Abstract: A method includes issuing a digital certificate to a licensee, the digital certificate identifying a licensed product and the licensee to enable the licensee to enable the licensed product. The method involves receiving a request to enable the licensed product from an entity, the request including the digital certificate and determining whether the entity is the licensee of the licensed product based on the digital certificate. A system includes a relational structure having associations among authorized entities and digital certificates within an organization. Each to digital certificate identifies a licensed product licensed to the organization. A certificate distribution module distributes the digital certificates to associated authorized entities.

Abstract: A mechanism that enables authoring of new optical disc physical media (e.g., HD-DVD) while maintaining backwards compatibility with previous physical media (e.g., DVD-ROM, DVD-Video). The system eliminates film system “switching” and avoids adding new commands to the command specification, while still allowing legacy (e.g., DVD-ROM) drives to use of the content on the legacy layer. The mechanism enables seamless use of any layer should the drive be able to recognize it. The system can employ a single logical block address (LBA) range together with the concept of “sessions” to effect backwards compatibility. As well, logical overwrite techniques can also be employed to accomplish seamless backwards compatibility.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for centralized management of access permissions to unique class identifier devices on client terminals using a group policy framework. The system includes a first aspect whereby administrative templates related to the unique class identifier devices are used to configure a user interface allowing an IT administrator or other to set access permissions for the unique class identifier devices. The system further includes a second aspect for implementing the access permissions to the unique class identifier devices on the client terminals.

Abstract: Systems and methods of recording data are disclosed herein. A secure storage area is received from a host device. The secure storage area is indicative of a portion of a memory of the recordable medium to be recorded with encrypted data. A write command is received from the host device. The write command can include at least one data block to be written to the recordable medium and a memory address indicative of a start address where the at least one data block is to be written on the recordable medium. The memory address and the secure storage area can be compared to determine whether the at least one data block falls within the secure storage area. An encryption indicator in the at least one data block can be checked to determine whether the data on the at least one data block is encrypted.

Abstract: A method includes issuing a digital certificate to a licensee, the digital certificate identifying a licensed product and the licensee to enable the licensee to enable the licensed product. The method involves receiving a request to enable the licensed product from an entity, the request including the digital certificate and determining whether the entity is the licensee of the licensed product based on the digital certificate. A system includes a relational structure having associations among authorized entities and digital certificates within an organization. Each to digital certificate identifies a licensed product licensed to the organization. A certificate distribution module distributes the digital certificates to associated authorized entities.

Abstract: A method includes issuing a digital certificate to a licensee, the digital certificate identifying a licensed product and the licensee to enable the licensee to enable the licensed product. The method involves receiving a request to enable the licensed product from an entity, the request including the digital certificate and determining whether the entity is the licensee of the licensed product based on the digital certificate. A system includes a relational structure having associations among authorized entities and digital certificates within an organization. Each to digital certificate identifies a licensed product licensed to the organization. A certificate distribution module distributes the digital certificates to associated authorized entities.

Abstract: Systems and methods of recording data are disclosed herein. A secure storage area is received from a host device. The secure storage area is indicative of a portion of a memory of the recordable medium to be recorded with encrypted data. A write command is received from the host device. The write command can include at least one data block to be written to the recordable medium and a memory address indicative of a start address where the at least one data block is to be written on the recordable medium. The memory address and the secure storage area can be compared to determine whether the at least one data block falls within the secure storage area. An encryption indicator in the at least one data block can be checked to determine whether the data on the at least one data block is encrypted.

Abstract: Systems and methodologies that enable restoration of data by software solutions and in the absence of a hardware RAID adapter, via encapsulation of a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/or Inexpensive Disks) format, by employing a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT). Third party vendors can employ proprietary data recovery software to access the raw data in case of malfunction of an associated RAID adapter. Moreover, the subject invention can facilitate inter-operability among a plurality of RAID adapters, to move array sets from one controller type to another.

Abstract: A system that facilitates the storage of data using a write barrier. The system interfaces to a hardware component that stores data, and includes a write barrier component that dynamically employs instructions compatible with the hardware component to ensure data integrity during storage of the data. The write barrier component is independent of at least an operating system and an application and can operate in a least one of a user mode and a kernel mode. The write barrier component includes at least one of software instructions, routines, and methods, the selection of one or more of which is based on hardware data extracted from the hardware component. A selection component interrogates the hardware component for hardware data to facilitate selection of one or more instructions most suitable for interfacing to the hardware component. A coalescing component combines cache synchronization requests into a single set of instructions, which set is processed to flush a disk cache in one process.

Abstract: A data encryption key may be generated for encrypting data content. The data encryption key includes multiple portions. For example, the data encryption key may be generated by combining a drive seed and a media seed where the drive seed includes a value that is unique to the drive reading data content or a group of drives sharing the same drive seed. The media seed may include a value unique to the media from which data content may be read. The data encryption key thus generated may be unique to a combination of a specific drive or group of drives and a media or group of media.

Abstract: A system and related methods for characterizing and improving optical drive read performance is presented. The system includes an innovative audio file stored on optical media (characterization file), and an optical drive characterization agent, implemented on a computing system. The optical drive characterization agent iteratively controls the optical drive to perform incremental reads of at least a subset of the characterization file, analyzes at least the subset of the characterization file read from the optical media, and generates one or more performance scores on an associated one or more performance attributes of the optical drive. In this regard, optical drive characterization agent quantifiably characterizes an optical drive's ability to accurately read individual sectors from optical media comprising audio content.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for centralized management of access permissions to unique class identifier devices on client terminals using a group policy framework. The system includes a first aspect whereby administrative templates related to the unique class identifier devices are used to configure a user interface allowing an IT administrator or other to set access permissions for the unique class identifier devices. The system further includes a second aspect for implementing the access permissions to the unique class identifier devices on the client terminals.

Abstract: The present invention prevents data underruns within an internal buffer of an optical media recording device while improving a recording rate by dynamically determining a time period to delay transferring data from a computer system to an optical media recording device. The time delay period may be set when an indication to delay data transfer from a source to an optical media recorder is received because the internal buffer is unable to hold or to receive additional data. The time delay period may then be set to a time less than a total time to empty the internal buffer given the total capacity of the internal buffer and the data transfer rate of the optical media recording device. Other factors also may be considered, such as the size and time for a single write to the optical media recorder.

Abstract: A method and system allows a device driver to obtain the status of a device that may exhibit one of two distinct behaviors in responding to status requests that designate a plurality of event types associated with a device. Devices exhibiting the first behavior respond to the status requests by providing the status for the highest priority event type designated in the status request. Device exhibiting the second behavior respond to the status requests by providing the status for the highest priority event type that has undergone a status change. In one implementation, the device driver transmits a series of distinct status requests such that the status of all event types can be determined. In a related aspect of the invention, the device driver also analyzes the response message to determine if the device exhibits the second behavior type. When the second behavior type is detected, only a single type of status request is sent to obtain the status of all event types.

Abstract: A system and related methods for characterizing and improving optical drive read performance is presented. The system includes an innovative audio file stored on optical media (characterization file), and an optical drive characterization agent, implemented on a computing system. The optical drive characterization agent iteratively controls the optical drive to perform incremental reads of at least a subset of the characterization file, analyzes at least the subset of the characterization file read from the optical media, and generates one or more performance scores on an associated one or more performance attributes of the optical drive. In this regard, optical drive characterization agent quantifiably characterizes an optical drive's ability to accurately read individual sectors from optical media comprising audio content.

Abstract: A system and related methods for characterizing and improving optical drive read performance is presented. The system includes an innovative audio file stored on optical media (characterization file), and an optical drive characterization agent, implemented on a computing system. The optical drive characterization agent iteratively controls the optical drive to perform incremental reads of at least a subset of the characterization file, analyzes at least the subset of the characterization file read from the optical media, and generates one or more performance scores on an associated one or more performance attributes of the optical drive. In this regard, optical drive characterization agent quantifiably characterizes an optical drive's ability to accurately read individual sectors from optical media comprising audio content.

Abstract: A method and system allows a device driver to obtain the status of a device that may exhibit one of two distinct behaviors in responding to status requests that designate a plurality of event types associated with a device. Devices exhibiting the first behavior respond to the status requests by providing the status for the highest priority event type designated in the status request. Device exhibiting the second behavior respond to the status requests by providing the status for the highest priority event type that has undergone a status change. In one implementation, the device driver transmits a series of distinct status requests such that the status of all event types can be determined. In a related aspect of the invention, the device driver also analyzes the response message to determine if the device exhibits the second behavior type. When the second behavior type is detected, only a single type of status request is sent to obtain the status of all event types.