JP2016206898A - Information processing device, fault detection method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device and the like that allow a virtual machine connected with a physical port via a virtual switch to recognize a fault of the physical port without performing data communication.SOLUTION: An information processing device 1 includes: a virtual switch 3 for connecting a virtual machine 5 with a physical port 2; and control means 4 for monitoring the state of the physical port. When a fault related to the physical port is detected, the control means outputs a stop instruction to instruct the virtual switch connected with the physical port of which a fault is detected to stop, and the virtual switch stops in response to the stop instruction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to failure detection in a virtualized information processing apparatus (computer).

  In a general information processing apparatus that is not virtualized, an application can know the state of the physical port of the information processing apparatus on which the application operates by using an OS (operation system) command or the like.

  On the other hand, in a virtualized information processing apparatus (virtualized system), a method of communicating with a physical network by connecting each virtual machine to a physical port via a virtual switch that virtualizes a network switch has become widespread. Yes. In such a virtualization system, the physical port exists for the virtual machine on the uplink side beyond the virtual switch. That is, the physical port in the virtualization system is hidden from the virtual machine by the virtual switch. Therefore, unlike the above-described non-virtualized information processing apparatus, the virtual machine has a problem that it is difficult to know the state of the physical port of the physical machine on which the virtual machine operates.

  In such a virtualization system, various mechanisms for detecting a network failure have been devised. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a virtualization system that detects a network failure by application communication between virtual machines operating on two physical machines. In the virtualization system described in Patent Document 1, a virtual machine performs application communication using a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) port with another virtual machine that operates on another physical machine connected via a physical switch. At this time, the monitoring UDP packet transferred through the same route is transmitted. The virtual machine detects that there is no failure in the network by receiving a reply packet returned from another physical machine in response to a monitoring UDP (User Datagram Protocol) packet. That is, this virtual machine can detect a network failure including a physical port failure by not receiving a reply packet.

JP 2014-007609 A

  However, the virtualization system disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is necessary to transmit and receive packets for the purpose of detecting a physical port failure. In addition, such a virtual system also has a problem that an opposite apparatus that can perform data communication related to the monitoring UDP packet and the return packet is necessary.

  One object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and the like in which a virtual machine connected to a physical port via a virtual switch can recognize a physical port failure without performing data communication. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the following configuration.

That is, an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention is provided.
A virtual switch that connects the virtual machine to the physical port;
Control means for monitoring the state of the physical port;
When the control unit detects a failure related to the physical port, the control unit outputs a stop instruction to instruct the virtual switch connected to the physical port where the failure is detected,
The virtual switch stops in response to the stop instruction.

In order to achieve the above object, a failure detection method according to one aspect of the present invention is performed by an information processing device.
Monitor the physical port status,
When a failure related to a physical port is detected, a stop instruction that instructs the virtual switch that connects the physical port where the failure is detected and the virtual machine to stop is output.
The virtual switch stops in response to the stop instruction.

  The object is also achieved by an information processing apparatus having each of the above-described configurations and a corresponding method by a computer program for realizing the method by a computer and a computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program. Is done.

  The present invention has an effect that a virtual machine connected to a physical port via a virtual switch can recognize a failure of the physical port.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus 1 which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus 10 which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence chart which shows an example of the operation | movement after the failure detection of the physical port 2A in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the structure of the computer (information processing apparatus) applicable to each information processing apparatus 1 and 10 which concerns on each embodiment of this invention, and its modification.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus (physical machine) 1 according to this embodiment includes a physical port 2, a virtual switch 3, a control unit 4, and a virtual machine 5.

  The physical machine 1 may be configured by a general information processing apparatus (computer) that operates under the control of a computer program (software program) that is executed using a CPU (Central Processing Unit: not shown). Alternatively, each unit of the physical machine 1 may be configured by a dedicated hardware device or a logic circuit. A hardware configuration example in which the physical machine 1 is realized by a computer will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The physical port 2 can connect the physical machine 1 to a communication network (hereinafter simply referred to as a network) 1001 such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN).

  The virtual switch 3 connects the virtual machine 5 and the physical port 2. The virtual switch 3 is software that virtually realizes the function of the network switch. The virtual switch 3 is controlled by the control unit 4.

  The control unit 4 monitors the state of the physical port 2. The monitoring method of the physical port 2 may be, for example, periodically executing a status acquisition command for an OS (not shown) or checking an error log included in a system log output by the OS. Alternatively, the physical port 2 may be monitored directly by monitoring the signal line of the physical port 2 or the like. The state of the physical port 2 described above may include peripheral events related to the physical port 2, such as the state of the link 6 connected to the physical port 2.

  When a failure related to the physical port 2 (hereinafter referred to as “failure of the physical port 2”) is detected, the control unit 4 stops the virtual switch 3 connected to the physical port 2 to stop the operation. Output instructions. When receiving a stop instruction from the control unit 4, the virtual switch 3 stops according to the stop instruction. The virtual machine 5 can recognize the occurrence of a failure in the physical port 2 by detecting the disconnection with the virtual switch 3. In this way, the virtual machine 5 can recognize the failure of the physical port 2 by the process closed to the physical machine 1.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the virtual machine 5 connected to the physical port 2 via the virtual switch 3 can recognize the failure of the physical port 2 without performing data communication. effective.

  The reason is that the control unit 4 stops the virtual switch 3 when detecting a failure of the physical port 2. As a result, the virtual machine 5 can detect the failure of the physical port 2 by detecting the stop of the virtual switch 3.

  In addition, the following can be considered as a modification of this embodiment.

  For example, the control unit 4 may activate the virtual switch 3 when detecting that the failure of the physical port 2 has been recovered (operated normally). In this modification, the control unit 4 continues to monitor the state of the physical port 2 even after stopping the virtual switch 3. The control unit 4 activates the virtual switch 3 when detecting that the failure of the physical port 2 has been recovered. Note that the control unit 4 may indirectly activate the virtual switch 3 by outputting an activation instruction that instructs activation of the virtual switch 3 to an activation unit (not shown). In this case, the activation unit activates the virtual switch 3 in response to an activation instruction from the control unit 4. Note that the control unit 4 is not limited to the case after the failure of the physical port 2 and may perform the above-described operation even when the physical machine 1 is initially started.

  In this way, the virtual machine 5 recognizes that the physical port 2 is in a normal state by detecting that the connection with the virtual switch 3 has been recovered (or has become connectable). can do.

  As described above, this modification has an effect that the virtual machine 5 can recognize the recovery of the physical port 2 without performing (trying) data communication.

  The reason is that the virtual switch 3 is activated when the control unit 4 detects that the failure of the physical port 2 has been recovered. As a result, the virtual machine 5 can detect the recovery of the physical port 2 by detecting the recovery of the connection with the virtual switch 3.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment based on the above-described first embodiment will be described. In the following, the characteristic part according to the second embodiment will be mainly described, and the components of the second embodiment having the same configuration as the first embodiment are attached in the first embodiment. The same reference numerals as those of the reference numerals are attached, and the detailed description of the constituent elements is omitted.

  First, the configuration of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus (physical machine) 10 according to the present embodiment includes physical ports 2A and 2B, virtual switches 3A and 3B, a control unit 14, and a virtual machine 5. The physical machine 10 in this embodiment is based on the physical machine 1 in the first embodiment described above.

  This embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that it includes a plurality of physical ports 2A and 2B and virtual switches 3A and 3B, respectively. Accordingly, the control unit 14 is different from the first embodiment described above in that the control unit 14 can control the plurality of physical ports 2A and 2B and the virtual switches 3A and 3B, respectively.

  The physical machine 10 may be configured by a general information processing apparatus (computer) that operates under the control of a computer program (software program) that is executed using a CPU (not shown). Alternatively, each unit of the physical machine 10 may be configured by a dedicated hardware device or a logic circuit. A hardware configuration example in which the physical machine 10 is realized by a computer will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The physical ports 2A and 2B are based on the physical port 2 in the first embodiment. The virtual switches 3A and 3B are based on the virtual switch 3 in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the physical ports 2A and 2B can connect, for example, the physical machine 10 and a network 1001 such as the Internet or a local LAN. The physical ports 2A and 2B may be connected to different networks.

  In the present embodiment, the virtual switches 3A and 3B are connected to the physical ports 2A and 2B, respectively. That is, the virtual machine 5 can be connected to the physical port 2A via the virtual switch 3A and can communicate with the network 1001 from the physical port 2A. Similarly, the virtual machine 5 is connected to the physical port 2B via the virtual switch 3B, and can communicate with the network 1001 from the physical port 2B. The configurations of the physical ports 2A and 2B and the virtual switches 3A and 3B are the same as those in the first embodiment except for the points described above, and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The number of physical ports 2A and 2B, virtual switches 3A and 3B, and virtual machines 5 in this embodiment is an example. Each part mentioned above may be contained more than this embodiment. Further, the physical ports 2A and 2B and the virtual switches 3A and 3B may not have a one-to-one relationship. For example, a plurality of virtual switches may be connected to one physical port.

  The control unit 14 is based on the control unit 4 in the first embodiment. Below, the point from which the control part 14 differs from the control part 4 in 1st Embodiment is demonstrated. The control unit 14 holds in advance information representing the correspondence relationship between the virtual switches 3A and 3B connected to the physical ports 2A and 2B. Then, the control unit 14 monitors the states of the physical ports 2A and 2B, respectively. When the failure of the physical port 2A or 2B is detected, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the virtual switch 3A or 3B connected to the physical port 2A or 2B in which the failure has occurred based on the information indicating the correspondence relationship described above. A stop instruction for instructing stop is output. Since the configuration of the control unit 14 is the same as that of the control unit 4 in the first embodiment except for the points described above, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The virtual machine 5 can communicate with the network 1001 via the virtual switches 3A and 3B. The virtual machine 5 recognizes that a failure has occurred in the physical port 2A or 2B and the link 6A or 6B connected to the physical port 2A or 2B by detecting the disconnection with the virtual switch 3A or 3B. be able to. The virtual machine 5 that performs the operation according to the present embodiment may be, for example, a processing unit included in the guest OS of the virtual machine 5. Alternatively, the virtual machine 5 may be an application that operates in the virtual machine 5.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence chart illustrating an example of an operation after detecting a failure of the physical port 2A according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, an operation when a failure occurs in the physical port 2A will be described as an example. First, it is assumed that the virtual switches 3A and 3B, the physical ports 2A and 2B, and the virtual machine 5 are in a normal state and connected to each other as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the virtual machine 5 periodically monitors the connection state with the virtual switches 3A and 3B as an example.

  The control unit 14 monitors the states of the physical ports 2A and 2B. For example, the control unit 14 may perform continuous monitoring by periodically executing an OS status acquisition command for controlling the physical machine 10 for each of the physical ports 2A and 2B. Alternatively, the control unit 14 may detect a failure by including information indicating a failure of the physical port 2A or 2B that has occurred during the monitoring cycle in a log or the like that records an event that has occurred in the physical machine 10. Good.

  When a failure occurs in the physical port 2A, the control unit 14 detects a failure in the physical port 2A. For example, the control unit 14 may detect that the link 6A connected to the physical port 2A has been linked down.

  When detecting the failure of the physical port 2A, the control unit 14 outputs a stop instruction 100 to the virtual switch 3A corresponding to (connected to) the physical port 2A. The virtual switch 3A stops according to the stop instruction 100. As a result, the connection between the virtual machine 5 and the virtual switch 3A is disconnected.

  The virtual machine 5 that has monitored the connection state with the virtual switches 3A and 3B detects that the connection with the virtual switch 3A has been disconnected. The virtual machine 5 can recognize that a failure has occurred in the physical port 2A (and the link 6A) due to disconnection from the virtual switch 3A. At this time, the virtual machine 5 may perform an operation in consideration of the possibility that the connection with the virtual switch 3A is disconnected due to a cause other than the failure of the physical port 2A. For example, the virtual machine 5 may perform abnormality processing including the possibility of the failure of the physical port 2A and the failure of the virtual switch 3A itself.

  In this way, the virtual machine 5 can recognize the failure of the physical port 2A by the process closed to the physical machine 10. Note that the virtual machine 5 can recognize the failure of the physical port 2B by the same operation as that of the failure of the physical port 2A described above even when the failure of the physical port 2B occurs.

  As described above, the present embodiment controls the plurality of physical ports 2A and 2B and the plurality of virtual switches 3A and 3B in addition to the same effects as the first embodiment described above. There is also an effect that can be done.

The reason is that the control unit 14 can output the stop instruction 100 to the virtual switch 3A or 3B corresponding to the physical port 2A or 2B where the failure has occurred.
(Modification of the second embodiment)
In addition, the following can be considered as a modification of this embodiment.

  For example, there may be a plurality of virtual machines 5. In this case, the physical ports 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B, the virtual switches 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B, and the control unit 14 may perform the above-described operation for each virtual machine 5.

  Moreover, the arrangement of each component shown in the present embodiment is an example. For example, the control unit 14 may be included in the virtual machine 5. In this case, the virtual machine 5 may monitor the physical ports 2A and 2B as the control unit 14 separately from monitoring the connection state with the virtual switches 3A and 3B. Then, the virtual machine 5 (the control unit 14) may determine that the corresponding virtual switch 3A or 3B has become unusable due to detection of a failure in the physical port 2A or 2B. In this way, the virtual machine 5 can distinguish between a failure in the virtual switch 3A or 3B and a failure in the physical port 2A or 2B.

  Further, the virtual switches 3A and 3B may notify the virtual machine 5 of an error indicating the occurrence of a failure in the physical port 2A or 2B instead of stopping in response to the stop instruction. Such a modification can also be realized when the physical machine 1 in the first embodiment is used as a basis. Further, when the modification in the first embodiment is applied to the present embodiment, the virtual switches 3A and 3B send status information indicating normal connection (or failure recovery) to the virtual machine 5 according to the start instruction. May be notified. At this time, the control unit 14 outputs an activation instruction to the virtual switches 3A and 3B when detecting failure recovery in the physical port 2A or 2B. In this way, the virtual machine 5 can receive a notification indicating the occurrence or recovery of a failure in the physical port 2A or 2B from the virtual switch 3A or 3B. That is, the virtual machine 5 can recognize that the failure (recovery) of the physical port 2A or 2B is not the reason when the connection with the virtual switch 3A or 3B is disconnected or recovered without these notifications. That is, this modification has an effect that the virtual machine 5 can distinguish between a failure in the virtual switch 3A or 3B and a failure in the physical port 2A or 2B.

  In each embodiment described above, each unit illustrated in FIG. 1 or 2 may be configured by an independent hardware circuit, or may be regarded as a function (processing) unit (software module) of a software program. it can. However, the division of each part shown in these drawings is a configuration for convenience of explanation, and various configurations can be assumed for mounting. An example of the hardware environment in such a case will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer (information processing apparatus) applicable to each of the embodiments of the present invention and information processing apparatuses 1 and 10 according to modifications thereof. That is, FIG. 4 is a configuration of a computer that can realize at least one of the information processing apparatuses 1 and 10 in each embodiment described above, and shows a hardware environment that can realize each function in each embodiment described above. .

  4 includes a CPU 901, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 902, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 903, a communication interface (IF) 904, a display 905, and a hard disk device (HDD) 906. 907. Note that when the computer shown in FIG. 4 functions as the information processing apparatus 1 or 10, the display 905 does not need to be always provided.

  The communication interface 904 is a general communication unit that realizes communication between the computers in each of the above-described embodiments. The hard disk device 906 stores a program group 906A and various storage information 906B. The program group 906A is, for example, a computer program for realizing a function corresponding to each block (each unit) shown in FIG. 1 or 2 described above. The various types of stored information 906B are information that is stored in advance when each unit illustrated in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 operates, for example. In such a hardware configuration, the CPU 901 governs the overall operation of the computer 900.

  The present invention described by taking each of the above embodiments as an example is a computer program capable of realizing the functions of the block configuration diagrams (FIGS. 1 and 2) or the flowchart (FIG. 3) referred to in the description of each embodiment. After being supplied, the computer program is read by the CPU 901 of the hardware and executed. The computer program supplied to the computer may be stored in a nonvolatile storage device (storage medium) such as the RAM 903 or the hard disk device 906 which is a readable / writable temporary storage memory.

  In the above-described case, the computer program can be supplied to each device by a method of installing in the device via various recording media such as a floppy disk (registered trademark) and CD-ROM, the Internet, etc. Currently, a general procedure can be employed, such as a method of downloading from the outside via the communication network 1000. In such a case, the present invention can be understood to be configured by a computer-readable storage medium in which the code constituting the computer program or the code is recorded.

  Note that a part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as the following supplementary notes, but is not limited to the following supplementary notes.

(Appendix 1)
A virtual switch that connects the virtual machine to the physical port;
Control means for monitoring the state of the physical port;
When the control unit detects a failure related to the physical port, the control unit outputs a stop instruction to instruct the virtual switch connected to the physical port where the failure is detected,
The virtual switch stops in response to the stop instruction.

(Appendix 2)
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit activates the virtual switch when it detects that the physical port operates normally.

(Appendix 3)
When at least one of the physical port and the virtual switch is plural, the control unit is configured to control the physical in which the failure is detected based on information indicating a correspondence relationship between the virtual switches connected to the physical ports. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the stop instruction is output to the virtual switch connected to the port.

(Appendix 4)
The information processing apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the virtual switch notifies an error indicating the occurrence of a failure in the physical port instead of stopping in response to the stop instruction.

(Appendix 5)
Monitor the physical port status,
When a failure related to a physical port is detected, a stop instruction that instructs the virtual switch that connects the physical port where the failure is detected and the virtual machine to stop is output.
A failure detection method in which the virtual switch stops in response to the stop instruction.

(Appendix 6)
The failure detection method according to claim 5, wherein the virtual switch is activated when it is detected that the physical port has normally operated after the virtual switch is stopped or when the virtual switch is initially activated.

(Appendix 7)
When at least one of the physical port and the virtual switch is plural,
When outputting the stop instruction, the stop instruction for the virtual switch connected to the physical port where the failure is detected is based on information indicating the correspondence relationship of the virtual switches connected to the physical ports. Output the fault detection method according to appendix 5 or 6.

(Appendix 8)
The failure detection method according to any one of appendices 5 to 7, wherein the virtual switch notifies an error indicating the occurrence of a failure in the physical port instead of stopping in response to the stop instruction.

(Appendix 9)
Control that monitors the state of the physical port and outputs a stop instruction that instructs the virtual switch that connects the physical port in which the failure is detected and the virtual machine when a failure related to the physical port is detected Processing,
A computer program that causes a computer to execute virtual machine processing that stops in response to the stop instruction.

(Appendix 10)
The computer program according to claim 9, wherein, in the control process, the virtual switch is activated when it is detected that the physical port operates normally.

(Appendix 11)
When at least one of the physical port and the virtual switch is plural, in the control process, the physical in which the failure has been detected is based on information indicating a correspondence relationship between the virtual switches connected to the physical ports. The computer program according to appendix 9 or 10, which outputs the stop instruction for the virtual switch connected to a port.

(Appendix 12)
The computer program according to any one of appendices 9 to 11, wherein the virtual switch notifies an error indicating the occurrence of a failure in the physical port instead of stopping in response to the stop instruction.

1, 10 Information processing equipment (physical machine)
2, 2A, 2B Physical port 3, 3A, 3B Virtual switch 4, 14 Control unit 5 Virtual machine 6, 6A, 6B Link 900 Information processing apparatus (computer)
901 CPU
902 ROM
903 RAM
904 Communication interface (IF)
905 Display 906 Hard disk device (HDD)
906A Program group 906B Various stored information 907 Bus 1000, 1001 Network (communication network)

Claims (10)

A virtual switch that connects the virtual machine to the physical port;
Control means for monitoring the state of the physical port;
When the control unit detects a failure related to the physical port, the control unit outputs a stop instruction to instruct the virtual switch connected to the physical port where the failure is detected,
The virtual switch stops in response to the stop instruction. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit activates the virtual switch when detecting that the physical port operates normally. When at least one of the physical port and the virtual switch is plural, the control unit is configured to control the physical in which the failure is detected based on information indicating a correspondence relationship between the virtual switches connected to the physical ports. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stop instruction for the virtual switch connected to the port is output. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the virtual switch notifies an error indicating the occurrence of a failure in the physical port instead of stopping in response to the stop instruction. Monitor the physical port status,
When a failure related to a physical port is detected, a stop instruction that instructs the virtual switch that connects the physical port where the failure is detected and the virtual machine to stop is output.
A failure detection method in which the virtual switch stops in response to the stop instruction. The failure detection method according to claim 5, wherein the virtual switch is activated when it is detected that the physical port has normally operated after the virtual switch is stopped or when the virtual switch is initially activated. When at least one of the physical port and the virtual switch is plural,
When outputting the stop instruction, the stop instruction for the virtual switch connected to the physical port where the failure is detected is based on information indicating the correspondence relationship of the virtual switches connected to the physical ports. The fault detection method according to claim 5 or 6. Control that monitors the state of the physical port and outputs a stop instruction that instructs the virtual switch that connects the physical port in which the failure is detected and the virtual machine when a failure related to the physical port is detected Processing,
A computer program that causes a computer to execute virtual machine processing that stops in response to the stop instruction. The computer program according to claim 8, wherein, in the control process, the virtual switch is activated when it is detected that the physical port operates normally. When at least one of the physical port and the virtual switch is plural, in the control process, the physical in which the failure has been detected is based on information indicating a correspondence relationship between the virtual switches connected to the physical ports. The computer program according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the stop instruction for the virtual switch connected to the port is output.

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