Patents by Inventor Robert M. Fries
Robert M. Fries has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 8190571Abstract: Indexing functionality can be shifted to one or more backup servers in a backup system. In one implementation, a backup server can receive one or more data backups from one or more production servers. The backup server can then build or create one or more indexes at the backup server, which correspond to the contents of the one or more data backups. In one implementation, one or more management agents can also identify any appropriate components that might be needed to read the backup data at the backup server pursuant to building the one or more indexes. In either case, the one or more indexes can be used for a wide range of purposes, such as to manage data usage quotas at the one or more production servers, as well as to retrieve data from the backup server based on specific file requests.Type: GrantFiled: August 11, 2006Date of Patent: May 29, 2012Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Vijay Sen, Karandeep Singh Anand, Robert M. Fries
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Publication number: 20120117212Abstract: An invention is disclosed for configuring a VM of a deployment to be managed by a management system. In an embodiment, a deployment manager of a deployment instructs a host to create a VM. The VM is created with a base management agent that exposes interfaces to the management system that enable the management system to install management agents on the VM. The deployment manager installs a management agent that corresponds to a management system on the VM, and registers the VM with the management system. The management system may then manage the VM by communicating with the installed management agent on the VM.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 8, 2010Publication date: May 10, 2012Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventor: Robert M. Fries
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Publication number: 20120109899Abstract: A computer-implemented system configured to describe the relationship between a first Namespace and a second Namespace is provided. The system includes a containment relationship identifying a direct relationship between a first object of the first Namespace and a second object of the first Namespace. Moreover, the system includes a junction relationship linking the second object of the first Namespace to a first object of the second Namespace. In one embodiment, the system is configured to facilitate the recovery of information based on the descriptions of the Namespaces that is maintained.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 9, 2011Publication date: May 3, 2012Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Brian M. Wahlert, Mike Jazayeri, Catharine van Ingen, Brian T. Berkowitz, Nikhil Vijay Chandhok, Dharshan Rangegowda, Vinay Badami, Yezdi Z. Lashkari, Robert M. Fries, Seetharaman Karikrishnan
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Patent number: 8161479Abstract: A virtual environment can be configured to coordinate life cycles of virtual machines and application programs executing therein. In one implementation, the virtual environment includes an application layer and a virtual machine layer. The application layer communicates with the virtual machine layer to coordinate and directs virtual machine creation and deletion in a coordinated fashion with application programs. For example, the application layer receives a request to initiate an application program. The application layer determines from associated application properties the type and/or number of virtual machines to be created. The application layer then directs creation of the appropriate virtual machines (through the virtual machine layer), and further directs installation of the requested application programs therein.Type: GrantFiled: June 13, 2008Date of Patent: April 17, 2012Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Igor Sedukhin, Daniel Eshner, Robert M. Fries, Michael O. Neary, Alexander E. Nosov
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Publication number: 20120089972Abstract: An invention is disclosed for preserving state in a virtual machine when patching the virtual machine (VM). In an embodiment, when a deployment manager that manages VMs in a deployment determines to patch a VM, the manager removes the VM from a load balancer for the deployment, attaches a data disk to the VM, stores application data to the data disk, swaps the prevailing OS disk for a patched OS disk, boots a gust OS stored on the patched OS disk, restores the application state from the data disk to the VM, and adds the VM back to the load balancer.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 8, 2010Publication date: April 12, 2012Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: William L. Scheidel, Robert M. Fries, Srivatsan Parthasarathy, Alan Shi, James P. Finnigan, Rajeet Nair
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Publication number: 20120084265Abstract: A computer-implemented system configured to describe the relationship between a first Namespace and a second Namespace is provided. The system includes a containment relationship identifying a direct relationship between a first object of the first Namespace and a second object of the first Namespace. Moreover, the system includes a junction relationship linking the second object of the first Namespace to a first object of the second Namespace. In one embodiment, the system is configured to facilitate the recovery of information based on the descriptions of the Namespaces that is maintained.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 8, 2011Publication date: April 5, 2012Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Brian M. Wahlert, Mike Jazayeri, Catharine van Ingen, Brian T. Berkowitz, Nikhil Vijay Chandhok, Dharshan Rangegowda, Seetharaman Harikrishnan, Vinay Badami, Yezdi Z. Lashkari, Robert M. Fries
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Patent number: 8078587Abstract: A computer-implemented system configured to describe the relationship between a first Namespace and a second Namespace is provided. The system includes a containment relationship identifying a direct relationship between a first object of the first Namespace and a second object of the first Namespace. Moreover, the system includes a junction relationship linking the second object of the first Namespace to a first object of the second Namespace. In one embodiment, the system is configured to facilitate the recovery of information based on the descriptions of the Namespaces that is maintained.Type: GrantFiled: April 30, 2009Date of Patent: December 13, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Brian M. Wahlert, Mike Jazayeri, Catharine van Ingen, Brian T. Berkowitz, Nikhil Vijay Chandhok, Dharshan Rangegowda, Seetharaman Harikrishnan, Vinay Badami, Yezdi Z. Lashkari, Robert M. Fries
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Patent number: 8069341Abstract: A system for the unified provisioning of virtual and physical disk images is created. The system includes a library of disk images. Client devices are able to upload to, and select disk images from the disk library. The library is able to determine the hardware requirements of a client device, and format the disk image accordingly. The library supports both virtual machine and physical computer systems, and is able to modify the stored disk image to accommodate either type of client device. The library can modify images to be bootable from a wide variety of storage device types, including iSCSI, and DAS, for example.Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2007Date of Patent: November 29, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Robert M. Fries, Stuart Schaefer
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Publication number: 20110258655Abstract: An interactive entertainment and information system using a television set-top box, wherein pages of information are periodically provided to the set-top box for user interaction therewith. The pages include associated meta-data defining active locations on each page. When a page is displayed, the user interacts with the active locations on the page by entering commands via a remote control device, whereby the system reads the meta-data and takes the action associated with the location. Actions include moving to other active locations, hyperlinking to other pages, entering user form data and submitting the data as a form into memory. The form data may be read from memory, and the pages may be related to a conventional television program, thereby providing significant user interactivity with the television.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 29, 2011Publication date: October 20, 2011Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATIONInventor: Robert M. Fries
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Patent number: 8031780Abstract: Described herein is a technology for the presentation of digital video. One implementation, described herein, smoothly presents variable-speed scanning of a compressed digital video stream—for example, a MPEG video stream. One implementation, described herein, smooth scanning (e.g., fast-forward and fast-rewind) video is produced by selectively displaying certain types of frames of a Group-of-Pictures (GOP). The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.Type: GrantFiled: August 31, 2006Date of Patent: October 4, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Robert M. Fries, Eric J. Wolz
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Patent number: 8011010Abstract: Methods and systems for scanning a virtual machine image. The virtual machine image may be stored as a collection of one or more virtual hard disk files. The virtual machine image may be stored by taking the virtual machine off-line or may be stored by taking a checkpoint of the virtual machine while the virtual machine is on-line. The virtual machine image is rendered to file-system data. Rendering the virtual machine image to file-system data may comprise mounting the virtual machine image's virtual hard disk drives. An anti-malware engine is invoked to scan the exposed file-system data, and data indicative of the scanning may be stored.Type: GrantFiled: April 17, 2007Date of Patent: August 30, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Michael L. Michael, William L. Scheidel, Robert M. Fries
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Publication number: 20110209140Abstract: Deployment and servicing tasks associated with multi-tier, distributed applications, application environments and data centers are automated so that a person does not have to manually perform these tasks. All of the information describing and defining the distributed service is modeled and stored in a re-useable service template that can be used to drive an automated system to programmatically deploy and manage the service over time. Deployment and servicing of a distributed application can be automated using re-useable models that capture hardware and workload definitions. The re-useable models in the form of service templates enable delta-based servicing of the application. The service can be deployed to one or more physical machines, one or more virtual machines or to a combination thereof. A default deployment plan can be customized with instance-specific customizations of service parameters.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 25, 2010Publication date: August 25, 2011Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: William L. Scheidel, Robert M. Fries, Srivatsan Parthasarathy, Alan C. Shi, James P. Finnigan
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Patent number: 8001577Abstract: An interactive entertainment and information system using a television set-top box, wherein pages of information are periodically provided to the set-top box for user interaction therewith. The pages include associated meta-data defining active locations on each page. When a page is displayed, the user interacts with the active locations on the page by entering commands via a remote control device, whereby the system reads the meta-data and takes the action associated with the location. Actions include moving to other active locations, hyperlinking to other pages, entering user form data and submitting the data as a form into memory. The form data may be read from memory, and the pages may be related to a conventional television program, thereby providing significant user interactivity with the television.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2006Date of Patent: August 16, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventor: Robert M. Fries
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Publication number: 20110131183Abstract: A virtual machine may be discovered through a directory service or via an agent that is installed on the host operating system that is running the virtual machine. If the agent is installed on the virtual machine, the agent monitors changes to a set of protected volumes on the virtual machine. If the agent is installed on the host, the agent monitors changes to the protected volumes, which may contain one or more virtual servers on the host. Periodically, these changes from the host or the virtual server are sent to a data protection server. The data protection server updates its replicas of protected volumes with the sent changes. Versions of files on a data protection server corresponding to a volume of a virtual server may be restored to the virtual machine, to another machine, or may be viewed from the data protection server.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 4, 2011Publication date: June 2, 2011Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Nikhil Vijay Chandhok, Michael L. Michael, Robert M. Fries
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Patent number: 7899788Abstract: A method and system for backing up and restoring data of virtual machines. A virtual machine may be discovered through a directory service or via an agent that is installed on the host operating system that is running the virtual machine. If the agent is installed on the virtual machine, the agent monitors changes to a set of protected volumes on the virtual machine. If the agent is installed on the host, the agent monitors changes to the protected volumes, which may contain one or more virtual servers on the host. Periodically, these changes from the host or the virtual server are sent to a data protection server. The data protection server updates its replicas of protected volumes with the sent changes. Versions of files on a data protection server corresponding to a volume of a virtual server may be restored to the virtual machine, to another machine, or may be viewed from the data protection server.Type: GrantFiled: April 1, 2005Date of Patent: March 1, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Nikhil Vijay Chandhok, Michael L. Michael, Robert M. Fries
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Patent number: 7890951Abstract: Model-based provisioning of test environments includes accessing a model of an application to be installed in a test environment of a system and further accessing a model of the system and a model of the test environment. An installation specification for the application is also generated, the installation specification being derived at least in part from the model of the application, the model of the system, and the model of the test environment.Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2005Date of Patent: February 15, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Anders B. Vinberg, Robert M. Fries, Kevin Grealish, Galen C. Hunt, Aamer Hydrie, Edwin R. Lassettre, Rob Mensching, Geoffrey Outhred, John M. Parchem, Przemek Pardyak, Bassam Tabbara, Rene Antonio Vega, Robert V. Welland, Eric J. Winner, Jeffrey A. Woolsey
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Publication number: 20110035802Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer-readable media are disclosed for representing virtual object priority based on relationships. A particular method determines relationships between a plurality of virtual objects. An abnormal condition is detected at a first virtual object. A second virtual object and a third virtual object are identified based on respective relationships with the first virtual object. The method includes generating an output that identifies the first, second, and third virtual object. The output indicates a priority level for each of the virtual objects, and the priority level for the second virtual object is greater than the priority level for the third virtual object.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 7, 2009Publication date: February 10, 2011Applicant: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Nelson S. Arajujo, JR., Robert M. Fries
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Patent number: 7865470Abstract: A method for creating a group plan for protecting an object located at a production location is provided. A selection of an object for which a group plan is to be created is received along with protection intents for the selected object. The protection intents are translated into a group plan for protecting the selected object.Type: GrantFiled: September 9, 2004Date of Patent: January 4, 2011Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Robert M Fries, Brian M Wahlert, Brian T Berkowitz, Catharine van Ingen, David E Gonzalez, Giedrius Zizys, Nikhil Vijay Chandhok, Venkatasubrahmanyam Raman, Yezdi Z Lashkari, Karandeep Singh Anand, Seetharaman Harikrishnan, Sunil Pai, Vinay Badami, Purushottam M Kulkarni
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Patent number: 7861273Abstract: An arbiter component receives a request from a media control object for control of a media resource. The arbiter determines whether a media resource is available, and if a media resource is available, forwards the request to the available media resource. The control object may lock control of the media resource to maintain control of the media resource until the media control unlocks control of the media resource.Type: GrantFiled: April 26, 2002Date of Patent: December 28, 2010Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Robert M. Fries, Robert S. T. Gibson, Eric J. Wolz
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Patent number: 7805631Abstract: A legacy computer system receives a hard drive or other hardware failure. Rather than attempting to rebuild the computer system or recover selected data, which may require locating discontinued hardware or even software, a virtual machine image is created from a previously prepared backup image of the hard drive. The retrieved backup image is modified to create a virtual image that is bootable on a virtual machine. Thus, the original computer environment stored on the legacy system is now virtualized removing the need to repair or replace the failed hardware.Type: GrantFiled: May 3, 2007Date of Patent: September 28, 2010Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventor: Robert M. Fries