Hypervisor PCR Validation for VM Compliance

The patent introduces a Flexible Service Processor (FSP) as an intermediary component that resides on the remote data centre system and can be remotely accessed. The FSP acts as a mediator between the system owner and the remote data centre infrastructure, enabling the system owner to validate compliance with service level agreements without needing physical access to the remote system. The FSP stores cryptographic measurements of the host environment configuration and allows remote verification of these measurements, thus resolving the contradiction between cost efficiency of remote deployment and the ability to validate compliance.

The patent implements preliminary action by having the Flexible Service Processor store cryptographic measurements of the host environment configuration (such as hardware identifiers, firmware versions, and system settings) into platform configuration registers before the VM migration occurs. These measurements are cryptographically secured and can be later verified by the system owner. When a VM migrates to a new physical system, the system owner can remotely verify whether the new environment meets the required compliance standards by comparing cryptographic measurements, thus ensuring compliance assurance is maintained despite VM migration flexibility.

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the Flexible Service Processor continuously monitors and stores cryptographic measurements of the host environment configuration. When administrators make changes to the physical system to enhance functionality, these changes are captured in the cryptographic measurements stored by the FSP. The system owner can then remotely verify whether these changes have caused any compliance violations by comparing the new cryptographic measurements against the stored baseline measurements. This feedback loop allows the system to maintain productivity improvements while ensuring SLA compliance is not inadvertently broken.