Virtual Machine Mobility via Service Appliance State Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data center technologies face challenges in seamlessly migrating virtual machines between data centers, particularly due to the stateful nature of service appliances that require session and application state information for proper functioning, which complicates virtual machine mobility and service continuity.
Innovation Solution
A method and device for determining the need to move a virtual machine from one physical system to another, involving state synchronization between service appliances and instantiating a copy of the virtual machine at the destination system, utilizing a data center management device to manage the process, including sending instructions for state synchronization and instantiation, and handling services like firewall, IPSec, VPN, WAN optimization, and load balancing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If virtual machines are migrated between data centers, then resource utilization and disaster recovery improve, but service continuity deteriorates due to stateful service appliances
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary state synchronization of service appliances before virtual machine migration. The source data center service appliance transmits session state information to the destination data center service appliance in advance, ensuring that service state is preserved before the virtual machine actually moves, thus maintaining service continuity during migration
Solution Approach 2:
Service appliances act as intermediaries between the virtual machine and the migration process. The service appliance captures, stores, and transmits session state information, mediating the transfer of service context from source to destination data center, enabling seamless virtual machine mobility while preserving service state
2Reliability
If service appliances maintain session state information, then service reliability improves, but device complexity increases during virtual machine migration
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the migration process into distinct phases: state synchronization phase and virtual machine migration phase. The service appliance handles state information independently from the virtual machine itself, separating concerns and simplifying the overall migration complexity while maintaining service reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The destination service appliance receives and stores a copy of the session state information from the source service appliance. This copying mechanism preserves service state without requiring complex real-time synchronization, simplifying the migration process while ensuring service reliability at the destination
3Productivity
If state synchronization is performed between data centers, then service delivery improves, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs state synchronization as a periodic or event-driven action rather than continuous streaming. State information is transmitted at specific points (before migration, during failover events), reducing unnecessary network traffic while ensuring service delivery integrity when needed
Data Source
AI summary
A data center management device determines that a virtual machine should be moved from a first physical system to a second physical system. The data center management device instructs a first service appliance at the first physical system to perform state synchronization with a second service appliance at the second physical system in order to continue providing the services offered prior to the move. The data center management device instructs the virtual machine to be instantiated at the second physical system.