Virtual Machine Compliance Management via Delta Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing virtual machines across different vendor environments is challenging due to proprietary formats, lack of standardization, and difficulty in tracking VMs, leading to issues with compliance, security, and resource optimization.
Innovation Solution
A method for computing deltas between pre-execution and post-execution states of virtual machines to suggest or derive optimized variants, including removing unauthorized content and installing security code, while enforcing compliance policies and managing metadata for effective VM control and management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If virtual machines are managed across different vendor environments with proprietary formats, then VM flexibility and portability are improved, but management complexity and compliance tracking difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a compliance management system as an intermediary layer between virtual machines and vendor-specific management tools. This system uses standardized protocols to communicate with diverse VM formats from different vendors, translating between proprietary formats and a unified management interface, thereby reducing management complexity while maintaining VM portability
Solution Approach 2:
The management system implements universal compliance checking and tracking mechanisms that work across multiple vendor environments. By creating a unified compliance framework that can manage different VM formats and vendor-specific tools through standardized interfaces, the system reduces the need for separate management approaches for each vendor
2Reliability
If comprehensive compliance checking is performed on virtual machines, then security and policy adherence are improved, but processing time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs compliance checking at multiple stages including pre-execution validation, during-execution monitoring, and post-execution verification. By conducting preliminary compliance assessments before VM execution and continuously monitoring during execution, the system ensures compliance without requiring exhaustive post-execution analysis, thereby reducing overall processing time
Solution Approach 2:
The compliance management system implements continuous feedback loops that monitor VM execution in real-time and provide immediate compliance status information. This allows the system to detect and report compliance issues as they occur rather than requiring comprehensive post-execution audits, reducing the time needed for compliance verification
3Object-affected harmful factors
If virtual machine configurations are optimized by removing unauthorized content and installing security code, then security posture is improved, but system configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automated compliance management where the system automatically detects unauthorized content, applies security patches, and installs required security software without manual intervention. The compliance management system self-manages configuration changes, generating and applying necessary modifications to VM configurations automatically, thereby improving security while reducing the complexity burden on administrators
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed for controlling and managing virtual machines and other such virtual systems. VM execution approval is based on compliance with policies controlling various aspects of VM. The techniques can be employed to benefit all virtual environments, such as virtual machines, virtual appliances, and virtual applications. For ease of discussion herein, assume that a virtual machine (VM) represents each of these environments. In one particular embodiment, a systems management partition (SMP) is created inside the VM to provide a persistent and resilient storage for management information (e.g., logical and physical VM metadata). The SMP can also be used as a staging area for installing additional content or agentry on the VM when the VM is executed. Remote storage of management information can also be used. The VM management information can then be made available for pre-execution processing, including policy-based compliance testing.