User Profile Portability via Layered Virtual Disk
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing information handling systems face challenges in making user data and operating system settings portable across different platforms and operating systems, due to OS dependencies, limiting user profile portability.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves creating separate user profile data and operating system layers, which are managed on a multi-layer virtual disk, allowing user data to be captured and maintained independently of OS versions, and ensuring that user settings are accessible across various OS environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If user profile data is stored within a single operating system environment, then the data is easily managed and accessed within that OS, but the user profile cannot be ported to different operating systems or versions
Solution Approach 1:
The user profile is divided into two distinct layers: a data layer that contains user-specific information (documents, settings, preferences) and an operating system layer that contains OS-specific configurations and binaries. This segmentation allows the data layer to be portable across different OS versions while the OS layer adapts to the specific environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical layering dimension to the traditional flat profile structure. By organizing profile data in stacked layers (data layer at the bottom, OS layer on top), the system enables selective portability of the data layer while maintaining OS-specific adaptations in the upper layer, effectively adding a dimensional organization to profile management.
2Adaptability or versatility
If user profile data is separated into multiple layers, then portability across OS versions is enabled, but the complexity of managing and mounting these layers increases
Solution Approach 1:
A profile manager component acts as an intermediary that automatically handles the mounting and unmounting of profile layers. This mediator translates high-level user actions (login, logout, profile switching) into the necessary layer operations, shielding users from the underlying complexity of multi-layer management while enabling cross-OS compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The layered profile structure is designed to work universally across different operating systems and versions. The data layer uses a standardized format that can be mounted on any OS, while the OS layer adapts to specific system requirements, making the overall solution multi-functional and broadly compatible without requiring OS-specific implementation details.
3Reliability
If the user profile data layer and operating system layer are stored together, then access is simplified, but modifications to OS data can corrupt user data and portability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The profile storage is segmented into distinct mounted layers: the data layer stored in a portable format (such as a file container or database) and the OS layer stored separately in the native file system. This physical and logical separation prevents OS-specific operations from corrupting user data while maintaining reliable access through the layering mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary mounting of the data layer before any user profile operations are allowed. This preliminary action ensures that the data layer is properly initialized and protected before user applications can access or modify data, preventing corruption while maintaining ease of access through automatic mounting upon login.
Data Source
AI summary
A user profile layer provides a benefit to a user by allowing access to user profile setting and data across multiple information handling systems running one or more operating systems. Operating system specific data may be stored in a user profile operating system layer while user data may be stored in a user profile data layer. Each time a user logs in to an information handling system, a layering driver captures changes to user data and to user settings corresponding to the operating system. A new user profile operating system layer is created for each type of operating system associated with a user while only one user profile data layer is maintained for the same user. In this way, any changes made to the same operating system data or user data are captured by the user's specific user profile and usable each time the user logs in to any information handling system.