VIRTUALIZED FILE SERVER RESILIENCE

• US 20170235654A1
• Filed: 02/02/2017
• Published: 08/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nutanix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nutanix Incorporated
• Inventors: Deshmukh, Satyajit Sanjeev, Sharpe, Richard James, Arikatla, Durga Mahesh, Sharma, Rishabh, Rathi, Shyamsunder Prayagchand
• Granted Patent: US 10,719,306 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0712 in a virtual computing platform, e.g. logically partitioned systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1484 involving virtual machines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/201 between storage system components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2025 using centralised failover control functionality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2033 switching over of hardware resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2035 without idle spare hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2046 where the redundant components share persistent storage G06F11/2043 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2058 using more than 2 mirrored copies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2069 Management of state, configuration or failover
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2092 Techniques of failing over between control units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2094 Redundant storage or storage space G06F11/2056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/301 where the computing system is a virtual computing platform, e.g. logically partitioned systems virtual machines G06F9/45533; logical partitioning of resources G06F9/5077
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3452 Performance evaluation by statistical analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1727 Details of free space management performed by the file system saving storage space on storage systems G06F3/0608; management of blocks in storage devices G06F3/064
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/176 : Support for shared access to files; File sharing support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1774 : Locking methods, e.g. locking methods for file systems allowing shared and concurrent access to files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/183 : Provision of network file services by network file servers, e.g. by using NFS, CIFS network file access protocols H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1844 : Management specifically adapted to replicated file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 : Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 : I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45583 : Memory management, e.g. access or allocation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45587 : Isolation or security of virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 : Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 : by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/56 : Computer malware detection or handling, e.g. anti-virus arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 : to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/78 : to assure secure storage of data address-based protection against unauthorised use of memory G06F12/14; record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/80 : Database-specific techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/815 : Virtual middleware or OS functionality using virtual machines to implement generic software techniques for error detection or fault masking G06F11/1484
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/825 : the problem or solution involving locking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/84 : Using snapshots, i.e. a logical point-in-time copy of the data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 : Monitoring of transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/034 : Test or assess a computer or a system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 : Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 : Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2145 : Inheriting rights or properties, e.g., propagation of permissions or restrictions within a hierarchy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 : in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0647 : Migration mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 : Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0664 : at device level, e.g. emulation of a storage device or system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 : at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0683 : Plurality of storage devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 : Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 : Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4406 : Loading of operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 : Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 : Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 : the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0859 : by keeping history of different configuration generations or by rolling back to previous configuration versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 : Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 : Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 : for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• 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

Particular embodiments provide a plurality of host machines, one or more virtual disks comprising a plurality of storage devices, and a virtualized file server (VFS) comprising a plurality of file server virtual machines (FSVMs), wherein each of the FSVMs is running on one of the host machines and conducts I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks. A distributed health monitoring service (HMS) may be running on each of the host machines running a FSVM. The HMS may monitor the FSVMs to determine whether any of the FSVMs has failed or is having problems. The HMS may detect that a plurality of the FSVMs have failed, wherein the failed FSVMs form a portion of the FSVMs comprising the VFS. For each of the failed FSVMs, the HMS may reassign an IP address corresponding to the failed FSVM to a live one of the FSVMs.

Claims

1. A system for managing a virtualization environment, the system comprising:

a plurality of host machines, wherein each of the host machines comprises a hypervisor, one or more user virtual machines (user VMs), and a virtual machine controller;

one or more virtual disks comprising a plurality of storage devices, the one or more virtual disks being accessible by the virtual machine controllers, wherein the virtual machine controllers conduct I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks;

a virtualized file server (VFS) comprising a plurality of file server virtual machines (FSVMs), wherein each of the FSVMs is running on one of the host machines and conducts I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks, wherein a health monitoring service is running in a distributed mode on each of the host machines running a FSVM, and wherein the VFS is configured to;

by the distributed health monitoring service, monitor the FSVMs to determine whether any of the FSVMs has failed or is having problems;

by the distributed health monitoring service, detect that a plurality of the FSVMs have failed, wherein the failed FSVMs form a portion of the FSVMs comprising the VFS; and

for each of the failed FSVMs, reassign an IP address corresponding to the failed FSVM to a live one of a plurality of live ones of the FSVMs.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a storage resource comprises a volume group, a virtual disk, a share, or a storage item.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising, for each of the failed FSVMs:

selecting the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on;

an affinity of requests served by the failed FSVM with a configuration of the live FSVM,

a protocol to which the requests conform,

resources assigned to the host machine on which the live FSVM is running;

or

security restrictions applying to storage resources previously served by the failed FSVM.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising, for each of the failed FSVMs:

selecting the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on a selected one of a plurality of failover paths defined for use when a FSVM fails within the cluster.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising, for each of the failed FSVMs:

selecting the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on a previous primary failover path, a preferred failover path, or a failover path selected based on a round-robin ordering.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising, for each of the failed FSVMs:

selecting the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on which of the live FSVMs has few outstanding or pending requests as compared to FSVMs associated with other failover paths.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein a host machine associated with the selected failover path has low resource usage statistics as compared with other failover paths.

8. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software for managing a virtualization environment, the media comprising instructions operable when executed to:

provide a plurality of host machines, wherein each of the host machines comprises a hypervisor, one or more user virtual machines (user VMs), and a virtual machine controller;

provide one or more virtual disks comprising a plurality of storage devices, the one or more virtual disks being accessible by the virtual machine controllers, wherein the virtual machine controllers conduct I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks;

provide a virtualized file server (VFS) comprising a plurality of file server virtual machines (FSVMs), wherein each of the FSVMs is running on one of the host machines and conducts I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks, wherein a health monitoring service is running in a distributed mode on each of the host machines running a FSVM, and wherein the VFS is configured to;

by the distributed health monitoring service, monitor the FSVMs to determine whether any of the FSVMs has failed or is having problems;

by the distributed health monitoring service, detect that a plurality of the FSVMs have failed, wherein the failed FSVMs form a portion of the FSVMs comprising the VFS; and

for each of the failed FSVMs, reassign an IP address corresponding to the failed FSVM to a live one of a plurality of live ones of the FSVMs.

9. The media of claim 8, wherein a storage resource comprises a volume group, a virtual disk, a share, or a storage item.

10. The media of claim 8, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on;

an affinity of requests served by the failed FSVM with a configuration of the live FSVM,

a protocol to which the requests conform,

resources assigned to the host machine on which the live FSVM is running;

or

security restrictions applying to storage resources previously served by the failed FSVM.

11. The media of claim 8, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on a selected one of a plurality of failover paths defined for use when a FSVM fails within the cluster.

12. The media of claim 11, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on a previous primary failover path, a preferred failover path, or a failover path selected based on a round-robin ordering.

13. The media of claim 11, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on which of the live FSVMs has few outstanding or pending requests as compared to FSVMs associated with other failover paths.

14. The media of claim 11, wherein a host machine associated with the selected failover path has low resource usage statistics as compared with other failover paths.

15. A method for managing a virtualization environment, the method comprising:

by one or more computing devices, providing a plurality of host machines, wherein each of the host machines comprises a hypervisor, one or more user virtual machines (user VMs), and a virtual machine controller;

by the one or more computing devices, providing one or more virtual disks comprising a plurality of storage devices, the one or more virtual disks being accessible by the virtual machine controllers, wherein the virtual machine controllers conduct I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks;

by the one or more computing devices, providing a virtualized file server (VFS) comprising a plurality of file server virtual machines (FSVMs), wherein each of the FSVMs is running on one of the host machines and conducts I/O transactions with the one or more virtual disks, wherein a health monitoring service is running in a distributed mode on each of the host machines running a FSVM, and wherein the VFS is configured to;

by the distributed health monitoring service, monitor the FSVMs to determine whether any of the FSVMs has failed or is having problems;

by the distributed health monitoring service, detect that a plurality of the FSVMs have failed, wherein the failed FSVMs form a portion of the FSVMs comprising the VFS; and

for each of the failed FSVMs, reassign an IP address corresponding to the failed FSVM to a live one of a plurality of live ones of the FSVMs.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a storage resource comprises a volume group, a virtual disk, a share, or a storage item.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on;

an affinity of requests served by the failed FSVM with a configuration of the live FSVM,

a protocol to which the requests conform,

resources assigned to the host machine on which the live FSVM is running;

or

security restrictions applying to storage resources previously served by the failed FSVM.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on a selected one of a plurality of failover paths defined for use when a FSVM fails within the cluster.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on a previous primary failover path, a preferred failover path, or a failover path selected based on a round-robin ordering.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the VFS is further configured to, for each of the failed FSVMs:

select the live FSVM to which its corresponding IP address is assigned based on which of the live FSVMs has few outstanding or pending requests as compared to FSVMs associated with other failover paths.