Vmware, Inc.

Dima Golbert

Nir Adler

Or Lupovitz

Kosta Shougaev

Avshi Avital

Chen Doar

Rami Stern

Lior Hipsh

A system is described for downloading server-based content to peers in a P2P network. The server-based content can be partitioned and different peers can be given priority for downloading the different parts. A client on each peer can view what content is available on each of the other peers as well as what content is available on a virtual peer, which represents content on the server and only makes content that exists on the server and not on any peers available for download. Consequently, a client on a peer requesting to download the content can download the content from the peers and the virtual peer based on a file sharing protocol, such as BitTorrent.

Downloading of server-based content through peer-to-peer networks

A management agent operates transparently in the background on each endpoint computing device that needs to be managed. The agent sets up a sandboxed environment on the endpoint computing device on which it is operating in order to capture applications that have been installed on the endpoint device. The application capture is performed after the applications have been installed on the endpoint device and therefore does not require installing the application on any dedicated staging machine, nor any recording of the pre-installation state. The application capture process involves running the application from an isolated sandboxed environment on the computing device in order to identify all necessary components of the application by monitoring accesses by the application to components located outside of the sandbox. The identified components can then be packaged together and managed as individual application packages.

Capturing components of an application using a sandboxed environment

Systems and methods are described for capturing and reproducing the full state of an application session. An application is captured by performing a dump of various components of the session and storing the components in an application session capture. Captured components include a memory image, CPU register values, open handles to kernel objects, and loaded libraries. The session is reproduced when requested based on the session capture. In cases where locations or references to certain items (e.g., memory locations, open handle references, library addresses, etc.) are different when the session is restored, a driver is used to remap the old locations or references to the new locations or references.

Full state session reviving, forking, and snapshoting based on an application data dump

Systems and methods are described for packaging and deploying applications using minimal and maximal component sets. A minimal set of application components that includes at least the necessary components for launching the application is first downloaded to an endpoint device from a central server. The application is launched on the endpoint from the minimal set. If the application requests a missing component that is not available on the endpoint, the missing component is requested and delivered on-demand from a maximal set located on the server, where the maximal set contains all possible application components. The application is suspended during the download of the missing component. After the missing component is downloaded, the application is resumed, having access to the missing component on the endpoint.

Capturing and deploying applications using maximal and minimal sets

A management agent operates transparently in the background on each endpoint computing device that needs to be managed. The agent performs a static analysis of the system on the endpoint computing device on which it is operating in order to capture the applications that have been installed on the endpoint device. The static analysis is performed after the applications have been installed on the endpoint device and therefore does not require installing the application on any dedicated staging machine, nor any recording of the pre-installation state. The post-installation static analysis involves steps that are used to determine all of the necessary components that comprise the application, which can then be packaged together and managed as individual application packages.

Capturing components of an application using a static post-installation analysis of the system

Techniques are described for segregating a monolithic computing device that contains many installed applications into separate application storage volumes that can be attached or detached from the computing device as needed. Once the monolithic device has been segregated, the application storage volumes can be managed remotely from a management server and can be enabled or disabled on the device based on instructions from an administrator. Additionally, the administrator is enabled to select which application storage volumes are migrated during an operating system (OS) upgrade on the computing device.

Growing community of inventors

Beit Shemesh, Israel

Dima Golbert