On-demand cloning of virtual machines
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system, comprising:
- a computing device comprising a processor and a memory,a virtual machine (VM) host server resident on the memory and operating on the processor to host a number of VMs, the VM host server including at least one master VM having a base image stored on a non-transitory non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, the base image comprising an operating system;
a Web server resident on the memory and operating on the processor to authenticate a user by use of a user authentication credential in response to a request for online access to a new VM on the VM host server; and
a cloning module resident on the memory and operating on the processor, in communication with the Web server and the VM host server, wherein in response to authenticating the user, the cloning module is configured to;
automatically clone a master VM to create a VM clone for the user on the VM host server, wherein the VM clone comprises a copy of the base image on the non-transitory non-volatile computer-readable storage medium,rename the copied base image according to unique information pertaining to the user,add the VM clone to the VM host server,automatically login to a user account of the VM clone to modify a setting of the VM clone, andautomatically reboot the VM clone on the VM host server to apply the modified setting; and
wherein the Web server comprises a web user interface configured to;
provide access to the cloning module for creating the VM clone for the user,display a last known state of the VM clone added to the VM host server for the user, andprovide access to the VM clone added to the VM host server for the user by use of the user authentication credential, wherein providing access to the VM clone comprises presenting a graphical screen display of the VM clone to the user through the web user interface.
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Abstract
A system for on-demand cloning of virtual machines (VMs) includes a virtual server to host a number of VMs, the virtual server including at least one master VM. The system also includes a Web server to authenticate a user in response to a request for online access to a new VM on the virtual server. In addition, the system includes a cloning module, in communication with the Web server and the virtual server, to automatically clone the master VM to create a unique VM clone for the user on the virtual server responsive to the request.
34 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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a computing device comprising a processor and a memory, a virtual machine (VM) host server resident on the memory and operating on the processor to host a number of VMs, the VM host server including at least one master VM having a base image stored on a non-transitory non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, the base image comprising an operating system; a Web server resident on the memory and operating on the processor to authenticate a user by use of a user authentication credential in response to a request for online access to a new VM on the VM host server; and a cloning module resident on the memory and operating on the processor, in communication with the Web server and the VM host server, wherein in response to authenticating the user, the cloning module is configured to; automatically clone a master VM to create a VM clone for the user on the VM host server, wherein the VM clone comprises a copy of the base image on the non-transitory non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, rename the copied base image according to unique information pertaining to the user, add the VM clone to the VM host server, automatically login to a user account of the VM clone to modify a setting of the VM clone, and automatically reboot the VM clone on the VM host server to apply the modified setting; and wherein the Web server comprises a web user interface configured to; provide access to the cloning module for creating the VM clone for the user, display a last known state of the VM clone added to the VM host server for the user, and provide access to the VM clone added to the VM host server for the user by use of the user authentication credential, wherein providing access to the VM clone comprises presenting a graphical screen display of the VM clone to the user through the web user interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method, comprising:
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providing, at a virtual machine (VM) host server configured to host a number of VMs, one or more master VMs, each master VM having a respective base image stored on a non-transitory non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, the base image comprising an operating system; creating a VM clone for a user, wherein creating the VM clone comprises; providing access to a web interface to create the VM clone for the user in response to authenticating the user by use of a user authentication credential, receiving selection of one of the one or more master VMs, creating a copy of the base image of the selected master VM, renaming the copy of the base image of the selected master VM according to unique information pertaining to the user, registering the VM clone corresponding to the renamed copy of the base image of the selected master VM to run on the VM host server, automatically logging into a user account of the VM clone registered on the VM host server to modify a setting of the VM clone, and automatically rebooting the VM clone registered on the VM host server to apply the modified setting. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. An article of manufacture, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable code including:
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computer-readable code to authenticate a user by use of a user authentication credential in response to a request for online access to a new virtual machine (VM) on a VM host server, the VM host server including one or more master VMs, the master VM having a base image stored within non-transitory storage, the base image comprising an operating system; computer-readable code to automatically clone a master VM of the one or more master VMs to create a VM clone for the user on the VM host server responsive to the request, wherein creating the VM clone comprises; copying a base image of the master VM, renaming the copy of the base image according to unique information pertaining to the user, adding the VM clone corresponding to the renamed copy of the base image to the VM host server, automatically logging into a user account of the VM clone to modify a setting of the VM clone, and automatically rebooting the VM clone on the VM host server to apply the modified setting; and computer-readable code to provide a web user interface configured to provide for; cloning the master VM to create the VM clone for the user, displaying a last known state of the VM clone created for the user, and providing access to the VM clone created for the user by use of the user authentication credential, wherein providing access to the VM clone comprises presenting a graphical screen display of the VM clone to the user through the web user interface.
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36. An apparatus comprising a computing device comprising a processor for providing on-demand access to virtual machines (VMs), comprising:
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means for authenticating a user by use of a user authentication credential in response to a request for online access to a new VM on a VM host server of a physical host system, the VM host server comprising a plurality of master VMs representing personal computers optimized for different sets of tasks, wherein each master VM comprises a respective base image stored on a non-transitory non-volatile computer-readable storage medium of the physical host system, the base image comprising an operating system; means for automatically cloning a selected one of the master VMs to create a VM clone for the user on the physical host system responsive to the request, wherein the selection is based on the set of tasks for which the selected master VM is optimized, and wherein the means for automatically cloning comprises; means for creating a copy of the base image of the selected master VM on the non-transitory non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, means for renaming the copy of the base image according to unique information pertaining to the user, means for adding the VM clone to the VM host server operating on the physical host system, means for automatically logging into an account of the VM clone to modify a setting of the VM clone, and means for automatically rebooting the VM clone to apply the modified setting; and means for providing a web user interface to provide access to the means for automatically cloning the selected one of the master VMs, to display a last known state of the VM clone of the user, and to provide access to the VM clone of the user by use of the user authentication credential, wherein providing access to the VM clone comprises presenting a graphical screen display of the VM clone to the user through the web user interface.
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Specification