Handling disk state inheritance for forked virtual machines
US9507623B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 15, 2014 |
| Grant date | Nov 29, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 15, 2034 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2009/45583
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Techniques for handling inheritance of disk state when forking virtual machines (VMs) are provided. In one embodiment, a computer system can receive a request to fork a child VM from a parent VM. In response, the computer system can take a disk snapshot of the parent VM, where the disk snapshot results in a child disk for the child VM, where the child disk is a delta disk that points to a parent disk of the parent VM, and where the parent disk serves as the parent VM's current running point. The computer system can then determine whether the parent disk is a delta disk. If so, the computer system can copy the content of the parent disk to the child disk, traverse a disk hierarchy associated with the parent disk to identify a base disk above the parent disk in the hierarchy, and cause the child disk to point directly to the base disk.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.