Patent ID: 8281013
Filing Date: 2012-10-02
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for non-disruptive and reliable transfer of a virtual machine (VM) from a source machine to a target machine while the VM is continuously powered up, wherein the source machine places network data directly into memory resources shared with the VM, comprising: stopping network communications from being placed in the memory resources shared with the VM; notifying a source virtual service provider (VSP) that no further communications are being placed in the memory resources shared with the VM; sending, by the source VSP, to a source hardware NIC driver that is associated with the memory resources shared with the VM, an indication that the source hardware NIC driver has ownership of the memory resources shared with the VM; transferring the VM to the target machine; processing unprocessed network packets that were in the shared memory resources on the source machine; and preventing the VM from freeing resources corresponding to the unprocessed network packets that were in the shared memory resources on the source machine on the target machine.