METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DISPLAYING, ON A FIRST MACHINE, DATA ASSOCIATED WITH A DRIVE OF A SECOND MACHINE, WITHOUT MAPPING THE DRIVE

• US 20110137974A1
• Filed: 12/09/2010
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: MOMCHILOV, GEORGY
• Granted Patent: US 8,667,050 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

Methods and systems for displaying data associated with a client drive of a client computing device in a virtualized desktop executing on a remote computing device without explicitly mapping the client drive onto the remote computing device are described. A first client agent executing on a client computing device establishes a user session with a remote computing device. The first client agent transmits data identifying the client drive of the client computing device to a second client agent executing on the remote computing device. The second client agent receives data associated with the client drive and generates a shell link using the received data associated with the client drive in the context of the user session. The second client agent displays the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device in a virtualized desktop executing on the remote computing device.

Claims

1. A method for displaying, in a virtualized desktop executing on a remote computing device, data associated with a client drive of a client computing device, without explicitly mapping the client drive onto the remote computing device, the method comprising:

(a) establishing, by a first client agent executing on a client computing device, a user session with a remote computing device;

(b) transmitting, by the first client agent executing on the client computing device, data identifying a client drive of the client computing device to a second client agent executing on the remote computing device;

(c) receiving, by the second client agent, data associated with the client drive of the client computing device;

(d) generating, by the second client agent, a shell link using the received data associated with the client drive of the client computing device in the context of the user session, wherein the shell link comprises a data object that contains information used to access the client drive of the client computing device; and

(e) displaying, by the second client agent, the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device in a virtualized desktop executing on the remote computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the client drive further comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein step (a) further comprises intercepting, by the first client agent executing on the client computing machine, device notifications for the USB flash drive generated by the client computing device, transmitting the device notifications to a second client agent executing on the remote computing device, and modifying by the second client agent the USB flash drive shell link responsive to the intercepted device notifications.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device further comprises disk space data for the client drive.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device further comprises graphical data representative of the client drive.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device further comprises a user-assigned alphanumeric string forming a volume name of the client drive.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, generating, by the second client agent, an identifier for the shell link.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising registering, by the second client agent, the identifier for the shell link in a registry provided by an operating system executing on the remote computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising suppressing, by the second client agent, display of the client drive responsive to a security policy.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the remote computing device, the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device as a cursor hovers over the client drive displayed on the remote computing device.

11. A system for displaying, in a virtualized desktop executing on a remote computing device, data associated with a client drive of a client computing device, without explicitly mapping the client drive onto the remote computing device comprising:

a client computing device comprising;

a first client agent executing on the client computing device

establishing a user session with a remote computing device; and

transmitting data identifying a client drive of the client computing device to a second client agent executing on the remote computing device;

and

a remote computing device comprising;

a second client agent executing on the remote computing device

receiving data associated with the client drive of the client computing device;

generating a shell link using the received data associated with the client drive of the client computing device in the context of the user session, wherein the shell link comprises a data object that contains information used to access the client drive of the client computing device; and

displaying the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device in a virtualized desktop executing on the remote computing device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the client drive further comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first client agent intercepts device notifications for the USB flash drive generated by the client computing device, transmits the device notifications to a second client agent executing on the remote computing device, and the second client agent modifies the USB flash drive shell link responsive to the intercepted device notifications.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device further comprises disk space data for the client drive.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device further comprises graphical data representative of the client drive.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device further comprises a user-assigned alphanumeric string forming a volume name of the client drive.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the second client agent generates an identifier for the shell link.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the second client agent registers the identifier for the shell link in a registry provided by an operating system executing on the remote computing device.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the second client agent suppresses display of the client drive responsive to a security policy.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the remote computing device displays the data associated with the client drive of the client computing device as a cursor hovers over the client drive displayed on the remote computing device.