Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

David E Kays

Christopher Scott Gouge

Daniel F Plastina

Carolyn L Napier

Rahul Thombre

Edward F Reus

Henricus Johannes Maria Meijer

John R Douceur

Scott Field

Debi P Mishra

Mario C Goertzel

Michael Joseph Healy

Eric R Flo

Robert E Corrington

Joseph Dadzie

Michael J Cherry

Michael W Dennis

Michele L Freed

Vibhas D Chandorkar

Mark H Lucovsky

Rahul Gupta

Marc Shepard

William James Whalen

Ullattil Shaji

Mazhar Naveed Mohammed

Bharat Shah

James Squires Masson

Markus Horstmann

Stephen M Blanding

David Cris Hennessey

Craig C Marl

Steve P Shih

Derek C Y Cheng

Kenik Hassel

Krishnan Rangarajan

Nick Carlson

Rhynier Myburgh

The subject disclosure relates to techniques for monitoring contextual and performance information of a device for anticipatorily sending update information to the device. An interface component can receive, from the client, contextual information indicating an operating environment of the client and performance information that is associated with one or more operations being performed by the client based on the operating environment, and send, based on correlation information, update information to the client. Further, a service component can to infer a relationship between the contextual information and the performance information to obtain the correlation information. In other embodiments, a client can populate a cache with portion(s) of the contextual information to obtain cached information, and send at least a portion of the cached information to a system including one or more aspects of the service component.

Discovery and mining of performance information of a device for anticipatorily sending updates to the device

Sending installation information. A method may be performed, for example, in a network computing environment including one or more servers connected to one or more clients. The method includes signing a package including installation information. A hash of the package is created. A metadata data set is created. The metadata data set includes a description of the package, an identification for the package, applicability rules describing intended recipients of the installation information, the hash of the package, and installation instructions for the package. The metadata data set is sent to a target group of systems in the network computing environment.

Secure content publishing and distribution

Described is managing the changing of software implementations such as applications deployed to enterprise client users or machines. Precedence relationships between deployed applications are specified. To determine which applications to install for a given client, the precedence is applied to the subset of applications assigned or published to the client. At logon or machine reboot, an upgrade process evaluates the deployed applications and any upgrade relationships, setting applications for removal or installation. A user may also install an application that has been designated as optional. Also described is an application lifecycle model for replacing applications. For example, administrators can phase in upgrades as a pilot to a small group of users, roll out upgrades to a larger group, and then provide the application to all users. Upgrades may be mandatory or optional, and replaced programs may be removed and then replaced, or overlaid during installation.

Method and system for managing lifecycles of deployed applications

Allowing a non-privileged user to apply a patch to a software product. A patch is received from a non-privileged user. It is determined if the received patch may be elevated by the non-privileged user for applying to a target software product. The received patch is applied to the target software product if it is determined that the received patch may be elevated by the non-privileged user for applying to the target software product.

Elevated patching

Uninstalling a patch applied to a software product installed on a computer. A current state of a software product is identified. A desired state of the software product is determined. The desired state of the software product represents a state of the software product when a patch applied to the software product is removed from the software product. The patch is removed from the software product to transition the software product from the identified current state to the determined desired state.

Patch un-installation

A method and system for managing and deploying applications across a computer network by assigning and publishing applications to user and computer policy recipients. Assigned applications are automatically applied via a script to the policy recipients, thereby ensuring that the recipient has an administrator-specified workstation configuration. Assigned applications are advertised so as to appear available to the user, by adding an application shortcut to the start menu, and by populating the machine registry with appropriate application information. Other applications may be published to users, whereby those applications are optionally available for use by users. Published application information is maintained in a centralized store of information on the network. Assigned and published applications may be installed on demand, such as when the application is activated.

Method and system for assigning and publishing applications

Applying multiple patches to one or more software products. A plurality of patches is received from a user. A software product targeted by the received plurality of patches is determined. For the determined software product, one or more of the received plurality of patches that are applicable to the software product are identified. The identified one or more patches are applied to the software product as a function of a state of the software product in a single installation transaction.

Multiple patching in a single installation transaction

Updating a software product by a plurality of patches. Sequencing data of each patch of the plurality of patches is received from a user such as a patch author. Each patch of the plurality of patches has a defined membership in a portion of the software product and has a defined order in the portion relative to one or more other patches that are members of the portion. The sequencing data indicates a portion of the software product of which the patch is a member and a relative ordering between the patch and one or more other members of the portion. A logical order of application for the plurality of patches is determined based on the received sequencing data. The plurality of patches is applied to the software product according to the determined logical order of application.

Patch sequencing

A system and method comprising a reporting mechanism for outputting an HMTL and XML document from a collection of hierarchically maintained settings such as group policy object settings or resultant set of policy data. The reporting mechanism provides a substantially complete view of which settings are configured (enabled) in a given group policy object, or a view for a resultant set of policy (that is applied to a given SOM), along with the values of the settings. The markup language format enables viewing a flat representation of the settings, and printing, saving and/or transporting of the settings. XML schemas describe a valid representation of group policy settings, and a valid representation of resultant set of policy.

System and method for reporting hierarchically arranged data in markup language formats

A method and system for implementing policy by accumulating policies for a policy recipient from policy objects associated with a hierarchically organized structure of containers, such as directory containers (sites, domains and organizational units) that includes the policy recipient. Based on administrator input, policy settings for the policy recipient may be accumulated into a specific order by inheriting policy from higher containers, which may enforce their policy settings over those of lower containers. Policy that is not enforced may be blocked at a container. The result is an accumulated set of group policy objects that are ordered by relative strength to resolve any policy conflicts. Policy may be applied to a policy recipient by calling extensions, such as an extension that layers the policy settings into the registry or an extension that uses policy information from the objects according to the ordering thereof.

System and method for implementing group policy

A computer network includes a client and a server which are preferably independently operable computers that cooperate to perform different procedures of an application program. The server executes its procedure in response to a remote procedure call transmitted over the computer network from the client. The remote procedure call typically includes one or more data structures or parameters used as arguments for executing the remote procedure. The server receives the remote procedure call at an RPC buffer. In accordance with the present invention, the server interprets the parameters while the remote procedure call resides in the RPC buffer whenever the selected format of the parameters of the remote procedure call matches the data structure format processed by the server.

In situ processing of remote procedure calls

A method and system for implementing policy by accumulating policies for a policy recipient from policy objects associated with a hierarchically organized structure of containers, such as directory containers (sites, domains and organizational units) that includes the policy recipient. Based on administrator input, policy settings for the policy recipient may be accumulated into a specific order by inheriting policy from higher containers, which may enforce their policy settings over those of lower containers. Policy that is not enforced may be blocked at a container. The result is an accumulated set of group policy objects that are ordered by relative strength to resolve any policy conflicts. Policy may be applied to a policy recipient by calling extensions, such as an extension that layers the policy settings into the registry or an extension that uses policy information from the objects according to the ordering thereof. Linking of group policy objects to one or more containers (e.g., sites, domains and organizational units) is provided, as is exception management. The effects of group policy may be filtered based on users' or computers' membership in security groups.

Remote procedure call method

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Bellevue, WA, United States of America

David E Kays