Mobile device maintaining adequate security and data partitioning between user mode and business mode

• US 9,348,626 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2012
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Burton, Mark M., Razavi, Hoofar, Newell, Craig, Deasy, Stephen, Wisner, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Poudel, Santosh R
• Application Number:
  US13/566,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20130145144A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,390 Days
• Field of Search: 713/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/441 Multiboot arrangements, i.e. selecting an operating system to be loaded
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45545 Guest-host, i.e. hypervisor is an application program itself, e.g. VirtualBox

Abstract

One or more embodiments of the invention facilitate switching between a host environment of a mobile device and a guest environment of the mobile device. One method comprises configuring the host environment to launch a user interface (UI) proxy application upon receiving an indication by a user on a user interface (UI) of the mobile device of a desire to switch from the host environment to the guest environment. Upon a launch of the UI proxy application as a result of receiving the indication, the UI proxy application initiates a request to wake-up the guest environment and facilitates access by a hardware framebuffer of the mobile device to contents of a memory buffer that is updated with display data for the guest environment as a result of a waking-up of the guest environment.

Claims

1. A method of switching between a host environment of a mobile device and a guest environment of the mobile device, the method comprising:

configuring the host environment to launch a user interface (UI) proxy application in response to receiving an indication by a user on a user interface (UI) of the mobile device of a desire to switch from the host environment to the guest environment;

in response to a launch of the UI proxy application as a result of receiving the indication, initiating, by the UI proxy application, a request to wake-up the guest environment; and

controlling, by the UI proxy application, access by a hardware framebuffer of the mobile device to contents of a virtual framebuffer that is updated with display data for the guest environment as a result of a waking-up of the guest environment, wherein the UI proxy application copies the contents of the virtual framebuffer into the hardware framebuffer,

wherein the guest environment is a virtual machine comprising a guest operating system and a hardware emulation layer in communication with the guest operating system,

wherein the hardware emulation layer is supported by a hypervisor running within the host environment, the hypervisor including the UI proxy application and the virtual framebuffer, and

wherein the request to wake-up the guest environment is transmitted to the hardware emulation layer and emulates a “

power on”

command to the virtual machine.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising populating, by the guest operating system, the virtual framebuffer with display data for the guest environment, wherein the virtual framebuffer is provided by the hardware emulation layer.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising copying, by the UI proxy application, the contents of the virtual framebuffer into a memory buffer for subsequent transfer to the hardware framebuffer.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising controlling, by the UI proxy application, redirection of the contents of the virtual framebuffer to the hardware framebuffer.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, while the UI of the mobile device is displaying the display data of the guest environment, a second indication by the user of a desire to switch from the guest environment to the host environment;

requesting the hardware emulation layer to emulate a “

power off”

command for the virtual machine in order to stop further updates of display data from the guest environment to the virtual framebuffer; and

transmitting a message to the hypervisor to request a suspension of the UI proxy application, thereby terminating further access to the virtual framebuffer by the hardware framebuffer.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting by the UI proxy application, prior to the initiating step, a lock screen on the UI of the mobile device to enable the user to enter a password to access the guest environment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is a finger swipe motion made by the user on the UI of the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is a selection of an icon displayed by the host environment to provide access to the guest environment.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the method further includes populating, by the guest operating system, the virtual frame buffer with display data for the guest environment, wherein the virtual framebuffer is provided by the hardware emulation layer.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed on a processor in a mobile device, causes the processor to perform a method of switching between a host environment of the mobile device and a guest environment of the mobile device, comprising:

configuring the host environment to launch a user interface (UI) proxy application in response to receiving an indication by a user on a user interface (UI) of the mobile device of a desire to switch from the host environment to the guest environment;

in response to a launch of the UI proxy application as a result of receiving the indication, initiating, by the UI proxy application, a request to wake-up the guest environment; and

controlling, by the UI proxy application, access by a hardware framebuffer of the mobile device to contents of a virtual framebuffer that is updated with display data for the guest environment as a result of a waking-up of the guest environment, wherein the UI proxy application copies the contents of the virtual framebuffer into the hardware framebuffer,

wherein the guest environment is a virtual machine comprising a guest operating system and a hardware emulation layer in communication with the guest operating system,

wherein the hardware emulation layer is supported by a hypervisor running within the host environment, the hypervisor including the UI proxy application and the virtual framebuffer, and

wherein the request to wake-up the guest environment is transmitted to the hardware emulation layer and emulates a “

power on”

command to the mobile device virtual machine.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the method further includes presenting by the UI proxy application, prior to the initiating step, a lock screen on the UI of the mobile device to enable the user to enter a password to access the guest environment.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the indication is a finger swipe motion made by the user on the UI of the mobile device.

13. A mobile device, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to facilitate a switching between a host environment of the mobile device and a guest environment of the mobile device by;

configuring the host environment to launch a user interface (UI) proxy application in response to receiving an indication by a user on a user interface (UI) of the mobile device of a desire to switch from the host environment to the guest environment;

in response to a launch of the UI proxy application as a result of receiving the indication, initiating, by the UI proxy application, a request to wake-up the guest environment; and

controlling, by the UI proxy application, access by a hardware framebuffer of the mobile device to contents of a virtual framebuffer that is updated with display data for the guest environment as a result of a waking-up of the guest environment, wherein the UI proxy application copies the contents of the virtual framebuffer into the hardware framebuffer,

wherein the guest environment is a virtual machine comprising a guest operating system and a hardware emulation layer in communication with the guest operating system,

wherein the hardware emulation layer is supported by a hypervisor running within the host environment, the hypervisor including the UI proxy application and the virtual framebuffer, and

wherein the request to wake-up the guest environment is transmitted to the hardware emulation layer and emulates a “

power on”

command to the virtual machine.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to populate, by the guest operating system, the virtual framebuffer with display data for the guest environment, wherein the virtual framebuffer is provided by the hardware emulation layer.

15. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to present by the UI proxy application, prior to the initiating step, a lock screen on the UI of the mobile device to enable the user to enter a password to access the guest environment.

16. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the indication is a finger swipe motion made by the user on the UI of the mobile device.