Virtual Volume Provisioning Across Hypervisor Formats
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtualization environments face challenges in provisioning applications across multiple virtual machines with different virtual drive formats, as existing solutions are specific to particular hypervisor providers, preventing seamless attachment and execution of applications across various virtual machines.
Innovation Solution
A provisioning manager system that generates application volumes in a first virtual drive format and duplicates them into alternative formats, allowing storage in separate repositories associated with specific virtual machines and hypervisors, enabling attachment and execution without traditional installation processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If virtualized volumes are created specific to a hypervisor provider, then the volumes can be properly attached to virtual machines using that provider's hypervisor, but the volumes cannot be attached to virtual machines using alternative hypervisor providers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates duplicate copies of the same virtualized volume in multiple different virtual drive formats (e.g., VHD, VMDK, VDI). Each copy is stored in a separate storage repository associated with specific hypervisor providers. When a virtual machine needs to access the volume, the system automatically provides the copy in the appropriate format for that VM's hypervisor, enabling cross-compatibility without sacrificing format-specific reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate storage repositories are maintained for each virtual drive format, then volumes can be properly served to virtual machines with specific formats, but the system complexity increases due to multiple repositories
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a provisioning manager as an intermediary component that sits between the user and the multiple storage repositories. This provisioning manager automatically handles the complexity of managing multiple formats and repositories by detecting the virtual machine's hypervisor type and automatically providing the appropriate volume format from the correct repository. This shields users from the underlying system complexity while maintaining full format support.
3Adaptability or versatility
If applications are provisioned in multiple virtual drive formats, then applications can be accessed by virtual machines using different hypervisors, but the provisioning time and processing resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-provisions application volumes in multiple different virtual drive formats and stores them in separate storage repositories before they are actually needed. When a virtual machine is created or migrated to a different hypervisor platform, the system can immediately provide the pre-prepared volume in the appropriate format without needing to perform time-consuming format conversion or re-provisioning operations at runtime.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and software described herein provision application volumes for a plurality of virtual machines. In one example, a method of provisioning volumes for attachment to virtual machines includes provisioning an application in a virtual volume of a first virtual drive format, and identifying one or more alternative virtual drive formats for the application. The method further includes duplicating the application in the virtual volume to one or more additional virtual volumes corresponding to the one or more alternative virtual drive formats. The method also includes storing the virtual volume and the one or more additional virtual volumes in separate storage repositories, wherein each of the storage repositories is associated with one or more virtual machines and a particular virtual drive format.