TECHNIQUES FOR PERFORMING VIRTUAL MACHINE SOFTWARE UPGRADES USING VIRTUAL DISK SWAPPING

• US 20140201725A1
• Filed: 01/14/2013
• Published: 07/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.), EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tian, Feng, Zhang, Jin, Wang, Jiajun, Jin, Zhao
• Granted Patent: US 9,110,757 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45562 Creating, deleting, cloning virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/065 Replication mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/63 Image based installation; Cloning; Build to order
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

In one embodiment, a computer system creates a first template VM that includes a first OS VMDK and a first software binary VMDK, and clones the first template VM to create a linked clone VM. The linked clone VM executes a guest OS by accessing the first OS VMDK and a software application by accessing the first software binary VMDK. The computer system further creates a second template VM that includes a second software binary VMDK, where the second software binary VMDK includes one or more upgrades to the software application that are not included in the first software binary VMDK. The computer system then detaches the first software binary VMDK from the linked clone VM and attaches the second software binary VMDK to the linked clone VM. The linked clone VM thereafter executes the software application by accessing the second software binary VMDK.

Claims

1. A method for performing a virtual machine (VM) software upgrade, the method comprising:

creating, by a computer system, a first template VM that comprises a first operating system (OS) virtual disk (VMDK) and a first software binary VMDK;

cloning, by the computer system, the first template VM to create a linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM executes a guest OS by accessing the first OS VMDK and a software application by accessing the first software binary VMDK;

creating, by the computer system, a second template VM that comprises a second software binary VMDK, wherein the second software binary VMDK includes one or more upgrades to the software application that are not included in the first software binary VMDK;

detaching, by the computer system, the first software binary VMDK from the linked clone VM; and

attaching, by the computer system, the second software binary VMDK to the linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM thereafter executes the software application by accessing the second software binary VMDK.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second template VM further comprises a second OS VMDK, wherein the second OS VMDK includes one or more upgrades to the guest OS that are not included in the first OS VMDK, and wherein the method further comprises:

detaching the first OS VMDK from the linked clone VM; and

attaching the second OS VMDK to the linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM thereafter executes the guest OS by accessing the second OS VMDK.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

creating a first data VMDK that is specific to the linked clone VM; and

attaching the first data VMDK to the linked clone VM.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first data VMDK remains attached to the linked clone VM after the first software binary VMDK is detached from the linked clone VM.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising, prior to detaching the first software binary VMDK from the linked clone VM:

transmitting, to an agent running within the linked clone VM, a first command to stop execution of the software application; and

transmitting, to the agent, a second command to perform one or more pre-upgrade actions.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein performing the one or more pre-upgrade actions comprises:

retrieving configuration information that is specific to the linked clone VM from one or more delta disks associated with the first software binary VMDK; and

saving the configuration information in the first data VMDK.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising, after attaching the second software binary VMDK to the linked clone VM:

transmitting, to the agent, a third command to perform one or more post-upgrade actions; and

transmitting, to the agent, a fourth command to restart execution of the software application.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein performing the one or more post-upgrade actions comprises:

retrieving configuration information that is specific to the linked clone VM from the first data VMDK; and

saving the configuration information in one or more delta disks associated with the second software binary VMDK.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein the second software binary VMDK is attached to the linked clone VM before the first software binary VMDK is detached from the linked clone VM.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

creating a second data VMDK that is specific to the linked clone VM; and

attaching the second data VMDK to the linked clone VM.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

transmitting, to an agent running within the VM, a command to upgrade data in the first data VMDK.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein upgrading the data in the first data VMDK comprises:

extracting the data from the first data VMDK;

upgrading the extracted data; and

storing the upgraded data in the second data VMDK.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising, after the storing, detaching the first data VMDK from the linked clone VM.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer software executable by a processor, the computer software embodying a method for performing a VM software upgrade, the method comprising:

creating a first template VM that comprises a first OS VMDK and a first software binary VMDK;

cloning the first template VM to create a linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM executes a guest OS by accessing the first OS VMDK and a software application by accessing the first software binary VMDK;

creating a second template VM that comprises a second software binary VMDK, wherein the second software binary VMDK includes one or more upgrades to the software application that are not included in the first software binary VMDK;

detaching the first software binary VMDK from the linked clone VM; and

attaching the second software binary VMDK to the linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM thereafter executes the software application by accessing the second software binary VMDK.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the second template VM further comprises a second OS VMDK, wherein the second OS VMDK includes one or more upgrades to the guest OS that are not included in the first OS VMDK, and wherein the method further comprises:

detaching the first OS VMDK from the linked clone VM; and

attaching the second OS VMDK to the linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM thereafter executes the guest OS by accessing the second OS VMDK.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the method further comprises:

creating a data VMDK that is specific to the linked clone VM; and

attaching the data VMDK to the linked clone VM.

17. A system for performing a VM software upgrade, the system comprising:

a processor configured to;

create a first template VM that comprises a first OS VMDK and a first software binary VMDK;

clone the first template VM to create a linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM executes a guest OS by accessing the first OS VMDK and a software application by accessing the first software binary VMDK;

create a second template VM that comprises a second software binary VMDK, wherein the second software binary VMDK includes one or more upgrades to the software application that are not included in the first software binary VMDK;

detach the first software binary VMDK from the linked clone VM; and

attach the second software binary VMDK to the linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM thereafter executes the software application by accessing the second software binary VMDK.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the second template VM further comprises a second OS VMDK, wherein the second OS VMDK includes one or more upgrades to the guest OS that are not included in the first OS VMDK, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

detach the first OS VMDK from the linked clone VM; and

attach the second OS VMDK to the linked clone VM, wherein the linked clone VM thereafter executes the guest OS by accessing the second OS VMDK.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to:

create a data VMDK that is specific to the linked clone VM; and

attach the data VMDK to the linked clone VM.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the system is a central management server (CMS) in a virtual infrastructure, and wherein the linked clone VM is configured run on a host system that is distinct from the CMS.