Vmware, Inc.

Matthew David Ginzton

Matthew Eccleston

Gerald C Chen

Srinivas Krishnamurti

Nick Michael Ryan

Daniel J Scales

Peter Chen

Min Xu

Benjamin Avery Chambers

Dustin Michael Byford

Ramesh Dharan

Jeremy Sugerman

Matthew Ray Delco

Gustav Wibling

Nicholas Michael Ryan

An administrator may set restrictions related to the operation of a virtual machine (VM), and virtualization software enforces such restrictions. There may be restrictions related to the general use of the VM, such as who may use the VM, when the VM may be used, and on what physical computers the VM may be used. There may be similar restrictions related to a general ability to modify a VM, such as who may modify the VM. There may also be restrictions related to what modifications may be made to a VM, such as whether the VM may be modified to enable access to various devices or other resources. There may also be restrictions related to how the VM may be used and what may be done with the VM. Information related to the VM and any restrictions placed on the operation of the VM may be encrypted to inhibit a user from circumventing the restrictions.

Enforcing restrictions related to a virtualized computer environment

A virtualization system supports secure, controlled execution of application programs within virtual machines. The virtual machine encapsulates a virtual hardware platform and guest operating system executable with respect to the virtual hardware platform to provide a program execution space within the virtual machine. An application program, requiring license control data to enable execution of the application program, is provided within the program execution space for execution within the virtual machine. A data store providing storage of encrypted policy control information and the license control data is provided external to the virtual machine. The data store is accessed through a virtualization system including a policy controller that is selectively responsive to a request received from the virtual machine to retrieve the license control data dependent on an evaluation of the encrypted policy control information.

Systems and methods for enforcing software license compliance with virtual machines

A virtualized computer system provides fault tolerant operation of a primary virtual machine. In one embodiment, this system includes a backup computer system that stores a snapshot of the primary virtual machine and a log file containing non-deterministic events occurring in the instruction stream of the primary virtual machine. The primary virtual machine periodically updates the snapshot and the log file. Upon a failure of the primary virtual machine, the backup computer can instantiate a failover backup virtual machine by consuming the stored snapshot and log file.

Low overhead fault tolerance through hybrid checkpointing and replay

A remote proxy in a virtualization layer domain establishes a plurality of logical channels via a network connection. The virtualization layer domain is part of a host system in which a set of virtual machines of a virtual machine domain run on a virtualization layer of the virtualization layer domain. The remote proxy receives first information from a first logical channel in plurality of logical channels and second information from a second logical channel in plurality of logical channels through the network connection. Then, the remote proxy determines that the virtual machine domain should process the first information and forwards the first information from the virtualization layer domain to a virtual machine in the set of virtual machines in the virtual machine domain. Also, the remote proxy determines that the virtualization layer domain should process the second information and forwards the second information to the virtualization layer for processing.

Virtualization system with a remote proxy in a virtualization layer domain

A method determines mobile devices for connection to a computer that has an operating system for a user session. Then, the method configures device drivers to enable communication between the operating system and the mobile devices. The operating system is configured to use a first mobile device as a first type of input/output (I/O) device and the operating system is configured to use a second mobile device as a second type of input/output (I/O) device. Also, the method processes communications between the mobile devices and the operating system via the device drivers for the user session. A first type of communication is between the first mobile device and the operating system via the first device driver to use the first mobile device as the first type of I/O device and a second type of communication is between the second mobile device and the operating system via the second device driver to use the second mobile device as the second type of I/O device.

Configuring a computer for using mobile devices as input and output devices

A virtualization framework provides security between multiple virtual machines with respect to network communications between the virtual machines and between the virtual machines and a physical network coupled to the underlying physical computer platform. The virtualization framework includes a network interface controller driver that provides an interface to the platform network interface controller and supports execution of a plurality of virtual machines. Each virtual machine includes a virtual network interface controller that provides a network communications path between the virtual machines and to the network interface controller driver. Each virtual network interface controller further contains a programmable network packet filter that controls the selective transfer of network packets with respect to a corresponding virtual machine.

Implementing network traffic management for virtual and physical machines

System and methods for enforcing software license compliance with virtual machines

A system for connecting the plurality of mobile devices to a computer is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of mobile devices connected to a computer through a network. Each of the plurality of mobile devices includes a mobile application configured to emulate the each of the plurality of mobile devices as a selected type of input/output (I/O) device for the computer. An operating system of the computer operates in conjunction with a session manager to connect the plurality of mobile devices as disparate selected types of I/O devices to the computer in a common user session.

Use of mobile devices for user input and output

A remote proxy provides remote control to a virtualization system. The virtualization system includes a computer having virtualization software executing on the computer, and one or more virtual machines executing on the computer by way of the virtualization software, each of the virtual machines having a guest operating system. The remote proxy receives over a network connection a plurality of logical channels of a multi-channel remote control protocol at a first domain of a plurality of domains of the virtualization system. Each of the logical channels convey information corresponding to one of the domains. For each logical channel, the remote proxy identifies the corresponding domain. Further, for each of the logical channels corresponding to a domain other than the first domain, the remote proxy forwards the logical channel to the corresponding domain.

Virtualization system with a remote proxy

The amount of virtual disk space available for use by software executing within a virtual machine (VM) may be dynamically adjusted while the VM is running in a virtual computer system. A method for reservation of disk space from a virtual machine is provided. A request is received at a first VM relating to reserving a portion of a virtual disk used by the first VM. In response, the first VM allocates additional storage in the virtual disk to a guest file stored in the virtual disk, wherein the guest file is not used to store meaningful data and then communicates sectors of the virtual disk corresponding to the additional storage to the virtualization layer. The virtualization layer provides to a second VM access to sectors of the physical storage space that correspond to the sectors of the virtual disk that were allocated as additional storage to the guest file.

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Matthew David Ginzton