Virtual Machine Startup from Distributed Block Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud computing, user data is lost and recovery times are uncertain when virtual machines fail due to the reliance on physical machines for mirror image files, disrupting normal virtualization services.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that acquire a mirror image file from a distributed block storage system to start a virtual machine, allowing immediate recovery by mapping a virtual disk to a physical machine, ensuring continuous operation even if the local physical machine fails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mirror image file is stored in the physical machine running the virtual machine, then the startup process is simple, but user data is lost and recovery time is uncertain when the physical machine fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the mirror image file from the physical machine's local storage and places it in a distributed block storage system. This separation allows the virtual machine to be restarted on different physical machines by accessing the mirror image file from the centralized storage system, ensuring data security while maintaining startup capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a distributed block storage system as an intermediary between the virtual machine and physical machine storage. This intermediary stores the mirror image file and provides it to any physical machine needed for virtual machine startup, resolving the contradiction between data security and storage simplicity.
2Reliability
If the mirror image file is stored in the physical machine, then storage access is fast, but the virtualization service is disrupted when the physical machine fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-storing the mirror image file in the distributed block storage system before any failure occurs. This ensures that when a physical machine fails, the virtual machine can be immediately restarted by retrieving the pre-stored mirror image file from the storage system, eliminating recovery time uncertainty and ensuring service continuity.
3Reliability
If the mirror image file is stored in a distributed block storage system, then data security and service continuity are improved, but the startup process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the virtual machine startup process to automatically access and retrieve the mirror image file from the distributed block storage system without requiring manual intervention. The system autonomously handles the retrieval and loading process, maintaining operational simplicity despite the enhanced storage architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for starting a virtual machine. A specific implementation of the method comprises: acquiring, by a physical machine, a mirror image file required for starting a to-be-started target virtual machine from a distributed block storage system, in response to an entered instruction to start the target virtual machine; and starting the target virtual machine by using the mirror image file. The mirror image file required for starting the virtual machine is stored in the cloud-based distributed block storage system, and a virtual disk is mapped to the physical machine. When the physical machine needs to start the virtual machine, the mirror image file required for starting the virtual machine is acquired from the cloud-based distributed block storage system by reading the virtual disk.