IP Library Granted Patent US 10,896,055
Granted Patent B2
US 10,896,055 · App. 16/374,079 · Granted Jan 19, 2021

Capacity risk management for virtual machines

Inventors: Jeyashree Sivasubramanian (Wayland, MA); Sudheer Apte (Walpole, MA)
Assignee: BMC Software, Inc.
G06F9/45558G06F9/5061G06F9/5077G06F9/5083G06F11/30G06F11/301G06F11/3065G06F11/3433G06F11/3442G06F11/3452G06F11/3086G06F11/3419G06F2009/45591G06F2201/81G06F2201/815G06F2209/5019G06F2209/5022
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,896,055
App. No.
16/374,079
Granted
Jan 19, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

An access data collector collects access assignment data characterizing active access assignment operations of a hypervisor in assigning host computing resources among virtual machines for use in execution of the virtual machines. Then, a capacity risk indicator calculator calculates a capacity risk indicator characterizing a capacity risk of the host computing resources with respect to meeting a prospective capacity demand of the virtual machines, based on the access assignment data.

Claims (49)

1. A system including instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executable by at least one processor, the system comprising:

a data collector configured to collect data about activity performed by a hypervisor, the hypervisor activity characterizing operations about assigning hardware resources among a plurality of virtual machines in response to access requests from the plurality of virtual machines for access to the hardware resources, the operations including the transfer of at least one hardware resource of the hardware resources from a first virtual machine to a second virtual machine in the plurality of virtual machines; and

a calculator configured to calculate a pressure based on a number of the operations of the hypervisor activity within at least one time window and in response to a number of the access requests within the at least one time window, and further configured to generate

a capacity risk indicator for the hardware resources based on the pressure,

wherein the hypervisor activity includes reassignment of hardware resources for at least one of the plurality of virtual machines, the reassignment occurring responsive to the capacity risk indicator as being above a predefined threshold.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hardware resources include memory resources previously allocated to the first virtual machine, and the reassignment of the hardware resources includes reassignment of the memory resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the reassignment of hardware resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine include a portion of the previously allocated memory resources.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the reassignment of the hardware resources:

enables the hypervisor to meet a predefined resource expectation;

lowers the pressure calculated for the hypervisor; and

enables temporary access of the hardware resources for the second virtual machine for a predetermined time period based on a service level agreement.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the capacity risk indicator includes disk latency metrics to improve a measurement sensitivity of the capacity risk.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the capacity risk indicator accounts for a plurality of penalty values assigned, to the hypervisor, to increase a pressure measurement for a hardware resource, the penalty values being based at least in part on:

detected ratio of consumed hardware resource to active hardware resource;

detected hardware resource over commitment; and

detected ballooning or swapping of hardware resources.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hardware resources include processor resources previously allocated to the first virtual machine, and the reassignment of the hardware resources includes reassignment of the processor resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the capacity risk indicator is generated based on a combination of the pressure and a saturation risk of the hardware resources.

9. A method comprising:

collecting data about activity performed by a hypervisor, the hypervisor activity characterizing operations about assigning hardware resources among a plurality of virtual machines in response to access requests from the plurality of virtual machines for access to the hardware resources, the operations including the transfer of at least one hardware resource of the hardware resources from a first virtual machine to a second virtual machine in the plurality of virtual machines;

calculating a pressure based on a number of the operations of the hypervisor activity within at least one time window and in response to a number of the access requests within the at least one time window; and

generating a capacity risk indicator for the hardware resources based on the pressure, the hypervisor activity including reassignment of hardware resources for at least one of the plurality of virtual machines, the reassignment occurring responsive to the capacity risk indicator being above a predefined threshold.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the hardware resources include memory resources previously allocated to the first virtual machine, and the reassignment of the hardware resources includes reassignment of the memory resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the reassignment of the hardware resources:

enables the hypervisor to meet a predefined resource expectation;

lowers the pressure calculated for the hypervisor; and

enables temporary access of the hardware resources for the second virtual machine for a predetermined time period based on a service level agreement.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the capacity risk indicator includes disk latency metrics to improve a measurement sensitivity of the capacity risk.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the capacity risk indicator accounts for a plurality of penalty values assigned, to the hypervisor, to increase a pressure measurement for a hardware resource, the penalty values being based at least in part on:

detected ratio of consumed hardware resource to active hardware resource;

detected hardware resource over commitment; and

detected ballooning or swapping of hardware resources.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the hardware resources include processor resources previously allocated to the first virtual machine, and the reassignment of the hardware resources includes reassignment of the processor resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine.

15. A computer program product including instructions recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and configured to, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

collect data about activity performed by a hypervisor, the hypervisor activity characterizing operations about assigning hardware resources among a plurality of virtual machines in response to access requests from the plurality of virtual machines for access to the hardware resources, the operations including the transfer of at least one hardware resource of the hardware resources from a first virtual machine to a second virtual machine in the plurality of virtual machines;

calculate a pressure based on a number of the operations of the hypervisor activity within at least one time window and in response to a number of the access requests within the at least one time window; and

generate a capacity risk indicator for the hardware resources based on the pressure, the hypervisor activity including reassignment of hardware resources for at least one of the plurality of virtual machines, the reassignment occurring responsive to the capacity risk indicator being above a predefined threshold.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the hardware resources include memory resources previously allocated to the first virtual machine, and the reassignment of the hardware resources includes reassignment of the memory resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the reassignment of hardware resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine include a portion of the previously allocated memory resources.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the reassignment of the hardware resources:

enables the hypervisor to meet a predefined resource expectation;

lowers the pressure calculated for the hypervisor; and

enables temporary access of the hardware resources for the second virtual machine for a predetermined time period based on a service level agreement.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the capacity risk indicator includes disk latency metrics to improve a measurement sensitivity of the capacity risk.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the capacity risk indicator accounts for a plurality of penalty values assigned, to the hypervisor, to increase a pressure measurement for a hardware resource, the penalty values being based at least in part on:

detected ratio of consumed hardware resource to active hardware resource;

detected hardware resource over commitment; and

detected ballooning or swapping of hardware resources.

21. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the hardware resources include processor resources previously allocated to the first virtual machine, and the reassignment of the hardware resources includes reassignment of the processor resources from the first virtual machine to the second virtual machine.

Assignments (12)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 7, 2025
From: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.
To: BMC HELIX, INC.
Reel/Frame 070442/0197 →
GRANT OF FIRST LIEN SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Nov 13, 2024
From: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
To: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069352/0628 →
GRANT OF SECOND LIEN SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Nov 13, 2024
From: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
To: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069352/0568 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (052844/0646) Recorded Aug 6, 2024
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
Reel/Frame 068339/0408 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (052854/0139) Recorded Aug 6, 2024
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
Reel/Frame 068339/0617 →
OMNIBUS ASSIGNMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS IN PATENT COLLATERAL Recorded Mar 4, 2024
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS RESIGNING COLLATERAL AGENT
To: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA, AS SUCCESSOR COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 066729/0889 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Feb 1, 2024
From: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC
To: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
Reel/Frame 066567/0283 →
GRANT OF SECOND LIEN SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Sep 30, 2021
From: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
To: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC
Reel/Frame 057683/0582 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 4, 2020
From: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 052854/0139 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 4, 2020
From: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 052844/0646 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 10, 2019
From: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.; BLADELOGIC, INC.
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 050327/0634 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 9, 2019
From: SIVASUBRAMANIAN, JEYASHREE; APTE, SUDHEER
To: BMC SOFTWARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 048827/0803 →