HIERARCHICAL THRESHOLDS-BASED VIRTUAL MACHINE CONFIGURATION

• US 20140196030A1
• Filed: 01/10/2013
• Published: 07/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Deshpande, Deepak Arun, Neogi, Anindya, Patil, Priti P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,164,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3442 for planning or managing the needed capacity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3457 Performance evaluation by simulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 Virtual
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals

Abstract

In response to a performance parameter of a virtual machine (VM) exceeding a threshold, an operation to be performed relative to the VM is identified. A resource requirement of performing the operation is determined using a resource requirement thresholds hierarchy. The resource requirement thresholds hierarchy is usable for computing the resource requirement of the operation when the operation is performed at a specified level in a hierarchy within a virtualized environment where the VM is executing. A violation value resulting from performing the operation is determined using a violation value thresholds hierarchy. If the resource requirement and the violation value do not exceed a resource requirement threshold and a violation value threshold respectively, a first configuration of the VM is revised to a second configuration of the VM. The second configuration includes a result of performing the operation relative to the VM at the specified level in the hierarchy.

Claims

1. A method for hierarchical thresholds-based configuring of a virtual machine (VM), the method comprising:

identifying, responsive to a performance parameter of the VM exceeding a threshold, an operation to be performed relative to the VM;

determining, using a resource requirement thresholds hierarchy, a resource requirement of performing the operation, wherein the resource requirement thresholds hierarchy is usable for computing the resource requirement of the operation when the operation is performed at a specified level in a hierarchy within a virtualized data processing environment (environment) where the VM is executing, the hierarchy within the environment defines a logical virtualization infrastructure within a data center;

determining, using a violation value thresholds hierarchy, a violation value resulting from performing the operation, wherein the violation value thresholds hierarchy is usable for computing the violation value resulting from the operation when the operation is performed at the specified level in the hierarchy within the environment where the VM is executing; and

revising, responsive to the resource requirement not exceeding a resource requirement threshold and the violation value not exceeding a violation value threshold, a first configuration of the VM to a second configuration of the VM, wherein the second configuration includes a result of performing the operation relative to the VM at the specified level in the hierarchy.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a description of the hierarchy within the environment, the hierarchy including a plurality of levels of data processing systems in parent-child relationships; and

creating the resource requirement thresholds hierarchy, such that the resource requirement thresholds hierarchy includes a plurality of resource requirement threshold levels, wherein a resource requirement threshold level in the plurality of resource requirement threshold levels corresponds to a level of data processing system in the plurality of levels of data processing systems in the hierarchy.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the resource requirement threshold level includes a static resource requirement of performing the operation at the level in the hierarchy, and a variable resource requirement of performing the operation at the level in the hierarchy.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance parameter exceeding the threshold corresponds to a first violation value of the VM configured according to the first configuration.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

executing a benchmark workload on the VM, wherein the performance parameter exceeding the threshold is indicative of a likelihood of a violation in the VM; and

computing a first violation value for the VM based on the performance parameter exceeding the threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a description of the hierarchy within the environment, the hierarchy including a plurality of levels of data processing systems in parent-child relationships; and

creating the violation value thresholds hierarchy, such that the violation value thresholds hierarchy includes a plurality of violation value levels, wherein a violation value level in the plurality of violation value levels corresponds to a level of data processing system in the plurality of levels of data processing systems in the hierarchy.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, responsive to the resource requirement exceeding a resource requirement threshold, a second performance parameter of the VM exceeding a second threshold;

identifying a second operation to be performed relative to the VM to improve the second performance parameter; and

replacing, in the determining and the revising, the performance parameter with the second performance parameter and the operation with the second operation.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, responsive to the violation value exceeding a violation value threshold, a second performance parameter of the VM exceeding a second threshold;

identifying a second operation to be performed relative to the VM to improve the second performance parameter; and

replacing, in the determining and the revising, the performance parameter with the second performance parameter and the operation with the second operation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance parameter exceeding the threshold corresponds to a violation of a policy in the VM configured according to the first configuration.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the revising enables unilaterally provisioning computing capabilities, and wherein the policy is a service level agreement (SLA).

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation includes allocating a resource to the VM, and wherein software is provided as a service in a cloud computing environment.

12. The method of claim 1, where the performance parameter is a combination of a plurality of parameters.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a first violation value of a first level in the violation value thresholds hierarchy relates to a second violation value of a second level in the violation value thresholds hierarchy by a mathematical function.