Moka5, Inc.

Leland Stanford Junior University

Monica Sin-Ling Lam

Constantine P Sapuntzakis

John Whaley

Ramesh U V Chandra

Won-Suk Chun

Kelvin Kam-Suen Yue

Michael Kerby Chen

Andrew D Berkheimer

James Eugene Chow

David James Brumley

Mendel Rosenblum

Nickolai Borisovich Zeldovich

Dan Boneh

Wen-Suk Chun

Thomas J Purtell

Kelvin Yue

Ramesh Chandra

Guy Messalem

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program apparatus, implementing techniques for publishing, subscribing to, or playing live appliances. A live appliance includes a current virtual machine image. In publishing, a proxy file of a live appliance file type is provided to the publisher. The type is mapped to a live appliance player; so that when a proxy file is opened, the current virtual machine image is run. The player automatically binds a writeable file system external to the virtual machine image to the image to provide file storage that is accessible from within the virtual machine image and from a host operating system. The player also creates a subscription to the live appliance on the host computer if one does not exist when the proxy file is run. With the subscription, the player runs the then-current virtual machine image whenever the live appliance is run.

Binding user data files

The disclosed implementations are related to trace-assisted prefetching of a virtual machine from a network resource to improve interactive performance of the virtual machine on a host device. Trace patterns can be automatically uploaded to a network resource, which aggregates the patterns, and serves the patterns back to the host device, or a different host device, when the host device downloads a virtual machine for the first time.

Trace assisted prefetching of virtual machines in a distributed system

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for retaining the function of product activation schemes and other persistent state changes based on hardware identifiers, even when running in a virtual machine monitor. It can tie such schemes to a single identifier, e.g., a USB serial number, instead of the multiple hardware identifiers.

Activation and security of software

A universal appliance combines the benefits of a fixed-function CE device with the generality of a PC. The universal appliance includes a host environment for supporting fixed functions and virtual machines that can provide general computing capabilities (e.g., a Windows&#xae; OS). The user can select fixed functions and virtual machines for operation on the universal appliance. In some implementations, software environments, including the fixed functions and virtual machines, can be delivered by a universal appliance service provider over a network or other communication medium. The software environments for fixed functions and virtual machines can also be delivered by a removable or portable medium (e.g., a USB flash drive, compact disk, media player, mobile phone). Twenty-four hour server functions can be provided with the universal appliance to allow for automatic data backup, remote access to personal data and an Internet telephone that can accept calls 24 hours a day.

Fixed-function consumer-electronics device providing general-computing functions with virtual machines

Systems and methods for augmenting the functionality of a device using a virtual machine monitor is provided. In general, in one aspect, a computer implemented method is provided. The computer implemented method includes launching a virtual machine monitor on a host device and for a peripheral device. The virtual machine monitor comprises one or more software components capable of performing actions including connecting a peripheral device to a host device, where the peripheral device memory includes peripheral device specific software and one or more available software bundles. The software components can launch the virtual machine monitor for the peripheral device and execute the peripheral device-specific software and an available software bundle on the host device. In one implementation, the computer implemented method includes connecting a peripheral device to a host device, where the peripheral device memory includes peripheral device-specific software that is executed on the host device.

Symbiotic smart peripherals

Systems and methods for detecting, selecting and running environments on a host device is provided. In general, in one aspect, a computer implemented method is provided. The computer implemented method includes detecting a device including a plurality of platform specific virtual machine monitors, identifying a virtual machine monitor that is compatible with a specified platform; and enabling a launch of the identified virtual machine monitor on the specified platform. In another aspect, a computer implemented method includes detecting a first device including one or more environments, launching an application on a second device, and using the application to collect a list of stacks, collect a list of environments, and determine environments capable of running on a stack. The method further includes receiving a selection of an environment and a stack, and running the selected environment on the selected stack.

Multi-platform compatible portable virtual machine player

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that presents an alternate computing environment on a host computing device. During operation, this system detects the presence of a removable storage device which is in communication with an interface of the host computing device. The system also locates code which implements the alternate computing environment on the removable storage device. Finally, the system runs the code which presents the alternate computing environment through an environment player on the host device, wherein the environment player prevents a user of the alternate computing environment from interacting directly with a native computing environment of the host computing device.

Locked-down computing environment

Sharing live appliances

The disclosed implementations related to prefetching of virtual machines. Some embodiments can receive a virtual disk including a first page table block corresponding to one or more other page table blocks or one or more data blocks. Next, the embodiments can generate a representation of the first page table block, the representation of the first page table block including presence information with respect to the one or more other page table blocks or the one or more data blocks in the virtual disk that are pointed to by the first page table block. The embodiments can then sign the representation of the first page table block. Next, the embodiments can use the signature and the generated position independent representation to verify the integrity of the first page table block, and/or change the offset of the one or more other page table blocks or the one or more data blocks.

Trace-assisted prefetching of virtual machines in a distributed system

Various approaches for virtual appliance management are described. In one approach a virtual appliance repository stores one or more virtual appliances and is coupled to the host computer via a network. A storage device stores a transceiver program capable when executed on said host computer of requesting and receiving the virtual appliances, and generating for each received virtual appliance a respective local copy on the host computer of each received virtual appliance. The local copy is private to the host computer. The transceiver program further binds the virtual appliances to the host computer and obtains user data relevant to the virtual appliances. The transceiver program runs each of the virtual appliances from the respective private local copies on the host computer.

Virtual appliance management

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for network-extended storage. A portable storage device is coupled to a host computer, and network extension code stored on the portable storage device is invoked. The network extension code is operable to detect a file system write function call generated by an application executing on the host computer, the file system write function call operable to cause data to be written to the portable storage device, and cause the data to be written to the portable storage device based upon the file system write function call. The network extension code is further operable to generate a transmit determination indicative of whether to transmit the data to a network repository, and transmit the data to the network repository based upon the transmit determination.

Network-extended storage

A cache-based system management architecture named 'the Collective' automates system management and supports mobile computing. The Collective manages systems by manipulating virtual appliances, each encapsulating a system state. A virtual appliance (VA) may comprise a virtual network of VAs. Distributed repositories separately storing the VAs and user data. Publishers create and maintain VAs. A user plugs a bootable portable storage device implementing a VA transceiver (VAT) into a host computer. The VAT, comprising a Manager, a Cache Client, and a virtual machine monitor (VMM), authenticates the user, retrieves a copy of the latest version of a subscribed VA from the appropriate network repository, obtains user data, and automatically backs up the user data over the network in the background while running the subscribed VA. Multiple VAs can be run at the same time. With the novel caching protocol and cache charging process, the Collective performs well and has numerous advantages.

Growing community of inventors

Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

Monica Sin-Ling Lam