Virtual Machine Migration via Mobile Autonomic Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a lack of effective mechanisms for seamlessly transferring virtual machines and their management units from one host system to another during migration, which is necessary due to increased load, faults, or maintenance, especially in the context of autonomic computing where self-management and adaptability are key.
Innovation Solution
A method and system utilizing mobile autonomic elements with sensor and effector interfaces to migrate virtual machines by queuing events, serializing states, and transferring policy components, ensuring seamless operation on a target host.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If virtual machine migration is implemented to improve system availability and load balancing, then system adaptability and availability are improved, but the complexity of managing migration seamlessly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through mobile autonomic elements that autonomously manage virtual machine migration without human intervention. The autonomic elements track VM states, initiate migration sequences, and coordinate with target hosts automatically, resolving the technical contradiction by enabling adaptability while minimizing management complexity through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses mobile autonomic elements as intermediaries between virtual machines and host systems during migration. These elements carry management information and coordinates the migration process, simplifying the complex interactions between VMs, source hosts, and target hosts while maintaining system adaptability.
2Reliability
If virtual machine migration is performed to handle faults and maintenance, then system reliability is improved, but the time required for seamless migration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing target hosts and preparing migration environments before actual VM migration is needed. Mobile autonomic elements maintain readiness information and can initiate migration immediately when faults or maintenance are detected, reducing migration time while ensuring reliability through advance preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuity of useful action by implementing live migration capabilities where virtual machines continue to execute on source hosts while migration data is transferred to target hosts. The mobile autonomic elements coordinate this continuous operation, minimizing downtime and maintaining system reliability without significant migration delays.
3Reliability
If autonomic management elements are transferred with virtual machines to maintain management integrity, then management reliability is improved, but the complexity of the migration system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the mobile autonomic management elements with the virtual machine migration process itself. Rather than treating management element transfer as a separate complex operation, the patent combines it with the VM migration data transfer, using the same communication channels and coordination mechanisms to reduce overall system complexity while maintaining management integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile autonomic elements serve multiple functions: they manage VM lifecycle operations, track migration states, coordinate with hosts, and maintain management policies. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components, simplifying the overall system architecture while ensuring management integrity during migration.
Data Source
AI summary
Virtual machine (VM) technology allows multiple operating systems each deploying multiple applications to run on a single host. This invention presents an effective method and system for virtual machine migration from a source host to a target host. The method and system concern the migration of both the service VM and the element managing it. State of the migrating VM is preserved so that it can resume its execution on the target host.