CONTROL METHOD FOR VIRTUAL MACHINE AND MANAGEMENT COMPUTER

• US 20120254445A1
• Filed: 04/03/2012
• Published: 10/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: KAWAMOTO, Shinichi, Tanaka, Tsuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,914,546 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• 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 9/5088 involving task migration

Abstract

A method of controlling a virtual computer system, the method comprising: obtaining, by a management computer, a load value for each of the plurality of groups, and comparing the load value against a preset threshold; identifying, a group whose load value exceeds the preset threshold as a first group; selecting, a second group from the plurality of groups minus the first group; identifying, as a migration target computer, a given physical computer out of physical computers that run virtual computers allocated to the second group; migrating, virtual computers that are provided by the migration target computer to other physical computers within the second group; changing, settings of the network switch in a manner that enables the migration target computer to operate in the first group; adding, the migration target computer to the first group; and controlling, the migration target computer to run virtual computers of the first group.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a virtual computer system for providing a plurality of virtual computers on a plurality of physical computers,

the virtual computer system comprising:

the plurality of physical computers each comprising a processor and a memory;

a virtualization module for partitioning resources of the plurality of physical computers to provide the plurality of virtual computers;

a network switch for coupling the plurality of physical computers; and

a management computer coupled to the network switch,

the method comprising;

a first step of allocating, by the management computer, the plurality of virtual computers to a plurality of groups;

a second step of obtaining, by the management computer, a load value for each of the plurality of groups, and comparing the load value against a preset threshold;

a third step of identifying, by the management computer, a group whose load value exceeds the preset threshold as a first group;

a fourth step of selecting, by the management computer, a second group from the plurality of groups minus the first group;

a fifth step of identifying, by the management computer, as a migration target computer, a given physical computer out of physical computers that run virtual computers allocated to the second group;

a sixth step of migrating, by the management computer, virtual computers that are provided by the migration target computer to other physical computers within the second group;

a seventh step of removing, by the management computer, the migration target computer from the second group;

an eighth step of instructing, by the management computer, the virtualization module of the migration target computer to change virtual network settings of this virtualization module in a manner that suits the first group;

a ninth step of changing, by the management computer, settings of the network switch in a manner that enables the migration target computer to operate in the first group;

a tenth step of adding, by the management computer, the migration target computer to the first group; and

an eleventh step of controlling, by the management computer, the migration target computer to run virtual computers of the first group.

2. The method of controlling a virtual computer system according to claim 1, wherein the eleventh step comprises migrating the virtual computers in a manner that levels load among the physical computers of the first group.

3. The method of controlling a virtual computer system according to claim 2, wherein the eleventh step comprises migrating the virtual computers in a manner that levels load among the physical computers of the second group.

4. The method of controlling a virtual computer system according to claim 1,

wherein the network switch comprises a SAN switch for coupling the plurality of physical computers to a storage, and

wherein the ninth step further comprises changing, by the management computer, settings of the SAN switch in a manner that enables the migration target computer to operate in the first group.

5. The method of controlling a virtual computer system according to claim 1, wherein the second step comprises obtaining an evaluation value for each physical computer in a single group by compiling values of different types of loads, and using the evaluation value as the load value which is obtained for each of the plurality of groups.

6. The method of controlling a virtual computer system according to claim 1, wherein the fourth step comprises selecting a group that is smallest in load value, which is obtained for each of the plurality of groups, as the second group out of the plurality of groups minus the first group.

7. The method of controlling a virtual computer system according to claim 1, wherein the fifth step comprises identifying a physical computer that has a lightest load among the physical computers that run the virtual computers allocated to the second group as the migration target computer.

8. A management computer for managing a virtual computer system,

the virtual computer system comprising:

a plurality of physical computers each comprising a processor and a memory;

a virtualization module for partitioning resources of the plurality of physical computers to provide a plurality of virtual computers; and

a network switch for coupling the plurality of physical computers and coupling the management computer thereto,

the management computer comprising;

a group management module for allocating the plurality of virtual computers to a plurality of groups;

a monitoring module for obtaining a load value for each of the plurality of groups;

a judgment module for comparing the load value, which is obtained for the each of the plurality of groups, against a preset threshold to identify a group whose load value exceeds the preset threshold as a first group;

a configuration change module for selecting a second group out of the plurality of groups minus the first group, identifying as a migration target computer a given physical computer out of physical computers that run virtual computers allocated to the second group, and migrating the migration target computer from the second group to the first group; and

a virtual computer management module for instructing the virtualization module of each of the plurality of physical computers to control the plurality of virtual computers,

wherein the configuration change module is configured to;

output, to the virtual computer management module, an instruction to migrate virtual computers that are provided by the migration target computer to other physical computers within the second group;

remove the migration target computer from the second group;

output an instruction to the virtual computer management module to change virtual network settings of the virtualization module of the migration target computer in a manner that suits the first group;

change settings of the network switch in a manner that enables the migration target computer to operate in the first group;

add the migration target computer to the first group; and

output to the virtual computer management module an instruction to run the virtual computers of the first group on the migration target computer.

9. The management computer according to claim 8, wherein the virtual computer management module migrates the virtual computers in a manner that levels load among the physical computers of the first group.

10. The management computer according to claim 9, wherein the virtual computer management module migrates the virtual computers in a manner that levels load among the physical computers of the second group.

11. The management computer according to claim 8,

wherein the network switch comprises a SAN switch for coupling the plurality of physical computers to a storage, and

wherein the configuration change module changes settings of the SAN switch in a manner that enables the migration target computer to operate in the first group.

12. The management computer according to claim 8, wherein the monitoring module obtains an evaluation value for each physical computer in a single group by compiling values of different types of loads, and uses the evaluation value as the load value which is obtained for each of the plurality of groups.

13. The management computer according to claim 8, wherein the configuration change module selects a group that is smallest in load value, which is obtained for each of the plurality of groups, as the second group out of the plurality of groups minus the first group.

14. The management computer according to claim 8, wherein the configuration change module identifies a physical computer that has a lightest load among the physical computers that run the virtual computers allocated to the second group as the migration target computer.