Method and environment for associating an application with an isolation environment

• US 20060174223A1
• Filed: 09/19/2005
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Mazzaferri, Richard James, Laborczfalvi, Lee George, Borzycki, Andrew Gerard, Roychoudhry, Anil, Chin, Huai Chiun, Muir, Jeffrey Dale, Semaan, Pierre
• Application Number:
  US11/231,316
• Publication Number:
  US 20060174223A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/106
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/542 Intercept
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45537 Provision of facilities of other operating environments, e.g. WINE I/O emulation G06F13/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/468 Specific access rights for resources, e.g. using capability register
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/52 Program synchronisation; Mutual exclusion, e.g. by means of semaphores
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/545 where tasks reside in different layers, e.g. user- and kernel-space
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

In a method for associating an application with an isolation environment, a location of a requested application is acquired. An association between the requested application and an application isolation environment is created. The association is stored. The requested application is launched into the application isolation environment

Claims

1. A method for associating an application with an isolation environment, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) acquiring a location of a requested application;

(b) creating an association between the requested application and an application isolation environment;

(c) storing the association; and

(d) launching the requested application into the application isolation environment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises locating the requested application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises locating the requested application residing in a native layer of an operating system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) further comprises locating the requested application in an application isolation scope residing on a second application isolation environment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises locating the requested application on a second application isolation environment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises associating a second application with the application isolation environment.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) comprises associating the application with a second application isolation environment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises storing the association on the application isolation environment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises storing the association in a file.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises storing the association in a configuration entry in a repository.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises storing the association in a context menu.

12. An environment for associating an application with an isolation environment, the environment comprising:

an application isolation environment comprising an application isolation scope and a user isolation scope;

a redirector, acquiring a request for the application made by a process executing on behalf of a user, acquiring a location on which the requested application resides, and launching the requested application from the determined location into the application isolation environment; and

an association between the requested application and the application isolation environment, maintained by the redirector.

13. The environment of claim 12, wherein the redirector resides on the application isolation environment.

14. The environment of claim 12, wherein the redirector locates the requested application on a second application isolation environment.

15. The environment of claim 12, wherein the redirector locates the requested application on a native layer of an operating system.

16. The environment of claim 12, wherein the redirector intercepts the request for the application.

17. The environment of claim 12, wherein the redirector consults a stored association between the requested application and a location on which the requested application resides to determine the location on which the requested application resides.

18. The environment of claim 12, further comprising a rules engine specifying behavior for the redirector.

19. The environment of claim 18, wherein the redirector further comprises configuring the rules engine responsive to a configuration mechanism.

20. The environment of claim 12, wherein the redirector comprises a file system filter driver.

21. The environment of claim 12, wherein the redirector comprises a function hooking mechanism.

22. The environment of claim 21, wherein the function hooking apparatus intercepts an operation selected from a plurality of process creation operations, COM server operations and WINDOWS services operations.

23. The environment of claim 12, wherein the association comprises a configuration entry in a repository.

24. The environment of claim 12, wherein the association comprises a file stored by the redirector.

25. The environment of claim 12, wherein the association comprises a context menu entry.