METHODS AND APPARATUS TO SCALE APPLICATION DEPLOYMENTS IN CLOUD COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20150381711A1
• Filed: 08/07/2014
• Published: 12/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: SINGH, SERVESH, NARAYANASWAMY, ARUN, SARAF, RISHI, KUMAR, SAKET, KUMAR, JITENDRA
• Granted Patent: US 10,097,410 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0897 by horizontal or vertical scaling of resources, or by migrating entities, e.g. virtual resources or entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/122 of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/40 using virtualisation of network functions or resources, e.g. SDN or NFV entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to scale application deployments in cloud computing environments. An example method disclosed herein includes marking a scaling status of a virtual machine included in a first node deployed in the computing environment, the first node executing a first component of the application, the scaling status of the virtual machine indicating a change in a number of virtual machines included in the first node. The example method also includes identifying a second node including a dependency with the virtual machine, the second node deployed in the computing environment. The example method also includes updating configuration information associated with the second node based on the scaling status of the virtual machine, the configuration information including a reference to the virtual machine.

Claims

1. A method to scale an application deployed in a computing environment, the method comprising:

setting a scaling status of a virtual machine included in a first node deployed in the computing environment, the first node executing a first component of the application, the scaling status of the virtual machine indicating a change in a number of virtual machines included in the first node;

identifying a second node having a dependency with the virtual machine, the second node executing a second component of the application; and

updating configuration information associated with the second node based on the scaling status of the virtual machine, the configuration information including a reference to the virtual machine.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein identifying the second node having a dependency with the virtual machine comprises parsing a topology map of the application.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein setting the scaling status of the virtual machine causes the number of virtual machines included in the first node to increase by a scale-out operation.

4. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein setting the scaling status of the virtual machine comprises:

provisioning the virtual machine in the computing environment;

causing the virtual machine to execute the first component; and

identifying the virtual machine as a new virtual machine.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein updating the configuration information associated with second node comprises adding the reference to the configuration information.

6. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein the virtual machine is a first virtual machine, the method further comprising determining a success status of the scale-out operation by checking communication between the first virtual machine and a second virtual machine deployed in the computing environment, the second virtual machine having been added to the computing environment before the first virtual machine.

7. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein the scaling status of the first virtual machine is set at a first time, the method further comprising:

creating a deployment snapshot of the computing environment at a second time, the deployment snapshot including state information of the first node and the second node, the second time being before the first time; and

in response to determining that the success status of the scale-out operation indicates that the scale-out operation was unsuccessful;

deleting the virtual machine from the first node; and

modifying the state information of the first node and the second node based on the deployment snapshot.

8. A method as defined in claim 7 further comprising:

tracking a number of unsuccessful scale-out operations; and

provisioning a third virtual machine in the computing environment when the number of unsuccessful scale-out operations satisfies a threshold.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein setting the scaling status of the virtual machine causes the number of virtual machines included in the first node to decrease by a scale-in operation.

10. A method as defined in claim 9 further comprising:

selecting the virtual machine from the first node; and

in response to selecting the virtual machine, updating the configuration information associated with the second node by removing reference to the virtual machine.

11. A method as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

deleting the virtual machine from the computing environment;

determining a success status of the scale-in operation by checking if the computing environment includes the reference to the virtual machine; and

repeating the deleting of the virtual machine when the success status of the scale-in operation was unsuccessful.

12. A system to scale an application deployed in a computing environment, the system comprising:

a deployment monitor to initiate a modification of a number of virtual machines included in a first node deployed in the computing environment, the first node to execute a first component of the application;

a dependents identifier to identify a second node having a dependency with the first node, the second node to execute a second component of the application; and

an updater to update configuration information associated with the second node based on a scaling status of a virtual machine included in the first node, the configuration information including a reference to the virtual machine.

13. A system as defined in claim 12, wherein the dependents identifier is to identify the second node having a dependency with the first node by parsing a topology map of the application.

14. A system as defined in claim 12, wherein the deployment monitor is to initiate a scale-out operation in the computing environment.

15. A system as defined in claim 14, further comprising:

a resources handler to;

provision the virtual machine in the computing environment;

cause the virtual machine to execute the first component; and

set the scaling status of the virtual machine as a new virtual machine.

16. A system as defined in claim 15, wherein the updater is to update the configuration information associated with the second node by adding the reference to the virtual machine.

17. A system as defined in claim 14, wherein the virtual machine is a first virtual machine, and the system further comprising:

a restorer to determine a success status of the scale-out operation by checking communication between the first virtual machine and a second virtual machine deployed in the computing environment, the second virtual machine having been added to the computing environment before the first virtual machine.

18. A system as defined in claim 17, wherein the resources handler is to set the scaling status of the virtual machine at a first time.

19. A system as defined in claim 18, further comprising:

the restorer to create a deployment snapshot of the computing environment at a second time, the deployment snapshot to include state information of the first node and the second node, the second time to be before the first time; and

a validator to, in response to a determination that the success status of the scale-out operation was unsuccessful;

delete the virtual machine from the first node; and

modify the state information of the first node and the second node based on the deployment snapshot.

20. A system as defined in claim 18, wherein the restorer is to:

track a number of unsuccessful scale-out operations; and

cause the resources handler to provision a third virtual machine in the computing environment when the number of unsuccessful scale-out operations satisfies a threshold.

21. A system as defined in claim 12, wherein the deployment monitor is to initiate a scale-in operation in the computing environment.

22. A system as defined in claim 21, further comprising:

a node selector to select the virtual machine from the first node; and

in response to the selection, the updater is to update the configuration information associated with the second node by removing the reference to the virtual machine.

23. A system as defined in claim 21, further comprising:

a terminator to delete the virtual machine; and

a verifier to determine a success status of the scale-in operation by checking if the computing environment includes the reference to the virtual machine, and the verifier to cause the terminator to repeat the deleting of the virtual machine when the success status of the scale-in operation was unsuccessful.

24. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

set a scaling status of a virtual machine included in a first node of an application deployed in a computing environment, the first node to execute a first component of the application, the scaling status of the virtual machine to indicate a change in a number of virtual machines included in the first node;

identify a second node having a dependency with the virtual machine, the second node to execute a second component of the application; and

update configuration information associated with the second node based on the scaling status of the virtual machine, the configuration information to include a reference to the virtual machine.

25. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 24, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to identify the second node having a dependency with the virtual machine by parsing a topology map of the application.

26. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 24, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform a scale-out operation to increase the number of virtual machines included in the first node.

27. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 26, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to set the scaling status of the virtual machine by:

provisioning the virtual machine in the computing environment;

causing the virtual machine to execute the first component; and

identifying the virtual machine as a new virtual machine.

28. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to update the configuration information associated with the second node by adding the reference to the virtual machine.

29. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 24, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to perform a scale-in operation to decrease the number of virtual machines included in the first node.

30. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 29, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

select the virtual machine from the first node; and

in response to the selection, update the configuration information associated with the second node by removing the reference to the virtual machine.

31. A tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 29, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

delete the virtual machine from the computing environment; and

determine a success status of the scale-in operation by checking if the computing environment includes the reference to the virtual machine; and

when the success status of the scale-in operation was unsuccessful, repeat the deleting of the virtual machine.