Techniques For Efficient Remote Presentation Session Connectivity And Routing

• US 20110307614A1
• Filed: 06/15/2010
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bernardi, Ara, Ben-Shachar, Ido, Schmieder, Wilhelm R., Alladi, Mahadev K.
• Granted Patent: US 9,891,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• 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 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for efficient remote presentation session connectivity and routing. In an embodiment, the roles of a remote presentation session deployment involved in receiving a connection from a client and determining a virtual machine (VM) to serve the client'"'"'s remote presentation session are consolidated on one or more servers of the deployment that host such VMs. When this consolidated role receives a connection set up communication from a client, it uses information local to it and its server to determine a VM to serve the remote presentation session. Where the deployment comprises a plurality of such servers, the consolidated role may communicate with an inter-server connection broker to determine a different server that will conduct the remote presentation session.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a server a remote presentation session connection request from a client;

selecting a selected virtual machine (VM) of a plurality of VMs hosted by the server based on the request;

establishing a connection with the selected VM;

receiving, at the server, client remote presentation session communications from the client;

transmitting the client remote presentation session communications to the selected VM through the connection;

receiving server remote presentation session communications from the selected VM through the connection; and

transmitting, from the server, the server remote presentation session communications to the client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the connection with the selected VM comprises:

establishing a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) connection with the selected VM.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein establishing the TCP/IP connection with the selected VM comprises:

constructing a remote presentation session connection with the selected VM via the TCP/IP connection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the connection with the selected VM comprises:

establishing a shared resource connection with the selected VM.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the shared resource comprises a split remote presentation session split stack, the remote presentation session split stack comprising a role part and a VM part, the role part executing in a consolidated role and the VM part executing in the VM.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the role part and the VM part communicate via a shared memory area.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the role part authenticates the client, and transmitting the client remote presentation session communications to the selected VM through the connection comprises:

storing the client remote presentation session communications in the shared resource, such that the VM part receives the client remote presentation session communications, and the VM part processes the client remote presentation session communications without authenticating the client.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing a connection with the selected VM comprises:

establishing a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) connection with the selected VM in response to determining that a shared resource connection with the selected VM cannot be established.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the selected VM comprises:

selecting the selected VM based on load-balancing among the plurality of VMs.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the selected VM comprises:

selecting the selected VM based on the selected VM having available load to conduct a remote presentation session with the client.

11. A system, comprising:

a computing device comprising a memory, the memory bearing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising;

receiving, by a consolidated role executing within a partition of the computer, a remote presentation session connection request from a client;

selecting, by the consolidated role, a selected virtual machine (VM) of a plurality of VMs hosted by the computing device based on the request; and

sending, by the consolidated role, the client an indication to conduct the remote presentation session with the selected VM, such that the client contacts the selected VM and establishes a remote presentation session with the selected VM.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein selecting the selected VM comprises:

selecting the selected VM based on information stored in a data store on the server, the information comprising information on the capability of a VM of the plurality of VMs to conduct a remote presentation session with the client.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein receiving at the computing device the remote presentation session connection request from the client comprises:

determining, by the consolidated role, that the client is authorized to conduct a remote presentation session with a VM of the plurality of VMs.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein receiving at the computing device the remote presentation session connection request from the client comprises:

determining, by the consolidated role, a license for the client with which to conduct a remote presentation session with a VM of the plurality of VMs; and

sending, by the consolidated role, the license to the client.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, bearing computer-readable instructions, that when executed on a server of a remote presentation session deployment, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a consolidated role executing within a partition of the server, a remote presentation session connection request from a client, the remote presentation session request being received without the remote presentation session request being processed by a connection broker of the remote presentation session deployment;

determining, by the consolidated role, that no virtual machine (VM) of a plurality of VMs hosted by the server will serve the remote presentation session with the client;

querying, by the consolidated role, a broker for a second server, the second server hosting a VM that will serve the remote presentation session with the client;

receiving, by the consolidated role, an identity of the second server, based on the query; and

sending the client an indication to conduct the remote presentation session with the second server, such that the client contacts the second server and establishes a remote presentation session with a VM of the second server.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the deployment comprises a plurality of servers, and the broker is configured to communicate with each server of the plurality of servers to determine whether a server may conduct a remote presentation session.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the broker maintains a database comprising an indication that the second server has capability to host the remote presentation session with the client;

and

in response to querying, by the consolidated role, the broker for the second server, the broker determines that the second server hosts a VM that will serve the remote presentation session based on the database.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein in response to querying, by the consolidated role, the broker for the second server, the broker determines that the second server hosts a VM that will serve the remote presentation by querying the second server to determine that the second server is capable of serving the remote presentation session.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the server and the second server have the same fully-qualified domain name (FQDN);

and

receiving, by a consolidated role executing within a partition of the server, a remote presentation session connection request from a client occurs as a result of the client querying a domain name system (DNS) for an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the deployment, and receiving in response an IP address of the server based on a round-robin feature of the DNS.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein sending the client an indication to conduct the remote presentation session with the second server, such that the client contacts the second server and establishes a remote presentation session with a VM of the second server, comprises:

sending the client an indication to conduct the remote presentation session with the second server, such that

the client contacts a second consolidated role of the second server;

the second consolidated role selects a VM of a plurality of VMs hosted by the second server; and

the client conducts the remote presentation session with the selected VM.