VIRTUAL RESOURCE COST TRACKING WITH DEDICATED IMPLEMENTATION RESOURCES

• US 20120084113A1
• Filed: 09/30/2010
• Published: 04/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brandwine, Eric Jason, Theimer, Marvin M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,013,662 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4881 Scheduling strategies for dispatcher, e.g. round robin, multi-level priority queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

Virtual resources may be provisioned in a manner that is aware of, and respects, underlying implementation resource boundaries. A customer of the virtual resource provider may specify that particular virtual resources are to be implemented with implementation resources that are dedicated to the customer. Dedicating an implementation resource to a particular customer of a virtual resource provider may establish one or more information barriers between the particular customer and other customers of the virtual resource provider. Implementation resources may require transition procedures, including custom transition procedures, to enter and exit dedicated implementation resource pools. Costs corresponding to active and inactive implementation resources in a dedicated pools associated with a particular customer may be accounted for, and presented to, the customer in a variety of ways including explicit, adjusted per customer and adjusted per type of virtual resource and/or implementation resource.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for virtual resource cost tracking, comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

maintaining, at a virtual resource provider having a plurality of customers, a virtual resource implemented by a set of implementation resources including at least one implementation resource capable of being allocated as a plurality of implementation resource allocation units to a plurality of virtual resources associated with the plurality of customers, said at least one implementation resource dedicated to virtual resources of a set of customers of the plurality of customers;

determining an active resource utilization amount corresponding to at least a first implementation resource allocation unit of said at least one implementation resource that is allocated to implementing the virtual resource;

determining an inactive resource utilization amount corresponding to at least a second implementation resource allocation unit of said at least one implementation resource that is unallocated due at least in part to being dedicated to virtual resources of the set of customers;

determining at least one cost of the virtual resource based at least in part on the active resource utilization amount and the inactive resource utilization amount; and

providing a presentation of said at least one cost of the virtual resource to the set of customers.

2. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising dedicating said at least one implementation resource at least in part by transitioning said at least one implementation resource from a general implementation resource pool to a dedicated implementation resource pool associated with the set of customers.

3. A computer-implemented method according to claim 2, wherein implementation resources in the general implementation resource pool at least partially implement a plurality of virtual resources of the plurality of customers of the virtual resource provider.

4. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual resource comprises at least one of:

a virtual computer system, a virtual data store, and a virtual private network.

5. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one implementation resource comprises at least one of:

a storage device, a physical server, a server rack, a data center, a physically secured portion of the data center, a portion of the data center monitored with respect to physical access, a mobile data center, a network switch, a network connection, a wireless network transmitter, and a wireless network receiver.

6. A computer-implemented method according to claim 5, wherein each implementation resource allocation unit corresponds to a unit of capacity of at least one of:

the storage device, the physical server, the server rack, the data center, the physically secured portion of the data center, the portion of the data center monitored with respect to physical access, the mobile data center, the network switch, the network connection, the wireless network transmitter, and the wireless network receiver.

7. A computer-implemented method according to claim 6, wherein the unit of capacity of the physical server corresponds to a standardized virtual computer system unit, and the physical server has a capacity of greater than one standardized virtual computer system unit.

8. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein resource utilization amounts correspond to a multiplicative product of implementation resource allocation units and time units.

9. A computer-implemented method for virtual resource cost tracking, comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

maintaining a virtual resource implemented at least in part by at least one implementation resource capable of implementing a plurality of virtual resources associated with the plurality of customers, said at least one implementation resource dedicated to virtual resources of a set of customers of a plurality of customers of a virtual resource provider;

determining an inactive resource utilization amount corresponding to at least one unallocated portion of said at least one implementation resource;

determining at least one cost of the virtual resource based at least in part on the inactive resource utilization amount; and

providing a presentation of said at least one cost of the virtual resource to the set of customers.

10. A computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein determining said at least one cost of the virtual resource comprises determining a first cost based at least in part on an active resource utilization amount corresponding to at least one allocated portion of said at least one implementation resource, and determining a second cost based at least in part on the inactive resource utilization amount.

11. A computer-implemented method according to claim 10, wherein the first cost is a multiplicative product of an active implementation resource cost rate and the active resource utilization amount, and the second cost is a multiplicative product of an inactive implementation resource cost rate and the inactive resource utilization amount.

12. A computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein determining said at least one cost of the virtual resource of the set of customers comprises determining a cost based at least in part on the inactive resource utilization amount and an active resource utilization amount corresponding to at least one allocated portion of said at least one implementation resource.

13. A computer-implemented method according to claim 12, wherein determining the cost comprises determining an adjusted active implementation resource cost rate with respect to a corresponding time period.

14. A computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein determining said at least one cost of the virtual resource comprises determining an adjusted active implementation resource cost rate based at least in part on active and inactive resource utilization amounts corresponding to a plurality of implementation resources of the virtual resource provider.

15. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14, wherein the adjusted active implementation resource cost rate is based at least in part on a ratio of an average inactive resource utilization amount to an average active resource utilization amount with respect to the plurality of implementation resources.

16. A computer-implemented method for virtual resource cost tracking, comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving a request to provision a virtual resource indicating that the virtual resource is to be implemented at least in part with at least one implementation resource that is dedicated to a set of customers of a virtual resource provider, the request associated with at least one cost plan, said at least one cost plan associated with a set of resource allocation business policies including at least one resource allocation business policy inhibiting high inactive implementation resource utilization to active implementation resource utilization ratios in implementation resources that are dedicated to customers of the virtual resource provider;

checking that the virtual resource, when implemented by a set of implementation resources including said at least one implementation resource, will satisfy the set of resource allocation business policies;

provisioning the virtual resource with the set of implementation resources at least in part by allocating the set of implementation resources to the virtual resource;

determining at least one cost of the virtual resource in accordance with said at least one cost plan; and

presenting said at least one cost of the virtual resource to the set of customers.

17. A computer-implemented method according to claim 16, wherein:

the request specifies a target spread of a plurality of virtual resources over a plurality of implementation resources that are dedicated to the set of customers, the plurality of virtual resources including the virtual resource; and

said at least one resource allocation business policy specifies at least one spread limit to which the target implementation spread is subject.

18. A computer-implemented method according to claim 16, wherein said at least one cost plan specifies that said at least one cost of the virtual resource is based at least in part on a number of provisioned virtual resources of a same type that are implemented at least in part with one or more implementation resources dedicated to the set of customers.

19. A computerized system for virtual resource cost tracking, comprising:

a plurality of implementation resources collectively capable of implementing a plurality of virtual resources associated with a plurality of customers of a virtual resource provider;

a provisioning interface configured at least to enable the plurality of customers to make requests to provision virtual resources including requests that indicate that the virtual resources are to be implemented with implementation resources that are dedicated to a set of customers of the plurality of customers;

an implementation resource allocation component configured to, at least;

maintain at least one dedicated implementation resource pool containing at least one of the plurality of implementation resources dedicated to at least the set of customers of the plurality of customers; and

allocate at least portions of implementation resources in the plurality of implementation resources to implement requested virtual resources including selecting implementation resources from said at least one dedicated implementation resource pool as indicated by the requests;

a cost tracking component configured to, at least;

determine an active resource utilization amount corresponding to at least one allocated portion of at least one implementation resource selected from said at least one dedicated implementation resource pool;

determine an inactive resource utilization amount corresponding to at least one unallocated portion of said at least one implementation resource selected from said at least one dedicated implementation resource pool; and

determine at least one cost of at least one virtual resource implemented at least in part with said at least one implementation resource selected from said at least one dedicated implementation resource pool, said at least one cost based at least in part on the active resource utilization amount and the inactive resource utilization amount; and

a user interface component configured at least to present said at least one cost of said at least one virtual resource to the set of customers.

20. A computerized system according to claim 19, wherein:

the implementation resource allocation component is further configured at least to maintain at least one reserved implementation resource pool containing at least one of the plurality of implementation resources that is available for allocation to virtual resources of the plurality of customers with the set of customers having priority;

the cost tracking component is further configured at least to determine, for the set of customers, a reserved resource utilization amount corresponding to said at least one of the plurality of implementation resources in said at least one reserved implementation resource pool; and

said at least one cost is further based at least in part on the reserved resource utilization amount.

21. A computerized system according to claim 20, wherein determine said at least one cost of said at least one virtual resource comprises:

determining a first cost based at least in part on the reserved resource utilization amount;

modifying the active and inactive resource utilization amounts based at least in part on the reserved resource utilization amount; and

determining at least a second cost based at least in part on the modified active and inactive resource utilization amounts.

22. One or more computer-readable media having collectively thereon computer-executable instructions that configure one or more computers to collectively, at least:

receive requests to provision virtual resources to be implemented by a set of implementation resources including at least one implementation resource capable of at least partially implementing each of a plurality of virtual resources associated with a plurality of customers of a virtual resource provider, the requests capable of indicating that one or more of the virtual resources are to be implemented at least in part with at least one dedicated implementation resource that is dedicated to a set of customers of the plurality of customers, the virtual resources provisioned with respect to at least one cost plan associated with a set of resource allocation business policies including at least one resource allocation business policy configured to inhibit high inactive implementation resource utilization to active implementation resource utilization ratios in dedicated implementation resources;

provision requested virtual resources when the set of resource allocation business policies are satisfied;

determine costs of provisioned virtual resources in accordance with said at least one cost plan; and

provide a presentation of the costs of the provisioned virtual resources.

23. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 22, wherein said at least one resource allocation business policy specifies that a number of requested virtual resources is not to be less than a minimum number of requested virtual resources when the requested virtual resources are to be implemented at least in part with said at least one dedicated implementation resource.

24. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 22, wherein said at least one cost plan specifies at least one cost corresponding to dedicating said at least one dedicated implementation resource.

25. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 22, wherein said at least one cost plan specifies at least one cost corresponding to returning said at least one dedicated implementation resource to a general implementation resource pool.