US 9,311,140 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for extending local area networks between clouds and migrating virtual machines using static network addresses

AssigneeVMware, Inc.

InventorsJagannath N. Raghu, Manjunath Bandi, Anirudh Agarwal

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Abstract

The current document discloses methods and systems for extending an internal network within a first cloud-computing facility to a second cloud-computing facility and deploying a virtual machine or virtual application previously running on a first cloud-computing facility within the context of the extended internal network in the second cloud-computing facility. The currently disclosed methods and systems which provide internal-network extension and redeployment of virtual machines and virtual applications, referred to as “stretch deploy,” allow a virtual machine or virtual application formerly executing on a first cloud-computing facility to resume execution on a second cloud-computing facility, using the computational and storage facilities of the second cloud-computing facility but depending on network support from the first cloud-computing facility, without changing IP and local network addresses and the network connectivity, based on those addresses, between the virtual machines and virtual applications and other local and remote computational entities with which the virtual machines and virtual applications communicate.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A cloud-connector subsystem that provides a stretch-deploy operation for moving one or more virtual machines and virtual applications, that execute in a source cloud-computing facility, to a target cloud-computing facility where the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications resume executing, the cloud-connector subsystem comprising:

a cloud-connector node associated with the source cloud-computing facility;
a cloud-connector node associated with the target cloud-computing facility;
and
a cloud-connector server that includes one or more processors, one or more memories, one or more data-storage devices, and computer instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, control the cloud-connector server to provide, in cooperation with the cloud-connector nodes, a stretch-deploy operation that
extends a first local virtual network, within the source cloud-computing facility, to a second local virtual network, within the target cloud-computing facility, forming an extended local virtual network by
verifying the source cloud-computing facility and one or more virtual machines and virtual applications to be moved,
verifying the target cloud-computing facility,
creating a routed virtual application within the second local virtual network,
launching execution of the routed virtual application within the target cloud-computing facility, and
creating, from a first edge appliance through which the one or more virtual machines are connected to a first virtual organization network that is, in turn, connected to an external network, a secure communications tunnel to a second edge appliance through which the second local virtual network in the routed virtual application is connected to a second virtual organization network, in turn connected to the external network;
and
moves the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from executing on the source cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the extended local virtual network using one or more network addresses to executing on the target cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the extended local virtual network using the same one or more network addresses.

9 more elements

A method that relocates one or more virtual machines and virtual applications connected to a first local virtual network within a source cloud-computing facility to a target cloud-computing facility, the method comprising:

a cloud-connector node associated with the source cloud-computing facility;
a cloud-connector node associated with the target cloud-computing facility;
and
a cloud-connector server that includes one or more processors, one or more memories, one or more data-storage devices, and computer instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, control the cloud-connector server to provide, in cooperation with the cloud-connector nodes, a stretch-deploy operation that
extends the first local virtual network, within the source cloud-computing facility, to a second local virtual network, within the target cloud-computing facility, forming an extended local virtual network by:
verifying the source cloud-computing facility and one or more virtual machines and virtual applications to be moved,
verifying the target cloud-computing facility,
creating a routed virtual application within the second local virtual network,
launching execution of the routed virtual application within the target cloud-computing facility, and
creating, from a first edge appliance through which the one or more virtual machines are connected to a first virtual organization network that is, in turn, connected to an external network, a secure communications tunnel to a second edge appliance through which the second local virtual network in the routed virtual application is connected to a second virtual organization network, in turn connected to the external network;
and
moves the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from executing on the source cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the extended local virtual network using one or more network addresses to executing on the target cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the extended local virtual network using the same one or more network addresses.

9 more elements

Computer instructions stored within a non-transitory physical data-storage device that, when executed on one or more processors within a cloud-connector subsystem, control the cloud-connector subsystem to relocate one or more virtual machines and virtual applications connected to a first local virtual network within a source cloud-computing facility to a target cloud-computing facility by:

a cloud-connector node associated with the source cloud-computing facility;
a cloud-connector node associated with the target cloud-computing facility;
and
a cloud-connector server that includes one or more processors, one or more memories, one or more data-storage devices, and computer instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, control the cloud-connector server to provide, in cooperation with the cloud-connector nodes, a stretch-deploy operation that
extends the first local virtual network, within the source cloud-computing facility, to a second local virtual network, within the target cloud-computing facility, forming an extended local virtual network by:
verifying the source cloud-computing facility and one or more virtual machines and virtual applications to be moved,
verifying the target cloud-computing facility,
creating a routed virtual application within the second local virtual network,
launching execution of the routed virtual application within the target cloud-computing facility, and
creating, from a first edge appliance through which the one or more virtual machines are connected to a first virtual organization network that is, in turn, connected to an external network, a secure communications tunnel to a second edge appliance through which the second local virtual network in the routed virtual application is connected to a second virtual organization network, in turn connected to the external network;
and
moves the one or more virtual machines and virtual applications from executing on the source cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the extended local virtual network using one or more network addresses to executing on the target cloud-computing facility and communicating with other computational entities through the extended local virtual network using the same one or more network addresses.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/966,094Filed 13 Aug 2013
Published: US 2015/0052517 A119 Feb 2015
Granted: 12 Apr 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G06F 9/4856
Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution: resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine…
G06F 9/45558
Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors: hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
H04L 12/4641
Interconnection of networks: virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN]
H04L 67/10
Protocols: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network