Online virtual machine disk migration
AssigneeVMware, Inc.
InventorsOsten Kit COLBERT, Gregory HUTCHINS, Robert BOSCH, Jairam RANGANATHAN, Joel BAXTER
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for migrating a virtual machine disk (VM disk) from first physical storage to second physical storage while the virtual machine (VM) is running, the method comprising: (a) creating a first child VM disk to which writes are redirected from a first parent VM disk, the first parent VM disk being on the first physical storage; (b) copying the first parent VM disk to the second physical storage as a second parent VM disk; (c) re-parenting the first VM child disk to the second parent VM disk; and (d) consolidating the first child VM disk and the second parent VM disk.
Claims19
A method for migrating a virtual machine disk (VM disk) from first physical storage to second physical storage while the virtual machine (VM) is maintained in its physical location, the method comprising:
- creating a first child VM disk to which writes are redirected from a first parent VM disk, the first parent VM disk being on the first physical storage;
- copying the first parent VM disk to the second physical storage as a second parent VM disk;
- re-parenting the first VM child disk to the second parent VM disk;
- and
- consolidating the first child VM disk and the second parent VM disk on the second physical storage;
- wherein the VM disk on which the VM is dependent for execution is migrated from the first physical storage to the second physical storage without migrating the VM and while the VM is running.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for causing a virtualized computer system to perform a method for migrating a virtual machine disk (VM disk) from first physical storage to second physical storage while the virtual machine (VM) is maintained in its physical location, the method comprising:
- creating a first child VM disk to which writes are redirected from a first parent VM disk, the first parent VM disk being on the first physical storage;
- copying the first parent VM disk to the second physical storage as a second parent VM disk;
- re-parenting the first VM child disk to the second parent VM disk;
- and
- consolidating the first child VM disk and the second parent VM disk on the second physical storage;
- wherein the VM disk on which the VM is dependent for execution is migrated from the first physical storage to the second physical storage without migrating the VM and while the VM is running.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.