METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MIGRATION OF VIRTUAL MACHINES AND VIRTUAL APPLICATIONS BETWEEN CLOUD-COMPUTING FACILITIES THROUGH MULTIPLEXED SECURE TUNNELS

• US 20150052523A1
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Published: 02/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Raghu, Jagannath N.
• Granted Patent: US 9,389,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/4557 Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks

Abstract

The current document discloses methods and systems for extending an internal network within a first cloud-computing facility to a second cloud-computing facility and deploying a virtual machine or virtual application previously running on a first cloud-computing facility within the context of the extended internal network in the second cloud-computing facility. The currently disclosed methods and systems which provide internal-network extension and redeployment of virtual machines and virtual applications, referred to as “stretch deploy,” allow a virtual machine or virtual application formerly executing on a first cloud-computing facility to resume execution on a second cloud-computing facility, using the computational and storage facilities of the second cloud-computing facility but depending on network support from the first cloud-computing facility, without changing IP and local network addresses and the network connectivity, based on those addresses, between the virtual machines and virtual applications and other local and remote computational entities with which the virtual machines and virtual applications communicate. Multiplexing multiple stretch deployed L2 networks over the same secure (SSL-VPN) tunnel, terminating on organization edges.

Claims

1. A cloud-connector subsystem that provides a stretch-deploy operation for moving one or more virtual machines and virtual applications between cloud-computing facilities, the cloud-connector subsystem comprising:

cloud-connector nodes associated with each of a source and a target cloud-computing facility; and

a cloud-connector server that includes one or more processors, one or more memories, one or more data-storage devices, and computer instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, control the cloud-connector server to provide, in cooperation with the cloud-connector nodes, a stretch-deploy operation that

extends a first local virtual network within the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility through a secure tunnel that supports multiple extended virtual networks, forming an extended local virtual network; and

moves one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from executing on the source cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the local virtual network using one or more network addresses to executing on the target cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the extended local virtual network using the same one or more network addresses.

2. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 1 wherein the one or more one or more virtual machines and virtual applications comprises one of:

a single virtual machine;

two or more virtual machines;

a single virtual application including a single virtual machine; and

a single virtual application including two or more virtual machines.

3. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 1

wherein the first local virtual network is connected through a first internal edge appliance to a first organization virtual network within the source cloud computing facility that, in turn, is connected to an external network through a first organization edge appliance;

wherein a second local virtual network is connected through a second internal edge appliance to a second organization virtual network within the target cloud computing facility that, in turn, is connected to an external network through a second organization edge appliance; and

wherein the stretch-deploy operation extends the first local virtual network within the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility by interconnecting the first organization edge appliance and the second organization edge appliance with a secure tunnel, joining the first and second local networks together to form the extended local virtual network.

4. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 3 wherein the secure tunnel is an SSL VPN tunnel.

5. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 3 wherein the stretch-deploy operation moves one or more virtual machines from the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility by:

verifying the source cloud-computing facility and one or more virtual machines and virtual applications to be moved;

verifying the target cloud-computing facility; and

executing an infrastructure phase, copy phase, and deployment phase.

6. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 3 wherein the cloud-connector subsystem verifies a cloud-computing facility by:

determining that those components of the cloud-computing facility used in the stretch-deploy operation are present, configured, and licensed; and

determining that the cloud-computing facility has sufficient storage capacity for instantiating a temporary virtual application.

7. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 6 wherein the cloud-connector subsystem executes the infrastructure phase by:

creating a routed virtual application with a second local virtual network in the target cloud-computing facility;

launching execution of the routed virtual application within the target cloud-computing facility; and

when a secure tunnel has not already been created between the first and second organization edge appliances, creating a secure tunnel between the first and second organization edge appliances.

8. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 7 wherein the cloud-connector subsystem executes the copy phase by:

creating a first temporary virtual application in the source cloud-computing facility;

moving the one or more virtual machines to the first temporary virtual application;

generating a virtual application template corresponding to the temporary virtual application; and

copying the virtual application template to the target cloud-computing facility.

9. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 6 wherein the cloud-connector subsystem executes deployment phase by:

creating a second temporary virtual application in the target cloud-computing facility from the virtual application template copied to the target cloud-computing facility; and

moving the one or more virtual machines from the second temporary virtual application to the routed virtual application in the target cloud-computing facility.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more one or more virtual machines and virtual applications comprises one of:

a single virtual machine;

two or more virtual machines;

a single virtual application including a single virtual machine; and

a single virtual application including two or more virtual machines.

10. A method that relocates one or more virtual machines and virtual applications connected to a first virtual network within a source cloud-computing facility to a target cloud-computing facility, the method comprising:

extending one or more virtual networks to the target cloud-computing facility through a single secure tunnel; and

moving the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility, where the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications are connected to the extended first virtual network and use the same local and global network addresses used in the source cloud-computing facility.

12. The method of claim 10

wherein the first virtual network is connected through a first internal edge appliance to a first organization virtual network within the source cloud computing facility that, in turn, is connected to an external network through a first organization edge appliance;

wherein a second local virtual network is connected through a second internal edge appliance to a second organization virtual network within the target cloud computing facility that, in turn, is connected to an external network through a second organization edge appliance; and

wherein the stretch-deploy operation extends the first local virtual network within the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility by interconnecting the first organization edge appliance and the second organization edge appliance with a secure tunnel, joining the first and second local networks together to form the extended local virtual network.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the secure tunnel is one of:

an SSL VPN tunnel; and

an IPsec tunnel.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein moving the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility further comprises:

verifying the source cloud-computing facility and one or more virtual machines and virtual applications to be moved;

verifying the target cloud-computing facility; and

executing an infrastructure phase, copy phase, and deployment phase.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein verifying a cloud-computing facility further comprises:

determining that those components of the cloud-computing facility used in the stretch-deploy operation are present, configured, and licensed; and

determining that the cloud-computing facility has sufficient storage capacity for instantiating a temporary virtual application.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein executing the infrastructure phase further comprises:

creating a routed virtual application with a second local virtual network in the target cloud-computing facility;

launching execution of the routed virtual application within the target cloud-computing facility; and

when a secure tunnel has not already been created between the first and second organization edge appliances, creating a secure tunnel between the first and second organization edge appliances.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein executing the copy phase further comprises:

creating a first temporary virtual application in the source cloud-computing facility;

moving the one or more virtual machines to the first temporary virtual application;

generating a virtual application template corresponding to the temporary virtual application; and

copying the virtual application template to the target cloud-computing facility.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein executing the deployment phase further comprises:

creating a second temporary virtual application in the target cloud-computing facility from the virtual application template copied to the target cloud-computing facility; and

moving the one or more virtual machines from the second temporary virtual application to the routed virtual application in the target cloud-computing facility.

19. Computer instructions stored within a physical data-storage device that, when executed on one or more processors within a cloud-connector subsystem, control the cloud-connector subsystem to relocate one or more virtual machines and virtual applications connected to a first virtual network within a source cloud-computing facility to a target cloud-computing facility by:

extending a virtual network to the target cloud-computing facility through an already established secure tunnel, resulting in multiple virtual networks extended through the already established secure tunnel; and

moving the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility, where the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications are connected to the extended virtual network and use the same local and global network addresses used in the source cloud-computing facility.

20. The computer instructions of claim 19

wherein the first virtual network is connected through a first internal edge appliance to a first organization virtual network within the source cloud computing facility that, in turn, is connected to an external network through a first organization edge appliance;

wherein a second local virtual network is connected through a second internal edge appliance to a second organization virtual network within the target cloud computing facility that, in turn, is connected to an external network through a second organization edge appliance; and

wherein the stretch-deploy operation extends the first local virtual network within the source cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility by interconnecting the first organization edge appliance and the second organization edge appliance with a secure tunnel, joining the first and second local networks together to form the extended local virtual network.