专利汇可以提供Linking virtualized application namespaces at runtime专利检索,专利查询,专利分析的服务。并且A method for linking a plurality of virtualized application packages for execution on a computer system is described. A runtime executable of a primary virtualized application package is launched. A secondary virtualized application package to be merged with the primary virtualized application package is identified. In one embodiment, application settings and file data for the first and second virtualized application packages are merged into a single data structure. An execution layer is created by starting execution of one of the application files associated with the primary virtualized application package. Requests from the execution layer to the operating system for configuration settings and contents of application files of either the primary virtualized application package or secondary virtualized application package and providing requested configuration settings are satisfied using configuration settings and file information from both the primary and secondary virtualized application packages.,下面是Linking virtualized application namespaces at runtime专利的具体信息内容。
What is claimed is:
This application claims benefit of earlier-filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/047,927, filed Apr. 25, 2008 and entitled, “Linking Virtualized Application Namespaces at Runtime,” and which is incorporated herein by reference.
Modern computer applications, such as document creation programs, Internet applications, and so forth, require a large number of files and system settings to function properly. The term, “application” is to be interpreted broadly to include, for example and without limitation, a stand-alone application, which may be associated with a plurality of files and system settings; a run-time library, such as Microsoft's DirectX® package, Sun Microsystem's Java run-time library, etc.; or a plug-in or extension, such as Adobe Flash® browser plug-in, Adobe Reader®, etc. In general, any file or group of files and/or system settings may, for present purposes, be considered an “application.”
In the present example, memory system 20 stores executable application file 22, which is a file containing computer instructions causing the computer to perform functions according to the purpose of the application. In addition, memory 20 may include ancillary files 24 which may contain data or additional executable code. Ancillary files 24 may be installed onto memory system 20 according to an installation program or script (not shown) at the time application executable 22 is installed. Memory system 20 also includes shared files 26. Shared files 26 may be pre-existing, i.e., already present on the system prior to the installation of application executable 22, or they may be installed at the time application executable 22 is installed. A distinction between shared files 26 and ancillary files 24 is that shared files 26 are registered with the operating system and/or located in memory system 20 such that other applications (not shown) can access and utilize the shared files. In the example of
It is not uncommon for the installation of a single application to include the copying of hundreds of individual data files, code libraries, and system settings, along with one or more executable program files. Furthermore, files may be copied to disparate locations within a logical structure of the file system, referred to herein as a “directory.” The directory is made up of numerous folders logically organized in a hierarchical structure. When installing an application, some files may be copied to a main installation folder (e.g., “c:\Windows\Program Files\Application” in Windows) whereas other files may be copied to system folders, “common” folders, user folders, or folders subordinate to the main installation folder.
To further complicate application installations, many applications today have numerous dependencies on pre-installed applications, shared libraries, and system settings. As a result of the complex interdependent nature of many applications, in some instances some applications cannot coexist on a single system with other applications (such as other versions of the software) while at the same time may require certain other applications to be previously installed on the platform. For example, many applications such as Microsoft Internet Explorer do not allow multiple versions of a particular package to be installed on the same platform. Furthermore, two different applications may require different versions of a shared file. The possibility of overwriting of an existing file when installing an application could cause a previously installed application that relies on the overwritten file to break. Likewise, there are many applications that require the presence of a secondary installation package to run. For example, any application that uses Microsoft's .NET framework or Sun Microsystem's Java runtime engine first requires installation of Microsoft .NET or Java, respectively.
To solve these and other problems, it has been known to “virtualize” a single application or a group of applications, thereby isolating these applications from one another and from system software, i.e., the operating system. By providing a thin software layer logically interposed between the operating system and the application, a virtualized application can execute without installing any files or modifying the system directory or system settings. During execution, queries for any file or registry setting are redirected to a “sandbox.” If the file or registry setting is not present in the sandbox, then the query is directed through normal OS application programming interfaces (APIs).
Application virtualization successfully isolates an application from the remainder of the system and allows for enhanced security and policy enforcement, which are features desirable in enterprise environments. However, application virtualization requires that files and settings on which the application depends must either be present on the host platform or be present within the virtualized application package. Therefore, if a program for example requires the Java runtime library to operate, the entire Java runtime library must either be installed on the host platform or be present in the virtualized application package.
A method for linking a plurality of virtualized application packages for execution on a computer system is described. A runtime executable of a primary virtualized application package is launched. A secondary virtualized application package to be merged with the primary virtualized application package is identified. In one embodiment, application settings and file data for the first and second virtualized application packages are merged into a single data structure. An execution layer is created by starting execution of one of the application files associated with the primary virtualized application package. Requests from the execution layer to the operating system for configuration settings and contents of application files of either the primary virtualized application package or secondary virtualized application package and providing requested configuration settings are satisfied using configuration settings and file information from both the primary and secondary virtualized application packages.
Application virtualization involves logically interposing a thin management layer of software between an application and an operating system. All requests for reads and writes of nonvolatile (e.g., disk) storage and system settings made by the application are redirected to a sandbox containing files and settings that would be installed to the operating system, had the application been actually installed.
Runtime executable(s) 102 comprise one or more executable programs that implement the virtualization layer between the virtualized application package and the operating system. That is, the virtualization layer creates the sandbox and redirects reads and writes to and from the nonvolatile storage and the system registry. Although the present example is directed for use with the Microsoft Windows® operating system, which includes the concept of a “registry,” it is contemplated that the tree data structure may be adapted or replaced with a different data structure for use with non-Microsoft operating systems as well.
File directory 106 is grafted to tree data structure 105 as a branch of tree structure 105 such that each node of the branch corresponds to a folder in file directory 106, and each terminal vertex, or “leaf” of the branch corresponds to a file. Terminal vertices of tree data structure 105 each contain an offset value (e.g., in bytes) identifying a start location of the corresponding file within container file 101, as well as the length, also in bytes, of the file. Therefore, each file packaged into container file 101 of the virtualized application package can be located by traversing file directory 106 to identify the offset and length, and therefore the location, of the corresponding file.
Configuration settings and/or runtime script 103 is a feature of the virtualized application package 100 that allows an administrator, i.e., a person creating or deploying virtualized application package 100, to alter the behavior and/or impose restrictions on the use of virtualized application package 100. These restrictions may, for example, be used to enforce security policies, access restrictions, or licensing limitations. In one embodiment, configurations settings and/or runtime script 103 (or runtime parameter) may be used to cause runtime executable 102 to load a secondary application and merge namespaces, as will now be further described in detail.
Virtualized application packages 100, 100′ comprise execution layer 109, 109′ and application virtualization layer 220, 220′. Execution layers 109, 109′ comprise an execution threads having program instructions for carrying out the purpose of the respective application. The program instructions are obtained from corresponding installed application files 108, 108′. For example, the application “Mozilla Firefox,” includes an executable file named “firefox.exe”, which is included among other installed application files 108. In the logical view represented in
It should be noted here that not every virtualized application requires an execution layer 109. As mentioned above, the term, “application” should be construed broadly to include any collection of files and/or settings. For example, the package Microsoft DirectX® can be installed separately and essentially comprises a collection of APIs that provides enhanced graphical and sound capabilities to other applications. Even if DirectX® contained no directly executable file, it would be still considered an application for present purposes since it is capable of being virtualized as a virtualized application.
Since application virtualization layer 220 isolates execution of execution layer 109, and likewise application virtualization layer 220′ isolates execution of execution layer 109′, each virtualized application package is ordinarily prohibited from accessing registry settings of the other virtualized application package. Specifically, execution layer 109 ordinarily cannot access registry settings stored in tree data structure 103′ or access installed application files 108′, and execution layer 109′ ordinarily cannot access registry settings stored in tree data structure 103 or access installed application files 108. To overcome this restriction, virtualized application package 100′ is, in a manner of speaking, “merged” into virtualized application package 100, and therefore does not execute as an independent virtualized application, as suggested by the use of dashed lines illustrating virtualized application 100′ in
Previously, to enable access by execution layer 109 to settings and files of a different application, the settings and files would be bundled into the virtualized application package 100 during the packaging, or “virtualization” of the application. However, in one embodiment, an enhancement to the application virtualization paradigm allows for a merged tree data file 250 to be created in platform 210 at runtime. The merged tree data file 250 provides a “gateway” to files and settings of one or more merged-in secondary virtualized application packages 100′. Upon launch of runtime executable 102, an inspection is made of internal virtualized application settings or a runtime embedded script is executed which may identify one or more secondary “merge-in” applications. Runtime executable 102, then accesses the container file for each merge-in application 100′ and reads the tree data structure 103′. The tree data structure 103′ is merged into the tree data structure 103 of the executing virtualized application package 100 to create a merged tree data structure, which is then stored as merged tree data file 250, either locally in the memory system of system hardware 110, or remotely, e.g., on a network shared drive.
During the merge, sufficient information is added to the merged tree data structure so that runtime executable 102 can locate a requested file in either installed application files 108 or any merged-in application files 108′. Further details are provided below with reference to
The procedure begins as indicated by start block 262 and proceeds to operation 264, wherein the “merge-in” application is first virtualized. Various procedures for virtualizing an application are well known to those skilled in the art of application virtualization. In one embodiment, a clean environment is created, e.g., by starting with a system having a new, formatted disk and installing an operating system on it. Of course, the newly installed operating system may be installed on a virtual computer system rather than a physical computer system using system virtualization software in the well known manner. A snapshot of the clean install is created to store a state of the disk and registry settings prior to the installation of the application to be virtualized. Next, the application to be virtualized is installed using the installation package distributed with the software so that the installation proceeds in an ordinary manner directly on to the system. After installation of the application is complete, a second snapshot is created, and the two snapshots are compared. Each registry setting and file present in the second snapshot that is not present in the first snapshot is packaged into the virtualized application package, along with the runtime executable 102 (
With the installation of the one or more merge-in applications still present on the system, the procedure in
The procedure flows to operation 268 after the primary application is virtualized. In operation 268, the primary virtualized application package is configured to merge-in the identified one or more virtualized merge-in applications when the runtime executable is launched, after which the procedure concludes as indicated by done block 270.
Referring again to
In one embodiment, registry settings are merged to form a common tree structure containing all the keys and values contained in each of the merged virtualized application packages. File directory and file information are likewise merged. However, added to each terminal vertex of the tree data structure that contains the location of the corresponding file is an identifier of the container file that contains the file as will now be described with reference to
Branching from node DRVC are additional nodes, each representing subdirectories in the file system that were created or modified in the course of installing either the primary or merge-in applications. Arrows 282 indicate that only a subset of each expanded node is shown. In the example of
In the embodiment shown in
Returning to
In one embodiment, should multiple applications be merged into the primary application, an algorithm is selected to determine, in the case of a collision, which registry or file data will be used. For example, if virtualized application package A and virtualized application package B each include a file “c:\foo.txt” a selection algorithm is employed to identify which copy of c:\foo.txt is included in the merged data tree since there can be only one copy. In one embodiment, a “last import wins” algorithm is employed, such that whatever order the merge-in virtualized applications are listed in settings/script 103 (
The merged tree data exemplified in
After operation 310 completes, the procedure flows to operation 312, wherein during execution of the application in execution layer 109 (
The various embodiments described herein may employ various computer-implemented operations involving data stored in computer systems. For example, these operations may require physical manipulation of physical quantities—usually, though not necessarily, these quantities may take the form of electrical or magnetic signals, where they or representations of them are capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated. Further, such manipulations are often referred to in terms, such as producing, identifying, determining, or comparing. Any operations described herein that form part of one or more embodiments of the invention may be useful machine operations. In addition, one or more embodiments of the invention also relate to a device or an apparatus for performing these operations. The apparatus may be specially constructed for specific required purposes, or it may be a general purpose computer selectively activated or configured by a computer program stored in the computer. In particular, various general purpose machines may be used with computer programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required operations.
The various embodiments described herein may be practiced with other computer system configurations including hand-held devices, microprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.
One or more embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as one or more computer programs or as one or more computer program modules embodied in one or more computer readable media. The term computer readable medium refers to any data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be input to a computer system—computer readable media may be based on any existing or subsequently developed technology for embodying computer programs in a manner that enables them to be read by a computer. Examples of a computer readable medium include a hard drive, network attached storage (NAS), read-only memory, random-access memory (e.g., a flash memory device), a CD (Compact Discs)—CD-ROM, a CD-R, or a CD-RW, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a magnetic tape, and other optical and non-optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over a network coupled computer system so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.
Although one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described in some detail for clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of the claims is not to be limited to details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the claims. In the claims, elements and/or steps do not imply any particular order of operation, unless explicitly stated in the claims.
In addition, while described virtualization methods have generally assumed that virtual machines present interfaces consistent with a particular hardware system, persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the methods described may be used in conjunction with virtualizations that do not correspond directly to any particular hardware system. Virtualization systems in accordance with the various embodiments, implemented as hosted embodiments, non-hosted embodiments or as embodiments that tend to blur distinctions between the two, are all envisioned. Furthermore, various virtualization operations may be wholly or partially implemented in hardware. For example, a hardware implementation may employ a look-up table for modification of storage access requests to secure non-disk data.
Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible, regardless the degree of virtualization. The virtualization software can therefore include components of a host, console, or guest operating system that performs virtualization functions. Plural instances may be provided for components, operations or structures described herein as a single instance. Finally, boundaries between various components, operations and data stores are somewhat arbitrary, and particular operations are illustrated in the context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within the scope of the invention(s). In general, structures and functionality presented as separate components in exemplary configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the appended claims(s).
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