Virtual Machine Backup Update via Storage Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face delays and resource utilization issues when restoring virtual machines to production environments due to the need for post-restoration updates, such as security patches and configuration changes, which can significantly prolong the time-to-production and burden the primary system's resources.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves applying updates to virtual machine disk image file backups before restoration, by generating a clone, mounting it, applying updates, and then exporting the updated backup, thereby reducing the time-to-production and offloading the update process from the primary system to the storage system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If updates are applied after virtual machine restoration to production environment, then security vulnerabilities are fixed, but time-to-production is significantly prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies updates to the virtual machine disk image file backup before restoration occurs. The storage system mounts the backup, applies security patches and configuration updates, then exports the updated backup. This preliminary action ensures the virtual machine is security-updated before deployment to production, eliminating post-restoration update delays and reducing time-to-production while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If updates are applied after virtual machine restoration, then security patches are installed, but primary system resources are burdened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the update application process from the primary production system and relocates it to the storage system. The storage system mounts the virtual machine backup, applies all necessary security patches and updates, then exports the updated backup. This separation prevents primary system resource burden while ensuring security patches are properly installed, maintaining reliability without impacting production productivity.
3Speed
If virtual machine backup is restored directly without pre-update, then deployment speed is fast, but security vulnerabilities are exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary update application to the virtual machine backup before restoration. The storage system automatically mounts the backup, applies security patches and configuration updates, then exports the updated backup for immediate deployment. This approach maintains fast deployment speed while eliminating security vulnerability exposure by ensuring updates are applied beforehand.
4Productivity
If updates are applied to mounted backup, then updated virtual machine is ready for production, but storage system resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the storage system to perform multiple functions: not only storing virtual machine backups but also mounting, updating, and exporting them. By making the storage system multi-functional, it can apply updates to backups during the backup lifecycle without requiring separate dedicated update infrastructure, achieving virtual machine readiness while efficiently utilizing existing storage system resources.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual machine disk image file backup is selected among a plurality of virtual machine disk image file backups stored on a backup storage based on a backup update policy. A version of the selected virtual machine disk image file backup is mounted. Based on the backup update policy, an update to the mounted version of the selected virtual machine disk image file backup is applied without restoring the selected virtual machine disk image file backup. The updated version of the selected virtual machine disk image file backup is stored on the backup storage.