Live migration refers to the process of transferring a running virtual machine (VM) from one physical server to another without disrupting the VM's services. The spelling of "live migration" uses the IPA phonetic transcription system to help explain how the word is pronounced. The first syllable "liv" is pronounced with a short "i" sound as in "hit." The second syllable "mi" is pronounced with a long "i" sound as in "eye," and the third syllable "gra" is pronounced with a soft "j" sound as in "gym."
Live migration refers to the process of transferring a running virtual machine (VM) or application workload from one physical computer or server to another, without causing any downtime or disruption to the ongoing operations. This technique is commonly used in virtualization and cloud computing environments to achieve resource optimization, load balancing, fault tolerance, and efficient maintenance.
Live migration involves the seamless relocation of a VM or workload by transferring its entire state, including memory, CPU context, storage, and network connections, from the source host to the destination host. It enables uninterrupted service availability during the migration process, allowing users to access the application or VM without experiencing any interruption or loss of data.
The live migration process consists of multiple stages, such as pre-copying the memory contents of the VM to the destination host, tracking and synchronizing the changing memory pages during the migration, and finally, switching the active VM execution from the source to the destination host. This process requires coordination between the source and destination hosts, along with efficient data transfer mechanisms, to ensure that the migration completes successfully within an acceptable timeframe.
Live migration is particularly crucial for organizations that require high availability and operational continuity for their critical applications or services. It enables dynamic workload management, load distribution, and system maintenance, reducing the need for planned downtime or disruption. Moreover, live migration facilitates resource scalability, allowing organizations to optimize resource utilization without impacting the end-user experience.
The word "live migration" is a compound term consisting of two parts: "live" and "migration".
The term "live" in this context refers to the ability of a system or process to continue running and functioning while it is being moved or transferred. It implies that there is no interruption or downtime during the transfer.
The term "migration" typically refers to the movement or transfer of something (such as people, animals, or data) from one place to another. It often involves the concept of relocation or movement for various purposes.
Therefore, the term "live migration" specifically refers to the process of transferring or moving something (such as a computer system, virtual machine, or workload) from one physical or virtual environment to another without causing any downtime or interruptions. It is commonly used in the context of cloud computing or server virtualization technologies.