LOCAL DEVICE VIRTUALIZATION

• US 20090150909A1
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Marketing Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wyse Technology Incorporated (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Seetharamaiah, Sriranga, Marulappa Niranjanmurthy, Jayadev, Barreto, Daniel Ernesto, Wang, Shishuang
• Granted Patent: US 8,789,070 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/324
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

A system for virtualization of a local device includes a proxy configured to report, to a remote system, a status of a local Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) device of the system, and to receive a transaction request designated for the local device from the remote system. The system further includes a generic device driver configured to receive the transaction request for the local device, and to provide a result of the transaction request. The proxy is further configured to provide the result of the transaction request to the remote system. The local device is remote to the remote system, which is configured to include a device-specific driver for the local device. A system for utilizing a local device of a remote system is also provided. The system may include an agent and a virtual bus driver. Methods and machine-readable media are also provided.

Claims

1. A system for virtualization of a local Universal Serial Bus (“

USB”

) device, comprising;

a proxy configured to report, to a remote system, a status of a local USB device of the system, the proxy further configured to receive at least one transaction request designated for the local USB device from the remote system; and

a generic device driver configured to receive the at least one transaction request for the local USB device, the generic device driver further configured to provide a result of the at least one transaction request, the generic device driver being operable with the local USB device and one or more devices other than the local USB device,

wherein the proxy is further configured to provide the result of the at least one transaction request to the remote system,

wherein the local USB device is remote to the remote system, and

wherein the remote system is configured to comprise a device-specific driver for the local USB device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured with, or configured for, a first operating system, the remote system is configured with, or configured for, a second operating system, and the first operating system is different than the second operating system.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the proxy, the generic device driver, or both the proxy and the generic device driver are configured to translate the at least one transaction request from a form compatible with the second operating system into a form that is compatible with the first operating system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system does not comprise a device-specific driver for the local USB device.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a device bus driver configured to receive the at least one transaction request for the local USB device from the generic device driver, the device bus driver further configured to provide the at least one transaction request to the local USB device, the device bus driver further configured to receive the result of the at least one transaction from the local USB device, the device bus driver further configured to provide the result of the at least one transaction to the generic device driver.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a device bus driver,

wherein the device bus driver is operable with a first operating system and not operable with a second operating system, the device bus driver is operable with a first type of communications protocol and not operable with a second type of communications protocol, the device bus driver is operable with the local USB device and operable with a second local device, and the local USB device and the second local device utilize one type of communications protocol,

wherein the generic device driver is operable with the first operating system and not operable with a second operating system, and the generic device driver is operable with different types of communications protocol.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein generic device driver is configured to receive the at least one transaction request from the proxy, the generic device driver is further configured to control the local USB device, the generic device driver is further configured to receive the result of the at least one transaction request from a device bus driver, and the generic device driver is further configured to provide the result of the at least one transaction request to the proxy.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the status of the local USB device includes whether the local USB device is connected to the system.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the status of the local USB device includes identifying information about the local USB device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a computer comprising a processor, and wherein the remote system comprises a virtual device bus driver, an agent and a processor.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one transaction request and the result of the at least one transaction request is encrypted.

12. A system for utilizing a local device of a remote system, comprising:

a virtual device bus driver configured to receive at least one transaction request, the at least one transaction request designated for a local device of a remote system; and

an agent configured to receive a notification that the local device is connected to the remote system, the agent further configured to receive the at least one transaction request, the agent further configured to provide the at least one transaction request to the remote system, the agent further configured to receive from the remote system a result of the at least one transaction request, the agent further configured to provide the result of the at least one transaction request,

wherein the virtual device bus driver is further configured to receive the result of the at least one transaction request,

wherein the system is configured to comprise a device-specific driver specific to the local device, and

wherein the local device is remote to the system.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the local device is a Universal Serial Bus device.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the remote system is configured with, or configured for, a first operating system, the system is configured with, or configured for, a second operating system, and the first operating system is different than the second operating system.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein a proxy, a generic device driver, or both the proxy and the generic device driver are configured to translate the at least one transaction request from a form compatible with the second operating system into a form that is compatible with the first operating system.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the virtual device bus driver is configured to accept transaction requests from other device-specific drivers.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the agent is further configured to receive identifying information about the local device from the remote system.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the system is configured to load the device-specific driver based on the identifying information about the local device.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the virtual device bus driver is configured to receive the notification from the agent, is configured to provide the notification to an operating system of the system, is configured to receive the at least one transaction request from the device-specific driver, is configured to receive the result of the at least one transaction request from the agent, and is configured to provide the result of the at least one transaction request to the device-specific driver,

wherein the agent is configured to receive the notification from the remote system, and is configured to receive the at least one transaction request from the virtual device bus driver.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the device-specific driver is configured to translate a transaction with the local device to a transaction request understandable by the local device.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the at least one transaction request and the result of the at least one transaction request is encrypted.

22. A method for virtualization of a local device, comprising:

reporting, to a remote system, a status of a local device of a local system;

receiving at least one transaction request designated for the local device from the remote system;

communicating the at least one transaction request to the local device;

receiving a result of the at least one transaction request from the local device; and

transmitting the result of the at least one transaction request to the remote system,

wherein the local device is remote to the remote system, and

wherein the remote system is configured to comprise a device-specific driver for the local device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the local device is a Universal Serial Bus device.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the local system is configured with a first operating system, the remote system is configured with a second operating system, and the first operating system is different than the second operating system.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising translating the at least one transaction request from a form compatible with the second operating system into a form that is compatible with the first operating system.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the local system does not comprise a device-specific driver for the local device.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of receiving at least one transaction request comprises receiving the at least one transaction request by a proxy from the remote system,

wherein the step of transmitting the result comprises transmitting the result by the proxy to the remote system, and

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the at least one transaction request for the local device from a generic device driver;

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the generic device driver; and

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the proxy.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of communicating the at least one transaction request to the local device is performed from a generic device driver at the local system or from a device bus driver at the local system,

wherein the device bus driver is operable with a first operating system and not operable with a second operating system, the device bus driver is operable with a first type of communications protocol and not operable with a second type of communications protocol, the device bus driver is operable with the local device and operable with a second local device, and the local device and the second local device utilize one type of communications protocol,

wherein the generic device driver is operable with the first operating system and not operable with a second operating system, and the generic device driver is operable with different types of communications protocol.

29. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of receiving at least one transaction request comprises receiving the at least one transaction request at a proxy of the local system, and

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, from the proxy by a generic device driver, the at least one transaction request;

controlling the local device;

receiving, by the generic device driver, the result of the at least one transaction request from a device bus driver; and

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the proxy.

30. The method of claim 22, wherein the status of the local device includes whether the local device is connected to the local system.

31. The method of claim 22, wherein the status of the local device includes identifying information about the local device.

32. The method of claim 22, wherein the local system is a computer comprising a processor, and wherein the remote system comprises a virtual device bus driver, an agent and a processor.

33. The method of claim 22, further comprising encrypting at least one of the at least one transaction request and the result of the at least one transaction request.

34. A method for utilizing a device locally connected to a remote system, comprising:

receiving a notification that a device is locally connected to a remote system;

loading, at a system, a device-specific driver for the device locally connected to the remote system;

accepting at least one transaction request from the device-specific driver, the at least one transaction request designated for the device locally connected to the remote system;

providing the at least one transaction request to the remote system;

receiving, from the remote system, a result of the at least one transaction request; and

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the device-specific driver,

wherein the system is remote to the device.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the device is a Universal Serial Bus device.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the remote system is configured with a first operating system, the system is configured with a second operating system, and the first operating system is different than the second operating system.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the remote system is configured to translate the at least one transaction request from a form compatible with the second operating system into a form that is compatible with the first operating system.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein the step of accepting at least one transaction request from the device-specific driver comprises accepting the at least one transaction request by a virtual device bus driver, the virtual device bus driver configured to accept transaction requests from other device-specific drivers.

39. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

receiving, by the system, identifying information about the local device from the remote system.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the step of loading a device-specific driver for the device locally connected to the remote system is based on the identifying information about the local device.

41. The method of claim 34, wherein the step of receiving a notification that a device is locally connected to a remote system is performed by an agent,

wherein the step of accepting at least one transaction request from the device-specific driver is performed by a virtual device bus driver,

wherein the step of receiving, from the remote system, a result of the at least one transaction request is performed by the agent,

wherein the step of providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the device-specific driver is performed by the virtual device bus driver, and

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the virtual device bus driver, the notification from the agent;

providing, by the virtual device bus driver, the notification to an operating system of the system;

receiving, by the agent, the at least one transaction request from the virtual device bus driver;

receiving, by the virtual device bus driver, the result of the at least one transaction request from the agent.

42. The method of claim 34 further comprising:

translating a transaction with the local device to a transaction request understandable by the local device.

43. The method of claim 34, further comprising encrypting at least one of the at least one transaction request and the result of the at least one transaction request.

44. A machine-readable medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor to perform a method for virtualization of a local device, the method comprising:

reporting, to a remote system, a status of a local device of a local system;

receiving at least one transaction request designated for the local device from the remote system;

communicating the at least one transaction request to the local device;

receiving a result of the at least one transaction request from the local device; and

transmitting the result of the at least one transaction request to the remote system,

wherein the local device is remote to the remote system, and

wherein the remote system is configured to comprise a device-specific driver for the local device.

45. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the local device is a Universal Serial Bus device.

46. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the local system is configured with, or configured for, a first operating system, the remote system is configured with, or configured for, a second operating system, and the first operating system is different than the second operating system.

47. The machine-readable medium of claim 46, wherein the method further comprises translating the at least one transaction request from a form compatible with the second operating system into a form that is compatible with the first operating system.

48. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the local system does not comprise a device-specific driver for the local device.

49. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the step of receiving at least one transaction request comprises receiving the at least one transaction request by a proxy from the remote system,

wherein the step of transmitting the result comprises transmitting the result by the proxy to the remote system, and

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the at least one transaction request for the local device from a generic device driver;

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the generic device driver; and

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the proxy.

50. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the step of communicating the at least one transaction request to the local device is performed from a generic device driver at the local system or from a device bus driver at the local system,

wherein the device bus driver is operable with a first operating system and not operable with a second operating system, the device bus driver is operable with a first type of communications protocol and not operable with a second type of communications protocol, the device bus driver is operable with the local device and operable with a second local device, and the local device and the second local device utilize one type of communications protocol,

wherein the generic device driver is operable with the first operating system and not operable with a second operating system, and the generic device driver is operable with different types of communications protocol.

51. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the step of receiving at least one transaction request comprises receiving the at least one transaction request at a proxy of the local system, and

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, from the proxy by a generic device driver, the at least one transaction request;

controlling the local device;

receiving, by the generic device driver, the result of the at least one transaction request from a device bus driver; and

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the proxy.

52. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the status of the local device includes whether the local device is connected to the local system.

53. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the status of the local device includes identifying information about the local device.

54. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the local system is a computer comprising a processor, and wherein the remote system comprises a virtual device bus driver, an agent and a processor.

55. The machine-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the method further comprises encrypting at least one of the at least one transaction request and the result of the at least one transaction request.

56. A machine-readable medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor to perform a method for utilizing a device locally connected to a remote system, the method comprising:

receiving a notification that a device is locally connected to a remote system;

loading, at a system, a device-specific driver for the device locally connected to the remote system;

accepting at least one transaction request from the device-specific driver, the at least one transaction request designated for the device locally connected to the remote system;

providing the at least one transaction request to the remote system;

receiving, from the remote system, a result of the at least one transaction request; and

providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the device-specific driver,

wherein the system is remote to the device.

57. The machine-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the device is a Universal Serial Bus device.

58. The machine-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the remote system is configured with, or configured for, a first operating system, the system is configured with, or configured for, a second operating system, and the first operating system is different than the second operating system.

59. The machine-readable medium of claim 58, wherein the remote system is configured to translate the at least one transaction request from a form compatible with the second operating system into a form that is compatible with the first operating system.

60. The machine-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the step of accepting at least one transaction request from the device-specific driver comprises accepting the at least one transaction request by a virtual device bus driver, the virtual device bus driver configured to accept transaction requests from other device-specific drivers.

61. The machine-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the system, identifying information about the local device from the remote system.

62. The machine-readable medium of claim 61, wherein the step of loading a device-specific driver for the device locally connected to the remote system is based on the identifying information about the local device.

63. The machine-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the step of receiving a notification that a device is locally connected to a remote system is performed by an agent,

wherein the step of accepting at least one transaction request from the device-specific driver is performed by a virtual device bus driver,

wherein the step of receiving, from the remote system, a result of the at least one transaction request is performed by the agent,

wherein the step of providing the result of the at least one transaction request to the device-specific driver is performed by the virtual device bus driver, and

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the virtual device bus driver, the notification from the agent;

providing, by the virtual device bus driver, the notification to an operating system of the system;

receiving, by the agent, the at least one transaction request from the virtual device bus driver;

receiving, by the virtual device bus driver, the result of the at least one transaction request from the agent.

64. The machine-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the method further comprises:

translating a transaction with the local device to a transaction request understandable by the local device.

65. The machine-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the method further comprises encrypting at least one of the at least one transaction request and the result of the at least one transaction request.