Virtual Machine Image Management via Base and Incremental Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The management of virtual machine images is inefficient due to large storage requirements, as each virtual machine maintains a substantial codebase and data set, leading to high storage costs and complexity in enterprises with multiple users.
Innovation Solution
A system that utilizes a common data store for a base virtual machine image and individual data stores for incremental images, detecting and copying common modifications to the base image while adding pointers to incremental images, thereby reducing storage needs and simplifying management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each virtual machine maintains a complete copy of the codebase and data set, then each virtual machine can operate independently and reliably, but the storage requirement increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual machine image is segmented into a base image containing common codebase and data, and incremental images containing only the differences. The base image is shared across all virtual machines, while each virtual machine maintains only its unique incremental changes, significantly reducing overall storage requirements while preserving operational independence
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple virtual machine images are merged into a single base image that contains common elements. By combining the shared codebase and data from all virtual machines into one repository, the system eliminates redundant storage while maintaining the ability to deploy individual virtual machines with their unique configurations
2Quantity of substance
If a centralized storage system is used for virtual machine images, then storage costs are reduced through deduplication, but image management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of storing complete virtual machine images repeatedly, the system creates copies of only the incremental changes and attaches them to the shared base image. This copying approach reduces storage costs by eliminating redundancy while managing complexity through a structured layered architecture
3Ease of manufacture
If virtual machine images are stored as complete copies, then deployment is straightforward, but storage efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The base image is prepared in advance with common codebase and data, and incremental changes are pre-calculated and stored. When deploying a virtual machine, the system simply combines the pre-prepared base image with the appropriate incremental images, maintaining deployment simplicity while achieving high storage efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for managing images of virtual machines hosted by a server. The server maintains a base virtual machine image in a common data store for sharing by the virtual machines. When the server identifies an image modification for at least one of the virtual machines, the server determines whether the image modification includes data common to images of the other virtual machines. If so, the common data is copied to the base virtual machine image in the common data store, and a pointer to the copied data is added to an image of the virtual machine in an individual data store.