METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MODULARIZING WINDOWS IMAGING FORMAT

• US 20090198731A1
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smartdeploy LLC
• Original Assignee: Prowess Consulting, LLC
• Inventors: NOONAN, Donal Charles III
• Granted Patent: US 8,051,111 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

A method and system may include capturing a computer system in a file-based manner that promotes single-instancing of files and thus prevents the occurrence of duplicate files, separating the captured computer system into primary file resources and ancillary file resources, and creating a parent image and a child image that refers to the parent image. The method and system may further include writing the primary file resources on the parent image, and writing the ancillary file resources onto the child image. The child image may include a resource-only file and a metadata-only file which provides instructions on how to recreate the file resources stored in the parent image and the child image.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating portable distribution of computer systems and software by storing and distributing computer images in a parent/child relationship, comprising:

Capturing a computer system in a file-based manner such that duplicate files are not stored;

Segregating the captured system into primary file resources and ancillary file resources;

Creating a parent image and a child image, wherein the child image refers to the parent image;

Storing the primary file resources onto a parent image;

Storing the ancillary file resources into one or more child images which refer to the parent image;

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the parent image is read-only.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the parent image is an operating system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the parent image is a database management system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the computer system comprises one or more virtual machines.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the child image comprises a resource-only file and a metadata-only file.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the resource-only file of the child image initially contains no bytes.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein subsequent updates to the parent image are stored as the child image.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the metadata-only file comprises instructions on recreating the image.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the parent and child image are distributed to the end user for deployment.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the parent image is distributed on a disk.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the parent image is hosted on a server.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the child image is made available for download.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the computer system is a combined image representing two or more images.

15. A computer readable media comprising code to perform the acts of the method of claim 1.

16. A system comprising:

means for capturing a computer system in a file-based manner such that duplicate files are not captured;

means for segregating the captured system into primary file resources and ancillary file resources;

means for creating a parent image and a child image, wherein a metadata-only file is included as part of the child image;

means for writing primary file resources onto a parent image;

means for writing ancillary file resources into one or more child images which refer to the parent image;

means for creating a metadata-only file;

wherein the metadata-only file comprises instructions on how to recreate the captured system.

17. A system for facilitating portable distribution of computer systems and software by storing and distributing computer images in a parent/child relationship, comprising:

An image modularization module configured to;

Capture two or more machines in a file-based manner that eliminates the existence of duplicate files and produces file resource data that represents a combination of the two or more machines;

Process the file resource data to segregate the file resource data into file resource data that is common to the two or more machines and file resource data that is not common to the two or more machines;

Create a parent image for storing the common file resource data;

Create two or more child images, wherein the child images comprise file resources wherein each of the two or more child images corresponds to one of the two or more machines;

For each of the two or more machines, store the file resources of that machine that are not common to two or more machines in the at least one child image that corresponds to the machine;

wherein the child image refers to the parent image;

wherein each machine is configured to be deployed upon reference to the parent image and child image;

18. A method for facilitating portable distribution of computer systems and software by storing and distributing computer images in a parent/child relationship, comprising:

Capturing two or more machines in a file-based manner that eliminates the existence of duplicate files and produces file resource data that represents a combination of the two or more machines;

Processing the file resource data to segregate the file resource data into file resource data that is common to the two or more machines and file resource data that is not common to the two or more machines;

Creating a parent image for storing the common file resource data;

Creating two or more child images, wherein the child images comprise file resources wherein each of the two or more child images corresponds to one of the two or more machines;

For each of the two or more machines, storing the file resources of that machine that are not common to two or more machines in the at least one child image that corresponds to the machine;

wherein the child image refers to the parent image;

wherein each machine is configured to be deployed upon reference to the parent image and child image;

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the machine is a virtual machine.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the machine is a physical machine.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the machine is a collection of software.

22. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

receiving subsequent updates to the two or more machines;

creating additional child images for each of the two or more machines only to the extent that the combined image of the machine is modified by the update.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the parent file is split along a predetermined boundary into a plurality of parent files.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising receiving supplemental information which is configured to provide one or more updates to the one or more machines.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the additional data that is unique to the data already represented by the parent image and child image is stored in an additional child file which refers to the at least one existing child file.