Optimizing a file system interface in a virtualized computing environment

• US 9,229,757 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2010
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ben-Yehuda, Shmuel, Borovik, Eran, Rom, Eran, Traeger, Avishay
• Primary Examiner(s): TSUI, DANIEL D
• Application Number:
  US12/838,508
• Publication Number:
  US 20120017030A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,996 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0802 Addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means, e.g. caches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0875 with dedicated cache, e.g. instruction or stack
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/452 Instruction code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4555 Para-virtualisation, i.e. guest operating system has to be modified
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5016 the resource being the memory

Abstract

Systems and methods for optimizing write operations to a storage device in a virtualized computing environment comprise monitoring write operations issued by an application running on a virtual machine'"'"'s (VM) operating system, wherein the VM is hosted by a hypervisor providing access to a storage device in a virtualized computing environment; and causing a virtual file system (VFS) supported by the operating system to call on a first para-virtualized file system (PVFS FE) supported by the operating system to execute a write operation, in response to determining that the write operation is to write data to the storage device, wherein data that is to be written to the storage device is first written to a VM memory area allocated to the VM and accessible to the hypervisor hosting the VM.

Claims

1. A method for optimizing write operations to a storage device in a virtualized computing environment, the method comprising:

monitoring write operations issued by an application running on a virtual machine'"'"'s (VM) operating system, wherein the VM is hosted by a hypervisor providing access to a storage device in a virtualized computing environment; and

causing a virtual file system (VFS) supported by the operating system to call on a first para-virtualized file system (PVFS FE) supported by the operating system to execute a write operation, in response to determining that the write operation is to write data to the storage device, wherein data that is to be written to the storage device is first written to a VM memory area allocated to the VM and accessible to the hypervisor hosting the VM;

wherein a second para-virtualized file system (PVFS BE) supported in the hypervisor asynchronously scans the VM memory to determine if any data that has been stored in the VM memory is to be written to the storage device, wherein the asynchronous scanning is performed based on determining one or both of;

that a certain amount of data has been written to the VM memory by the PVFS FE after a certain point in time;

or that PVFS FE has written data to the VM memory a certain number of times after a certain point in time; and

wherein the PVFS BE writes the data that is to be written to the storage device from VM memory to the storage device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the PVFS BE marks the data in VM memory that is written to the storage device to indicate that said data has been written to the storage device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the asynchronous scanning is performed in predetermined time intervals based on the expiration of a timing threshold.

4. A system for optimizing write operations to a storage device in a virtualized computing environment, the system comprising:

a processor for monitoring write operations issued by an application running on a virtual machine'"'"'s (VM) operating system, wherein the VM is hosted by a hypervisor providing access to a storage device in a virtualized computing environment; and

the operating system causing a virtual file system (VFS) supported by the operating system to call on a first para-virtualized file system (PVFS FE) supported by the operating system to execute a write operation, in response to determining that the write operation is to write data to the storage device, wherein data that is to be written to the storage device is first written to a VM memory area allocated to the VM and accessible to the hypervisor hosting the VM;

wherein a second para-virtualized file system (PVFS BE) supported in the hypervisor asynchronously scans the VM memory to determine if any data that has been stored in the VM memory is to be written to the storage device, wherein the asynchronous scanning is performed based on determining one or both of;

that a certain amount of data has been written the VM memory by the PVFS FE after a certain point in time;

or that PVFS FE has written data to the VM memory a certain number of times after a certain point in time; and

wherein the PVFS BE writes the data that is to be written to the storage device from VM memory to the storage device.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the PVFS BE marks the data in VM memory that is copied to the storage device to indicate that said data has been written to storage device.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the asynchronous scanning is performed in predetermined time intervals based on the expiration of a timing threshold.

7. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

monitor write operations issued by an application running on a virtual machine'"'"'s (VM) operating system, wherein the VM is hosted by a hypervisor providing access to a storage device in a virtualized computing environment; and

cause a virtual file system (VFS) supported by the operating system to call on a first para-virtualized file system (PVFS FE) supported by the operating system to execute a write operation, in response to determining that the write operation is to write data to the storage device, wherein data that is to be written to the storage device is first written to a VM memory area allocated to the VM and accessible to the hypervisor hosting the VM;

wherein a second para-virtualized file system (PVFS BE) supported in the hypervisor asynchronously scans the VM memory to determine if any data that has been stored in the VM memory is to be written to the storage device, wherein the asynchronous scanning is performed based on determining one or both of;

that a certain amount of data has been written the VM memory by the PVFS FE after a certain point in time;

or that PVFS FE has written data to the VM memory a certain number of times after a certain point in time; and

wherein the PVFS BE writes the data that is to be written to the storage device from VM memory to the storage device.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the PVFS BE marks the data in VM memory that is copied to the storage device to indicate that said data has been written to the storage device.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the asynchronous scanning is performed in predetermined time intervals based on the expiration of a timing threshold.