionality without the performance overhead of a centralized storage gateway.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional logical volume management is used, then multiple systems can share logical volumes, but it fails to map disk blocks to VM block devices in SAN environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters of logical volume management by introducing control blocks that contain specific mapping information tailored for VM block devices in SAN environments. The control block structure and mapping mechanism are adapted to work with virtualized storage requirements rather than traditional LVM approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The control block mechanism serves multiple functions: it enables storage pooling, provides direct mapping between virtual and physical blocks, supports VM block device access in SAN environments, and allows the VM host server to manage storage allocation. This universal approach replaces multiple specialized components.
3Quantity of substance
If fragmented storage devices are used across data centers, then storage capacity is available, but accessibility and management become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges fragmented storage devices from multiple vendors and locations into a unified virtual storage pool. The control block mechanism allows the VM host server to manage all storage devices collectively, presenting a single accessible storage resource to VMs regardless of the underlying physical fragmentation.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a mechanism for virtual logical volume management is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for virtual logical volume management includes writing, by a virtual machine (VM) host server computing device, a control block to each of a plurality of network-capable physical storage devices and mapping, by the VM host server computing device, physical storage blocks of the plurality of network-capable physical storage devices to virtual storage blocks of a virtual storage pool by associating the physical storage blocks with the virtual storage blocks in the control block of the network-capable physical storage device housing the physical storage blocks being mapped. Furthermore, the method includes assigning, by the VM host server computing device, a block range of the virtual storage blocks to a VM allocated by the VM host server computing device by writing a unique identifier (ID) of the VM to one or more entries in the control block having the physical storage blocks associated with the block range of the virtual storage blocks assigned to the VM.