Virtual Network Transport Abstraction for VM Port State Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transition from physical to virtual network transport functions disrupts the ability of software applications to access and manage network interface card counters, leading to issues with connectivity and resource management, as physical port states become hidden in virtual environments, requiring new abstraction models to maintain application performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a physical to virtual network transport function abstraction system that uses an orchestrator and virtual infrastructure manager to monitor and manage state information, allowing for two-way communication between virtual machines and applications, and enabling the hypervisor to swap out virtual equipment without notifying the software application, thus maintaining connectivity and resource allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If physical ports are virtualized to enable VM platform flexibility, then adaptability is improved, but application access to port state information deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Hypervisor as an intermediary layer between the virtualized physical ports and the software application. This Hypervisor maintains abstracted virtual states that bridge the gap, allowing the application to access port state information through virtual interfaces while the underlying physical ports remain virtualized and flexible for VM migration and reconfiguration.
2Reliability
If Hypervisor swaps out virtual equipment to fix connectivity issues, then system reliability is improved, but application awareness of changes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the Hypervisor monitors virtual port states and provides notifications to the software application when changes occur. This allows the application to be informed of connectivity status changes and resource allocation modifications, maintaining transparency while the Hypervisor retains the ability to swap virtual equipment for reliability purposes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If physical port counters are hidden to enable virtualization, then virtualization flexibility is improved, but device management capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of physical port counters and state information that present identical management interfaces to the software application. These virtual counters replicate the functionality of physical counters, allowing applications to manage network traffic and monitor port states without direct access to physical hardware, thus maintaining ease of operation while enabling virtualization flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
When the physical network is transitioned into a virtual network, functionality provided by physical ports are no longer available in the virtual machine (“VM”) environments. Physical to virtual network transport function abstraction may be implemented to provide software applications running in the VM with state information or similar information necessary for the software applications to continue running, without the physical ports that would provide such information in a physical system. In some embodiments, a virtual machine manager might send first information to a virtual infrastructure manager, which might send second information to a virtualized application manager or orchestrator. The virtualized application manager or orchestrator might in turn send third information to a virtualized application running in a virtual machine or container. The first, second, and/or third information might include state information (e.g., state change information) that enable software applications running in the VM to continue running, without physical ports.