Virtual Machine Disk Partition Alignment and Storage Reclamation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual machine sprawl and misaligned virtual machine disk partitions lead to wasted storage space and reduced performance in virtual computing environments, resulting in increased costs and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
Systems and methods that identify and reclaim over-allocated virtual machine storage, dynamically align partitions, and resize virtual machine disks without copying contents, using a management server to optimize storage utilization and performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If virtual machine disks are statically allocated with fixed size, then storage allocation is simple and fast, but storage space is wasted due to over-allocation and virtual machine sprawl
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic storage allocation by allowing virtual machine disks to be resized from static fixed-size allocations. The system automatically monitors storage usage and adjusts disk sizes to match actual needs, transforming the storage management approach from static to dynamic to eliminate waste from over-allocation and virtual machine sprawl.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs self-service mechanisms where the storage management system automatically identifies, calculates, and reclaims over-allocated storage without manual intervention. The system autonomously scans host servers and virtual machines, determines optimal storage allocation, and executes resizing operations to reclaim wasted space while preventing future over-allocation.
2Productivity
If virtual machine disk partitions are misaligned, then disk creation is simpler and faster, but I/O performance deteriorates due to data being written to multiple blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing partition alignment during the disk resizing operation. Before the virtual machine is powered back on, the system aligns the partitions to proper boundaries, ensuring that future I/O operations will not span multiple physical blocks. This preliminary alignment prevents performance degradation before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the partition alignment operation with the disk resizing operation into a single unified process. By combining these two operations, the system eliminates the need for separate alignment steps, reducing overall complexity while achieving both size optimization and performance improvement simultaneously.
3Loss of time
If virtual machine disk is resized without copying contents, then storage reclamation is faster and more efficient, but data integrity risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by obtaining a lock on the virtual machine before resizing operations. This lock ensures that no write operations are in progress and no data is being accessed, creating a safe state for the resize operation. The lock is maintained throughout the resizing process and released only after completion, preventing data corruption while enabling efficient in-place resizing without content copying.
Data Source
AI summary
Virtual machine optimization and/or storage reclamation solutions are disclosed that manage virtual machine sprawl and/or growing enterprise storage costs. For instance, certain solutions receive recommendations based on one or more rules, policies and/or user preferences that identify storage and/or alignment criteria for virtual machine disk (VMDK) partition(s). In certain examples, a resize tool that operates within a host operating system of a host server dynamically resizes and/or aligns one or more VMDK partitions of a powered-down virtual machine. For instance, the resize tool can be injected to the host server from a remote management server and can resize and/or align the VMDK partitions without requiring contents of the VMDK to be copied to another VMDK. By reallocating storage and/or aligning the VMDK partitions, embodiments of the invention can increase virtual machine performance and improve storage management.