Systems and methods for creating a data volume from within a software container and initializing the data volume with data

• US 10,606,646 B1
• Filed: 03/13/2017
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Veritas Technologies, LLC (Whitehouse Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Veritas Technologies, LLC (Whitehouse Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Christensen, Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeon, Jae U
• Application Number:
  US15/456,702
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5016 the resource being the memory
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/545 where tasks reside in different layers, e.g. user- and kernel-space

Abstract

The disclosed computer-implemented method for creating a data volume from within a software container and initializing the data volume with data may include (i) running, from a volume creation container image, a volume creation container that isolates user space of the volume creation container from other processes while sharing kernel space with the other processes, (ii) creating a new data volume from within the volume creation container, and (iii) executing, from within the volume creation container, a run command to run a data initialization container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to a target mount point in the data initialization container, the data initialization container executing a data initialization command to copy data to the new data volume. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for creating a data volume from within a software container and initializing the data volume with data, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:

running, from a volume creation container image, a volume creation container comprising a virtual environment that isolates user space of the volume creation container from other processes while sharing kernel space with the other processes;

creating a new data volume from within the volume creation container; and

executing, from within the volume creation container, a run command to run a data initialization container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to a target mount point in the data initialization container, the data initialization container executing a data initialization command to copy data to the new data volume;

wherein user space of the volume creation container is isolated from user space of the data initialization container.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, from within the volume creation container, a container identifier for the volume creation container; and

inspecting, from within the volume creation container, the volume creation container image based on the container identifier to obtain an image identifier for the volume creation container image.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein executing the run command to run the data initialization container from the volume creation container image comprises utilizing the image identifier to locate the volume creation container image.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein running the volume creation container further comprises running a script within the volume creation container.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the script executes the run command to run the data initialization container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to the target mount point in the data initialization container.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein running the data initialization container further comprises running another instance of the script within the data initialization container.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the data initialization container is run while the volume creation container is running.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein creating the new data volume comprises executing, from within the volume creation container, a volume creation command.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein executing the run command to run the data initialization container from the volume creation image and mount the new data volume to the target mount point in the data initialization container further comprises passing a parameter that is utilized by the data initialization container to execute the data initialization command.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the parameter is utilized by the data initialization container to execute the data initialization command instead of a volume creation command.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the data copied to the new data volume comprises data included in the volume creation container image.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising executing, from within the volume creation container or the data initialization container, an additional run command to run a data copying container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to a target mount point in the data copying container, the data copying container executing a copy command to copy additional data from a data source outside the data copying container to the new data volume.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein executing the additional run command to run the data copying container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to the target mount point in the data copying container further comprises passing a parameter that is utilized by the data copying container to execute the copy command.

14. A system for creating a data volume from within a software container and initializing the data volume with data, the system comprising:

a running module, stored in memory, that runs, from a volume creation container image, a volume creation container comprising a virtual environment that isolates user space of the volume creation container from other processes while sharing kernel space with the other processes;

a creation module, stored in memory, that creates a new data volume from within the volume creation container;

an executing module, stored in memory, that executes, from within the volume creation container, a run command to run a data initialization container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to a target mount point in the data initialization container, the data initialization container executing a data initialization command to copy data to the new data volume; and

at least one physical processor that executes the running module, the creation module, and the executing module;

wherein user space of the volume creation container is isolated from user space of the data initialization container.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the system further comprises;

a determining module, stored in memory, that determines, from within the volume creation container, a container identifier for the volume creation container; and

an inspecting module, stored in memory, that inspects, from within the volume creation container, the volume creation container image based on the container identifier to obtain an image identifier for the volume creation container image; and

the physical processor further executes the determining module and the inspecting module.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the executing module executes the run command to run the data initialization container from the volume creation container image by utilizing the image identifier to locate the volume creation container image.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the data initialization container is run while the volume creation container is running.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the data copied to the new data volume comprises data included in the volume creation container image.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the executing module further executes, from within the volume creation container or the data initialization container, an additional run command to run a data copying container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to a target mount point in the data copying container, the data copying container executing a copy command to copy additional data from a data source outside the data copying container to the new data volume.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:

run, from a volume creation container image, a volume creation container comprising a virtual environment that isolates user space of the volume creation container from other processes while sharing kernel space with the other processes;

create, a new data volume from within the volume creation container; and

execute, from within the volume creation container, a run command to run a data initialization container from the volume creation container image and mount the new data volume to a target mount point in the data initialization container, the data initialization container executing a data initialization command to copy data to the new data volume;

wherein user space of the volume creation container is isolated from user space of the data initialization container.