Abstract: Techniques for establishing virtual devices are presented. A legacy control system is encapsulated as a virtual device. The virtual device is isolated within a host hardware associate with a host OS and access to and from the virtual device is authenticated and controlled by the host OS. Legacy hardware used by the legacy control system is connected to the host hardware, thereby permitting the legacy control system to continue to access the legacy hardware when the virtual device processes.

Abstract: Techniques for authentication via a mobile device are provided. A mobile device is pre-registered for website authentication services. A user encounters a website displaying an embedded code as an image alongside a normal login process for that website. The image is identified by the mobile device, encrypted and signed by the mobile device and sent to a proxy. The proxy authenticates the code and associates it with the website. Credentials for the user are provided to the website to automatically authenticate the user for access to the website bypassing the normal login process associated with the website.

Abstract: Techniques for secure message offloading are presented. An intermediary is transparently situated between a user's local messaging client and an external and remote messaging client. The user authenticates to the local client for access and the intermediary authenticates the user for access to the remote client using different credentials unknown to the user. Messages sent from the local client are transparently encrypted by the intermediary before being passed to the remote client and messages received from the remote client are transparently decrypted before being delivered to the local client.

Abstract: Techniques for establishing a files system that exposes a virtual file system for backup operations are presented. Changes to files of a file system are maintained separately or collected and presented as a VFS. The VFS is then used to perform backup operations. Moreover, the files identified in the VFS can be customized based on search parameters, criterion, and/or criteria supplied by a user or supplied as parameters to backup and VFS mount operations.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus enforce computing policies of an enterprise in a distributed manner so that idiosyncratic services to a computing device can be minimized or altogether eliminated. Pluralities of virtual machines are arranged on one or more computing devices and define, for example, applications specified by a user and shared services approved by the enterprise. A central library stores the virtual machines and each is available for check-out by users. A manager evaluates the virtual machines for satisfactory compliance with the computing policies at a time when the virtual machines are resident in the library. Upon confirmation of satisfactory compliance, the applications and shared services are available for deployment to users. Otherwise, the virtual machines are centrally serviced for compliance and/or tested before redeployment. Libraries, managers, software program products, threat assessment, and policy management are other features, to name a few.

Abstract: An applet is used to deliver a persistent caching mechanism. An initial package of the applet incorporates a lightweight caching mechanism into its root set of classes. The remainder of the applet are divided into functional modules that can be subsequently downloaded as seeded. The initial applet and caching mechanism is packaged and signed in a package using tools and procedures native to each platform; and each functional module is packaged and signed in a generic, platform-independent fashion for verification and loading by any of the various platform-dependent initial applet packages. In this way, the same functional module portions of the applet (which may comprise the bulk of the applet) are cached and loaded in a platform-independent manner without requiring or relying on any caching mechanism built into a platform such as a web browser or other applet execution environment.

Abstract: Techniques for spontaneous resource management are provided. Information about resources is indexed and housed in a repository. The information is dynamically updated. Search queries are performed against the indexed information in the repository for purposes of forming dynamic groupings of the resources that are then managed as custom-defined and dynamic groups.

Abstract: Method and system for implementing a cluster token registry (“CTR”) process in a cluster comprising a plurality of interconnected nodes each having a CTR associated therewith are described. In one embodiment, the method comprises, responsive to a client signing in at one of the nodes, the client registering a cluster-wide token with the CTR of the node, thereby casting a vote in connection with the token; determining whether prerequisites for granting the token have been met; and, responsive to a determination that the prerequisites have been met, granting the token. The method further comprises periodically determining whether the vote in connection with the token vote has been refreshed by the client and, responsive to a determination that the vote in connection with the token has not been refreshed by the client, de-registering the client.

Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to receive, from a node associated with a console owner, an authenticated access request for access to a network portal. Additional activities may include accessing a branding file associated with the console owner, and responsive to the receiving, generating a branded version of a graphical user interface having one or more background colors, a display structure, and a set of uncolored icons. The background color(s) and the icons may be selected based on information stored in the branding file. The branded version may be published to grant access to the network portal, displaying the uncolored icons in front of the background color(s) so that the background color(s) are visible through transparent portions of the uncolored icons. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Abstract: A system can include multiple individual status identifiers that correspond to multiple users and a group status identifier that corresponds to a group with which the users are associated. A status identifier update module can update the group status identifier based on a change to at least one of the individual status identifiers.

Abstract: Techniques for managing virtual machine (VM) states are provided. Applications executing within a processing context of a VM communicate outside that processing context with a hypervisor or VM Monitor (VMM) to have the hypervisor perform host operations for the VM.

Abstract: Techniques for using sparse files during snapshots are provided. Snapshots are managed and maintained for a source volume via sparse files. Metadata defines the sparse files and operations of a file system are used to create, define, and manipulate the metadata. When a write operation is detected during a snapshot, sparse files are used to copy the write operation before the write operation is performed on the source volume; the sparse files server as the snapshot data.

Abstract: A computer implemented method may include identifying a base information card stored on a client, determining whether an overlay information card is to be applied to the identified base information card, and selecting the overlay information card. The method may also include generating a final information card by applying the selected overlay information card to the identified base information card.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus teach a digital spectrum of a data file. The digital spectrum is used to map a file's position in multi-dimensional space. This position relative to another file's position reveals closest neighbors. Certain of the closest neighbors are grouped together, while others are differentiated. Grouping ceases upon application of a stopping function so that rightly sized, optimum numbers of file groups are obtained. Embodiments of stopping functions relate to curve types in a mapping of numbers of groups per sequential rounds of grouping, recognizing whether groups have overlapping file members or not, and/or determining whether groups meet predetermined numbers of members, to name a few. Properly grouped files can then be further acted upon.

Abstract: A system and method for managing a virtual appliance lifecycle is provided. In particular, a hosted web service may provide a collaborative environment for and unified environment for developing, configuring, personalizing, building, testing, deploying, and otherwise managing a lifecycle for one or more virtual appliances, wherein the collaborative and unified environment may provide various features for-creating virtual appliances, monitoring upstream changes and modifications to the virtual appliances, and providing real-time analysis and feedback during various phases of the virtual appliance lifecycle, among other things.

Abstract: The system and method described herein may include a discovery engine that scans a network datacenter to inventory resources in the datacenter and populate a configuration management database with the resource inventory. One or more destination listeners created from the resource inventory may then selectively sample monitored flows in the datacenter to model interdependencies between the inventoried resources. For example, any monitored flows originating outside the datacenter or failing to correlate with the inventoried resources may be dropped, whereby the interdependencies may be modeled from a deliberately reduced sample of the monitored flows that have information relevant to modeling relationships between resources within the datacenter. Furthermore, directionalities for the monitored flows may be determined, wherein the directionalities provide further information relevant to modeling the relationships between the resources within the datacenter.

Abstract: A system and method for efficiently building virtual appliances in a hosted environment is provided. In particular, a plurality of image archives may be stored in a build database, with each image archive including a file system having a directory structure and a plurality of files installed within the directory structure. In response to a build request containing an image description, a build engine may create a file system layout defining a directory structure for an image. The build engine may then copy the file system from one of the image archives to the file system layout of the image, wherein the copied file system may provide a subset of the file system for the image. The build engine may then build the image, which may include a file system having various files installed within various directories in accordance with the directory structure defined for the image.

Abstract: Methods, signals, devices, and systems are provided for using proxy servers to transparently forward messages between clients and origin servers if, and only if, doing so does not violate network policies. In some systems, a transparent proxy uses a combination of standard-format HTTP commands, embedding auxiliary information in URLs and other tools and techniques to redirect an initial client request to one or more policy modules, such as a login server or an identity broker or an access control server. The policy module authenticates the request, and uses HTTP redirection to have the client transmit authorization data to the proxy. The proxy extracts the authorization data, directs the client to use a corresponding cookie, and subsequently provides the implicitly requested proxy services to the client in response to the client's subsequently providing the authorization data in a cookie.

Abstract: Techniques for information collaboration are presented. Information topics are defined by users within a virtual community. Comments, links to other topics, search terms used in connection with the information topic, and bookmarks are recorded in connection with each of the information topics. Security access is custom designated for: the information topic as a whole, the comments, the links, the search terms, and/or the bookmarks. The security access defines whether other second users of the virtual community are to be given access to each of the information topics and/or to each comment, link, search term and/or bookmark associated with each of those information topics.

Abstract: Techniques for inserting analytic logic into network requests are presented. In an embodiment, instructions are dynamically inserted into web pages as the pages are requested. The instructions enable analytics to be captured and/or tracked when the web pages are processed. In another embodiment, web requests are intercepted and processed to include analytic instructions.