Virtual Disk Desktop Delivery with Centralized Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enterprise desktop management is challenging due to the complexity of managing numerous desktop instances, content protection, and the dispersion of enterprises across multiple geographic locations, which complicates efficient management and security, especially with laptop computers being offline and connected via unreliable networks.
Innovation Solution
A system where the entire disk contents of user computing devices are stored in a data center, allowing IT personnel to manage them centrally, with self-cached copies on devices for offline use, enabling bi-directional changes and guaranteed zero-propagation delay, and providing complete backups without requiring backup agents on devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If desktop contents are stored locally on each computing device, then users can operate offline with full functionality, but centralized management and security control become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual disk copies in the data center that mirror the contents of physical computing devices. These virtual disk images can be managed centrally while the actual computing devices operate with local copies cached on-device, enabling both centralized control and offline operation without requiring complex distributed management systems
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a data center as an intermediary layer between IT personnel and computing devices. The data center stores and manages virtual disk images, allowing centralized management operations to be performed on the intermediary rather than directly on numerous distributed devices, simplifying the management architecture
2Device complexity
If desktop contents are stored in a centralized data center, then centralized management and security control are improved, but network bandwidth and latency affect management efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-positions virtual disk images and their cached versions in the data center before they are needed for management operations. When management tasks are required, the pre-stored images can be immediately accessed and manipulated without requiring real-time network transmission of entire disk contents, reducing the impact of network bandwidth limitations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments disk contents into virtual disk images that can be independently managed in the data center. This segmentation allows selective transmission and manipulation of only the necessary portions of disk data rather than requiring continuous full-disk network access, improving management speed despite network constraints
3Reliability
If backup agents are installed on each computing device, then complete backups can be obtained, but device complexity and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the backup function from the computing devices themselves and relocates it to the data center. By storing virtual disk images centrally, the system obtains complete backups of all desktop contents without requiring backup software agents to be installed or executed on the distributed computing devices, reducing device complexity and security risks
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates complete copies of disk contents in the form of virtual disk images stored in the data center. These copies serve as comprehensive backups that can be obtained without installing any software on the source devices, eliminating the need for backup agents while ensuring complete backup coverage
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are provided for desktop delivery in a distributed enterprise. In one embodiment, a system comprises multiple computing devices that are communicatively connected to a data center. The data center comprises a separate virtual disk for each separate computing device. A virtual disk for a computing device comprises an image that includes: an Operating system (OS) for the computing device; one or more applications for a user of the computing device; a machine profile associated with the computing device; and user data and settings that are specific for the user of the computing device. The data center also comprises logic which is stored in a storage medium and which, when executed at the data center, is operable at least to: send the image to the computing device; receive, from the computing device, changes made by the user at the computing device to each of the OS, the one or more applications, and the user data; and update the image for the computing device by applying the changes to each of the OS, the one or more applications, and the user data.