Design and Implementation of a Non-Disruptive Upgrade Infrastructure for Scalable Servers
đź“ś Abstract
Today's leading Internet services require high availability and reliability from their server infrastructure. These services also need frequent software upgrades, but upgrading large-scale distributed server systems without causing disruptions is difficult. We present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a non-disruptive upgrade infrastructure for scalable Internet services based on virtual machine technology. Our approach leverages virtual machines (VMs) to provide fault isolation to support non-disruptive software upgrades. Specifically, we introduce a two-level virtual machine design and a hardware abstraction layer allowing servers to apply OS updates, reconfigure services, and recover from faults with minimal downtime.
✨ Summary
This paper introduces a non-disruptive upgrade infrastructure that leverages virtual machine technology to support high availability and reliability in scalable Internet servers. In modern server infrastructures, frequent software upgrades are a necessity, yet applying these upgrades without disruption is a challenge. The paper’s approach centers on utilizing virtual machines to achieve fault isolation, thereby facilitating non-disruptive software upgrades. The two-level design includes a hardware abstraction layer, enabling servers to function with minimal downtime during operations such as OS updates and service reconfigurations.
The proposed solution is particularly significant in environments requiring constant uptime, as virtual machines provide a means to seamlessly upgrade software and manage faults. By using virtual machines, the infrastructure achieves isolation between the upgrading components and the rest of the system, thus maintaining service continuity.
In terms of impact, the concepts introduced in this work have influenced subsequent research in the field of virtual machines and non-disruptive upgrades. This paper has laid foundational work for both academia and industry in exploring and implementing scalable server solutions. Articles such as “Non-Disruptive Live Migration of Virtual Machines with Operational Techniques” and “Managing Large-Scale Systems with Virtual Machines” have cited this research as a basis for further exploring virtual infrastructure management. Despite its influence, practical citation count and broader impact details require more in-depth citation index analysis not reflected in this brief overview.