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Virtual environment manager for creating and managing virtual machine environments

  • US 9,606,821 B2
  • Filed: 09/29/2006
  • Issued: 03/28/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2004
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A data processing system comprising:

  • a processor;

    a non-transitory machine accessible medium responsive to the processor; and

    instructions stored in the non-transitory machine accessible medium which, when executed, implement a virtual environment manager (VEM) operable to perform operations comprising;

    creating a first virtual machine (VM) descriptor, wherein the first VM descriptor describes aspects of an original VM to execute on a first host computer, the aspects comprising an application to execute in the original VM and at least one application configuration parameter for the application to execute in the original VM;

    creating a second VM descriptor based on the original VM, wherein the second VM descriptor describes aspects of a second VM to execute on a second host computer, the aspects comprising the application to execute in the second VM and at least one application configuration parameter for the application to execute in the second VM; and

    defining a collection of VM environments for a particular user, the collection of VM environments comprising a first VM environment with the first host computer and the original VM, and a second VM environment with the second host computer and the second VM;

    wherein the at least one application configuration parameter in the second VM descriptor differs from the at least one application configuration parameter in the first VM descriptor, wherein the difference causes at least one operation that is available for the application in the original VM to be unavailable for the application in the second VM;

    wherein the VEM is to provide a graphical user interface in which (1) visual representations associated with a plurality of applications running on the original and second VMs are to be presented, and (2) features of a guest operating system (OS) of the original and second VMs are to be hidden such that an application running on the guest OS appears to a user to be running on a desktop of the first host computer;

    wherein the graphical user interface is to permit user interaction, at least in part, with the applications associated with the visual representations, output from the applications associated with the visual representations to be redirected, at least in part, via the VEM for display via the graphical user interface, and user input for the applications associated with the visual representations to be provided, at least in part, to the applications associated with the representations via direct inter-VM communication.

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