Location-Based Management of Virtual Machines in Datacenters

A system for relocating virtual machines (VMs) in anticipation of adverse events, said system comprising:

• a memory area associated with a computing device, said memory area storing an inventory of VMs in a virtualized datacenter;
• and
• a processor programmed to:
• aggregate location information for a plurality of hosts in the virtualized datacenter, the hosts executing a plurality of the VMs, the location information associated with a plurality of racks in which the hosts are installed;
• receive event data comprising a description of potential adverse events;
• compare the aggregated location information with the received event data to identify a first host anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events;
• identify a second host that is anticipated to be not affected by the potential adverse events;
• compare the identified first host anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events with the inventory of VMs stored in the memory area to identify VMs anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events;
• notify the identified second host of an impending migration of the identified VMs;
• migrate one or more VMs of the identified VMs anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events from the identified first host to the identified second host;
• and
• obtain updated location information from the one or more VMs migrated to the identified second host.

A method for relocating virtual machines (VMs) in anticipation of adverse events, comprising:

• aggregating location information for a plurality of hosts in the virtualized datacenter, the hosts executing a plurality of the VMs, the location information associated with a plurality of racks in which the hosts are installed;
• receiving event data comprising a description of potential adverse events;
• comparing the aggregated location information with the received event data to identify a first host anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events;
• identifying a second host that is anticipated to be not affected by the potential adverse events;
• comparing the identified first host anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events with the inventory of VMs stored in the memory area to identify VMs anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events;
• notifying the identified second host of an impending migration of the identified VMs;
• migrating one or more VMs of the identified VMs anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events from the identified first host to the identified second host;
• and
• obtaining updated location information from the one or more VMs migrated to the identified second host.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to protect virtual machines (VMs) in anticipation of adverse events affecting a virtualized datacenter by causing the at least one processor to at least:

• aggregate location information for a plurality of hosts in the virtualized datacenter, the hosts executing a plurality of the VMs, the location information associated with a plurality of racks in which the hosts are installed;
• receive event data comprising a description of potential adverse events;
• compare the aggregated location information with the received event data to identify a first host anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events;
• identify a second host that is anticipated to be not affected by the potential adverse events;
• compare the identified first host anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events with the inventory of VMs stored in the memory area to identify VMs anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events;
• notify the identified second host of an impending migration of the identified VMs;
• migrate one or more VMs of the identified VMs anticipated to be affected by the potential adverse events from the identified first host to the identified second host;
• and
• obtain updated location information from the one or more VMs migrated to the identified second host.