METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR REMIGRATION OF VIRTUAL MACHINES AND VIRTUAL APPLICATIONS BETWEEN CLOUD-COMPUTING FACILITIES

• US 20150052524A1
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 9,430,256 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 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
• 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: G06F 9/50 Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]
• 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 source cloud-computing facility to a new target cloud-computing facility and redeploying a virtual machine or virtual application previously running on a target cloud-computing facility within the context of an extended internal network in the target cloud-computing facility. The currently disclosed methods and systems, which allow a virtual machine or virtual application formerly executing on a target cloud-computing facility to resume execution on a new target cloud-computing facility, using the computational and storage facilities of the new target cloud-computing facility but depending on network support from the source 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.

Claims

1. A cloud-connector subsystem that provides a stretch-redeploy 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, target, and new 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-redeploy operation that

extends a first local virtual network within the source cloud-computing facility to the new target cloud-computing facility, forming a second extended local virtual network; and

moves one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from executing on the target cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the first local virtual network and a first extended local virtual network that extends the first local virtual network to the target cloud-computing facility using one or more network addresses to executing on the new target cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the second 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 edge appliance to a first organization virtual network within the source cloud computing facility;

wherein a second local virtual network is connected through a second edge appliance to a second organization virtual network within the target cloud computing facility;

wherein a third local virtual network is connected through a third edge appliance to a third organization virtual network within the new target cloud computing facility; and

wherein the stretch-redeploy operation extends the first local virtual network within the source cloud-computing facility to the new target cloud-computing facility by interconnecting the first edge appliance and the third edge appliance with a secure tunnel, joining the first and third local networks together to form the second 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 1 wherein the stretch-redeploy operation moves one or more virtual machines from the target cloud-computing facility to the new target cloud-computing facility by:

verifying the new target cloud-computing facility; and

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

6. The cloud-connector subsystem of claim 1 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 third local virtual network in the new target cloud-computing facility;

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

creating, from a first edge appliance within the source cloud-computing facility, a secure communications tunnel to a third edge appliance through which the third local virtual network in the routed virtual application is connected to a third virtual organization network, in turn connected to the external network.

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 target 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 new target cloud-computing facility.

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

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

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

extending a virtual network in a source cloud-computing facility to the new target cloud-computing facility; and

moving the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from the target cloud-computing facility to the new 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 target cloud-computing facility and originally used in the source cloud-computing facility.

11. The method of claim 10 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.

12. The method of claim 10

wherein a first local virtual network is connected through a first edge appliance to a first organization virtual network within the source cloud computing facility;

wherein a second local virtual network is connected through a second edge appliance to a second organization virtual network within the target cloud computing facility;

wherein s third local virtual network is connected through a third edge appliance to a third organization virtual network within the target cloud computing facility; and

wherein extending the virtual network to the new target cloud-computing facility further comprises interconnecting the first edge appliance and the third edge appliance with a secure tunnel, joining the first and third 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 10 wherein moving the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from the target cloud-computing facility to the target cloud-computing facility further comprises:

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 within a third local virtual network in the new target cloud-computing facility;

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

creating, from a first edge appliance connected to a first virtual organization network in the source cloud-computing facility that is, in turn, connected to an external network, a secure communications tunnel to a third edge appliance through which the third local virtual network in the routed virtual application is connected to a third virtual organization network, in turn connected to the external network.

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

creating a first temporary virtual application in the target 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 new 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 new target cloud-computing facility from the virtual application template copied to the new 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 new 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 a target cloud-computing facility to a new target cloud-computing facility by:

extending a virtual network from a source cloud-computing facility to the new target cloud-computing facility; and

moving the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from the target cloud-computing facility to the new 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 target cloud-computing facility and originally used in the source cloud-computing facility.

20. The computer instructions of claim 19

wherein the first local virtual network is connected through a first edge appliance to a first organization virtual network within the source cloud computing facility;

wherein s second local virtual network is connected through a second edge appliance to a second organization virtual network within the target cloud computing facility; and

wherein s third local virtual network is connected through a third edge appliance to a third organization virtual network within the new target cloud computing facility; and

wherein extending the virtual network to the target cloud-computing facility farther comprises interconnecting the first edge appliance and the third edge appliance with a secure tunnel, joining the first and third local networks together to form the extended local virtual network.