Virtual Machine Cluster Backup via Quiesced Checkpoint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional virtual machine backup methods fail to create a consistent, cluster-wide checkpoint, leading to inefficient storage usage and processing resource wastage, as they typically back up each virtual machine separately and do not account for shared storage resource ownership within a virtual machine cluster.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that determine virtual machine node ownership and shared storage resources within a cluster, quiesce specified applications across nodes, and create a cluster-wide checkpoint, reducing storage requirements and optimizing processing resources by avoiding separate backups of each virtual machine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each virtual machine is backed up separately, then individual machine backup completeness is ensured, but storage requirements increase and processing resources are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual virtual machine backups into a single cluster-wide checkpoint operation. By coordinating backup across the entire virtual machine cluster simultaneously and utilizing shared storage resources, the system creates one unified backup that captures the state of all virtual machines. This eliminates redundant storage of identical shared resources and reduces total storage requirements while maintaining backup completeness through the coordination mechanism.
2Reliability
If each virtual machine is backed up separately, then individual backup integrity is maintained, but processing speed decreases due to repeated operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate backup operations into a single coordinated cluster-wide checkpoint. By executing one unified backup operation that captures all virtual machines simultaneously, the system eliminates the time overhead of repeatedly mounting, backing up, and dismounting shared storage resources for each individual virtual machine. This significantly improves processing speed while maintaining backup integrity through the coordination mechanism that ensures consistent state capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary coordination actions before the actual backup operation. The system first identifies shared storage resources and determines ownership relationships across the virtual machine cluster. This preliminary assessment enables the coordinated checkpoint operation to proceed efficiently without needing to perform individual resource discovery and mounting for each virtual machine during the backup execution, thereby improving processing speed.
3Quantity of substance
If cluster-wide checkpoint is created, then storage efficiency improves and processing resources are saved, but coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a coordination mechanism that acts as an intermediary between virtual machine owners and the backup system. This intermediary component manages the identification of shared storage resources, determines ownership relationships, and coordinates the quiescing of applications across the cluster. By centralizing these coordination functions, the system reduces the complexity burden on individual virtual machine owners and enables efficient cluster-wide checkpoint creation with improved storage efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments are directed to backing up a virtual machine cluster and to determining virtual machine node ownership prior to backing up a virtual machine cluster. In one scenario, a computer system determines which virtual machines nodes are part of the virtual machine cluster, determines which shared storage resources are part of the virtual machine cluster and determines which virtual machine nodes own the shared storage resources. The computer system then indicates to the virtual machine node owners that at least one specified application is to be quiesced over the nodes of the virtual machine cluster, such that a consistent, cluster-wide checkpoint can be created. The computer system further creates a cluster-wide checkpoint which includes a checkpoint for each virtual machine in the virtual machine cluster.