Tenant virtualization controller for exporting tenant without shifting location of tenant data in a multi-tenancy environment

• US 9,436,515 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2010
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Pohlmann, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, James J
• Application Number:
  US12/981,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20120174113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,078 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5083 Techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5088 involving task migration

Abstract

A system and method for performing load balancing of systems in a multi-tenancy computing environment by shifting tenants from an overloaded system to a non-overloaded system. Initially, a determination is made as to whether a first tenant desires an access to an instance of a software application. The same instance of the software application is being accessed by other tenants of a first system. If the tenant desires access to the same instance of the software application, the tenant is created at the first system. The created first tenant and the other tenants exist in a multi-tenancy computing environment that enables the first tenant and the other tenants to access a same instance of a software application. Then, it is checked whether the first system is overloaded. If the first system is overloaded, load balancing is performed as follows. The first tenant is exported from the overloaded first system to a lesser loaded second system. The data containers of the first tenant remain stationary at a virtual storage. The first tenant is enabled to access the same instance of the software application that it was accessing while at the first system, but now using memory resources and processing resources of the second system. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and articles are also described.

Claims

1. A method of controlling movement of tenants in a multitenancy computing environment using one or more processors of a tenant virtualization controller, the method comprising:

defining a new tenant at a first system of the multi-tenancy computing environment, the first system being communicatively connected to the tenant virtualization controller via a first network link;

starting the new tenant at the first system;

storing data associated with the new tenant in a data container stored in a virtual storage, wherein the data container comprises a database and a file system;

determining whether the first system is overloaded; and

if the first system is overloaded, performing operations comprising;

stopping the new tenant at the first system;

de-registering the new tenant from the database of the data container;

unmounting the file system in the data container from the new tenant at the first system;

determining a second system that is not overloaded, the second system being communicatively connected to the tenant virtualization controller via a second network link;

exporting the new tenant from the first system to the determined second system of the multi-tenancy computing environment without shifting storage location of the data associated with the new tenant;

mounting the file system in the data container on the exported new tenant at the second system;

registering the exported new tenant with the database of the data container that remained stored in the virtual storage; and

starting the tenant at the second system, wherein the first system and the second system are multi-tenancy computing systems.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the data container further comprises

two compartments comprising a first compartment for database data and a second compartment for text-based search data.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the new tenant is defined in the multi-tenancy computing environment that enables a plurality of tenants including the new tenant to access a single instance of a same software application.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the starting of the new tenant enables the first new client to access a same instance of a software application as being accessed by other tenants in the multi-tenancy computing environment.

5. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the stopping of the new tenant disables the first new client to access a software application as being accessed by other tenants in the multi-tenancy computing environment.

6. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the determination of whether the first system is overloaded is based on determining whether a second new tenant can be defined at the first system such that the second new tenant can use memory resources and processing resources of the first system.

7. The method in accordance with claim 6, wherein the first system is overloaded when the second new tenant cannot be defined at the first system such that the second new tenant cannot use memory resources and processing resources of the first system.

8. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the tenant virtualization controller combines virtualization with multi-tenancy in the multi-tenancy computing environment.

9. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor of a tenant virtualization controller to perform operations comprising:

defining a new tenant at a first system, the first system being communicatively connected to the tenant virtualization controller via a first network link;

starting the new tenant at the first system;

storing data associated with the new tenant in a data container stored in a virtual storage, wherein the data container comprises a database and a file system;

determining whether the first system is overloaded; and

if the system is overloaded, performing further operations comprising;

stopping the new tenant at the first system;

de-registering the new tenant from the database of the data container;

unmounting the file system in the data container from the new tenant at the first system;

determining that a second system is non-overloaded, the second system being communicatively connected to the tenant virtualization controller via a second network link;

exporting the new tenant from the first system to the non-overloaded second system without shifting location of the data associated with the new tenant;

mounting the file system in the data container on the exported new tenant at the second system;

registering the exported new tenant with the database of the data container that remained stored in the virtual storage; and

starting the tenant at the second system, wherein the first system and the second system are multi-tenancy computing systems.

10. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the new tenant is defined in a multi-tenancy computing environment that enables a plurality of tenants including the new tenant to access a single instance of a same software application.

11. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the starting of the new tenant enables the first new client to access a same instance of a software application as being accessed by other tenants in a multi-tenancy computing environment.

12. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein the stopping of the new tenant disables the first new client to access a software application as being accessed by other tenants in a multi-tenancy computing environment.

13. The computer program product in accordance with claim 9, wherein:

the determination of whether the first system is overloaded is based on determining whether a second new tenant can be defined in a multi-tenancy computing environment at the first system such that the second new tenant can use memory resources and processing resources of the first system; and

the first system is overloaded when the second new tenant cannot be defined at the first system such that the second new tenant cannot use memory resources and processing resources of the first system.

14. A system comprising:

at least one programmable processor; and

a machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor of a tenant virtualization controller, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations comprising;

defining a new tenant at a first system communicatively connected to the tenant virtualization controller via a first communication network;

starting the new tenant at the first system;

storing data associated with the new tenant in a data container stored in a virtual storage, wherein the data container comprises a database and a file system;

determining whether the first system is overloaded; and

if the system is overloaded, performing functions comprising;

stopping the new tenant at the first system;

de-registering the new tenant from the database of the data container;

unmounting the file system in the data container from the new tenant at the first system;

determining whether a second system is overloaded, the second system being communicatively connected to the tenant virtualization controller via a second communication network;

exporting the new tenant from the first system to the second system when the second system is non-overloaded without shifting location of the data associated with the new tenant;

mounting the file system in the data container on the exported new tenant at the second system;

registering the exported new tenant with the database of the data container that remained stored in the virtual storage; and

starting the tenant at the second system, wherein the first system and the second system are multi-tenancy computing systems.

15. The system in accordance with claim 14, wherein the new tenant is defined in a multi-tenancy computing environment that enables a plurality of tenants including the new tenant to access a single instance of a same software application.

16. The system in accordance with claim 14, wherein the starting of the new tenant enables the first new client to access a same instance of a software application as being accessed by other tenants in a multi-tenancy computing environment.

17. The system in accordance with claim 14, wherein the stopping of the new tenant disables the first new client to access a software application as being accessed by other tenants in a multi-tenancy computing environment.

18. The system in accordance with claim 14, wherein the determination of whether the first system is overloaded is based on determining whether a second new tenant can be defined in a multi-tenancy computing environment at the first system such that the second new tenant can use memory resources and processing resources of the first system, and wherein the first system is overloaded when the second new tenant cannot be defined at the first system such that the second new tenant cannot use memory resources and processing resources of the first system.