SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR UPGRADING KERNELS IN CLOUD COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20130318515A1
• Filed: 08/05/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SUSE, LLC (SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Bowen, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 9,292,275 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

The system and method described herein may upgrade kernels in cloud images deployed in cloud computing environments without having to rebuild a machine image that contains a root file system for the cloud image. For example, the cloud image may include a ramdisk that compares the kernel booted in the cloud image to the root file system to verify whether the machine image contains a directory hierarchy matching an operating system release for the kernel. In response to the machine image containing the matching directory hierarchy, the root file system may be mounted for execution in the cloud computing environment. Alternatively, in response to the machine image lacking the matching directory hierarchy, the ramdisk may dynamically create the matching directory hierarchy and inject modules that support the kernel into the root file system prior to mounting and delivering control to the root file system.

Claims

1. A system for upgrading kernels in cloud computing environments, comprising:

a cloud computing environment having a plurality of physical resources;

a trusted repository that contains a plurality of kernel modules; and

a cloud image hosted on one or more of the plurality of physical resources in the cloud computing environment, the cloud image including a root file system, a kernel, and a ramdisk, wherein the ramdisk includes computer executable instructions configured to;

identify an operating system release associated with the kernel;

retrieve one or more of the plurality of kernel modules from the trusted repository in response to determining that the root file system does not contain a directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release;

create the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release in the root file system in response to determining that the root file system does not contain the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release; and

inject the one or more kernel modules retrieved from the trusted repository within the directory hierarchy created in the root file system, wherein the injected kernel modules support the operating system release associated with the kernel.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the cloud image further includes a hypervisor that manages the root file system independently from the kernel and the ramdisk.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk execute a uname call to identify the operating system release associated with the kernel.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the ramdisk further includes computer executable instructions configured to execute a vermagic call to identify an environment used to build the kernel in response to determining that the root file system does contain the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the ramdisk further includes computer executable instructions configured to validate whether one or more kernel modules contained in the matching directory hierarchy correspond to the environment used to build the kernel.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the ramdisk further includes computer executable instructions configured to:

retrieve, from the trusted repository, one or more of the plurality of kernel modules that correspond to the environment used to build the kernel in response to determining that the kernel modules in the matching directory hierarchy do not correspond to the environment used to build the kernel; and

replace the kernel modules in the matching directory hierarchy with the one or more kernel modules retrieved from the trusted repository that correspond to the environment used to build the kernel.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the ramdisk further includes computer executable instructions configured to:

retrieve management content from the trusted repository, wherein the management content retrieved from the trusted repository manages a current lifecycle mode for the cloud image; and

inject the management content retrieved from the trusted repository within the root file system, wherein the injected management content runs in a user execution space to manage the current lifecycle mode for the cloud image.

8. A computer readable storage medium containing a cloud image hosted on one or more physical resources in a cloud computing environment, the cloud image including a root file system, a kernel, and a ramdisk, wherein the ramdisk includes computer executable instructions configured to:

identify an operating system release associated with the kernel;

retrieve one or more kernel modules from a trusted repository in response to determining that the root file system does not contain a directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release;

create the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release in the root file system in response to determining that the root file system does not contain the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release; and

inject the one or more kernel modules retrieved from the trusted repository within the directory hierarchy created in the root file system, wherein the injected kernel modules support the operating system release associated with the kernel.

9. The computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the cloud image further includes a hypervisor that manages the root file system independently from the kernel and the ramdisk.

10. The computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk execute a uname call to identify the operating system release associated with the kernel.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the ramdisk further includes computer executable instructions configured to:

execute a vermagic call to identify an environment used to build the kernel in response to determining that the root file system does contain the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release; and

validate whether one or more kernel modules contained in the matching directory hierarchy correspond to the environment used to build the kernel.

12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the ramdisk further includes computer executable instructions configured to:

retrieve, from the trusted repository, one or more kernel modules that correspond to the environment used to build the kernel in response to the kernel modules in the matching directory hierarchy not corresponding to the environment used to build the kernel; and

replace the kernel modules in the matching directory hierarchy with the one or more kernel modules retrieved from the trusted repository that correspond to the environment used to build the kernel.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the ramdisk further includes computer executable instructions configured to:

retrieve management content from the trusted repository, wherein the management content retrieved from the trusted repository manages a current lifecycle mode for the cloud image; and

inject the management content retrieved from the trusted repository within the root file system, wherein the injected management content runs in a user execution space to manage the current lifecycle mode for the cloud image.

14. A method for upgrading kernels in cloud computing environments, comprising:

deploying a cloud image that includes a root file system, a kernel, and a ramdisk in a cloud computing environment, wherein one or more physical resources in the cloud computing environment host the deployed cloud image; and

running computer executable instructions in the ramdisk to verify that the root file system supports the kernel in the cloud image, wherein running the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk includes;

identifying an operating system release associated with the kernel;

retrieving one or more kernel modules from a trusted repository in response to determining that the root file system does not contain a directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release;

creating the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release in the root file system in response to the root file system not containing the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release; and

injecting the one or more kernel modules retrieved from the trusted repository within the directory hierarchy created in the root file system, wherein the injected kernel modules support the operating system release associated with the kernel.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the cloud image further includes a hypervisor that manages the root file system independently from the kernel and the ramdisk.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk execute a uname call to identify the operating system release associated with the kernel.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein running the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk further includes executing a vermagic call to identify an environment used to build the kernel in response to the root file system containing the directory hierarchy matching the identified operating system release.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein running the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk further includes validating whether one or more kernel modules contained in the matching directory hierarchy correspond to the environment used to build the kernel.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein running the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk further includes:

retrieving, from the trusted repository, one or more kernel modules that correspond to the environment used to build the kernel in response to the kernel modules in the matching directory hierarchy not corresponding to the environment used to build the kernel; and

replacing the kernel modules in the matching directory hierarchy with the one or more kernel modules retrieved from the trusted repository that correspond to the environment used to build the kernel.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein running the computer executable instructions in the ramdisk further includes:

retrieving management content from the trusted repository, wherein the management content retrieved from the trusted repository manages a current lifecycle mode for the cloud image; and

injecting the management content retrieved from the trusted repository within the root file system, wherein the injected management content runs in a user execution space to manage the current lifecycle mode for the cloud image.