Infernal storage in cloud disk to support encrypted hard drive and other stateful features
AssigneeGoogle Inc.
InventorsJoseph Richey, Michael Halcrow, Sergey Karamov
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Abstract
A cloud implementation of a persisted storage device, such as a disk, is provided. The implementation supports a variety of features and protocols, in full analogy with a physical storage device such as a disk drive. The present disclosure provides for implementing standard eDrive protocols in the cloud by designing internal disk storage, referred to as a “system area,” in a virtual disk instance that the virtual disk can potentially utilize for a multitude of disk features. This internal storage can be used to implement eDrive protocols, which use the system area to maintain the necessary internal virtual disk state.
Claims26
A method for supporting encrypted hard drives in a virtual disk storage system, the method comprising:
- receiving a request to create a virtual disk instance that supports encrypted hard drive protocols;
- instantiating, with a virtual machine, a virtual disk in response to the request;
- and
- creating an internal disk storage area in the virtual disk, the internal disk storage area being exposed to a controller of the virtual disk, wherein the internal disk storage area is used to implement the encrypted hard drive protocols, and the encrypted hard drive protocols use the internal disk storage area to maintain an internal disk state;
- wherein the internal disk storage area is implemented as a dedicated block backend, wherein the dedicated block backend includes one or more in-memory band states comprising a persisted part and a runtime-only part;
- and
- generating an encryption key internally to the internal disk storage area such that the encryption is inaccessible to a host associated with the virtual disk.
A virtual disk instantiated by a virtual machine, comprising:
- a storage device associated with the virtual disk;
- and
- wherein the virtual disk comprises:
- a virtual disk backend including the virtual disk and an internal disk storage area;
- a system area backend providing an interface to the internal disk storage area and an interface to the virtual disk, and
- a secure block backend stacked above the system area backend, the secure block backend providing encrypted hard drive protocol support, the secure block backend using the internal disk storage area to maintain an internal disk state;
- wherein the internal disk storage area is implemented as a dedicated block backend, wherein the dedicated block backend includes one or more in-memory band states comprising a persisted part and a runtime-only part;
- and
- wherein the internal disk storage area has an encryption key generated internally such that the encryption is inaccessible to a host associated with the virtual disk.
A system for supporting encrypted hard drives in a virtual disk storage system, the system comprising:
- a host device capable of supporting one or more virtual machines within a network computing architecture, the one or more virtual machines adapted to:
- receive a request to create a virtual disk instance that supports encrypted hard drive protocols;
- instantiate a virtual disk on a storage device in response to the request;
- create an internal disk storage area in the virtual disk, the internal disk storage area being exposed to a controller of the virtual disk, wherein the internal disk storage area is used to implement the encrypted hard drive protocols, and the encrypted hard drive protocols use the internal disk storage area to maintain an internal disk state, and the internal disk storage area is implemented as a dedicated block backend, wherein the dedicated block backend includes one or more in-memory band states comprising a persisted part and a runtime-only part;
- and
- generate an encryption key internally to the internal disk storage area such that the encryption is inaccessible to a host associated with the virtual disk.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.