System Updates With Personal Virtual Disks

• US 20150160877A1
• Filed: 02/19/2015
• Published: 06/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Larkin, Michael, Uli, Shashikiran, Deforeest, William
• Granted Patent: US 10,019,177 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0665 at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0689 Disk arrays, e.g. RAID, JBOD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• 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

A method and system for updating a collection of software resources in a virtual desktop infrastructure system. Virtual machines associated with sets of virtual disk elements in a hierarchy of disk layers, such as basic, department, or user virtual disks are offered updates for one or more available software resources. Updates available for deployment in the virtual desktop infrastructure system are recorded in a database by a controller server. The controller server takes an inventory of all the virtual machines associated with each disk layer in the hierarchy of disk layers on which to apply the available updates. The controller server applies the one or more updates to the identified virtual machines, and stores the update application results in a database. The controller server may apply the one or more updates to virtual machines associated with descendant disk layers in the hierarchy of disk layers in view of previous applications of the updates.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a disk layer on which to execute an update, the method comprising:

receiving an update for one or more software resources;

identifying one or more available software resources targeted by the update;

identifying each disk layer in a hierarchy of disk layers having one or more identified software resources;

determining a lowest disk layer having one or more identified software resources in the hierarchy of disk layers; and

requesting an identification of the lowest disk layer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying the update to one or more virtual machines associated with the lowest disk layer in the hierarchy of disk layers.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a plurality of virtual machines descending from the one or more virtual machines associated with the lowest disk layer in the hierarchy of disk layers.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising applying the update to each virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing each received update in a database.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating each identified software resource with one or more disk layers in the hierarchy of disk layers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising querying to determine an update status of one or more targeted disk layers.

8. A system for identifying a disk layer on which to execute an update, the system comprising:

an update management server comprising a first processor and first memory storing computer readable instructions which, when executed by the first processor, configure the update management server to receive an update for one or more software resources; and

a controller server comprising a second processor and second memory storing computer readable instructions which, when executed by the second processor, configure the controller server to;

identify one or more available software resources targeted by the update;

identify each disk layer in a hierarchy of disk layers having one or more identified software resources;

determine a lowest disk layer having one or more identified software resources in the hierarchy of disk layers; and

request an identification of the lowest disk layer.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller server is further configured to apply the update to one or more virtual machines associated with the lowest disk layer in the hierarchy of disk layers.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller server is further configured to identify a plurality of virtual machines descending from the one or more virtual machines associated with the lowest disk layer in the hierarchy of disk layers.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller server is further configured to apply the update to each virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller server is further configured to store each received update in a database.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller server is further configured to associate each identified software resource with one or more disk layers in the hierarchy of disk layers.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller server is further configured to determine an update status of one or more targeted disk layers.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed, configure a system to:

receive an update for one or more software resources;

identify one or more available software resources targeted by the update;

identify each disk layer in a hierarchy of disk layers having one or more identified software resources;

determine a lowest disk layer having one or more identified software resources in the hierarchy of disk layers; and

request an identification of the lowest disk layer.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions, when executed, further cause the system to apply the update to one or more virtual machines associated with the lowest disk layer in the hierarchy of disk layers.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions, when executed, further cause the system to identify a plurality of virtual machines descending from the one or more virtual machines associated with the lowest disk layer in the hierarchy of disk layers.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the executable instructions, when executed, further cause the system to apply the update to each virtual machine of the plurality of virtual machines.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions, when executed, further cause the system to associate each identified software resource with one or more disk layers in the hierarchy of disk layers.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions, when executed, further cause the system to determine an update status of one or more targeted disk layers.