JP4765967B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus in which a virtual computer is constructed.

  Conventionally, a virtual environment that emulates a real machine on one computer is prepared, and a computer configured to operate an operating system (OS) has been realized. The configuration of a computer that realizes such a virtual environment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, a host operating system 101 (host OS) that controls the operation of the entire computer is incorporated in the computer, and a virtual environment operates on the host OS 101. Software that provides this virtual environment is called virtual environment software 113, and a virtual machine is realized by executing the virtual environment software. A computer that provides this virtual machine is called a host machine. An operating system that controls the virtual machine is called a guest OS and is installed on the virtual machine.

  The virtual disk 120 is in a hard disk drive (HDD) that is a storage device provided by the virtual environment. This is a single file when viewed from the host OS. Such a virtual disk 120 is not written to a file on the host OS until the guest OS actually writes data. For example, even if a capacity of 4 GB is allocated as a virtual disk, it has only a capacity of several B to several KB for the management area unless data is written from the guest OS.

  Here, if the HDD is used for a long period of time, a fragmentation of the disk called fragmentation occurs. When this fragmentation occurs, an extra operation (such as moving the header to the target position) is added to the reading / writing of the disk, causing a problem that the performance deteriorates. For this reason, it is necessary to eliminate fragmentation, but there is a function called defragmentation as a function for executing this. Specifically, this defragmentation operates to move the data area stored on the disk to a continuous position and keep the continuity of the file as much as possible.

  The fragmentation described above can occur in the area of the virtual disk 120 even when running in a virtual environment. Accordingly, in order to execute defragmentation from the guest OS, a defragmentation tool 124 as a user application is provided on the virtual machine on the guest OS side. An example of a technique for performing defragmentation on the guest OS is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.

  FIG. 8 shows the data arrangement in the virtual disk when the defragmentation tool 124 is executed on the guest OS. First, FIG. 8A shows a state in the virtual disk before defragmentation, and FIG. 8B shows a state in the virtual disk after defragmentation. As indicated by the arrows from FIG. 8A to FIG. 8B, data is moved within the virtual disk so as to ensure continuity of files on the guest OS by executing defragmentation on the guest OS. Let However, because of the temporary movement of data in the virtual disk, as much data as needed for the movement is generated as in the data area indicated by the dotted line in FIG. As shown in the figure, the area where the data is actually stored swells by the area temporarily used. That is, when defragmentation is executed on a guest OS executed in a virtual environment, there arises a problem that a virtual disk (file) expands.

  On the other hand, at present, in order to compress the virtual disk 120, the guest OS is equipped with a compression utility A (123) created by the provider of the virtual environment, and this is operated. When this compression utility A (123) is executed, it marks an unused area of the file system. After that, the compression utility A (123) actually marks the mark inside the file provided as a virtual disk from the host OS. Can shrink the file by compressing unused parts.

  Specifically, a conventional virtual disk fragmentation elimination procedure will be described with reference to the data arrangement diagram of FIG. 9 and the flowchart of FIG. First, when the defragmentation tool 124 is executed on the guest OS (step S201), the data is moved so that the area is leveled with respect to the virtual disk as shown in FIG. 9A (step S202, FIG. 7 arrow (101). In FIG. 9, it is assumed that data is stored in the shaded area, and the file size is the total area of the shaded area. Normally, when a file is moved, if the source area is not used, only the management part of the file system is rewritten and the disk itself is not cleared. For this reason, when the defragmentation is completed (step S203), the file provided as the virtual disk is temporarily expanded as shown in FIG. 9B.

  Subsequently, when the compression utility A (123) is executed on the guest OS (step S204), a command for marking an unused area is issued (arrow (102) in FIG. 7), as shown in FIG. 9 (c). Thus, for example, a mark “0” is described in the unused area (step S205). Then, after that, the compression utility B (112) is executed on the host OS (step S206), thereby detecting the marked unused area inside the file as described above, as shown in FIG. 9 (d). The area is deleted (arrow (103) in FIG. 7), and the virtual disk is compressed (step S207).

JP-A-5-298123

  However, in the configuration in the above-described conventional example, it is necessary for the provider of the virtual environment to separately provide and provide a compression utility A that operates differently from the defragmentation tool on the guest OS, which reduces development cost and development effort. There was a problem that it increased and problems could occur in support. In addition, there is a problem that the compression process of the virtual disk becomes multistage and the processing time increases. Furthermore, the user has to separately perform the work of incorporating the compression utility A into the virtual environment, which has been troublesome.

  For this reason, in the present invention, information that can improve the disadvantages of the above-mentioned conventional example, and in particular, can speed up the compression process of the virtual disk while simplifying the device configuration and reducing the device development effort. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus.

  Therefore, an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an arithmetic device and a storage device, and a virtual computer including a virtual disk formed in the storage device and a virtual operating system incorporated in the arithmetic device. The virtual operating system is constructed and has a function of writing unused area information indicating that it is an unused area to this data deletion storage area when deleting predetermined data stored in the virtual disk. It is characterized by that.

  According to the above invention, when the data stored in the virtual disk is deleted, the virtual computer stores the unused area information indicating that the storage area becomes unused due to the deletion. Write. Thereby, a physically unused area in the virtual disk can be easily detected, and the compression process of the storage area of the storage device can be easily and quickly executed. Therefore, the manufacturer that provides the virtual environment application does not need to prepare an application for detecting an unused area in the virtual disk separately. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the application development effort by the manufacturer and to support the guest OS. Can be improved. Furthermore, since the user does not need to separately incorporate an application for detecting an unused area, the convenience can be improved.

  In addition, a host operating system that controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus is incorporated in the arithmetic unit, and a host computer is built in the information processing apparatus. The host computer stores unused area information in the storage device. The storage area is provided with area deletion means for deleting the storage area from the virtual disk.

  Thus, the unused area in the virtual disk can be easily detected from the host computer side based on the unused area information, and the compression of the storage area in the storage device can be executed easily and quickly.

  Further, the virtual operating system is characterized in that it operates so as to write unused area information to the data deletion storage area when data generated by the movement of data stored in the virtual disk is deleted. In addition, the virtual computer further includes data organizing means for organizing and arranging the storage areas of data stored in the virtual disk that operates on the virtual operating system, and the virtual operating system is generated by the operation of the data organizing means. It is characterized in that it operates so as to write unused area information to this data deletion storage area when deleting data accompanying the movement of the data. At this time, the data organizing means moves the data so that each data constituting the same file stored in the virtual disk is continuously arranged in the storage area. In addition, the area deletion unit of the host computer operates after the operation of the data organizing unit is finished.

  As a result, the data is organized by defragmentation, etc., the unused area information is written in the unused area after the data is moved, and this area can be deleted by the host computer. Therefore, the storage device can be organized and compressed quickly and easily.

  Specifically, the virtual operating system includes a disk driver that records and reproduces data with respect to the virtual disk, a file system that manages the arrangement of data with respect to the virtual disk, and the arrangement of data managed by the file system. A virtual disk driver that manages the storage area of the virtual disk based on the disk driver, and when the virtual disk driver deletes predetermined data stored in the virtual disk, the data deletion storage area In this example, unused area information indicating an unused area is written.

  Thus, by incorporating the virtual disk driver into the configuration of a normal virtual operating system, the function of easily writing unused area information as described above can be realized.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an arithmetic device and a storage device, and information on a virtual computer that includes a virtual disk formed in the storage device and a virtual operating system incorporated in the arithmetic device. An information processing method by a processing device, in which the virtual operating system indicates unused area information indicating that the data deletion storage area is an unused area when deleting predetermined data stored in the virtual disk And an unused area information writing process.

  Then, after the unused area information writing step, the information processing apparatus has an area deleting step of deleting the area where the unused area information is written in the storage device from the file on the host machine that provides the virtual disk. It is characterized by that.

  In addition, the unused area information writing step writes the unused area information to the data deletion storage area when deleting data generated by moving the data stored in the virtual disk. It is a feature. Further, the information processing apparatus has a data organizing process for organizing and arranging the storage area of data stored in the virtual disk on the virtual operating system, and accompanying the movement of data generated during the operation of the data organizing process. An unused area information writing process is activated when data is deleted. The data rearranging step is characterized in that the data is moved so that each data constituting the same file stored in the virtual disk is continuously arranged in the storage area. Furthermore, the region deletion process is characterized in that it operates after the data arrangement process is completed.

  A program according to another embodiment of the present invention records and reproduces data with respect to a virtual disk formed in a storage device and stores the data in the virtual disk in an information processing device including an arithmetic device and a storage device. When a predetermined data is deleted, a virtual operating system having a function of writing unused area information indicating an unused area to the data deletion area is realized.

  Even the information processing method and program invention configured as described above have the same operation as the information processing apparatus described above, and therefore, the object of the present invention described above can be achieved.

  Since the present invention is configured and functions as described above, according to this, a manufacturer that provides a virtual environment application does not need to separately prepare an application for detecting an unused area in a virtual disk. In addition to reducing the application development effort due to the above, it is possible to enhance the guest OS to be supported. In addition, since the user does not need to separately install an application for detecting an unused area, the user has an excellent effect that convenience can be improved.

  Conventionally, the present invention is characterized in that a compression utility that operates on a virtual operating system has been incorporated in a virtual computer, but it is not necessary to incorporate this utility and compression can be easily realized. Have. Hereinafter, specific configurations and operations will be described with reference to examples.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the storage area, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation.

[Constitution]
First, the configuration of the computer (information processing apparatus) in this embodiment will be described. Although not shown, the computer is a general computer including an arithmetic device such as a CPU and a storage device such as a hard disk drive. As shown in FIG. 1, a host operating system 101 (host OS) for controlling the operation of the entire computer is incorporated in the computer, thereby realizing a host machine.

  Further, a virtual machine (virtual computer) emulating a real machine that operates on the host operating system is built in the computer. This virtual machine is realized by building a guest operating system (hereinafter referred to as guest OS) (virtual operating system) on the CPU by executing the virtual environment software 13 incorporated in the host OS. . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the guest OS includes a file system 21, a disk driver 22, and a virtual HDD driver 23. Further, as a storage area used by the guest OS, A virtual disk 20 is constructed in the storage device. Furthermore, a defragmentation tool 24 is incorporated in the virtual machine as a user space application that operates on the guest OS. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail.

  First, the file system 21 is a module that manages the arrangement on the disk where files and actual data are written. The disk driver 22 is a driver module for the guest OS to read from and write to the disk.

  Further, the defragmentation tool 24 (data organizing means) exchanges information with the file system, and when a plurality of data constituting one file are divided and arranged on the disk, they are continuously arranged. As described above, it requests the guest OS to move the data and operates to arrange the data arrangement. The defragmentation tool 24 issues a processing request for performing the above arrangement and arrangement to the virtual HDD driver 23, and the disk driver 22 performs read / write processing on the disk via the virtual HDD driver 23.

  The virtual HDD driver 23 (virtual disk driver) moves the data using the disk driver 22 when the defragmentation tool 24 requests data movement by arranging the data as described above. Further, an unused mark (for example, “0”) is written in the trace where the data has been moved. That is, the unused area information “0” indicating the unused area is written in the data deletion storage area from which the data has been deleted by the movement of the data. Thereby, in the conventional compression method, the unused mark which was performed by the compression utility A on the user space (see reference numeral 123 in FIG. 7) is performed by the operation of the guest OS.

  The installation of the virtual HDD driver 23 is performed automatically by the user when the guest OS is installed to construct a virtual environment or by the user. Therefore, when operating the OS in a environment other than the virtual environment, there is no virtual HDD driver, and the request for the defragmentation tool is still issued to the disk driver of the normal OS.

  The compression utility B (12) (area deletion means) constructed on the host OS side is an application that is installed to operate on the host OS and is described in a file prepared as a virtual disk. It operates to detect unused areas, delete those areas, and reduce the file size.

[Operation]
Next, the operation of the computer having the above configuration will be described. First, it is assumed that the virtual disk 20 used in the virtual machine is in the usage state shown in FIG. This figure shows that data is stored in the shaded area.

  When the defragmentation tool 24 is executed on the virtual machine, that is, on the guest OS (step S1), the defragmentation tool 24 inquires the file system 21, and if the file is divided and arranged on the disk. Execute the process of writing to the disc so that it is continuous. At this time, the defragmentation tool 24 issues a request to the virtual HDD driver 23 (arrow (1) in FIG. 1). Then, the virtual HDD driver 23 moves from the requested data migration source to the migration destination via the disk driver 22 and the virtual environment software 13 (arrow (2) in FIG. 1), as shown in FIG. 2 (b). Copy (steps S2, S21, S22 (data rearranging step)). At the same time, the virtual HDD driver 23 passes the disk driver 22 and the virtual environment software 13 (arrow (3) in FIG. 1) and sets the unused mark “0” at the movement source as shown in FIG. Description is automatically performed (steps S3, S31, S32 (unused area information writing step)). Requests from the virtual HDD driver 23 are sequentially transferred to the disk driver 22 and written to the virtual disk 20 via the host OS as an extension.

  As described above, when defragmentation is executed and data is moved in the virtual disk 20, and data is deleted at the transfer source, the data deletion storage area becomes unused, and unused information is stored in the unused information. A certain “0” is written. Note that the information indicating unused is not limited to “0”. In this embodiment, unused area information is stored when an unused area is generated through defragmentation. However, as described in the second embodiment, an unused area is generated during normal writing. In such a case, the unused area information may be stored.

  By operating as described above, an unused area can be identified from the host OS only by executing the defragmentation tool 24. Then, after completion of the defragmentation operation, an unused area described in the virtual disk 20 in which “0” is stored is detected by executing the compression utility B (12) on the host OS (FIG. 1). Arrow (4)), the area is deleted and the compression process is executed (step S4, see FIG. 2C (area deletion step)).

  As described above, by incorporating the virtual HDD driver 23 that operates on the virtual space, particularly on the virtual OS, it is possible to compress the virtual disk file without separately requiring an application for detecting an unused area in the virtual disk. It can be done easily. Therefore, a manufacturer that provides a virtual environment application can reduce application development effort and enhance the guest OS to be supported. Furthermore, since the user does not need to separately incorporate an application for detecting an unused area, the convenience can be improved.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the computer in this embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the storage area, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation.

[Constitution]
First, the configuration of the computer (information processing apparatus) in this embodiment will be described. The computer according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above. That is, first, as shown in FIG. 4, a host operating system 1 (host OS) that controls the operation of the entire computer is incorporated, and a host machine is realized.

  In addition, a virtual machine (virtual computer) emulating a real machine operating on a host operating system is built in the computer. This virtual machine is realized by constructing a guest operating system (hereinafter referred to as guest OS) (virtual operating system) on the CPU by executing the virtual environment software 13 incorporated in the host OS. . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the guest OS includes a file system 21, a disk driver 22, and a virtual HDD driver 23 ′, and as a storage area used by the guest OS. The virtual disk 20 is constructed in the storage device. In particular, in this embodiment, the virtual HDD driver 23 ′ operates in response to individual requests from the file system 21 and issues a request to the disk driver 22. That is, the virtual HDD driver 23 ′ is configured to receive a request for writing data by the file system 21, and when a data deletion request is generated from the file system 21 to the virtual disk 20, the virtual HDD driver 23 is configured. As in the first embodiment, 'is used to delete data via the disk driver 22, and unused area information (for example, " 0 ") is written.

  Note that the installation of the virtual HDD driver 23 ′ in the present embodiment is also performed by automatic recognition or by the user when a guest OS is installed to construct a virtual environment, as described above.

  Also, the compression utility B (12) built on the host OS side is an application that is installed to operate on the host OS, as in the first embodiment, and is unused in the virtual disk. Operates to detect a region and delete it.

[Operation]
Next, the operation of the computer in this embodiment will be described. First, it is assumed that the virtual disk 20 used in the virtual machine is in the usage state shown in FIG. This figure shows that data is stored in the shaded area.

  Then, on the virtual machine, that is, on the guest OS, a data processing request is issued from the file system 21 to the virtual HDD driver 23 '(step S101, arrow (11) in FIG. 4). Here, it is assumed that a request to delete data in a predetermined storage area and to move data are issued. Then, the virtual HDD driver 23 ′ deletes the data and moves the data via the disk driver 22 and the virtual environment software 13 (arrow (12) in FIG. 4) as shown in FIG. 5B. Copy from the source to the destination (step S102). At the same time, as shown in FIG. 2B, the virtual HDD driver 23 ′ uses the disk driver 22 and the virtual environment software 13 to mark unused marks in the deleted storage area and the storage area from which the data was moved. Description of “0” is automatically performed (step S103 (unused area information writing step)).

  Thereafter, when the compression utility B (12) on the host OS is executed at an arbitrary timing, an unused area described in the virtual disk 20 storing “0” is detected (arrow (13) in FIG. 4). )), The area is deleted (step S104, see FIG. 5C (area deletion step)).

  By operating as described above, when an unused area occurs in the virtual disk, the unused area information is quickly stored, and the unused area can be quickly and easily identified from the host OS. Therefore, by frequently executing the compression utility B (12) on the host OS, an increase in the capacity of the virtual disk can always be suppressed. In addition to this, after a certain period of time has elapsed, the defragmentation tool 24 described in the first embodiment is executed to organize the data arrangement in the storage device, thereby suppressing deterioration in processing performance of the computer. Can do.

  The present invention can be used for a computer in which a plurality of operating systems are incorporated and a virtual machine is constructed, so that the storage capacity can be easily reduced and has industrial applicability.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in a virtual disk according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a computer according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer according to a second embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode in the virtual disk in Example 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a computer according to the second embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the computer in a prior art example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode in the virtual disk in a prior art example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode in the virtual disk in a prior art example. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the computer in a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

1 Host OS
12 Compression utility B
13 Virtual Environment Software 20 Virtual Disk 21 File System 22 Disk Driver 23, 23 ′ Virtual HDD Driver 24 Defragmentation Tool

Claims (8)

E Bei an arithmetic unit and a storage device, comprising: a virtual operating system built before Symbol computing device, and a virtual disk which is a storage area formed in the storage device used by the virtual operating system An information processing apparatus in which a virtual computer is constructed,
A host operating system that controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus is incorporated in the arithmetic device, and a host computer is constructed in the information processing apparatus.
The virtual computer comprises data organizing means for arranging and arranging storage areas of data stored in the virtual disk operating on the virtual operating system,
The virtual operating system deletes the data when the data is deleted by the movement of predetermined data stored in the virtual disk generated by the operation of the data organizing means in the virtual disk . the storage area have a function of writing the unused area information indicating that the unused area for data deletion storage area,
The host computer includes an area deletion unit that deletes the storage area in which the unused area information is written in the storage device from the virtual disk.
An information processing apparatus characterized by that. The data organizing means moves data so that each data constituting the same file stored in the virtual disk is continuously arranged in the storage area.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 . The area deletion means of the host computer operates after the operation of the data organizing means ends.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The virtual operating system includes a disk driver that records and reproduces data with respect to the virtual disk, a file system that manages the arrangement of data with respect to the virtual disk, and the arrangement of data managed by the file system. A virtual disk driver that manages the storage area of the virtual disk via a disk driver,
When the virtual disk driver deletes predetermined data stored in the virtual disk, it writes unused area information representing an unused area to the data deletion storage area.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 3 . E Bei an arithmetic unit and a storage device, comprising: a virtual operating system built before Symbol computing device, and a virtual disk which is a storage area formed in the storage device used by the virtual operating system An information processing method by an information processing apparatus in which a virtual computer is constructed,
The information processing apparatus has a data organizing process for organizing the storage area of data stored in the virtual disk on the virtual operating system, and is stored in the virtual disk generated by the data organizing process. When the data is deleted by moving the predetermined data, the virtual operating system does not write unused area information indicating that it is an unused area to the data deletion storage area from which the data has been deleted. Use area information writing process ,
After the unused area information writing step, the information processing apparatus has an area deleting step of deleting an area in which the unused area information is written in the storage device from the virtual disk.
An information processing method characterized by the above. The data rearranging step moves data so that each data constituting the same file stored in the virtual disk is continuously arranged in the storage area.
The information processing method according to claim 5 . The region deletion step operates after the data organization step is completed.
The information processing method according to claim 5 or 6 . In an information processing apparatus provided with an arithmetic device and a storage device,
A virtual computer comprising: a virtual operating system constructed in the computing device; and a virtual disk that is a storage area formed in the storage device used in the virtual operating system;
A host computer incorporating a host operating system that controls the operation of the entire information processing apparatus incorporated in the arithmetic unit;
Is a program that realizes
The virtual computer comprises data organizing means for arranging and arranging storage areas of data stored in the virtual disk operating on the virtual operating system,
The virtual operating system deletes the data when the data is deleted by the movement of predetermined data stored in the virtual disk generated by the operation of the data organizing means in the virtual disk. A function to write unused area information indicating that the storage area is an unused area to the data deletion storage area,
The host computer includes an area deletion unit that deletes the storage area in which the unused area information is written in the storage device from the virtual disk.
program.

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