Virtual Server Migration Control via Storage Area Cooperation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The migration of virtual servers between physical servers and storage areas in computer systems often results in performance degradation and requires significant arithmetic resources, leading to inefficient operation and management of storage areas, especially when migrating large volumes across different storage apparatuses from various vendors, which can disrupt the pre-migration connection relationships between virtual servers and their storage areas.
Innovation Solution
The system maintains pre-migration connection relationships by obtaining configuration information from the migration source, using this information to set up migration settings for volumes, and reconstructing the connection relationships at the destination, employing cooperative mechanisms between multiple storage apparatuses to ensure seamless migration across different storage systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If virtual server migration is performed using conventional methods with network data transfer between physical servers, then virtual server mobility is achieved, but network performance degradation and migration time increase occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the data transfer operation from the network layer and moves it to the storage layer. By separating storage area migration from virtual server migration, the system performs storage migration independently using storage apparatus cooperative mechanisms, eliminating the time-consuming network data transfer step while preserving virtual server mobility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces storage area migration as an intermediary process between source and destination physical servers. The storage migration control module acts as a mediator that coordinates data movement between storage apparatuses independently of the virtual server migration, reducing the overall migration time by parallelizing operations
2Productivity
If virtual server migration uses network data transfer for both business activities and migration data, then system resources are utilized, but performance degradation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data transfer pathways into two independent channels: network transfer for business activities and storage area transfer for migration data. This segmentation allows business operations to continue with minimal performance impact while migration proceeds through dedicated storage pathways, maintaining both resource utilization and performance stability
Solution Approach 2:
The storage area network serves as an intermediary infrastructure that handles migration data transfer separately from the business network. This mediator approach isolates migration operations from business operations, preventing performance degradation while maintaining system productivity
3Adaptability or versatility
If storage areas are migrated between different storage apparatuses, then storage flexibility is improved, but connection relationship management becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the storage migration control module continuously monitors and tracks connection relationships between virtual servers and storage areas. By maintaining awareness of these relationships and providing feedback during migration operations, the system manages complexity while enabling flexible cross-apparatus migration
Solution Approach 2:
The storage migration control module acts as an intermediary that manages connection relationships between virtual servers and storage areas across different apparatuses. This mediator handles the complexity of tracking and maintaining connections, allowing storage flexibility without overwhelming complexity
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional virtual server migration methods are used, then migration capability is provided, but arithmetic resources of physical servers are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the data movement function from the physical server's arithmetic resources and relocates it to the storage apparatus. By performing storage area migration independently using dedicated storage infrastructure, the system reduces the arithmetic resource consumption of physical servers while maintaining full migration capability
Data Source
AI summary
When migrating a virtual server between a plurality of physical servers, a pre-migration connection relationship between the virtual server and a storage area used by the virtual server is maintained after the migration of the virtual server by using a cooperative mechanism between a plurality of storage apparatuses even if the storage area used by the virtual server is migrated between the plurality of storage apparatuses. A computer system and virtual server migration control method for the computer system is described.