Virtual machine switching based on measured network delay

• US 9,426,048 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2015
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Invincible IP LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Kruglick, Ezekiel
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huaracha, Willy W
• Application Number:
  US14/725,874
• Publication Number:
  US 20150263923A1
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• Field of Search: 718/1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45575 Starting, stopping, suspending or resuming virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/283 in response to processing delays, e.g. caused by jitter or round trip time [RTT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms

Abstract

Technologies related to virtual machine switching based on measured network delay are generally described. A network delay aware Virtual Machine (VM) may be configured to adapt a Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) to delay switching back to the network delay aware VM by a delay amount determined using a measured network delay. The measured network delay may comprise a delay between sending a network communication and receiving a network response. By delaying switching back to the network delay aware VM, additional processing resources are freed for other VMs managed by the VMM, thereby increasing efficiency of computing devices including network delay aware VMs, and correspondingly increasing efficiency of data centers including such computing devices.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to manage execution of virtual machines by a processor, the method comprising:

managing, by a network delay aware Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), execution of a plurality of Virtual Machines (VMs) by a processor, wherein managing execution of the plurality of VMs comprises switching the processor between execution of a network delay aware VM and other VMs;

providing an Application Program Interface (API) by the network delay aware VMM;

receiving from the network delay aware VM, via the API, a network delay input, wherein the network delay input includes a measurement based switch back delay calculated based on delay measurements between sending network communications by the network delay aware VM and receiving network responses by the network delay aware VM; and

in response to receiving the network delay input via the API, delaying switching, by the network delay aware VMM, the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs of the plurality of VMs managed by the network delay aware VMM such that a switching delay between executions of the network delay aware VM by the processor is approximately equal to the calculated measurement based switch back delay.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising managing, by the network delay aware VMM, execution of the other VMs by time switching the processor between execution of the other VMs.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein switching the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs comprises one of context switching or world switching between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising performing the delay measurements at the network delay aware VM, calculating the measurement based switch back delay for the network delay input at the network delay aware VM, and providing, by the network delay aware VM, the network delay input to the API.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the processor is in a server at a data center, and wherein managing execution of the plurality of VMs by the network delay aware VMM comprises switching the processor between execution of data center VMs.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising co-locating, by the data center, the network delay aware VM and the other VMs at the server so that the other VMs benefit from processor time freed by switching, by the network delay aware VMM, the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising performing the delay measurements at a Session Border Controller (SBC) in the data center.

8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions executable by a processor, the instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

manage, by a network delay aware Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), execution of a plurality of Virtual Machines (VMs) by a processor, wherein managing execution of the plurality of VMs comprises switching the processor between execution of a network delay aware VM and other VMs;

provide an Application Program Interface (API) by the network delay aware VMM;

receive from the network delay aware VM, via the API, a network delay input, wherein the network delay input includes a measurement based switch back delay calculated based on delay measurements between sending network communications by the network delay aware VM and receiving network responses by the network delay aware VM; and

in response to receiving the network delay input via the API, delay switching, by the network delay aware VMM, the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs of the plurality of VMs managed by the network delay aware VMM such that a switching delay between executions of the network delay aware VM by the processor is approximately equal to the calculated measurement based switch back delay.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to manage, by the network delay aware VMM, execution of the other VMs by time switching the processor between execution of the other VMs.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein switching the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs comprises one of context switching or world switching between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to perform the delay measurements at the network delay aware VM, calculate the measurement based switch back delay for the network delay input at the network delay aware VM, and provide, by the network delay aware VM, the network delay input to the API.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the processor is in a server at a data center, and wherein managing execution of the plurality of VMs by the network delay aware VMM comprises switching the processor between execution of data center VMs.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to co-locate the network delay aware VM and the other VMs at the server so that the other VMs benefit from processor time freed by switching, by the network delay aware VMM, the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs.

14. A server configured to manage execution of virtual machines, the server comprising:

a processor;

a memory; and

a network delay aware Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the network delay aware VMM is configured to;

manage execution of a plurality of Virtual Machines (VMs) by the processor, wherein managing execution of the plurality of VMs comprises switching the processor between execution a network delay aware VM and other VMs;

provide an Application Program Interface (API);

receive from the network delay aware VM, via the API, a network delay input, wherein the network delay input includes a measurement based switch back delay calculated based on delay measurements between sending network communications by the network delay aware VM and receiving network responses by the network delay aware VM; and

in response to receiving the network delay input via the API, delay switching, by the network delay aware VMM, the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs of the plurality of VMs managed by the network delay aware VMM such that a switching delay between executions of the network delay aware VM by the processor is approximately equal to the calculated measurement based switch back delay.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein the network delay aware VMM is configured to manage execution of the other VMs by time switching the processor between execution of the other VMs.

16. The server of claim 14, wherein switching the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs comprises one of context switching or world switching between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs.

17. The server of claim 14, further comprising the network delay aware VM stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein the network delay aware VM is configured to perform the delay measurements at the network delay aware VM, calculate the measurement based switch back delay for the network delay input at the network delay aware VM, and provide, by the network delay aware VM, the network delay input to the API.

18. The server of claim 14, wherein the processor is in a server at a data center, and wherein managing execution of the plurality of VMs by the network delay aware VMM comprises switching the processor between execution of data center VMs.

19. The server of claim 18, wherein the network delay aware VMM is configured to co-locate the network delay aware VM and the other VMs at the server so that the other VMs benefit from processor time freed by switching, by the network delay aware VMM, the processor between execution of the network delay aware VM and the other VMs.