Virtual Machine Provisioning Without Reboot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing virtual desktop provisioning systems require multiple reboots during guest customization, leading to increased provisioning time, storage costs, and vulnerability to transient environment issues, which negates the benefits of storage consolidation and instant instantiation.
Innovation Solution
Configuring a parent virtual machine template to apply customizations that prompt reboots to a clone VM, allowing child VMs to be instantiated without rebooting, thereby eliminating reboot cycles and enabling fast instantiation with memory page sharing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple reboot operations are performed during guest customization of each virtual desktop clone, then the virtual desktops can be properly configured with computer names, licenses, domain joining, and device drivers, but the provisioning time increases significantly and boot storm levels are aggravated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs required actions in advance by configuring the parent virtual machine template with all necessary customizations (computer names, licenses, domain joining, device drivers) before instantiating child VMs. This preliminary configuration ensures that when child VMs are created through cloning, they inherit the pre-configured settings and do not require multiple reboot operations, thereby reducing provisioning time while maintaining configuration completeness
2Reliability
If multiple reboot operations are performed during guest customization, then device drivers for added disks can be installed, but storage IOPS increase and storage savings from consolidation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs device driver installation and disk configuration in advance on the parent virtual machine template before cloning. By pre-installing device drivers and configuring storage settings on the parent VM, these configurations are inherited by all child VMs during cloning, eliminating the need for post-clone driver installation and reducing storage IOPS during provisioning
3Reliability
If virtual desktops are customized individually with reboots, then each desktop can be properly configured, but the complexity of the provisioning process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the customization process by performing all configuration operations (computer naming, licensing, domain joining, device driver installation) on the parent virtual machine template before cloning. This consolidation of customization steps into a single pre-clone operation on the parent VM simplifies the overall provisioning process while ensuring consistent configuration across all child VMs
4Productivity
If fast instantiation is used to create virtual desktops quickly, then provisioning time is reduced, but customizations requiring reboots cannot be applied
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs all necessary customizations including those that typically require reboots (computer naming, licensing, domain joining, device driver installation) on the parent virtual machine template before the fast instantiation process. This preliminary configuration ensures that when child VMs are rapidly instantiated through cloning, they inherit the complete configuration set, maintaining both fast provisioning speeds and customization completeness
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provision and customize virtual machines (VMs), such as desktop VMs, without rebooting the desktop VMs. In response to a request to provision the VMs, a computing device creates a clone VM from a parent VM template identified in the request. One or more customization that prompt rebooting of the clone VM are applied to the clone VM. The computing device instantiates a plurality of child VMs from the customized clone VM. A child VM configuration is applied to at least one of the instantiated child VMs without provoking a reboot of those child VMs.