Cloud Virtual Browser for Incompatible Web App Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Remote users face challenges accessing web applications due to software environment incompatibility, as their devices may not support certain applications, leading to difficulties in accessing services hosted by organizations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a cloud service environment where a web application is hosted, allowing access through a virtual browser also hosted in the cloud, with a virtual server receiving requests and executing the application, and sending the user interface to the client device, even if the application is not natively compatible with the user's software environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a web application is accessed directly from a remote computing device, then the user can access the application, but the access fails when the remote device's software environment is incompatible with the application
Solution Approach 1:
A virtual machine environment is introduced as an intermediary between the remote client device and the web application. The virtual machine hosts a virtual browser that can execute the web application, while the client device only needs a basic browser application. This intermediary layer resolves the incompatibility issue by providing a controlled environment that supports the application's requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves the execution environment from the client device dimension to the server dimension. Instead of requiring the client device to have compatible software, the application runs in a virtual machine on the server, and only the display output is transmitted to the client. This dimensional shift eliminates client-side compatibility constraints.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a virtual browser is hosted in the cloud service environment to enable access to incompatible web applications, then compatibility is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring each client device to have multiple different software environments, a single virtual machine with a virtual browser is created on the server. This virtual browser acts as a copy of the application execution environment that can be accessed by any client device, eliminating the need for clients to maintain complex software configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine environment serves multiple functions: it hosts the web application, provides the browser execution environment, and manages compatibility. This universal platform can support multiple different applications and clients simultaneously, reducing overall system complexity compared to having separate solutions for each client-app combination.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, devices, and computer-readable media for providing access to a web-based application from a remote computing device having a software environment that is incompatible with the web application are presented. In some embodiments, a virtual server may receive from a client device, a request to execute a web application, where at least a first portion of the web application may be hosted by the virtual server and a second portion of the web application may be hosted by a second server. In response to the request by the client device, the web application may be executed at the virtual server. Then a user interface of the web application may be sent to the client device to be presented in a local browser at the client device.