Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Adrian J Oney

Eric P Traut

Rene Antonio Vega

Bryan M Willman

Matthew Douglas Hendel

Forrest Curtis Foltz

Jacob Kappeler Oshins

Alexandre Vicktorovich Grigorovitch

Clifford Paul Strom

Patrik Schnell

Kedarnath Atmaram Dubhashi

Andrew John Thornton

Peter W Wieland

Anand Paka

Quintin Swayne Burns

Bryan R Born

Satvir Randhawa

Mark L Beaubien

Nathan T Lewis

Stephane Plante

Michael H Tsang

John Te-Jui Sheu

Lonny Dean McMichael

Brandon Allsop

James Stephens, Ii

Peter Shier

Scott Stephens

Patrick L Garvan

Techniques enable creation of a preview license for digital content. In some instances, the preview license indicates that it allows a content-consuming device to consume less than all of the content. This preview license may create a list specifying multiple portions of the digital content that the content-consuming device may consume. These techniques may also present to a device user an offer to purchase rights to consume all of the digital content after consumption of the preview-licensed portion(s). In other instances, a content server may embed the preview license into a content package that contains the digital content, allowing the server to distribute the package to multiple devices. In still other instances, the preview license may be bound to a domain rather than to individual devices. This allows member devices to share the digital content and the preview license, such that each member device may enjoy the preview experience.

Content preview

Efficient power management of a system with virtual machines is disclosed. In particular, such efficient power management may enable coordination of system-wide power changes with virtual machines. Additionally, such efficient power management may enable coherent power changes in a system with a virtual machine monitor. Furthermore, such efficient power management may enable dynamic control and communication of power state changes.

Efficient power management of a system with virtual machines

Encrypted content streaming is provided by a method comprising holding an encrypted content stream that is cryptographically encrypted from a content stream with a content key, and holding an encrypted content key that is cryptographically encrypted from the content key with one or more blackout encryption keys. Each blackout encryption key is paired to a blackout decryption key corresponding to a specific audience, and each blackout decryption key is obtainable by audiences other than the specific audience corresponding to the blackout decryption key. The method further comprises serving the encrypted content stream to the plurality of different audiences. The encrypted content stream is embedded with a leaf license comprising the encrypted content key, and the encrypted content key is cryptographically decryptable by audiences having the one or more blackout decryption keys paired to the one or more blackout encryption keys.

Encrypted content streaming

Encrypted content streaming is provided by a method comprising holding an encrypted content stream that is cryptographically encrypted from a content stream with a content key, and holding an encrypted content key that is cryptographically encrypted from the content key with one or more intermediate encryption keys. The method further comprises serving the encrypted content stream to a plurality of content consumption devices, wherein the encrypted content stream is embedded with a leaf license comprising the encrypted content key, and wherein the encrypted content stream is cryptographically decryptable by a content consumption device having a scalable root license providing one or more intermediate root keys from which the content consumption device derives the one or more intermediate decryption keys paired to the one or more intermediate encryption keys.

Systems and methods are provided, whereby partitions may become enlightened and discover the presence of a hypervisor. Several techniques of hypervisor discovery are discussed, such as detecting the presence of virtual processor registers (e.g. model specific registers or special-purpose registers) or the presence of virtual hardware devices. Upon discovery, information (code and/or data) may be injected in a partition by the hypervisor, whereby such injection allows the partition to call the hypervisor. Moreover, the hypervisor may present a versioning mechanism that allows the partition to match up the version of the hypervisor to its virtual devices. Next, once code and/or data is injected, calling conventions are established that allow the partition and the hypervisor to communicate, so that the hypervisor may perform some operations on behalf of the partition. Four exemplary calling conventions are considered: restartable instructions, a looping mechanism, shared memory transport, and synchronous or asynchronous processed packets. Last, cancellation mechanisms are considered, whereby partition requests may be cancelled.

Systems and methods for hypervisor discovery and utilization

Mechanisms are disclosed herein that manage operations in virtual machine environments. A first partition can have a proxy driver object corresponding to a driver object in a second partition. The driver object can control a physical device, but because of the proxy driver object, the first partition can retain some measure of control over the physical device. The driver object can be surrounded by a first filter object beneath it, and a second filter object above it. The first filter object can provide interfaces to the driver object so that the driver object can perform various bus-related functionalities; and, the second filter object can receive redirected instructions from the first partition and provide them to the driver object, and intercept any instructions originating from within the second partition, such that if these instructions are inconsistent with policies set in the first partition, they can be manipulated.

Distributed hardware state management in virtual machines

A system and method for validating whether communications between a device driver and a hardware device conform to a communication specification is presented. A validation module obtains a communication specification identifying rules for validating whether communications between a device driver and a hardware device conform to the specification. A redirection module redirects communications between the device driver and the hardware device to the validation module. Based on an individual communication, as well as the context in which an individual communication is made, the validation module validates whether the communication conforms to the communication specification.

System and method for validating communication specification conformance between a device driver and a hardware device

An operating system is described that is capable of ascertaining whether it is executing in a virtual machine environment and is further capable of modifying its behavior to operate more efficiently and provide optimal behavior in a virtual machine environment. An operating system is enlightened so that it is aware of VMMs or hypervisors, taking on behavior that is optimal to that environment. The VMM or hypervisor informs the operating system of the optimal behavior, and vice versa.

Efficient operating system operation on a hypervisor

A system, methodology and/or computer architecture that facilitates processing device interrupts (including level-triggered interrupts) in a user-mode process is provided. The kernel interrupt handler can cause a dedicated thread in the process to wake and invoke the driver interrupt service routine. This thread can then return control to the kernel interrupt handler. In addition to processing interrupts in an isolated mode, the context switching technique could be used in any isolated environment to process interrupts via dedicated execution context methods.

System and method for interrupt handling

An automated system for improving the testing of computer devices designed for coupling with docking devices. A plurality of networked computing devices that are individually connected to a compatible docking device through a slave switch. Each slave switch independently connects or disconnects individual computing devices from an attached docking device based on commands obtained from a server. By controlling the electrical connection between the individual computing devices and attached docking devices, the slave switch can simulate the action of docking or undocking one or more selected computers without human intervention. As a result, the present invention provides a system and method that automates the action of docking or undocking a computer. For example, the present invention is suited for use in computer device testing systems wherein a shut down command is sent to a selected computer, after which the selected computer is disconnected from an attached docking device.

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Woodinville, WA, United States of America

Adrian J Oney