Storage visibility in virtual environments

摘要

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method and system for making storage information available to virtual machines in virtual environments. A method includes sending a request, via an electronic system, for a plurality of storage attributes to a virtual storage access module. The virtual storage access module may facilitate access to storage for a virtual machine via a virtual access path. The method further includes receiving the plurality of storage attributes from the virtual storage access module and storing the plurality of storage attributes. In one embodiment, storing is operable to store the plurality of storage attributes such that they are available for use in storage management tasks.

主权项

1. A method of providing storage information comprising:
sending a request, by a virtual machine, via an electronic system, for a plurality of storage attributes to a virtual storage access module, wherein said virtual storage access module facilitates access to storage for a said virtual machine via a virtual access path; receiving at said virtual machine said plurality of storage attributes from said virtual storage access module, wherein at least one of said plurality of storage attributes comprises a storage identifier configured to be sent from said virtual storage access module to said storage, and wherein said virtual machine is configured to use said plurality of storage attributes to migrate from a first physical system to a second physical system without a loss of connectivity to said storage; and storing said storage attributes, wherein said plurality of storage attributes are available for use in storage management tasks performed by said virtual machine, wherein said storage management tasks performed by said virtual machine facilitates failure domain allocation and enclosure separation, dynamic storage tiering, and device naming; wherein said failure domain allocation and enclosure separation comprises selecting a storage array based on its location such that a storage mirror is in a separate location; wherein said dynamic storage tiering comprises constructing different tiers of storage based on different sets of reliability and performance; wherein said device naming comprises allowing a physical storage name of a storage volume visible by said virtual machine to be consistent with a computing system coupled to said storage.