Virtual Machine Clone Resource Sharing for Malware Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional security appliances are limited in the number of concurrently operating virtual machines for malware analysis due to the substantial memory requirements, leading to increased costs and reduced efficiency in detecting malicious content.
Innovation Solution
The system optimizes resource allocation by instantiating virtual machine clones that share system resources, allowing them to run concurrently with minimal memory impact through Copy-On Write operations, enabling more VM instances to analyze suspicious content without exceeding memory capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional security appliances allocate dedicated memory to each virtual machine for malware analysis, then each VM can operate independently and reliably, but the number of concurrently operating VMs is limited due to substantial memory requirements and increased costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates VM clones that are copies of a base VM image, allowing multiple VM instances to share the same underlying memory pages. When memory pages are not modified, they are shared across all clones, reducing total memory consumption. This copying approach enables more VMs to run concurrently without proportionally increasing memory usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple VM instances into a shared memory space where identical memory pages are consolidated. Instead of each VM having separate dedicated memory, the system combines memory resources and uses copy-on-write to provide isolation when needed, while maintaining sharing for common code and data segments.
2Productivity
If security appliances increase memory capacity to support more virtual machines, then more VM instances can be deployed for malware analysis, but the costs increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of provisioning separate physical memory for each VM, the system creates virtual copies that reference shared physical memory pages. This allows the same physical memory to serve multiple VMs simultaneously, dramatically reducing the total memory capacity needed and associated costs while maintaining the ability to run multiple analysis instances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes memory pages universal by allowing them to be shared across multiple VM instances. A single memory page containing common operating system code or library functions can be accessed by numerous VMs, making the memory resource multi-functional and eliminating the need for redundant memory allocation.
3Productivity
If virtual machines share system resources through Copy-On Write operations, then memory usage is minimized and more VMs can run concurrently, but resource allocation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The copy-on-write mechanism operates automatically without requiring manual intervention. When a VM needs to modify a shared memory page, the system automatically creates a private copy of that page and updates the VM's page tables, while other VMs continue to share the original page. This self-service approach manages complexity internally while presenting a simple interface to users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hypervisor or virtual memory manager as an intermediary that handles the complexity of copy-on-write operations, page sharing, and memory allocation. This intermediary layer abstracts the complex resource management from both the VMs and the physical hardware, enabling efficient memory sharing while maintaining isolation and security.
Data Source
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AI summary
According to one embodiment, an electronic device comprises a network port and a controller. The network port is adapted to receive incoming content. Coupled to the network port, the controller is configured to (i) determine software profile information associated with the incoming content, (ii) determine whether a first virtual machine instance operating with a first software profile that corresponds to the software profile information is currently running, the first virtual machine instance being allocated resources to provide a first virtual execution environment at a prescribed virtual operating state, and (iii) instantiate a second virtual machine instance operating with the first software profile to conduct malware analysis on the incoming content, the second virtual machine instance being provided access to the resources allocated for use by the first virtual machine instance