SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING VIRTUAL DESKTOP EXTENSIONS ON A CLIENT DESKTOP

• US 20110209064A1
• Filed: 02/24/2010
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Fairbanks, Michael, Sabin, Jason Allen, Larsen, Kal A., Jorgensen, Michael, Kranendonk, Nathaniel Brent
• Granted Patent: US 8,468,455 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/733
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/549 Remote execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/084 using delegated authorisation, e.g. open authorisation [OAuth] protocol

Abstract

The system and method described herein may identify one or more virtual desktop extensions available in a cloud computing environment and launch virtual machine instances to host the available virtual desktop extensions in the cloud. For example, a virtual desktop extension manager may receive a virtual desktop extension request from a client desktop and determine whether authentication credentials for the client desktop indicate that the client desktop has access to the requested virtual desktop extension. In response to authenticating the client desktop, the virtual desktop extension manager may then launch a virtual machine instance to host the virtual desktop extension in the cloud and provide the client desktop with information for locally controlling the virtual desktop extension remotely hosted in the cloud.

Claims

1. A system for providing virtual desktop extensions on a client desktop, comprising:

a client machine having a desktop interface;

a local application executing on the client machine, wherein the local application stores one or more authentication credentials for the client machine in a credentials cache locally coupled to the client machine, and wherein the local application further displays a list describing a plurality of virtual desktop extensions available to the client machine in a cloud computing environment; and

a virtual desktop extension manager in communication with the client machine, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager is configured to;

receive a request from the local application executing on the client machine, wherein the request identifies one or more of the available virtual desktop extensions displayed in the list;

receive the authentication credentials for the client machine from the local application executing on the client machine; and

launch a virtual machine instance that hosts the identified virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment in response to determining that the authentication credentials received from the local application indicate that the client machine has access to the identified virtual desktop extension, wherein the local application displays the virtual desktop extension on the desktop interface for the client machine in response to the virtual desktop extension manager launching the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager includes a policy engine and an identity engine that determine whether the authentication credentials received from the local application indicate that the client machine has access to the identified virtual desktop extension.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager includes:

one or more mappings that describe relationships between one or more file types and the plurality of virtual desktop extensions available in the cloud computing environment; and

one or more connection services that define interfaces for connecting the client machine to the plurality of virtual desktop extensions available in the cloud computing environment.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager invokes one or more of the policy engine or the identity engine to determine whether to launch the virtual machine instance that hosts the identified virtual desktop extension in a public cloud computing environment or a private cloud computing environment.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager is further configured to return remote console information to the client machine, wherein the client machine uses the remote console information to interact with the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the local application creates a virtual window on the desktop interface that the client machine uses to interact with one or more of an application server or a complete desktop environment that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the client machine interacts with the application server or the complete desktop environment to run an application that supports a document that lacks support on the client machine.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the virtual window provides the remote console information that the client machine uses to interact with the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager is further configured to attach a personal virtual disk to the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment, and wherein the local application displays an icon on the desktop interface that the client machine uses to interact with the personal virtual disk in the cloud computing environment.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager is further configured to:

invoke an application server that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment, wherein the application server runs an application that converts a document that lacks support on the client machine into a file type that the client machine supports; and

return the document converted into the file type that the client machine supports to the client machine.

11. A method for providing virtual desktop extensions on a client desktop, comprising:

displaying a desktop interface on a client machine;

executing a local application on the client machine, wherein the local application stores one or more authentication credentials for the client machine in a credentials cache locally coupled to the client machine, and wherein the local application further displays a list describing a plurality of virtual desktop extensions available to the client machine in a cloud computing environment;

receiving a request from the local application at a virtual desktop extension manager in communication with the client machine, wherein the request identifies one or more of the available virtual desktop extensions displayed in the list;

receiving, at the virtual desktop extension manager, the authentication credentials for the client machine from the local application executing on the client machine;

launching, by the virtual desktop extension manager, a virtual machine instance that hosts the identified virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment in response to determining that the authentication credentials received from the local application indicate that the client machine has access to the identified virtual desktop extension; and

displaying, by the local application, the virtual desktop extension on the desktop interface for the client machine in response to the virtual desktop extension manager launching the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager includes a policy engine and an identity engine that determine whether the authentication credentials received from the local application indicate that the client machine has access to the identified virtual desktop extension.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the virtual desktop extension manager includes:

one or more mappings that describe relationships between one or more file types and the plurality of virtual desktop extensions available in the cloud computing environment; and

one or more connection services that define interfaces for connecting the client machine to the plurality of virtual desktop extensions available in the cloud computing environment.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising invoking, by the virtual desktop extension manager, one or more of the policy engine or the identity engine to determine whether to launch the virtual machine instance that hosts the identified virtual desktop extension in a public cloud computing environment or a private cloud computing environment.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising returning remote console information from the virtual desktop extension manager to the client machine, wherein the client machine uses the remote console information to interact with the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising creating, by the local application, a virtual window on the desktop interface that the client machine uses to interact with one or more of an application server or a complete desktop environment that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the client machine interacts with the application server or the complete desktop environment to run an application that supports a document that lacks support on the client machine.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the virtual window provides the remote console information that the client machine uses to interact with the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

attaching, by the virtual desktop extension manager, a personal virtual disk to the virtual machine instance that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment; and

displaying, by the local application, an icon on the desktop interface that the client machine uses to interact with the personal virtual disk in the cloud computing environment.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

invoking, by the virtual desktop extension manager, an application server that hosts the virtual desktop extension in the cloud computing environment, wherein the application server runs an application that converts a document that lacks support on the client machine into a file type that the client machine supports; and

returning the document converted into the file type that the client machine supports from the virtual desktop extension manager to the client machine.