IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,208,015
Granted Patent B2
US 9,208,015 · App. 13/920,689 · Granted Dec 8, 2015

Hypervisor remedial action for a virtual machine in response to an error message from the virtual machine

Inventors: Rostislav Vavrick (Malden, MA); Keith Farkas (San Carlos, CA); Smriti Desai (San Jose, CA); Baruch Oxman (Tel Aviv, IL)
Assignee: VMware, Inc.
G06F11/0793G06F9/445G06F9/45533G06F9/45558G06F11/0712G06F2009/45591
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,208,015
App. No.
13/920,689
Granted
Dec 8, 2015
Kind
B2
Abstract

Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems include a hypervisor receiving an error message from an agent within a first virtual machine run by the hypervisor. In response to the error message, the hypervisor determines and initiates a corrective action for the hypervisor to take in response to the error message. An exemplary corrective action includes initiating a reset of the first virtual machine or a reset of a second virtual machine.

Claims (35)

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a hypervisor, a first error message from an agent within a first virtual machine running on the hypervisor, the first error message indicating a problem with a functionality of the first virtual machine;

receiving, by the hypervisor, a second error message from an agent within the second virtual machine, the second error message indicating a problem with a functionality of the second virtual machine;

determining, by the hypervisor, a dependency between the functionality of the first virtual machine and the functionality of the second virtual machine;

determining, by the hypervisor, a corrective action for the hypervisor to take in response to the determined dependency and the first and second error messages; and

initiating, by the hypervisor, the corrective action with respect to the second virtual machine to address the problem with the functionality of the first virtual machine, wherein the corrective action is initiated in response to the determined dependency and the first and second error messages.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the error message includes a state of an application running on the first virtual machine or a request to reset the first virtual machine.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the error message includes a state of a connection between the first virtual machine and an external resource.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the corrective action includes resetting the first or second virtual machine or moving the first or second virtual machine from a first host device running the hypervisor to a second host device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the hypervisor, a policy from the agent within the first virtual machine, the policy defining an action the hypervisor is to take in managing the first virtual machine.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the error message is received via a trusted communication channel between the agent within the first virtual machine and the hypervisor and independently of a networking stack of the first virtual machine.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform method comprising:

receiving, by a hypervisor, a first error message from an agent within a first virtual machine running on the hypervisor, the first error message indicating a problem with a functionality of the first virtual machine;

receiving, by the hypervisor, a second error message from an agent within the second virtual machine, the second error message indicating a problem with a functionality of the second virtual machine;

determining, by the hypervisor, a dependency between the functionality of the first virtual machine and the functionality of the second virtual machine;

determining, by the hypervisor, a corrective action for the hypervisor to take in response to the determined dependency and the first and second error messages; and

initiating, by the hypervisor, the corrective action with respect to the second virtual machine to address the problem with the functionality of the first virtual machine, wherein the corrective action is initiated in response to the determined dependency and the first and second error messages.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the error message includes a state of an application running on the first virtual machine or a request to reset the first virtual machine.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the error message includes a state of a connection between the first virtual machine and an external resource.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the corrective action includes resetting the first or second virtual machine or moving the first or second virtual machine from a first host device running the hypervisor to a second host device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , the method further comprising:

receiving, by the hypervisor, a policy from the agent within the first virtual machine, the policy defining an action the hypervisor is to take in managing the first virtual machine.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the error message is received via a trusted communication channel between the agent within the first virtual machine and the hypervisor and independently of a networking stack of the first virtual machine.

13. An apparatus comprising a processing device, wherein the processing device executes instructions that cause a hypervisor implemented by the apparatus to:

receive a first error message from an agent within a first virtual machine running on the hypervisor, the first error message indicating a problem with a functionality of the first virtual machine;

receive a second error message from an agent within the second virtual machine, the second error message indicating a problem with a functionality of the second virtual machine;

determine a dependency between the functionality of the first virtual machine and the functionality of the second virtual machine;

determine a corrective action for the hypervisor to take in response to the determined dependency and the first and second error messages; and

initiate the corrective action with respect to the second virtual machine to address the problem with the functionality of the first virtual machine, wherein the corrective action is initiated in response to the determined dependency and the first and second error messages.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the error message is a request to reset the first virtual machine or the error message includes a state of an application running on the first virtual machine or a state of a connection between the first virtual machine and an external resource.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the corrective action includes resetting the first or second virtual machine or moving the first or second virtual machine from a first host device running the hypervisor to a second host device.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the instructions further cause the hypervisor to:

receive a policy from the agent within the first virtual machine, the policy defining an action the hypervisor is to take in managing the first virtual machine.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the error message is received via a trusted communication channel between the agent within the first virtual machine and the hypervisor and independently of a networking stack of the first virtual machine.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 15, 2024
From: VMWARE, INC.
To: VMWARE LLC
Reel/Frame 067102/0395 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 18, 2013
From: VAVRICK, ROSTISLAV; FARKAS, KEITH; DESAI, SMRITI; OXMAN, BARUCH
To: VMWARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 030636/0660 →
Continuity (1)
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