Network reconfiguration in hypervisor-agnostic disaster recovery scenarios

• US 10,210,010 B1
• Filed: 12/30/2015
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nutanix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nutanix Incorporated
• Inventors: Ramachandran, Parthasarathy, Chandrasekaran, Karthik
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Sisley N
• Application Number:
  US14/985,360
• Time in Patent Office: 1,147 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1438 Restarting or rejuvenating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/203 using migration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2038 with a single idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2048 where the redundant components share neither address space nor persistent storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/4557 Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45575 Starting, stopping, suspending or resuming virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45587 Isolation or security of virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/805 Real-time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual middleware or OS functionality using virtual machines to implement generic software techniques for error detection or fault masking G06F11/1484
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities

Abstract

Systems for bring-up of virtual machines in disaster recovery scenarios where the network configuration differs between the failed system and the recovery system. A method commences upon identifying a disaster recovery plan for restarting a set of virtual machines on a second system (e.g., a recovery system). A disaster event is detected, which event causes initiation of aspects of the disaster recovery plan, including restarting the set of virtual machines that were running on the first system. Other aspects of the disaster recovery plan include determining a set of network configuration directives pertaining to the second system, and providing access to the network configuration directives by any of the restarted virtual machines. During disaster recovery bring-up, at least some of the virtual machines that are restarted on the second system use the network configuration of the recovery system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a disaster recovery plan for restarting a set of virtual machines from a first system on a second system, the disaster recovery plan including at least reconfiguration of one or more virtual machines of the set of virtual machines, the first system comprising a first hypervisor and the second system comprising a second hypervisor, the first hypervisor and the second hypervisor being different types of hypervisors, wherein the set of virtual machines from the first system accesses storage devices at the first system through a first controller virtual machine at the first system;

invoking, by the second system, a set of acts to store, at a location accessible to the second system, a set of network configuration directives comprising adapter specific configurations for providing access to a network of the second system through adapters present in the second system, the set of network configuration directives pertaining to the second system;

detecting a failure event at the first system;

accessing, on the second system, the one or more virtual machines a list of the set of virtual machines from the first system that are to be deployed on the second system in response to detecting the failure event at the first system;

implementing a virtual machine at the second system to provide the set of network configuration directives to the one or more virtual machines, wherein the virtual machine provides access to the one or more virtual machines by;

accessing the set of network configuration directives at the second system in response to detecting the failure event at the first system, and

writing the set of network configuration directives to locations accessible to the one or more virtual machines; and

reconfiguring the one or more virtual machines from the first system and on the second system to access the network of the second system using adapters present in the second system, wherein the one or more virtual machines from the first system access storage devices at the second system through a second controller virtual machine at the second system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine at the second system is a helper virtual machine, and wherein the locations of the set of network configuration directives written are virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines that are to be deployed on the second system.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein reconfiguring the one or more virtual machines includes accessing the virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines having the set of network configuration directives written by the helper virtual machine.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine at the second system is an ancillary control virtual machine, and wherein the locations of the set of network configuration directives written are cloned virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines that are to be deployed on the second system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein reconfiguring the one or more virtual machines includes accessing the cloned virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines having the set of network configuration directives written by the ancillary control virtual machine.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a custom start-up virtual disk having the set of network configuration directives accessed by the second system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the custom start-up virtual disk is within the second controller virtual machine.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of network configuration directives is stored, before the failure event, to a location that is accessible to the second system after the failure event.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a startup script is stored, before the failure event, to a location that is accessible to the second system after the failure event.

10. A computer readable medium, embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when stored in memory and executed by a processor causes the processor to perform acts, the acts comprising:

identifying a disaster recovery plan for restarting a set of virtual machines from a first system on a second system, the disaster recovery plan including at least reconfiguration of one or more virtual machines of the set of virtual machines, the first system comprising a first hypervisor and the second system comprising a second hypervisor, the first hypervisor and the second hypervisor being different types of hypervisors, wherein the set of virtual machines from the first system accesses storage devices at the first system through a first controller virtual machine at the first system;

invoking, by the second system, a set of acts to store, at a location accessible to the second system, a set of network configuration directives comprising adapter specific configurations for providing access to a network of the second system through adapters present in the second system, the set of network configuration directives pertaining to the second system;

detecting a failure event at the first system;

accessing, on the second system, the one or more virtual machines of the set of virtual machines from the first system that are to be deployed on the second system in response to detecting the failure event at the first system;

implementing a virtual machine at the second system to provide the set of network configuration directives to the one or more virtual machines, wherein the virtual machine provides access to the one or more virtual machines by;

accessing the set of network configuration directives at the second system in response to detecting the failure event at the first system, and

writing the set of network configuration directives to locations accessible to the one or more virtual machines; and

reconfiguring the one or more virtual machines from the first system to access the network of the second system using adapters present in the second system, wherein the one or more virtual machines from the first system access storage devices at the second system through a second controller virtual machine at the second system.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the virtual machine at the second system is a helper virtual machine, and wherein the locations of the set of network configuration directives written are virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein reconfiguring the one or more virtual machines includes accessing the virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines having the set of network configuration directives written by the helper virtual machine.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the virtual machine at the second system is an ancillary control virtual machine, and wherein the locations of the set of network configuration directives written are cloned virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines that are to be deployed on the second system.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein reconfiguring the one or more virtual machines includes accessing the cloned virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines having the set of network configuration directives written by the ancillary control virtual machine.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 10, the acts further comprising providing a custom start-up virtual disk having the set of network configuration directives accessed by the second system.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the custom start-up virtual disk is within the second controller virtual machine.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the set of network configuration directives are stored, before the failure event, to a location that is accessible to the second system after the failure event.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein a startup script is stored, before the failure event, to a location that is accessible to the second system after the failure event.

19. A system comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions; and

a processor or processors that execute the sequence of instructions to cause the processor or processors to perform acts, the acts comprising;

identifying a disaster recovery plan for restarting a set of virtual machines from a first system on a second system, the disaster recovery plan including at least reconfiguration of one or more virtual machines of the set of virtual machines, the first system comprising a first hypervisor and the second system comprising a second hypervisor, the first hypervisor and the second hypervisor being different types of hypervisors, wherein the set of virtual machines from the first system accesses storage devices at the first system through a first controller virtual machine at the first system;

invoking, by the second system, a set of acts to store, at a location accessible to the second system, a set of network configuration directives comprising adapter specific configurations for providing access to a network of the second system through adapters present in the second system, the set of network configuration directives pertaining to the second system;

detecting a failure event at the first system;

accessing, on the second system, the one or more virtual machines of the set of virtual machines from the first system that are to be deployed on the second system in response to detecting the failure event at the first system;

implementing a virtual machine at the second system to provide the set of network configuration directives to the one or more virtual machines, wherein the virtual machine provides access to the one or more virtual machines by;

accessing the set of network configuration directives at the second system in response to detecting the failure event at the first system, and

writing the set of network configuration directives to locations accessible to the one or more virtual machines; and

reconfiguring the one or more virtual machines from the first system to access the network of the second system using adapters present in the second system, wherein the one or more virtual machines from the first system access storage devices at the second system through a second controller virtual machine at the second system.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the virtual machine at the second system is a helper virtual machine, and wherein the locations of the set of network configuration directives written are virtual disks associated with the one or more virtual machines that are to be deployed on the second system.