Abstract: A method for offloading decoding of encoded video data from a computer system executing a video player application playing the encoded video data to a remote display terminal still enables the video player application to overlay transparent or semi-transparent graphical elements, such elements, such as user interface controls, onto the video, despite not having access to decoded video data. A video decoding function call from the video player application is intercepted and replacement video data is provided to the video player application rather than a decoded version of the encoded video data. The video player application is thereby able to overlay graphical elements onto the replacement video data to create composite video from which the graphical elements are then able to be subsequently extracted and transmitted with the encoded video data to remote display terminal, which decodes the video data and overlays the graphical elements for display.

Abstract: At least one guest system, for example, a virtual machine, is connected to a host system, which includes a system resource such as system machine memory. Each guest system includes a guest operating system (OS). A resource requesting mechanism, preferably a driver, is installed within each guest OS and communicates with a resource scheduler included within the host system. If the host system needs any one the guest systems to relinquish some of the system resource it currently is allocated, then the resource scheduler instructs the driver within that guest system's OS to reserve more of the resource, using the guest OS's own, native resource allocation mechanisms. The driver thus frees this resource for use by the host, since the driver does not itself actually need the requested amount of the resource. The driver in each guest OS thus acts as a hollow “balloon” to “inflate” or “deflate,” that is, reserve more or less of the system resource via the corresponding guest OS.

Abstract: A virtualization technique, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, includes emulating the small computing system interface (SCSI) protocol to access a virtual SCSI storage device backed by a file stored on network attached storage (NAS).

Abstract: Virtual machines that utilize pass-through devices are migrated from a source host computer to a destination host computer. During preparation for migration, the pass-through device is substituted with an emulation handler that simulates the pass-through device experiencing errors. Upon successful migration, an error reporting signal is triggered to cause the device driver in the virtual machine to initiate a reset of the pass-through device at the destination host computer, upon which the pass-through device is mapped to the migrated virtual machine.

Abstract: A system for drift visualization of change data of a datacenter is disclosed. The datacenter includes a plurality of configuration items. The system includes a management server in communication with the data center. The management server includes an agent configured to collect the change data from one or more of the plurality of configuration items. A change data store that is in communication with the management server is provided to store the change data. A data extractor in communication with the change data store is provided to retrieve the change data and providing a filtered subset of the change data to a display. A policy data store in communication with the data extractor is provided to enable the data extractor to filter the change data based on data center policy violations. The visualization depicts multiple dimensions of change-related data for the items in the datacenter in a unique and concise manner.

Abstract: A plurality of virtual machines (VMs) is established and maintained by virtualization software on one or more physical servers. Desktop management software operates to provide the VMs to remote users as virtualized desktops. The desktop management software includes a rule engine that can be used to automate the policies of the organization. The rule engine manages the data center by controlling virtual infrastructure operations, such as power-on, power-off, suspension, and migration operations. The rule engine uses an event-condition-action paradigm, wherein an event causes a virtual infrastructure operation, possibly contingent on a condition. The rule engine provides for time-based scheduling of events in addition to system-based operations, which are triggered by events such as user logon and user logoff. The rule engine may also include the ability to automate the process of changing the properties of the virtual machines in a timely fashion.

Abstract: In a system where an indirect control flow instruction requires a CPU to consult a first memory address, in addition to what is encoded in the instruction itself, for program execution, a method is provided to determine if the first memory address contains a valid or plausible value. The first memory address is compared to an expected or predicted memory address. A difference between the expected or predicted memory address and the first memory address causes an evaluation of any program code about to be executed. The evaluation of code determines whether or not a malicious attack is occurring, or being attempted, that might affect proper operation of the system or program.

Abstract: Some embodiments of the present invention include a memory management unit (MMU) configured to, in response to a write access targeting a guest page mapping of a guest virtual page number (GVPN) to a guest physical page number (GPPN) within a guest page table, identify a shadow page mapping that associates the GVPN with a physical page number (PPN). The MMU is also configured to determine whether a traced write indication is associated with the shadow page mapping and, if so, record update information identifying the targeted guest page mapping. The update information is used to reestablish coherence between the guest page mapping and the shadow page mapping. The MMU is further configured to perform the write access.

Abstract: Interfaces to storage devices that employ storage space optimization technologies, such as thin provisioning, are configured to enable the benefits gained from such technologies to be sustained. Such an interface may be provided in a hypervisor of a virtualized computer system to enable the hypervisor to discover features of a logical unit number (LUN), such as whether or not the LUN is thinly provisioned, and also in a virtual machine (VM) of the virtualized computer system to enable the VM to discover features of a virtual disk, such as whether or not the virtual disk is thinly provisioned. The discovery of these features enables the hypervisor or the VM to instruct the underlying storage device to carry out certain operations such as an operation to deallocate blocks previously allocated to a logical block device, so that the storage device can continue to benefit from storage space optimization technologies implemented therein.

Abstract: Interfaces to storage devices that employ storage space optimization technologies, such as thin provisioning, are configured to enable the benefits gained from such technologies to be sustained. Such an interface may be provided in a hypervisor of a virtualized computer system to enable the hypervisor to discover features of a logical unit number (LUN), such as whether or not the LUN is thinly provisioned, and also in a virtual machine (VM) of the virtualized computer system to enable the VM to discover features of a virtual disk, such as whether or not the virtual disk is thinly provisioned. The discovery of these features enables better management of the LUN during near full and out-of-space conditions.

Abstract: Interfaces to storage devices that employ storage space optimization technologies, such as thin provisioning, are configured to enable the benefits gained from such technologies to be sustained. Such an interface may be provided in a hypervisor of a virtualized computer system to enable the hypervisor to discover features of a logical unit number (LUN), such as whether or not the LUN is thinly provisioned, and also in a virtual machine (VM) of the virtualized computer system to enable the VM to discover features of a virtual disk, such as whether or not the virtual disk is thinly provisioned. The discovery of these features enables the hypervisor or the VM to instruct the underlying storage device to carry out certain operations such as an operation to deallocate blocks previously allocated to a logical block device, so that the storage device can continue to benefit from storage space optimization technologies implemented therein.

Abstract: In a virtualized system using memory page sharing, a method is provided for maintaining sharing when Guest code attempts to write to the shared memory. In one embodiment, virtualization logic uses a pattern matcher to recognize and intercept page zeroing code in the Guest OS. When the page zeroing code is about to run against a page that is already zeroed, i.e., contains all zeros, and is being shared, the memory writes in the page zeroing code have no effect. The virtualization logic skips over the writes, providing an appearance that the Guest OS page zeroing code has run to completion but without performing any of the writes that would have caused a loss of page sharing. The pattern matcher can be part of a binary translator that inspects code before it executes.

Abstract: I/O operations between a virtual machine (VM) and a device external to the VM are monitored by a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Data passing between the VM and the external device is transformed by the VMM, in some cases only when a predetermined filtering or triggering condition is met. Because the VMM, and thus the transformation operation, is transparent to the VM, the transformation cannot be prevented or undone or even affected by any action by a user of the VM. Examples of the non-defeatable transformation of I/O data include generating display overlays such as banners, masking out portions of a display, encryption, compression and network shaping such as bandwidth limiting.

Abstract: Maximum throughput of a storage unit, and workload and latency values of the storage unit corresponding to a predefined fraction of the maximum throughput are estimated based on workloads and latencies that are monitored on the storage unit. The computed metrics are usable in a variety of different applications including admission control, storage load balancing, and enforcing quality of service in a shared storage environment.

Abstract: Application-manager software authenticates a user of a client device over a channel. The authentication operation is performed using a directory service. The application-manager software presents a plurality of applications in a GUI displayed by the client device. The plurality of applications depends on the authentication, the client device, and the channel. And the plurality of applications includes a thin application and a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application. The application-manager software receives a selection as to an application from the user. If the selection is for the SaaS application, the application-manager software provisions the SaaS application. The provision includes automatically logging the user onto an account with a provider of the SaaS application using a single sign-on and connecting the user to the account so that the user can interact with the SaaS application. If the selection is for the thin application, the application manager software launches the thin application.

Abstract: A method and system for acquiring a quiesceing set of information associated with a virtual machine. A virtual machine is cloned. The cloned virtual machine has an associated persistent storage device. The state of the persistent storage device is transformed into a quiesced state of the cloned virtual machine by utilizing a shut-down process. The shut-down process is executed on the cloned virtual machine to quiesce the cloned virtual machine and the quiesceing set of information of the cloned virtual machine is automatically reduced to information stored on the persistent storage device.

Abstract: A computing device includes a touch screen displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) and a processing unit programmed to recognize gestures made on the touch screen and execute, in response thereto, a process associated with the gestures.

Abstract: Management of contexts that execute on a computer system is described. More specifically, context scheduling in a virtual machine environment is described. A set of coscheduled contexts is monitored. If a skew metric associated with any one of the coscheduled contexts fails to satisfy a condition, then all coscheduled contexts in the set of coscheduled contexts not already descheduled are descheduled. After the contexts are descheduled, a subset of the set of coscheduled contexts is scheduled before the remainder of the set of coscheduled contexts.

Abstract: A method and system for providing quality of service to a plurality of hosts accessing a common resource is described. According to one embodiment, a plurality of IO requests is received from clients executing as software entities on one of the hosts. An IO request queue for each client is separately managed, and an issue queue is populated based on contents of the IO request queues. When a host issue queue is not full, a new IO request is entered into the host issue queue and is issued to the common resource. A current average latency observed at the host is calculated, and an adjusted window size is calculated at least in part based on the current average latency. The window size of the issue queue is adjusted according to the calculated window size.

Abstract: In a computing system having virtualization software including a guest operating system (OS), a method for providing page tables that includes: providing a guest page table used by the guest OS and a shadow page table and a shadow page directory used by the virtualization software wherein: at least a portion of the guest page table and the shadow page directory are the same; and the portions that are the same are shared in computer memory by the guest page table and the shadow page directory.