Selective USB Redirection Reliability in VDI
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments, existing USB device redirection techniques face inefficiencies due to excessive overhead in providing reliability mechanisms, particularly when using connectionless datagram protocols like UDP, which can degrade performance for mass storage devices implementing the SCSI standard.
Innovation Solution
Implementing selective reliability mechanisms based on the type of USB device redirected, where for mass storage devices conforming to the SCSI standard, error checking and handling are performed at the virtual disk enumerator level, and for non-SCSI devices, lost packet recovery is enabled at the application layer, optimizing the connection's reliability and reducing overhead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reliability mechanisms are implemented for all USB devices redirected over remote session, then connection reliability is improved, but processing overhead increases and performance degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing different reliability mechanisms based on device type. Mass storage devices implementing SCSI standard receive error checking at the virtual disk enumerator level, while non-SCSI devices receive lost packet recovery at the application layer. This selective approach ensures each device type gets the appropriate level of reliability without all devices incurring the full overhead of every reliability mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of reliability mechanism selection based on device type identification. By detecting whether a device implements the SCSI standard, the system dynamically adjusts which reliability mechanisms are applied, transitioning from a one-size-fits-all approach to a parameter-based selective approach that optimizes both reliability and performance.
2Reliability
If lost packet recovery is enabled at application layer for all devices, then data transfer reliability is improved, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing lost packet recovery at the application layer only for non-SCSI devices. SCSI devices rely on error checking at the virtual disk enumerator level instead. This selective application of lost packet recovery reduces unnecessary latency for SCSI mass storage devices while maintaining reliability for devices that need it.
3Productivity
If error checking is performed at virtual disk enumerator level for mass storage devices, then processing overhead is reduced, but reliability may be compromised for non-SCSI devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by matching the error checking method to the device type. Mass storage devices implementing SCSI standard use error checking at the virtual disk enumerator level, which is optimized for their protocol requirements. Non-SCSI devices use lost packet recovery at the application layer, which provides appropriate reliability for devices that don't implement the SCSI standard. This ensures each device type receives the most appropriate reliability mechanism for its characteristics.
Data Source
AI summary
Reliability mechanisms for a connection can be selectively implemented based on the type of USB device that is redirected over a remote session. When a client attempts to redirect a device over a remote session, an agent on the server can be configured to detect the type of device that is being redirected. If the device is a mass storage device that implements the SCSI standard, and if a connectionless datagram protocol is employed to establish the connection, the agent can implement some reliability mechanisms such as reordering and windowing but not the recovery of lost packets. In contrast, if the device does not implement the SCSI standard, the agent can implement each reliability mechanism including the recovery of lost packets.