Virtual Media Node In-Memory Patching for Server Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Legacy approaches to managing computing environments require excessive storage space for handling large numbers of individually customized ISO images across numerous processors, leading to storage demands that exceed the capacity of modern hard disk drives and solid state disks, especially in large installations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtual media source node that dynamically generates and patches server-specific installation images, reducing the need for physical storage by processing and delivering patches in-memory, eliminating the need for duplicate image storage across multiple nodes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If individually customized ISO images are created for each processor, then each processor can be configured with specific operating system and patches, but the storage space required becomes excessively large for large installations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the base ISO image with individual patches to create customized processor-specific images. Instead of storing complete customized ISO images for each processor, the system combines a shared base image with individual patch files, significantly reducing storage requirements while maintaining customization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The base ISO image serves as a universal template that can be applied to multiple processors. The same base image with operating system and common components can be reused across many processors, with only the patches differing between individual processors.
2Productivity
If multiple customized ISO images are stored and processed concurrently, then imaging operations can be performed, but the processing power and inter-component communication requirements become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ISO image into a base image and separate patch components. This segmentation allows the system to process only the relevant patch portions for each processor rather than handling complete customized ISO images, reducing processing power requirements while maintaining imaging productivity.
3Ease of operation
If a small external node is used for configuring processors, then portability and ease of operation are improved, but the storage capacity becomes insufficient for large installations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the patch data from the complete ISO image structure and stores only the essential patch components on the external node. By separating the base image (which can be stored centrally) from the individual patches (stored externally), the system enables portable external nodes to function with large installations.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems for computing cluster management. A boot media source node is connected to a computing cluster. Boot image patching operations commence upon receiving, by the boot media source node, communications from at least one computing node of a plurality of computing nodes of the computing cluster. Such a communication comprises an indication of an address range of a requested segment of a boot image. The boot media source node retrieves a patch to be applied over the requested segment. The overlap range of the retrieved patch and the requested segment are calculated. The boot media source node processes the patch by allocating a segment in volatile memory of the server node, and forming an in-memory patched segment without storing the patched segment to non-volatile memory. The in-memory patched segment is delivered to the requestor and the boot media source node receives next segments from the same or different computing nodes.