Cross-Platform VM Snapshot Migration for Failover and Failback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in efficiently managing and storing data across different virtual machine platforms, particularly in cases of failure, where applications and data need to be ported between various virtualization platforms like VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft Azure, GCP, Nutanix AHV, Linux KVM, and Xen, without being machine-agnostic.
Innovation Solution
A data management and storage (DMS) cluster with peer DMS nodes manages the migration of applications between primary and secondary compute infrastructures by generating primary snapshots, transferring them to the secondary infrastructure, and deploying them as virtual machines, with incremental snapshots being used for failover and failback processes to recreate the current application state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If applications and data are ported between different virtualization platforms, then data portability is improved, but platform compatibility is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates platform-agnostic copies of virtual machines through snapshot technology. Instead of directly porting VMs between different virtualization platforms (VMware, Hyper-V, Azure, etc.), the system creates a standardized snapshot representation that can be deployed on any platform, thereby achieving portability without requiring direct platform compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a standardized snapshot format as an intermediary layer between different virtualization platforms. This snapshot acts as a universal mediator that translates VM states from one platform to another, eliminating the need for direct platform-to-platform compatibility and simplifying the complexity of cross-platform porting.
2Reliability
If full snapshots are transferred during failover, then reliability is improved, but network traffic increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the snapshot transfer process into two phases: during normal operation, only incremental changes are captured and transferred; during failover, the complete snapshot is transferred. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliability through comprehensive backups while minimizing network traffic during routine operations by transferring only necessary changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary snapshot creation and incremental updates during normal operation, so that when failover is needed, only the most recent changes need to be transferred rather than the entire dataset. This preliminary action reduces the network traffic required during critical failover events while maintaining complete data reliability.
3Manufacturing precision
If production environment is recreated from scratch during failback, then completeness is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates and maintains snapshots of the production environment during normal operation, so that when failback is needed, the environment can be restored from these pre-created snapshots rather than recreated from scratch. This preliminary action significantly reduces failback time while maintaining complete environmental accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses snapshot copies of the production environment to enable rapid failback. Instead of recreating the entire production environment from scratch, the system restores from a pre-created snapshot copy, thereby reducing time consumption while maintaining complete environmental fidelity through the snapshot's accurate representation of the original state.
Data Source
AI summary
A data management and storage (DMS) cluster of peer DMS nodes manages migration of an application between a primary compute infrastructure and a secondary compute infrastructure. The secondary compute infrastructure may be a failover environment for the primary compute infrastructure. Primary snapshots of virtual machines of the application in the primary compute infrastructure are generated, and provided to the secondary compute infrastructure. During a failover, the primary snapshots are deployed in the secondary compute infrastructure as virtual machines. Secondary snapshots of the virtual machines are generated, where the secondary snapshots are incremental snapshots of the primary snapshots. In failback, the secondary snapshots are provided to the primary compute infrastructure, where they are combined with the primary snapshots into construct a current state of the application, and the application is deployed in the current state by deploying virtual machines on the primary compute infrastructure.