Virtual Media Folder Mount for IKVM Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional virtual media methods in KVM systems face issues with reliability and security, as they allow entire storage devices to be mapped as virtual drives, exposing sensitive data and risking device crashes during write operations due to network errors.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a folder-mount function in an IKVM system, where a server can access specific folders on a client's storage device as virtual drives without accessing the entire device, using a virtual media management software module to emulate a storage device and manage folder access securely, ensuring only the selected folder's contents are accessible.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If entire storage device is mapped as virtual drive, then server can access storage device contents, but security is compromised and sensitive data is exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the storage device access into two segments: the virtual media driver handles high-level virtual drive operations, while the virtual media access control module segments and controls access to specific folders or files within the storage device. This segmentation allows the server to access only authorized portions of the storage device rather than the entire device, resolving the contradiction between accessibility and security.
2Productivity
If write-back function is implemented in disk-mounted system, then data can be written to storage device, but device may crash during write operations due to network errors
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual media access control module acts as an intermediary between the virtual media driver and the storage device. It intercepts write commands, validates them, and controls the write operations to prevent unauthorized or potentially harmful writes. This intermediary layer protects the storage device from crashes while maintaining write capability, resolving the contradiction between productivity and device stability.
3Reliability
If folder-mount function is implemented, then only specific folders are accessible to server, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the virtual media driver functionality with the virtual media access control module into a unified system. The access control module is integrated with the existing virtual media infrastructure, allowing folder-level access control to be implemented without requiring completely separate systems. This merging approach maintains security benefits while minimizing the increase in system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual media (VM) method for mounting a folder stored in a storage device of a client for accessed by a server as a virtual drive. The client assigns virtual cluster indices to each file in the folder, and creates a file-cluster index table to store the assigned virtual cluster indices. The client also creates a VM file system complying with the FAT file system standard except that only subdirectories and no data files are stored in the VM FAT file system. The VM FAT table uses virtual cluster indices rather than actual cluster indices. Data written by the server are stored in a temporary data area without modifying the actual file system of the storage device. The virtual sectors requested to be written are “dirty”, and the dirty sector numbers and corresponding temporary sector numbers are stored in a dirty sector index table for use in a write-back step.