Vmware, Inc.

Joanne Ren

Keith Farkas

Elisha Ziskind

Manoj Krishnan

Igor Tarashansky

Mike Zucca

Guoqiang Shu

Sridhar Rajagopal

Michael Nelson

Ron Passerini

Martin Valkanov

David W Barry

Christos Karamanolis

Mayank Rawat

Parth Shah

Martin Marinov

Michael Zucca

Biliana Petrova

A system for monitoring a virtual machine executed on a host. The system includes a processor that receives an indication that a failure caused a storage device to be inaccessible to the virtual machine, the inaccessible storage device impacting an ability of the virtual machine to provide service, and applies a remedy to restore access to the storage device based on a type of the failure.

Protecting virtual machines against storage connectivity failures

The present disclosure is related to systems and methods for scheduling and managing series of snapshots. An example method can include estimating a transfer time to transfer a first snapshot of a virtual computing instance (VCI) to a first snapshot series, and estimating a transfer time to transfer a second snapshot of the VCI to a second snapshot series. The method can further include determining a first schedule time to start a transfer of a first series of snapshots and determining a second schedule time to start a transfer of a second series of snapshots, wherein the first schedule time and the second schedule time are based at least in part on a respective recovery point objective (RPO). In some embodiments, the method can further include scheduling a point in time to record a next snapshot based at least in part on the shorter schedule time of the first schedule time and the second schedule time.

Scheduling and managing series of snapshots

Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems determine a list of virtual machines to be subject to a corrective action. When one or more of the listed virtual machines have dependencies upon other virtual machines, network connections, or storage devices, the determination of the list includes determining that the dependencies of the one or more virtual machines have been met. An attempt to restart or take another corrective action for the first virtual machine within the list is made. A second virtual machine that is currently deployed and running or powered off or paused in response to the corrective action for the first virtual machine is determined to be dependent upon the first virtual machine. In response to the second virtual machine's dependencies having been met by the attempt to restart or take corrective action for the first virtual machine, the second virtual machine is added to the list of virtual machines.

Interdependent virtual machine management

The present disclosure is related to methods, systems, and machine-readable media for workflows for series of snapshots. A server can manage replication of a number of series of snapshots of a virtual computing instance (VCI). An on-host agent can replicate a parent series of the number of series of snapshots to at least one child series of the number of series of snapshots. The parent series can precede the at least one child series in the number of series of snapshots. A change in the parent series can be propagated to the child series. Management of the replication of the numbers of series of snapshots can be switched from the server to a different server.

Workflows for series of snapshots

A method for restoring a data volume using incremental snapshots of the data volume includes creating a first series of incremental snapshots according to a first predefined interval. The method further includes creating a second series of incremental snapshots according to a second predefined interval that is an integer multiple of the first predefined interval. The method also includes receiving a request to restore the data volume to a point-in-time. The method further includes restoring the data volume to the point-in-time using none or some of the snapshots in the first series that were created at or prior to the point-in-time, and all of the snapshots in the second series that were created at or prior to the point-in-time.

Multiple hierarchies of snapshots

The present disclosure is related to methods, systems, and machine-readable media for modifying an instance catalog to perform operation. A storage system can include a plurality of packfiles that store data. The storage system can include a plurality of streams that include a plurality of hashes that identify the plurality of packfiles. The storage system can include an instance catalog that includes an identification of the plurality of streams. The storage system can include an operation engine to perform a number of operations on the plurality of packfiles by modifying the instance catalog using the identification of the plurality of streams.

Modifying an instance catalog to perform operations

A system for proactive resource reservation for protecting virtual machines. The system includes a cluster of hosts, wherein the cluster of hosts includes a master host, a first slave host, and one or more other slave hosts, and wherein the first slave host executes one or more virtual machines thereon. The first slave host is configured to identify a failure that impacts an ability of the one or more virtual machines to provide service, and calculate a list of impacted virtual machines. The master host is configured to receive a request to reserve resources on another host in the cluster of hosts to enable the impacted one or more virtual machines to failover, calculate a resource capacity among the cluster of hosts, determine whether the calculated resource capacity is sufficient to reserve the resources, and send an indication as to whether the resources are reserved.

Proactive resource reservation for protecting virtual machines

Techniques for enabling virtual machine (VM) recovery on non-shared storage in a single virtual infrastructure management server (VIMS) instance are provided. In one set of embodiments, a VIMS instance can receive an indication that a VM in a first cluster of the VIMS instance has failed, and can determine whether the VM's files were being replicated to a storage component of the VIMS instance at the time of the VM's failure. If the VM's files were being replicated at the time of the failure, the VIMS instance can search for and identify a cluster of the VIMS instance and a host system within the cluster that (1) are compatible with the VM, and (2) have access to the storage component. The VIMS instance can then cause the VM to be restarted on the identified host system of the identified cluster.

Virtual machine recovery on non-shared storage in a single virtual infrastructure management instance

Embodiments maintain high availability of software application instances in a fault domain. Subordinate hosts are monitored by a master host. The subordinate hosts publish heartbeats via a network and datastores. Based at least in part on the published heartbeats, the master host determines the status of each subordinate host, distinguishing between subordinate hosts that are entirely inoperative and subordinate hosts that are operative but partitioned (e.g., unreachable via the network). The master host may restart software application instances, such as virtual machines, that are executed by inoperative subordinate hosts or that cease executing on partitioned subordinate hosts.

Maintaining high availability of a group of virtual machines using heartbeat messages

A system for monitoring virtual machines includes a master host and a slave host. The slave host includes a primary virtual machine and a secondary virtual machine. The slave host is configured to identify a failure that impacts an ability of at least one of the primary virtual machine and the secondary virtual machine to provide service. If the failure is a Permanent Device Loss failure, the slave host is configured to terminate each impacted virtual machine. If the failure is an All Paths Down failure, the master host is configured to apply one of the following: a first remedy if the primary virtual machine is impacted and the secondary virtual machine is not impacted; a second remedy if the secondary virtual machine is impacted and the primary virtual machine is not impacted; or a third remedy if both the primary virtual machine and the secondary virtual machine are impacted.

Protecting paired virtual machines

Recovery of virtual machines when one or more hosts fail includes identifying virtual machines running on the remaining functioning hosts. Some of the identified powered on virtual machines are suspended in favor of restarting some of the failed virtual machines from the failed host(s). A subsequent round of identifying virtual machines for suspension and virtual machines for restarting is performed. Virtual machines for suspension and restarting may be identified based on their associated 'recovery time objective' (RTO) values or their 'maximum number of RTO violations' value.

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Joanne Ren