Content Abstraction Layer for Offline Virtual Desktop Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing virtual desktop solutions face challenges in providing uniform access to remote virtual desktop content across different devices and network conditions, particularly when the virtual desktop is not running or is offline, leading to inefficiencies in data access and management.
Innovation Solution
The Enhanced Virtual Desktop Management Server employs a Content Abstraction Layer and a Control VM to abstract data access, allowing users to access their data and applications from various devices without needing a running virtual desktop, by mounting or accessing data disks on the fly and utilizing network storage, even when the desktop is not running.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user checks out a virtual desktop to access it offline on a client machine, then the user can access the virtual desktop without network connection, but the actual desktop virtual disk image must be provisioned and maintained in the datacenter, requiring the user to start a virtual desktop and load data to perform functions
Solution Approach 1:
The invention separates the virtual desktop into two independent parts: the actual desktop virtual disk image maintained in the datacenter, and a lightweight virtual machine instance running on the client machine. This segmentation allows the client to access data without needing to provision or load the complete virtual desktop, reducing complexity while enabling offline access.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts only the necessary data access capability from the full virtual desktop environment. Instead of requiring the user to start and load the complete virtual desktop, the system extracts and provides direct access to the virtual disk image through the lightweight VM, eliminating unnecessary provisioning steps.
2Productivity
If the virtual desktop is not running or is offline, then data access becomes inefficient, but requiring the desktop to be running increases resource consumption and access time
Solution Approach 1:
The lightweight virtual machine is pre-configured on the client machine with the ability to mount and access the virtual disk image directly. When data access is needed, the system can quickly mount the virtual disk without requiring the user to start or load the complete virtual desktop, reducing access time while maintaining efficiency.
3Use of energy by moving object
If a thin client is used to stream only needed portions of the virtual disk, then resource consumption is reduced, but access to data requires the server system to stream portions upon each access, increasing network dependency
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates a local copy of the virtual disk image on the client machine that can be mounted by the lightweight virtual machine. This local copy enables data access without continuous network streaming, improving reliability for offline access while maintaining low resource consumption compared to running the full virtual desktop.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and techniques for facilitating access to content stored remotely, for example, as part of a virtual machine infrastructure or elsewhere in a networked environment, using a uniform mechanism are provided. Example embodiments provide an Enhanced Virtual Desktop Management Server/System with a Content Abstraction Layer which enables users to access their data stored as part of a virtual machine environment, or replicated otherwise on a network, using a generic API. The API can be incorporated into a web browser or other third party interface to provide access to the users' data without needing to remote a bitmap representation of a virtual desktop display. Accordingly, users can access their data, applications, and settings regardless of the type of access device and regardless of whether the corresponding virtual desktop is running in the data center, provisioned in the datacenter but running on a client device, or not running at all.