Remote desktop infrastructure

• US 10,057,325 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Streampc Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nuvestack Inc.
• Inventors: Dingwell, Seth, Escobar, Ivan, Gale, Dylan F., Goulding, Michael P., Guibert de Bruet, Jacques, Kelly, Jr., Colin
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Wuji
• Application Number:
  US14/675,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20150281322A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,239 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45587 Isolation or security of virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0637 Approvals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications

Abstract

Apparatuses, systems, and methods are disclosed for a computer desktop infrastructure. A desktop module is configured to execute a computer desktop environment on a hardware device. A local storage module is configured to store application data for a computer desktop environment in local non-volatile storage of a hardware device executing the computer desktop environment. A remote module is configured to provide a computer desktop environment to a user over a network.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a computer desktop infrastructure, the apparatus comprising:

a desktop module configured to execute a computer desktop environment on a hardware device, the computer desktop environment associated with a user, user data for the user stored in non-volatile storage of a second hardware device that is remote from the hardware device executing the computer desktop environment;

a local storage module configured to store application data for the computer desktop environment in local non-volatile storage of the hardware device executing the computer desktop environment to expedite execution of one or more applications associated with the application data within the computer desktop environment;

a remote module configured to provide the computer desktop environment to the user over a network; and

a configuration task module configured to provide a library of one or more automated, executable tasks for managing different remote users of instances of the computer desktop environment, including the user.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a user data module configured to store data associated with the user in highly accessible, redundant storage that is not local to the hardware device executing the computer desktop environment.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an application catalogue module configured to present an interface for the user to select an application for installing in the computer desktop environment, the local storage module configured to store the selected application in the local non-volatile storage of the hardware device prior to selection by the user.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the application catalogue module is configured to query a supervisor of the user for authorization to purchase the selected application and to purchase a license for the selected application from a third party in response to receiving authorization from the supervisor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the automated, executable tasks comprises an automated workflow for onboarding a new user of an instance of the computer desktop environment, including:

receiving one or more of a name, a department, an email address, a user picture, and an application set for the new user;

querying a manager for authorization to onboard the new user;

creating an account for the new user with a set of user credentials; and

providing an instance of the computer desktop environment to the new user in response to the new user providing the set of user credentials.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the automated, executable tasks comprises sending a management message to one or more of the different remote users through the instances of the computer desktop environment.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a management module disposed on a management server, the management module configured to validate user credentials and to assign a validated user to one of multiple hardware devices comprising the hardware device, each of the multiple hardware devices configured to execute multiple instances of the computer desktop environment for different validated users.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a migration module configured to transfer the computer desktop environment between executing in a virtual machine and executing natively in response to a trigger.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the application data comprises computer executable program code of one or more applications for the computer desktop environment.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more applications comprise user applications of the computer desktop environment.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more applications comprise infrastructure for providing the computer desktop environment to a remote user.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the infrastructure comprises one or more of a virtual storage device file, a remote desktop services stack, a domain controller, a system configuration management server, a file server, and an application server.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer desktop environment executes in a virtual machine on the hardware device.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer desktop environment executes natively on the hardware device.

15. A system for a computer desktop infrastructure, the system comprising:

a management server hardware device that validates computer desktop credentials for a plurality of different remote users and provides a library of one or more automated, executable tasks for managing the plurality of different remote users of instances of a computer desktop environment;

a plurality of endpoint hardware devices each executing the instances of the computer desktop environment and storing application data for the instances of the computer desktop environment in local non-volatile storage of the endpoint hardware devices to expedite execution of one or more applications associated with the application data within the instances of the computer desktop environment, the management server hardware handing off validated users of the plurality of different remote users to the endpoint hardware devices and the endpoint hardware devices providing access to the instances of the computer desktop environment; and

one or more non-volatile storage devices that are remote from the plurality of endpoint hardware devices and that store user data for the plurality of different remote users for use in the instances of the computer desktop environment.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the local non-volatile storage of the endpoint hardware devices does not store the user data for the plurality of users and the one or more remote non-volatile storage devices do not store the application data.

17. A method for a computer desktop infrastructure, the method comprising:

accessing application data of one or more user applications of a plurality of remotely accessible virtual desktop environments from local non-volatile storage of one or more hardware devices executing the virtual desktop environments;

accessing user data for a plurality of different remote users of the plurality of remotely accessible virtual desktop environments from remote non-volatile storage that is not local to the one or more hardware devices;

providing the one or more users with remote access to the virtual desktop environments over a network; and

providing a library of one or more automated, executable tasks for managing the plurality of different remote users, the one or more automated, executable tasks selected from the group consisting of onboarding new users of the virtual desktop environments, updating application data packages, and sending management messages to one or more of the plurality of different remote users.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising migrating at least one of the remotely accessible virtual desktop environments from executing in a virtual machine to execute natively on one of the one or more hardware devices.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising executing an automated, executable task to onboard a new user, the executable task comprising:

receiving one or more of a name, a department, an email address, a user picture, and an application set for the new user;

querying a manager for authorization to onboard the new user;

creating an account for the new user with a set of user credentials; and

providing one of the remotely accessible virtual desktop environments to the new user in response to the new user providing the set of user credentials.