Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Jason L Cohen

Ryan M Burkhardt

Bruce L Green

Raj Jhanwar

Wesley G Miller

Richard Allen Pletcher

Tom G Yaryan

Vijayachandran Jayaseelan

Stephen Lodwick

Yun Lin

David Steeves

Alexander Kirshenbaum

Seetharaman Harikrishnan

Gregory D Hartrell

Nicholas Randall Waggoner

Benjamin T Arai

Aaron Edward Dietrich

Craig Boucher

Adrian Cosma

Rayn Burkhardt

Jose Marcos De Oliveira

A collaborative diagnostic system monitors events in a system and identifies a causality chain from a detected performance issue to the root cause of that performance issue. The collaborative diagnostic system includes multiple issue detectors, multiple analysis core modules, and multiple scenario modules that work together to identify the causality chain and root cause. Each issue detector is a module or component that includes logic to detect known behaviors in the system, such as performance issues in the system. Each analysis core module includes logic to analyze and correlate low level system behavior within a conceptual area. Within each analysis core module are one or more diagnostic modules that are specific to that analysis core module to help determine what is happening in the system. Each scenario module includes logic to take an appropriate responsive action in response to the root cause of a performance issue being determined.

Modularized collaborative performance issue diagnostic system

A URL reputation system may have a reputation server and a client device with a cache of reputation information. A URL reputation query from the client to the server may return reputation data along with probabilistic set membership information for several variants of the requested URL. The client may use the probabilistic set membership information to determine if the reputation server has additional information for another related URL as well as whether the classifications are inheritable from one of the variants. If the probabilistic set membership determines that the reputation server may have additional information, a query may be made to the reputation server, otherwise the reputation may be inferred from the data stored in the cache.

URL reputation system

Key exchanges between peer-to-peer devices can be vulnerable to man in the middle attacks. Verification of the key exchanges can be made on a channel, network and/or device different from the channel, network and/or device used for the key exchange to determine whether the key exchange was secure. Verification of the key exchange can also be made through an established and trusted device and/or entity. If the key exchange was secure, the parties to a communication utilizing the key(s) exchanged can be notified, if desired. If the key exchange was not secure, the parties can be notified and the communication can be selectively disconnected.

Key exchange verification

Controlling access to functionality within an installed software product. The invention includes an authorization module that dynamically references authorization information when specific functionality is requested by a requesting entity such as a user or an application program to determine if the requested functionality is authorized to be executed. Further, the invention dynamically provides an opportunity to the requesting entity to purchase unauthorized functionality. In this manner, functionality within the software product may be enabled or disabled at any time (e.g., during installation, post-installation, and re-installation).

Selectively authorizing software functionality after installation of the software

Accessing files within a compressed image to boot from the compressed image. In one embodiment, the compressed image includes a boot environment and a software image combined to reduce file redundancy. The invention boots into the boot environment within the compressed image to install the software image on a computer.

Booting from a compressed image

A system, method and data structure for transmitting a first image including a first software and for transmitting a second image including a second software, wherein the first and second images include common file data. The server simultaneously transmits the common data to first and second destination devices via the shared network. The server is adapted to transmit the first file data to the first destination device via the shared network and the second file data to the second destination device via the shared network.

Multicast system and method for deploying multiple images simultaneously

An image server store having a combined image including a first image of a first software combined with other images of other software such that any one or more of the images can be restored from the combined image, and methods relating thereto. The method of making the combined image comprises creating a first image from a first software, creating a second image from the second software, and combining the first image and the second image into the combined image on the server store. Each image includes first descriptive data (metadata) corresponding to descriptive data of its software and includes file data corresponding to file data of its software.

Image server store system and method using combined image views

A software tool and method in which a source image is split into and spans across two or more image pieces having a data structure which fits onto a computer readable medium having an available storage capacity which is smaller than the size of the source image. Also, software tool and method which combines two or more image pieces of a source image on a destination medium into a re-combined image having a data structure corresponding to the source image.

System and method for splitting an image across multiple computer readable media

Updating component-based software product with files stored in a service package. The service package also includes a plurality of instruction sets each corresponding to a state or operating context of a component in the software product. A component installer determines the state of the component and applies the instruction set corresponding to the determined state to install the files.

Servicing a component-based software product throughout the software product lifecycle

Distributing software image creation and configuration among a plurality of client computers. Server computers define jobs related to software image creation. Each of the client computers communicates with the servers to identify, accept, and complete jobs. The server and client computers maintain data structures indicating job availability and status. In the distributed build environment, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and system builders may easily modify, create, and image software in the factory to dramatically reduce resource consumption and time.

Software image creation in a distributed build environment

A system and method for identifying dependencies of a software program installed on a host computer prior to duplication of the software program from the host computer to a destination computer and for adapting the identified dependencies to the destination computer after duplication. An installed software program can be copied from a host computer to a destination computer without breaking portions of the image that rely on data unique to the computer context in which the software program is installed. Data structures store functionality exposed by a software program during installation of the software program that captures machine-specific data before duplication so that such machine-specific data can be restored properly after the duplication. Software of the invention processes the information in the data structures before and after the duplication process to identify and adapt, respectively, the dependencies.

Application imaging infrastructure

A system and method for manipulation of offline software. A software driver executing on a computer accesses and modifies target software while the target software is in an offline state. The software driver allows installation and configuration of an operating system and/or associated application programs to the target software when an operating system associated with the target software is not executing.

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Woodinville, WA, United States of America

Jason L Cohen