Centralized Anti-Virus Scanning for Virtual Machine Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional virtual machine systems experience performance degradation and increased disk I/O due to anti-virus programs, which incur significant CPU cycles and random I/O, especially when multiple virtual machines run them simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where a server computes signature values for files and stores them in a central database, allowing multiple virtual machines to skip virus scans on files with matching signatures, reducing the number of files to be scanned and shifting the load to a central agent for virus scans.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each virtual machine runs anti-virus programs independently, then virus scanning coverage is maintained, but system performance degrades and disk I/O increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates anti-virus scanning operations by merging multiple independent virtual machine scans into a single centralized scan performed by the host operating system. The host scans files once and shares the scan results with multiple virtual machines, eliminating redundant scanning operations while maintaining comprehensive virus detection coverage across all virtual machines.
Solution Approach 2:
The host operating system's anti-virus program is enhanced to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it scans files for viruses, generates scan results, and distributes these results to multiple virtual machines. This universal approach allows a single scanning operation to serve multiple purposes and multiple systems, reducing overall system resource consumption.
2Reliability
If multiple virtual machines run anti-virus programs simultaneously, then virus scanning is performed on all files, but CPU cycles and system load increase suddenly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the CPU-intensive virus scanning operations from multiple virtual machines into a single centralized scanning operation performed by the host. By combining these operations, the system performs comprehensive virus scanning without multiplying the CPU cycle consumption that would occur if each virtual machine scanned independently simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The host operating system performs the virus scanning operation in advance as a preliminary action, generating scan results before the virtual machines need to access the files. This preliminary scanning eliminates the need for each virtual machine to perform its own scanning, thereby reducing simultaneous CPU load while ensuring all files are scanned.
3Reliability
If anti-virus programs perform random I/O operations, then file scanning is thorough, but disk I/O increases and slows down the system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple random I/O operations from separate virtual machine anti-virus programs into a single centralized I/O operation performed by the host. By consolidating these operations, the system maintains thorough file scanning through comprehensive virus detection while reducing the total number of random I/O calls that would otherwise slow down the disk and system.
Data Source
AI summary
The execution of anti-virus programs can be accelerated in a virtual desktop environment. In one embodiment, a server hosts a plurality of virtual machines. Before performing a virus scan on a file, the server computes a signature value of the file, compares the signature value with the stored signature values in a central database, and performs virus scan on the file according to the result of the comparison. If the signature value exists in the central database, the virus scan on the file can be skipped.