Virtual Disk Cloning for VM to Container Migration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Migrating monolithic applications with interlinked services from virtual machines to micro-services containers is challenging due to dependency complexities, requiring efficient data transfer and conversion methods to support seamless service operation.
Innovation Solution
The use of orchestration engines and Docker tools within controller VMs facilitates the migration of data from virtual machines to micro-services containers by creating volume groups, cloning virtual disks, and mounting them on application Docker containers, allowing services to access necessary data without interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is migrated from virtual machines to containers using traditional methods, then service migration can be achieved, but dependency complexities and migration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic application into microservices, each with its own container. This segmentation isolates dependencies within individual services, making the overall migration process more manageable and less complex despite the interlinked nature of services.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an orchestration engine as an intermediary that automates the migration process. This intermediary manages the complex dependencies between services by coordinating data transfer, container creation, and service registration, thereby reducing the perceived complexity for users.
2Productivity
If virtual disk cloning is used for data transfer, then migration speed improves, but storage resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses virtual disk cloning to create copies of data volumes for migration. This copying approach enables fast data transfer by leveraging efficient clone operations rather than byte-by-byte copying, significantly improving migration speed while the system manages storage resources through the container orchestration layer.
3Adaptability or versatility
If services are decoupled into microservices containers, then resource utilization and scalability improve, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monolithic application into separate microservice containers, each independently deployable and scalable. This segmentation enables flexible resource allocation and scaling of individual services based on demand, improving adaptability while the orchestration engine manages the complexity of inter-service communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal container platform that can host multiple microservices with different requirements. This multi-functional container environment provides standardized resource management, networking, and deployment capabilities across diverse services, improving versatility while abstracting away underlying complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein may include migration of data associated with a service to a container. An example method includes creating of a user virtual machine associated with a service and an associated virtual disk storing data associated with running the service, and creating a volume group and an associated storage container at a node of a computing system. The example method further includes storing a cloned version of the virtual disk into the storage container, and, in response to discovery of the cloned version of the virtual disk in the storage container, mounting the cloned version of the virtual disk on the volume group to provide access to clients running the service.