Abstract: An application may be modeled as a collection of resource usage. The model allows the application to be elastic so that additional resource usage can be added when needed. Items may be added to and/or removed from applications at any time without regard to the state of the application. Existing items in the application may also be altered at any time regardless of the application state. A set of interfaces are used to manage the resources. The interface allow for the provisioning, configuration, deployment, monitoring and diagnostics of resources in a consistent way.

Abstract: An application may be modeled as a collection of resource usage. The model allows the application to be elastic so that additional resource usage can be added when needed. Items may be added to and/or removed from applications at any time without regard to the state of the application. Existing items in the application may also be altered at any time regardless of the application state. A set of interfaces are used to manage the resources. The interface allow for the provisioning, configuration, deployment, monitoring and diagnostics of resources in a consistent way.

Abstract: Remote differential compression is integrated within applications. Objects are updated between two or more computing devices using remote differential compression (RDC) techniques such that required data transfers are minimized. An algorithm provides enhanced efficiencies for allowing the receiver to locate a set of objects that are similar to the object that needs to be transferred from the sender. Once this set of similar objects has been found, the receiver may reuse any chunks from these objects during the RDC algorithm.

Abstract: Physical (or prior virtual) machine volumes can be converted to virtual machines at a virtual machine host while the physical machines are running. In one implementation, a volume shadow copy service can be used to create an application (and/or file system)-consistent snapshot of one or more physical machine volumes while the one or more volumes are running. The snapshot data can then be transferred to a mounted virtual hard disk file (dynamic or fixed) at a virtual machine host. Operational information (e.g., boot record, system registry, drivers, devices, configuration preferences, etc.) associated with the virtual hard disk file and the operating system(s) within the virtual machine can then be modified as appropriate to ensure that the corresponding virtual machine is bootable and functional at the virtual machine host. The virtual hard disk file can then be un-mounted, and used as a new virtual machine.

Abstract: A host server hosting one or more virtual machines can back up host volumes and the one or more virtual machines installed thereon in an application-consistent manner. In one implementation, a host-level requestor instructs a host-level writer to identify which virtual machines qualify for application-consistent backups. The host-level requestor then instructs the host-level writer to initiate virtual machine backups through guest-level requesters in each appropriately-configured virtual machine, wherein the virtual machines create application-consistent backups within the virtual machine volumes. The host-level requester then initiates snapshots of the server volumes on the host-level. The virtual machine-level snapshots can thus be retrieved from within the host-level snapshots of the server volumes.

Abstract: Remote differential compression is integrated within applications. Objects are updated between two or more computing devices using remote differential compression (RDC) techniques such that required data transfers are minimized. An algorithm provides enhanced efficiencies for allowing the receiver to locate a set of objects that are similar to the object that needs to be transferred from the sender. Once this set of similar objects has been found, the receiver may reuse any chunks from these objects during the RDC algorithm.