Live replication of a virtual machine exported and imported via a portable storage device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9495189-B2
Application number	US-201414586944-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 30, 2014
Priority date	Dec 30, 2014
Publication date	Nov 15, 2016
Grant date	Nov 15, 2016

Abstract

Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems receive a request to initiate replication of a virtual machine (VM). In response to the request, a copy of the VM disk is exported to a locally attached portable storage device while the VM continues running. In response to receiving indication of the VM disk being imported from the portable storage device locally within a destination data center, the host computer determines VM data within the source data center is different from or not included within the exported copy of the VM disk and transmits the VM data to the destination data center via a network connection while the VM continues running. An indication that the virtual machine data within the destination data center is within a threshold of similarity with virtual machine data within the source data center is transmitted to the destination data center via the network connection.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
receiving, by a host computer within a source data center, a request to initiate replication of a virtual machine running on the host computer, wherein virtual machine data for the virtual machine includes a virtual machine disk and a virtual machine memory stored within the source data center;
exporting, in response to the request to initiate the replication of the virtual machine, a copy of the virtual machine disk to a portable storage device attached locally within the source data center while the virtual machine continues running on the host computer within the source data center, the portable storage device being configured to be detached from the source data center and physically transported to a destination data center;
receiving an indication that the copy of the virtual machine disk has been imported from the portable storage device that was previously attached locally within the source data center and subsequently attached locally within the destination data center;
determining virtual machine data within the source data center is different from or not included within the exported copy of the virtual machine disk in the portable storage device in response to the received indication;
transmitting, to the destination data center via a network connection while the virtual machine continues running on the host computer within the source data center, the virtual machine data determined to be different from or not included within the copy of the virtual machine disk exported to the portable storage device;
determining virtual machine data within the destination data center is within a threshold of similarity with virtual machine data within the source data center; and
transmitting, to the destination data center via the network connection, an indication that the virtual machine data within the destination data center is within a threshold of similarity with virtual machine data within the source data center.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
tracking changes to the virtual machine disk as the changes occur following the export, wherein the host computer utilizes the tracked changes to determine which virtual machine data within the source data center is different from or not included within the exported copy of the virtual machine disk.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting, to the destination data center via the network connection, mirrored copies of write requests directed to the virtual machine disk within the source data center.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the host computer within the source data center initiates the transmission of the mirrored copies of write requests in response to the exporting of the copy of the virtual machine disk to the portable storage device that is physically transported to the destination data center.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual machine data determined to be different from or not included within the copy of the virtual machine disk exported to the portable storage device includes data from the virtual machine memory within the source data center.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the network connection is a wide area network connection.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
suspending execution of the virtual machine within the source data center; and
receiving indication of the virtual machine resuming execution on a host computer within the destination data center, the virtual machine resumed on the host computer within the destination data center using the imported copy of the virtual machine disk data and the transmitted virtual machine data.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , further comprising:
transmitting virtual machine processor state data to the destination data center during the suspension of execution of the virtual machine within the source data center.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform a method comprising:
receiving, by a host computer within a source data center, a request to initiate replication of a virtual machine running on the host computer, wherein virtual machine data for the virtual machine includes a virtual machine disk and a virtual machine memory stored within the source data center;
exporting, in response to the request to initiate the replication of the virtual machine, a copy of the virtual machine disk to a portable storage device attached locally within the source data center while the virtual machine continues running on the host computer within the source data center, the portable storage device being configured to be detached from the source data center and physically transported to a destination data center;
receiving an indication that the copy of the virtual machine disk has been imported from the portable storage device that was previously attached locally within the source data center and subsequently attached locally within the destination data center;
determining virtual machine data within the source data center is different from or not included within the exported copy of the virtual machine disk in the portable storage device in response to the received indication;
transmitting, to the destination data center via a network connection while the virtual machine continues running on the host computer within the source data center, the virtual machine data determined to be different from or not included within the copy of the virtual machine disk exported to the portable storage device;
determining virtual machine data within the destination data center is within a threshold of similarity with virtual machine data within the source data center;
transmitting, to the destination data center via the network connection, an indication that the virtual machine data within the destination data center is within a threshold of similarity with virtual machine data within the source data center.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , the method further comprising:
tracking changes to the virtual machine disk as the changes occur following the export, wherein the host computer utilizes the tracked changes to determine which virtual machine data within the source data center is different from or not included within the exported copy of the virtual machine disk.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , the method further comprising:
transmitting, to the destination data center via the network connection, mirrored copies of write requests directed to the virtual machine disk within the source data center.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the host computer within the source data center initiates the transmission of the mirrored copies of write requests in response to the exporting of the copy of the virtual machine disk to the portable storage device that is physically transported to the destination data center.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the virtual machine data determined to be different from or not included within the copy of the virtual machine disk exported to the portable storage device includes data from the virtual machine memory within the source data center.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the network connection is a wide area network connection.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable

Assignees

• Vmware Inc

Inventors

• Shu Longhao
• Cai Min
• Tarasuk-Levin Gabriel

Classifications

• G06F9/45558 Primary

  Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects · CPC title

• G06F9/45533 Primary

  Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors · CPC title

• G06F2009/4557

  Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing · CPC title