Enforcement of compliance policies in managed virtual systems
First Claim
1. An apparatus for enforcing a policy associated with virtual appliances, the apparatus comprising:
- a memory device storing instructions; and
a computing device communicatively coupled to a newly created virtual appliance, the computing device including a processor operably coupled to the memory device, the processor executing the instructions to;
receive a virtual appliance event request, wherein the virtual appliance event request includes a start virtual appliance request for the virtual appliance, which is prevented from being started from when the virtual appliance is newly created until the virtual appliance is determined to be compliant with a plurality of compliance based schemes;
receive first data from within the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request;
receive second different data from an environment outside the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request;
determine whether an internal non-compliance by the virtual appliance of a first policy-based compliance scheme exists based on the first data;
determine whether an external non-compliance by the virtual appliance as provided in the environment of a second different policy-based compliance scheme exists based on the second different data; and
in response to determining that at least one of an internal non-compliance and an external non-compliance exists, deny the virtual appliance event request.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques are disclosed for controlling and managing virtual machines and other such virtual systems. VM execution approval is based on compliance with policies controlling various aspects of VM. The techniques can be employed to benefit all virtual environments, such as virtual machines, virtual appliances, and virtual applications. For ease of discussion herein, assume that a virtual machine (VM) represents each of these environments. In one particular embodiment, a systems management partition (SMP) is created inside the VM to provide a persistent and resilient storage for management information (e.g., logical and physical VM metadata). The SMP can also be used as a staging area for installing additional content or agentry on the VM when the VM is executed. Remote storage of management information can also be used. The VM management information can then be made available for pre-execution processing, including policy-based compliance testing.
136 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for enforcing a policy associated with virtual appliances, the apparatus comprising:
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a memory device storing instructions; and a computing device communicatively coupled to a newly created virtual appliance, the computing device including a processor operably coupled to the memory device, the processor executing the instructions to; receive a virtual appliance event request, wherein the virtual appliance event request includes a start virtual appliance request for the virtual appliance, which is prevented from being started from when the virtual appliance is newly created until the virtual appliance is determined to be compliant with a plurality of compliance based schemes; receive first data from within the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request; receive second different data from an environment outside the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request; determine whether an internal non-compliance by the virtual appliance of a first policy-based compliance scheme exists based on the first data; determine whether an external non-compliance by the virtual appliance as provided in the environment of a second different policy-based compliance scheme exists based on the second different data; and in response to determining that at least one of an internal non-compliance and an external non-compliance exists, deny the virtual appliance event request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A computer implemented method for enforcing a policy associated with virtual appliances, comprising:
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storing a plurality of policies associated with a newly created virtual appliance, including at least a first policy and a second policy, the virtual appliance including; at least one virtual disk, and at least one configuration file; receiving a virtual appliance event request, wherein the virtual appliance event request includes a start virtual appliance request for the virtual appliance, which is prevented from being started from when the virtual appliance is newly created until the virtual appliance is determined to be compliant with a plurality of compliance based schemes; and enforcing the plurality of policies associated with the virtual appliance, after the virtual appliance event request is received and prior to executing the virtual appliance, by; receiving first data from within the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request; applying the first policy to the first data to determine whether non-compliance exists within the virtual appliance of the first policy; receiving second data from outside the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request; applying the second policy to the second data to determine whether non-compliance exists outside the virtual appliance of the second policy; and in response to determining that non-compliance exists at least one of within the virtual appliance and outside the virtual appliance, denying the virtual appliance event request. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for enforcing a policy associated with virtual appliances, the system comprising:
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at least one processor; and at least one computer readable medium encoded with instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to; store a plurality of policies associated with a newly created virtual appliance, including at least a first policy and a second policy, the virtual appliance including; at least one virtual disk, and at least one configuration file; receive a virtual appliance event request, wherein the virtual appliance event request includes a start virtual appliance request for the virtual appliance, which is prevented from being started from when the virtual appliance is newly created until the virtual appliance is determined to be compliant with a plurality of compliance based schemes; and enforce the plurality of policies associated with the virtual appliance, after the virtual appliance event request is received and prior to executing the virtual appliance, by; receiving first data from within the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request; applying the first policy to the first data to determine whether non-compliance exists within the virtual appliance of the first policy; receiving second data from outside the virtual appliance in response to receiving the virtual appliance event request; applying the second policy to the second data to determine whether non-compliance exists outside the virtual appliance of the second policy; and in response to determining that non-compliance exists at least one of within the virtual appliance and outside the virtual appliance, denying the virtual appliance event request. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification