Offline Upgrades
First Claim
1. A method for upgrading software offline using a virtual machine, the method comprising:
- creating a virtual machine that mimics an operation of an actual customer machine;
loading an upgraded version of a software application onto the virtual machine;
loading customer specific data related to a previous version of the software application onto the virtual machine, the previous version of the software application being installed on the actual customer machine;
modifying the upgraded version of the software application on the virtual machine using the customer specific data such that the upgraded version of the software application as modified is compatible with the actual customer machine without further modification; and
transferring the upgraded version of the software application as modified from the virtual machine to the actual customer machine for use on the actual customer machine.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method upgrade software applications offline using a virtual machine. Software applications used by actual customer machines may rely upon customer specific data and protocols. An upgraded version of a software application may become available. The upgrade may be loaded onto a virtual machine. Customer specific data or protocols associated with a previous version of the application may be copied to the virtual machine. The upgraded version may be modified on the virtual machine using the data associated with the previous version. The upgrade process using the virtual machine may detect and eliminate problems with the upgrade associated with the customer machine and/or settings. Once modified, the upgraded version may be transferred from the virtual machine to the customer machine. The upgrade process may be performed primarily on the virtual machine. Therefore, the downtime of the customer machine required to complete the upgrade process may be substantially reduced.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for upgrading software offline using a virtual machine, the method comprising:
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creating a virtual machine that mimics an operation of an actual customer machine; loading an upgraded version of a software application onto the virtual machine; loading customer specific data related to a previous version of the software application onto the virtual machine, the previous version of the software application being installed on the actual customer machine; modifying the upgraded version of the software application on the virtual machine using the customer specific data such that the upgraded version of the software application as modified is compatible with the actual customer machine without further modification; and transferring the upgraded version of the software application as modified from the virtual machine to the actual customer machine for use on the actual customer machine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for upgrading software offline via a virtual machine, the method comprising:
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loading an upgraded version of a software application onto a virtual machine that is configured to mimic an operation of a customer machine; transferring customer protocol data identifying customer protocols related to a previous version of the software application installed on the customer machine from the customer machine onto the virtual machine; modifying the upgraded version of the software application to become compatible with the customer machine using the virtual machine and the customer protocol data; and transferring the modified upgraded version of the software application from the virtual machine to the customer machine such that the modified upgraded version of the software application can be run on the customer machine. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A virtual machine for upgrading software offline, the virtual machine comprising:
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a memory unit storing an upgraded version of a software application; and a processing unit configured to receive, from a customer machine, customer specific data related to the operation of a previous version of the software application on a customer machine, wherein the virtual machine is configured to automatically modify the upgraded version of the software application stored in the memory unit based upon the customer specific data received by the processing unit and creates an executable modified upgraded version of the software application that can be run by the customer machine without further modification. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable medium having instructions executable on a computer stored thereon, the instructions comprising:
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directing a virtual machine that mimics a customer machine in a virtual machine mode; receiving customer related data from the customer machine related to a previous version of a software application installed on the customer machine; modifying an upgraded version of the software application based upon the customer related data; testing the modified upgraded version of the software application via the virtual machine operating in the virtual machine mode to verify that the modified upgraded version is executable on the customer machine; and transferring the modified upgraded version of the software application to the customer machine for use. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification