METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING IT INFRASTRUCTURE IN CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20170168866A1
• Filed: 08/13/2014
• Published: 06/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: KONO, Yasutaka
• Granted Patent: US 10,152,343 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/4557 Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

In example implementations, when a management program deploys new virtual machines, the management program may identify candidate virtual machines for replacement, score the possibilities of replacement and relate the new virtual machines to candidate virtual machines if it determines the probability of replacement is high. The management program may also migrate virtual machines and storage volumes used by the virtual machines to other physical servers and storage arrays by related pairs of virtual machines. The management program may also inherit management policies from existing virtual machines being replaced and leverage them to manage new virtual machines, which replace the existing virtual machines.

Claims

1. A management computer coupled to a plurality of servers, which manage a plurality of virtual machines, the management computer comprising:

a memory configured to store,

application type information indicative of an application type of each of the plurality of virtual machines, and

virtual machine topology information indicative of a topology of the plurality of virtual machines; and

a processor being configured to make relationships between a virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines and another virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines, which has a probability to replace the virtual machine, by referring to

an association between the virtual machine and the another virtual machine in the virtual machine topology information, and

an application type of the virtual machine and an application type of the another virtual machine in the application type information.

2. The management computer of claim 1, wherein the memory is configured to store virtual machine performance data indicative of historical performance information of the plurality of virtual machines;

and

wherein the processor is configured to determine a score indicative of the probability of the another virtual machine replacing the virtual machine, based on virtual machine performance data of the virtual machine and virtual machine performance data of the another virtual machine.

3. The management computer of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine comprises a number (n) of virtual machines, which may be replaced;

wherein the another virtual machine comprises a number (m) of other virtual machines created in response to a deployment request received by the processor; and

wherein the processor is configured to determine a score indicative of the probability of the number (m) of the other virtual machines replacing the number (n) of the virtual machines, based on the number (n) of the virtual machines and the number (m) of the other virtual machines.

4. The management computer of claim 1, wherein the memory is configured to store version data indicative of version information of at least one of an application and an operating system deployed on each of the plurality of virtual machines;

and

wherein the processor is configured to determine a score indicative of the probability of the another virtual machine replacing the virtual machine, based on version data of the virtual machine and version data of the another virtual machine.

5. The management computer of claim 1, wherein the memory is configured to store

server performance capacity data indicative of available server performance capacity information of the plurality of servers and

virtual machine performance data indicative of historical performance information of the plurality of virtual machines;

and

wherein the processor, in response to a request to migrate one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine, is configured to

identify a server having performance capacity to store both of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine, based on server performance capacity data of the server and virtual machine performance data of the virtual machine and virtual machine performance data of the another virtual machine, and

cause the virtual machine and the another virtual machine to be migrated to the identified server having performance capacity to store both of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine.

6. The management computer of claim 1, wherein the memory is configured to store

server performance capacity data indicative of available server performance capacity information of the plurality of servers and

virtual machine performance data indicative of historical performance information of the plurality of virtual machines;

and

wherein the processor, in response to a request to migrate one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine, is configured to

determine which one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine has larger historical performance requirements based on virtual machine performance data of the virtual machine and virtual machine performance data of the another virtual machine,

identify a pair of servers, each server of the pair of servers having performance capacity to store the one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine determined to have larger historical performance requirements, based on server performance capacity data of each server of the pair of servers, and

cause the one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine determined to have larger historical performance requirements to be migrated to one server of the pair of servers, and the one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine determined to not have larger historical performance requirements to be migrated to the another server of the pair of servers.

7. The management computer of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of servers comprises a plurality of storage volumes, each of the plurality of storage volumes being coupled to one of a plurality of storage arrays;

wherein a first storage volume of the plurality of storage volumes is paired to the virtual machine and a second storage volume of the plurality of storage volumes is paired to the another virtual machine;

wherein the memory is configured to store

storage array performance capacity data indicative of available storage array performance capacity information of the plurality of storage arrays, and

storage volume performance data indicative of historical performance information of the plurality of storage volumes;

wherein the processor, in response to a request to migrate one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine, is configured to

determine whether a storage array of the plurality of storage arrays has performance capacity to process input/output to both of the first storage volume paired to the virtual machine and the second storage volume paired to the another virtual machine, based on storage array performance capacity data of the storage array and storage volume performance data of the first storage volume and the second storage volume; and

if the storage array of the plurality of storage arrays is determined to have performance capacity to process input/output to both of the first storage volume and the second storage volume,

cause both of the first storage volume and the second storage volume to be migrated to the storage array;

if no storage array of the plurality of storage arrays is determined to have performance capacity to process input/output to both of the first storage volume and the second storage volume,

determine which one of the first storage volume paired to the virtual machine and the second storage volume paired to the another virtual machine has larger historical performance requirements based on the storage volume performance data of the first storage volume and the second storage volume,

identify a pair of storage arrays, each storage array of the pair of storage arrays having performance capacity to process input/output to the one of the first storage volume and the second storage volume determined to have larger historical performance requirements, based on storage array performance capacity data of each of the storage arrays and storage volume performance data of the one of the first storage volume paired to the virtual machine and the second storage volume, and

cause the first storage volume to be migrated to one storage array of the pair of storage arrays and the second storage volume to be migrated to another storage array of the pair of storage arrays.

8. The management computer of claim 1, wherein the memory is configured to store

identification information, which identifies each of the plurality of virtual machines, and

threshold data indicative of performance threshold information associated with the identification information of the plurality of virtual machines;

and

wherein the processor is configured to

determine identification information of the virtual machine based on a request to delete the virtual machine;

determine identification information of the another virtual machine in response to receiving a request to delete the virtual machine;

identify threshold data associated with the determined identification information of the virtual machine;

associate the identified threshold data with the determined identification information of the another virtual machine;

delete the virtual machine based on the received request to delete the virtual machine.

9. A method comprising:

determining, by a computing device, application type information indicative of an application type of each of a plurality of virtual machines;

determining, by the computing device, virtual machine topology information indicative of a topology of the plurality of virtual machines; and

making, by the computing device, a relationship between a virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines and another virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines, which has a probability to replace the virtual machine, based on

an association between the virtual machine and the another virtual machine in the virtual machine topology information, and

an application type of the virtual machine and an application type of the another virtual machine in the application type information.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining, by the computing device, a score indicative of the probability of the another virtual machine replacing the virtual machine, based on virtual machine performance data of the virtual machine and virtual machine performance data of the another virtual machine.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the virtual machine comprises a number (n) of virtual machines, which may be replaced;

wherein the another virtual machine comprises a number (m) of other virtual machines created in response to a deployment request received by the processor; and

further comprising determining, by the computing device, a score indicative of the probability of the number (m) of the other virtual machines replacing the number (n) of the virtual machines, based on the number (n) of the virtual machines and the number (m) of the other virtual machines.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining, by the computing device, a score indicative of the probability of the another virtual machine replacing the virtual machine, based on version data of the virtual machine and version data of the another virtual machine.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying, by a computing device, a server having performance capacity to store both of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine, based on server performance capacity data of the server and virtual machine performance data of the virtual machine and virtual machine performance data of the another virtual machine, in response to a request to migrate one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine, and

causing the virtual machine and the another virtual machine to be migrated to the identified server having performance capacity to store both of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, which one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine has larger historical performance requirements based on virtual machine performance data of the virtual machine and virtual machine performance data of the another virtual machine, in response to a request to migrate one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine,

identifying, by the computing device, a pair of servers, each server of the pair of servers having performance capacity to store the one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine determined to have larger historical performance requirements, based on server performance capacity data of each server of the pair of servers, and

cause the one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine determined to have larger historical performance requirements to be migrated to one server of the pair of servers, and the one of the virtual machine and the another virtual machine determined to not have larger historical performance requirements to another server of the pair of servers.

15. A computer program comprising instructions for executing a process, the instructions comprising:

determining application type information indicative of an application type of each of a plurality of virtual machines;

determining virtual machine topology information indicative of a topology of the plurality of virtual machines; and

making a relationship between a virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines and another virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines, which has a probability to replace the virtual machine, based on

an association between the virtual machine and the another virtual machine in the virtual machine topology information, and

an application type of the virtual machine and an application type of the another virtual machine in the application type information.