Modular Windows Imaging Format Spanned Files
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional software imaging formats face challenges with data redundancy, inefficiencies in updating, and poor portability, leading to storage and distribution issues due to large file sizes and the need for recreating entire images with updates, which hampers performance and resource utilization in enterprise environments.
Innovation Solution
A modular imaging format is introduced, where a parent image stores common data and child images store unique data, allowing updates to be managed as differences, enabling efficient distribution and deployment by referencing the parent image, and allowing for daisy-chaining of child images to reduce data size and bandwidth requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If a monolithic image file is used to store multiple software images, then data redundancy is reduced through single-instancing, but the file size becomes excessively large and difficult to distribute and update
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a monolithic image file into multiple smaller spanned image files (e.g., image1.wim, image2.wim, image3.wim). Each spanned image file contains a portion of the total image data, allowing the large image to be distributed across multiple smaller units that are easier to manage, transfer, and store on various media types.
2Loss of substance
If a monolithic image file is used, then single-instancing benefits are achieved, but updating the image requires recreating the entire file, increasing update time and resource consumption
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the image into spanned files, the patent enables incremental updates where only the affected spanned image file needs to be modified rather than recreating the entire monolithic image. This significantly reduces update time and resource consumption while preserving single-instancing benefits within each spanned file.
3Adaptability or versatility
If split WIM parts are used to fit smaller media, then portability is improved, but all parts must be present before application, requiring additional disk I/O and temporary storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements spanned image files that are segmented into manageable parts suitable for different media sizes (CDs, DVDs, USB drives). Unlike traditional split WIM formats, these spanned files can be applied incrementally without requiring all parts to be present simultaneously, reducing deployment complexity and temporary storage requirements.
4Reliability
If large monolithic image files are replicated across networks, then complete images are distributed, but network bandwidth is consumed and server performance is impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments large image files into smaller spanned image files that can be distributed over networks in smaller chunks. This reduces network bandwidth consumption during replication and deployment while ensuring complete image reconstruction at the destination. The segmented approach allows for more efficient network utilization and reduced server load during image distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system may include capturing a computer system in a file-based manner that promotes single-instancing of files and thus prevents the occurrence of duplicate files, separating the captured computer system into primary file resources and ancillary file resources, and creating a parent image and a child image that refers to the parent image. The method and system may further include writing the primary file resources on the parent image, and writing the ancillary file resources onto the child image. The child image may include a resource-only file and a metadata-only file which provides instructions on how to recreate the file resources stored in the parent image and the child image.