Virtual Machine Migration Bandwidth Allocation

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Solution Overview

Problem

The migration of virtual machines from a source device to a target device often fails due to a lack of exact 1:1 bandwidth proportionality on the target host bus adaptors, even if the total bandwidth is sufficient, leading to failures in migration and affecting recovery and service allocation.

Innovation Solution

A target hypervisor determines the available bandwidth on the target device and reallocates virtual host bus adaptors to ensure each virtual machine uses the same bandwidth as on the source device, facilitating a successful migration by rearranging associations between virtual and physical host bus adaptors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If virtual machines are migrated to a target device with sufficient total bandwidth, then migration capacity is improved, but migration fails due to lack of exact 1:1 bandwidth proportionality on individual host bus adaptors

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetotal bandwidth capacityVSAvoidmigration success rate
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the bandwidth allocation problem by evaluating each target host bus adaptor individually to determine if it can accommodate a specific virtual machine's bandwidth requirements. Instead of treating the target device as a single pooled resource, the system divides the migration decision into discrete adaptor-level assessments, allowing precise matching of virtual machine bandwidth needs to available adaptor capacity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by requiring that each individual host bus adaptor on the target device possesses the specific bandwidth quality needed by each virtual machine. The system doesn't merely check total aggregate bandwidth but ensures that the local (adaptor-level) bandwidth characteristics match the requirements of the migrating virtual machines, thereby guaranteeing migration success.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If strict 1:1 bandwidth proportionality is enforced for each virtual machine on target adaptors, then migration reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to reallocation requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebandwidth proportionalityVSAvoidhost bus adaptor reallocation
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing bandwidth availability evaluation and host bus adaptor reallocation before the actual virtual machine migration occurs. The system proactively identifies suitable target adaptors and reconfigures bandwidth allocations in advance, ensuring that when migration is initiated, the target device is already prepared to accommodate the virtual machines with the required bandwidth proportions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamics by making the host bus adaptor configuration flexible and adjustable. The system dynamically reallocates virtual machine assignments to different target adaptors based on available bandwidth capacity, allowing the configuration to adapt to changing conditions. This dynamic reallocation capability enables the system to maintain bandwidth proportionality while managing complexity through automated, flexible resource assignment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3392763B1Migrating virtual machines
Publication Date: 2023.03.15 HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEV LP
  • EP3392763B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3392763B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3392763B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

Examples provided herein describe a system and method for migrating virtual machines. For example, a target hypervisor of a target device may determine whether bandwidth exists on the target device to migrate a source set of virtual machines from a source device. The target hypervisor may determine whether bandwidth exists by: determining whether a source total amount of bandwidth is less than an available target total amount of bandwidth on the target set of host bus adaptors; and, responsive to determining that the source total amount of bandwidth is less than the available target total amount of bandwidth, moving a first target virtual host bus adaptor of the target set of virtual machines across the target set of host bus adaptors to make available the source total amount of bandwidth to migrate the source set of virtual machines. Responsive to determining that the source total amount of bandwidth exists, the source set of virtual machines may be migrated to the target device.