Methods and apparatus to enforce life cycle rules in a modularized virtualization topology using virtual hard disks

• US 10,126,983 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2015
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Uriel, Ilan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cygiel, Gary W.
• Application Number:
  US14/749,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20160378360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,238 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0605 by facilitating the interaction with a user or administrator
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are disclosed to enforce life cycle rules in a modularized virtualization topology using virtual hard disks. An example method includes, in response to a request to access a first virtual hard disk in a virtual computing environment, identifying, with a processor, a life cycle stage. The example method also includes determining, with the processor, whether a condition associated with the life cycle stage applies to the first virtual hard disk. The example method also includes refusing, with the processor, to mount, refusing to dis-mount, mounting or dis-mounting the first virtual hard disk if the condition is satisfied.

Claims

1. A method to enforce life cycle rules, comprising:

in response to a request to mount or dis-mount a virtual hard disk in a virtual computing environment, identifying, by executing an instruction with at least one processor, a first life cycle stage of a first service associated with the request, the first life cycle stage corresponding to one of an installation stage, a runtime stage, a vulnerable stage, or a de-provision stage;

in response to identifying the first life cycle stage based on the request, accessing a first life cycle rule in a life cycle rules database, the first life cycle rule to associate the request with a first response action and a first life cycle stage condition; and

when the first life cycle stage satisfies the first life cycle stage condition, generating, by executing an instruction with the at least one processor, a response based on the first response action, the first response action corresponding to one of refusing to mount, refusing to dis-mount, mounting, or dis-mounting the virtual hard disk.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further including dis-mounting the virtual hard disk when the first life cycle stage condition transitions from satisfied to not satisfied.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further including dis-mounting the virtual hard disk (1) after responding to the request and (2) while the first life cycle stage condition is satisfied.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage of the virtual hard disk, and satisfaction of the first life cycle stage condition depends on (1) the current life cycle stage and (2) a previous life cycle stage associated with the virtual hard disk.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage of the first service associated with a functionality encapsulated in the virtual hard disk.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the virtual hard disk is a first virtual hard disk, and wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage associated with a second virtual hard disk different than the first virtual hard disk.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the virtual hard disk is mounted to a container.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the virtual hard disk is mounted to a virtual machine.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the life cycle rules database is to store a second life cycle rule indicative of when a second virtual hard disk can be mounted or dis-mounted based on a second life cycle stage corresponding to a second service instantiated on the second virtual hard disk.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a request collector to detect a request to mount or dis-mount a virtual hard disk in a virtual computing environment; and

a life cycle manager to;

in response to identifying a first life cycle stage of a first service associated with the request, access a first life cycle rule in a life cycle rules database, the first life cycle rule to associate the request with a first response action and a first life cycle stage condition; and

when the first life cycle stage satisfies the first life cycle stage condition, generate a response based on the first response action, the first response action to refuse to mount the virtual hard disk, refuse to dis-mount the virtual hard disk, refuse access to the virtual hard disk, permit access to the virtual hard disk, mount the virtual hard disk, and/or dis-mount the virtual hard disk.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage of the virtual hard disk, and the life cycle manager is to determine whether the first life cycle stage condition is satisfied by comparing the first life cycle stage condition to the current life cycle stage of the virtual hard disk.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the life cycle manager is to disregard the request when the first life cycle stage condition is not satisfied.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the life cycle manager is to dis-mount the virtual hard disk when the first life cycle stage condition transitions from satisfied to not satisfied.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the life cycle manager is to dis-mount the virtual hard disk from a virtual machine or a container.

15. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the life cycle manager is to dis-mount the virtual hard disk (1) after responding to the request and (2) while the first life cycle stage condition is satisfied.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage of the virtual hard disk, and the life cycle manager is to determine whether the first life cycle stage condition is satisfied based on (1) the current life cycle stage and (2) a previous life cycle stage associated with the virtual hard disk.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage of the first service associated with a functionality encapsulated in the virtual hard disk.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the virtual hard disk is a first virtual hard disk, and wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage associated with a second virtual hard disk different than the first virtual hard disk.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the life cycle rules database is to store a second life cycle rule indicative of when a second virtual hard disk can be mounted or dis-mounted based on a second life cycle stage corresponding to a second service instantiated on the second virtual hard disk.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the first life cycle stage corresponds to one of an installation stage, a runtime stage, a vulnerable stage, or a de-provision stage.

21. A tangible machine readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to at least:

detect a request to mount or dis-mount a virtual hard disk in a virtual computing environment;

in response to identifying a first life cycle stage of a first service associated with the request, access a first life cycle rule in a life cycle rules database, the first life cycle rule to associate the request with a first response action and a first life cycle stage condition; and

when the first life cycle stage satisfies the first life cycle stage condition, generate a response based on the first response action, the first response action to refuse to mount the virtual hard disk, refuse to dis-mount the virtual hard disk, mount the virtual hard disk, or dis-mount the virtual hard disk.

22. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to dis-mount the virtual hard disk when the first life cycle stage condition transitions from satisfied to not satisfied.

23. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to dis-mount the virtual hard disk (1) after responding to the request and (2) while the first life cycle stage condition is satisfied.

24. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage of the virtual hard disk, and the instructions further cause the at least one processor to determine whether the first life cycle stage condition is satisfied based on (1) the current life cycle stage and (2) a previous life cycle stage associated with the virtual hard disk.

25. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage of the first service associated with a functionality encapsulated in the virtual hard disk.

26. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the virtual hard disk is a first virtual hard disk, and wherein the first life cycle stage is a current life cycle stage associated with a second virtual hard disk different than the first virtual hard disk.

27. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the virtual hard disk is mounted to a container.

28. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the virtual hard disk is mounted to a virtual machine.

29. A tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 21, wherein the life cycle rules database is to store a second life cycle rule indicative of when a second virtual hard disk can be mounted or dis-mounted based on a second life cycle stage corresponding to a second service instantiated on the second virtual hard disk.