| Virtual Machines on Peer-to-Patent
New Technology from VMWARE, Inc. Gone are the days when software must be operated on actual, physical computer systems. Now, virtual machines are in common use and constantly evolving. Peer-to-Patent has recently posted a number of applications pertaining to this technology.
A virtual machine is a software abstraction of an actual physical computer system. If the virtual machine is properly designed, then it will not be apparent to the user that any applications running within the virtual machine are running indirectly, that is, via the guest operating system and virtual processor.
In seven separate patent applications, VMWARE, Inc., proposes potentially innovative technology. Whether using a physical device or a virtual one, the proposed applications are dedicated to migrating the information from one to another. The first application involves a virtual device, which includes an emulation and pass through mode able to be configured to communicate with a physical device using switching logic pertaining to the necessary operation. The second application builds on this technology by describing a system that instructs this virtual device when a physical one is unavailable. A third application discloses a virtualization method and system for which the source virtual machine is migrated to a destination virtual machine while the source virtual machine is still powered on.
Stemming from this technology, VMWARE, Inc. has also focused on trace collection techniques. A virtual machine environment provides a convenient platform for efficient logging and replaying execution, which can be used to improve fault tolerance, trace driven simulations and debugging. While conventional trace collection techniques are often slow due to software tracing overhead, this patent application discloses a method for logging non-deterministic events of a virtual machine executing a sequence of guest instructions.
In efforts to develop a method and system for a virtual machine to transition from replay to live execution mode, VMWARE, Inc. has also developed technology that allows a backup virtual machine to do just that. This application describes a means to enable transition at instruction boundaries that are not in the middle emulation of a single instruction through a series of "go-live" points.
Although no physical network is present, communication over virtual networks still requires breaking up a stream of data into individual network packets. Recent technology presented by VMWARE, Inc. discloses a method for enabling inter-process communication mechanisms that use shared memory or notifications to allow applications running in respective virtual machines to communicate with one another.
VMWARE, Inc. has also recognized the need to develop an anti-virus mechanism that is both effective and can scale easily in a virtual machine environment. In response, this patent application discloses an on-access anti-virus mechanism that is optimized for use in a virtualized computer system. It is operated by scanning the malicious code and communicating this information to the scan engine. A driver portion is also configured for installation in an operating system of the guest virtual machines, acting to intercept and communicate information with the scan engine.
These applications will be available for review on the Peer-to-Patent website until September 27, 2009.
P2P Presents: Patents for Your Thoughts
Don't miss your last chance to review these patent applications! Both of these applications will be up for review on the Peer-to-Patent website until July 23, 2009.
First Time Participant EMC Corp.
Business organizations that manage large amounts of data assets have turned to storage virtualization systems to provide a scaleable way to monitor, optimize, and manage files on network attached storage ("NAS") systems. NAS separates data storage from the client computer and enables the network administrator to centrally manage data files without having to access individual client computers. Users may access their primary NAS system over a network using a file path or domain address for their respective account directories. Using this path address, the users may also save files to storage devices attached to the NAS system. However, a storage virtualization system tasked with migrating files from a primary NAS system to a seconday NAS system may not be compatible with the offline attribute convention present in some NAS systems. This patent application discloses an invention that allows users to access and preserve the associated metadata attributes for files common to certain NAS systems; the purpose being, to ensure that if these files are migrated, the user will be able to access the migrated file and content without issue.
Business Methods and Workload Scheduling
Medical facilities frequently encounter problems relating to the number of staff they have available at any given time. Because the number of patients can change dramatically in a short period of time, such facilities often find themselves with a disproportionate amount of on-duty employees. This Pro Se patent application discloses a method for dynamically controlling the work schedule of staff in a medical care facility through the use of software to meet an initial workload requirement. This software will perform an initial evaluation of the patients when the rotation shift begins and then continually throughout the shift. Each evaluation considers patient activity and other indicators, automatically determining up-to-the-minute workloads for each facility. It then determines whether the assigned staff is within tolerances for an updated workload requirement and notifies management if the assigned staff is not within such tolerances.
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