Virtual Machine Replication Pause and Resume Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Replicating information in information retention systems is time-consuming and can result in stale backups, affecting digital information integrity, wasting resources, and delaying the recovery process after malicious attacks.
Innovation Solution
The method involves queuing information between virtual machines and source storage devices until a clone is created, sending update information sets, inserting a flush marker, pausing replication, and resuming it after cloning is complete, allowing for efficient replication and minimizing delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If continuous replication of source storage devices is performed, then backup availability is improved, but backup digital information integrity deteriorates due to stale backups
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by queueing replication information and pausing replication before cloning begins. This ensures that the source storage device is in a consistent state before the clone is created, preventing stale backup issues while maintaining backup availability. The pause operation holds the source storage device in a stable state, and the subsequent resume operation ensures all changes are replicated.
Solution Approach 2:
The replication system dynamically adjusts its operation by pausing and resuming replication based on cloning events. The system transitions from continuous replication to paused state during cloning, then resumes afterward. This dynamic behavior ensures data consistency during critical cloning operations while maintaining overall replication efficiency and backup integrity.
2Loss of information
If full backup is performed after cloning to ensure integrity, then backup digital information integrity is improved, but time consumption and resource waste increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing a complete full backup after cloning, the system applies partial action by only pausing replication temporarily during the cloning process. This partial intervention (pause/resume) is sufficient to ensure integrity without the overhead of a full backup, saving time and resources while maintaining data consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the cloning process to control replication. When cloning is detected, the system pauses replication; when cloning completes, the system resumes replication. This feedback-based control ensures integrity only when necessary, avoiding unnecessary full backups and reducing time consumption and resource waste.
3Reliability
If full backup is performed after cloning, then backup completeness is improved, but processor cycles, network bandwidth, and power are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary pausing of replication before cloning to ensure completeness is achieved during the cloning process itself. This preliminary action prevents the need for subsequent energy-intensive full backups, as the pause/resume mechanism already ensures all changes are captured. The system achieves completeness efficiently without wasting processor cycles, network bandwidth, or power.
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards the idea of performing full backups after cloning, recognizing them as unnecessary energy waste. Instead, it recovers efficiency by using the pause/resume mechanism during cloning to achieve the same completeness goal with minimal resource consumption, effectively replacing energy-intensive operations with lightweight control operations.
4Productivity
If replication continues during cloning, then replication efficiency is improved, but backup staleness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies periodic action by pausing replication at specific intervals (when cloning is detected) and resuming afterward. This periodic pause/resume pattern ensures the backup remains current without becoming stale, while minimizing the impact on overall replication efficiency. The temporary pause is brief and targeted, maintaining high productivity while preventing backup staleness.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed computer-implemented method for replicating information with information retention systems may include (1) queueing information communicated between a virtual machine and a source storage device, (2) initiating creating a clone of the virtual machine, (3) sending update information sets, (4) inserting a flush marker into a network queue, (5) stopping the queueing of the information communicated between the virtual machine and the source storage device, (6) sending, after sending the update information sets, the flush marker via a source replication gateway to the target server computing device, (7) pausing replication of the source storage device, (8) resuming replication of the source storage device responsive to completing creating the clone of the virtual machine, and (9) sending, to the target server computing device, additional information communicated between the virtual machine and the source storage device after stopping the queueing. Various other methods, systems, and computer readable media are also disclosed.