Dynamic scheduling for virtual storage devices

A computing device comprising:

• processing hardware;
• a hardware device;
• storage hardware storing:
• a hypervisor configured to manage execution of virtual machines (VMs), wherein the hypervisor manages sharing of the processing hardware and the hardware device by the VMs, the hypervisor configured to perform a process comprising:
• receiving, by the hypervisor, requests from a VM, the requests directed to the hardware device, the requests received from a hypervisor-VM communication channel managed by the hypervisor, the receiving comprising adding the requests to a queue managed by the hypervisor for the hardware device;
• servicing the requests by a thread pool of the hypervisor removing the requests from the queue and providing the dequeued requests to the hardware device, which performs the requests;
• determining first times for the thread pool to provide the requests to the hardware device, respectively;
• determining second times for the hardware device to perform the requests, wherein each second time does not include time for the hypervisor to provide the corresponding request to the hardware device, and wherein each first time does not include time for the hardware device to perform the corresponding request;
• and
• based on the first times and the second times, automatically scaling a number of threads in the thread pool.

Storage hardware storing information configured to cause a computer to perform a process, the computer comprising a hardware device, the process comprising:

• providing a virtualization layer that manages execution of virtual machines (VMs) by the computer, the virtualization layer including a channel service that manages channels between the VMs and the virtualization layer, the channels configured to carry data between guest software in the VMs and the virtualization layer;
• managing, by the virtualization layer, the channel service that provides the channels, the channel service configured to provide a channel that enables guest software in the VM to exchange, through the virtualization layer, data with the hardware device, the channel comprising a queue in the virtualization layer, the providing the channel including allocating a thread pool to the channel, the channel comprising a queue, the thread pool configured to dequeue requests from the guest software in the VM and provide the dequeued requests to the hardware device;
• and
• executing a control loop in association with the channel, the control loop comprising monitoring latency statistics of the hardware device and latency statistics of the thread pool and repeatedly determining, based on the monitoring of the latency statistics of the hardware device and the latency statistic of the thread pool, whether a number of threads int he thread pool is to be increased or decreased, wherein the latency statistics of the hardware device represent latency of the hardware device and not latency of the thread pool.