Granted Patent B2

US 9,323,638 · App. 14/702,397 · Granted Apr 26, 2016

Abstract

Claims (286)

1. A method for verifying a status of an operating system running on a virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquiring an output of the virtual machine so as to verify the status of the operating system,

wherein:

obtaining the plurality of virtual CPU register values comprises obtaining the plurality of virtual CPU register values in a time-ordered sequence, and

determining the status of the operating system is based at least in part on the time-ordered sequence.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

estimating an entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, and

determining the status of the operating system is based at least in part on the entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

determining the status of the operating system comprises determining that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully, and

acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating successful booting of the virtual machine.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining if an application is running on the virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system is booting, and

checking the status of the operating system after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises:

acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

automatically recognizing text in the output of the virtual machine;

generating a report based at least in part on the text; and

transmitting the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

9. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determines, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquires an output of the virtual machine so as to verity the status of the operating system,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains the plurality of virtual CPU register values in a time-ordered sequence, and

determines the status of the operating system based at least in part on the time-ordered sequence.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

estimates an entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, and

determines the status of the operating system based at least in part on the entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted successfully, and

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating of successful booting of the virtual machine.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines if an application is running on the virtual machine.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system is booting, and

checks the status of the operating system of the virtual machine after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

16. The apparatus of claim 9 , upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

automatically recognizes text in the output of the virtual machine;

generates a report indicative of the text; and

transmits the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

17. A method for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine via a hypervisor providing a virtual central processing unit (CPU) to the virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of time-ordered virtual CPU register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of the virtual CPU on the hypervisor;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of time-ordered virtual CPU register values, a boot state value of the operating system of the virtual machine, the boot state value indicating that the operating system of the virtual machine (i) is still booting, (ii) has booted successfully, or (iii) has booted unsuccessfully; and

acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine if the boot state value indicates that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully or has booted unsuccessfully.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

if the operating system of the virtual machine has booted unsuccessfully, determining an error message based at least in part on the representation of the display output of the virtual machine.

19. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine via a hypervisor providing a virtual central processing unit (CPU) to the virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions, wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of time-ordered virtual CPU register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of the virtual CPU on the hypervisor;

determines based at least in part on the plurality of time-ordered virtual CPU register values, a boot state value of the operating system of the virtual machine, the boot state value indicating that the operating system of the virtual machine (i) is still booting, (ii) has booted successfully, or (iii) has booted unsuccessfully; and

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine if the boot state value indicates that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully or has booted unsuccessfully.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines an error message based at least in part on the representation of the display output of the virtual machine, when the operating system of the virtual machine has booted unsuccessfully.

21. A method for verifying a status of an operating system running on a virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquiring an output of the virtual machine so as to verify the status of the operating system,

wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

estimating an entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, and

determining the status of the operating system is based at least in part on the entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein:

determining the status of the operating system comprises determining that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully, and

acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating successful booting of the virtual machine.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining if an application is running on the virtual machine.

24. The method of claim 21 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system is booting, and

checking the status of the operating system after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

25. The method of claim 21 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

26. The method of claim 21 , wherein acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises:

acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

27. The method of claim 21 , further comprising:

automatically recognizing text in the output of the virtual machine;

generating a report based at least in part on the text; and

transmitting the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

28. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determines, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquires an output of the virtual machine so as to verity the status of the operating system,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

estimates an entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, and

determines the status of the operating system based at least in part on the entropy of the at least one virtual CPU register.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted successfully, and

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating of successful booting of the virtual machine.

30. The apparatus of claim 29 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines if an application is running on the virtual machine.

31. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system is booting, and

checks the status of the operating system of the virtual machine after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

32. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

33. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

34. The apparatus of claim 28 , upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

automatically recognizes text in the output of the virtual machine;

generates a report indicative of the text; and

transmits the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

35. A method for verifying a status of an operating system running on a virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquiring an output of the virtual machine so as to verify the status of the operating system,

wherein:

determining the status of the operating system comprises determining that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully,

acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating successful booting of the virtual machine, and

wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining if an application is running on the virtual machine.

36. The method of claim 35 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system is booting, and

checking the status of the operating system after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

37. The method of claim 35 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

38. The method of claim 35 , wherein acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises:

acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

39. The method of claim 37 , further comprising:

automatically recognizing text in the output of the virtual machine;

generating a report based at least in part on the text; and

transmitting the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

40. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determines, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquires an output of the virtual machine so as to verity the status of the operating system,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted successfully,

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating of successful booting of the virtual machine, and

determines if an application is running on the virtual machine.

41. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system is booting, and

checks the status of the operating system of the virtual machine after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

42. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

43. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

44. The apparatus of claim 40 , upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

automatically recognizes text in the output of the virtual machine;

generates a report indicative of the text; and

transmits the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

45. A method for verifying a status of an operating system running on a virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquiring an output of the virtual machine so as to verify the status of the operating system,

wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system is booting, and

checking the status of the operating system after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

46. The method of claim 45 , wherein:

determining the status of the operating system comprises determining that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully, and

acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating successful booting of the virtual machine.

47. The method of claim 45 , wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

48. The method of claim 45 , wherein acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises:

acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

49. The method of claim 45 , further comprising:

automatically recognizing text in the output of the virtual machine;

generating a report based at least in part on the text; and

transmitting the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

50. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determines, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquires an output of the virtual machine so as to verity the status of the operating system,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system is booting, and

checks the status of the operating system of the virtual machine after a predetermined period of time in response to determining that the operating system is booting.

51. The apparatus of claim 50 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted successfully, and

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating of successful booting of the virtual machine.

52. The apparatus of claim 50 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

53. The apparatus of claim 50 wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

54. The apparatus of claim 50 , upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

automatically recognizes text in the output of the virtual machine;

generates a report indicative of the text; and

transmits the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

55. A method for verifying a status of an operating system running on a virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquiring an output of the virtual machine so as to verify the status of the operating system,

wherein determining the status of the operating system comprises:

determining that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

56. The method of claim 55 , wherein:

determining the status of the operating system comprises determining that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully, and

acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating successful booting of the virtual machine.

57. The method of claim 55 , wherein acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises:

acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

58. The method of claim 55 , further comprising:

automatically recognizing text in the output of the virtual machine;

generating a report based at least in part on the text; and

transmitting the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

59. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determines, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquires an output of the virtual machine so as to verity the status of the operating system,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted unsuccessfully.

60. The apparatus of claim 59 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted successfully, and

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating of successful booting of the virtual machine.

61. The apparatus of claim 59 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

62. The apparatus of claim 59 , upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

automatically recognizes text in the output of the virtual machine;

generates a report indicative of the text; and

transmits the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

63. A method for verifying a status of an operating system running on a virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquiring an output of the virtual machine so as to verify the status of the operating system,

wherein acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises:

acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

64. The method of claim 63 , wherein:

determining the status of the operating system comprises determining that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully, and

acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating successful booting of the virtual machine.

65. The method of claim 63 , further comprising:

automatically recognizing text in the output of the virtual machine;

generating a report based at least in part on the text; and

transmitting the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

66. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determines, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquires an output of the virtual machine so as to verity the status of the operating system,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine.

67. The apparatus of claim 66 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted successfully, and

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating of successful booting of the virtual machine.

68. The apparatus of claim 66 , upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

automatically recognizes text in the output of the virtual machine;

generates a report indicative of the text; and

transmits the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

69. A method for verifying a status of an operating system running on a virtual machine, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a server, a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determining, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquiring an output of the virtual machine so as to verify the status of the operating system,

further comprising:

automatically recognizing text in the output of the virtual machine,

generating a report based at least in part on the text, and

transmitting the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

70. The method of claim 69 , wherein:

determining the status of the operating system comprises determining that the operating system of the virtual machine has booted successfully, and

acquiring the output of the virtual machine comprises acquiring a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating successful booting of the virtual machine.

71. An apparatus for verifying a status of an operating system of a virtual machine, the apparatus comprising:

a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, operably coupled to the memory, to execute the processor executable instructions,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

obtains a plurality of virtual central processing unit (CPU) register values associated with at least one virtual CPU register of a virtual CPU on a hypervisor, the hypervisor providing virtualization services to the virtual machine;

determines, based at least in part on the plurality of virtual CPU register values, the status of the operating system; and

acquires an output of the virtual machine so as to verity the status of the operating system,

wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

automatically recognizes text in the output of the virtual machine,

generates a report indicative of the text, and

transmits the report to an administrator user as an indication of the status of the operating system.

72. The apparatus of claim 71 , wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the at least one processor, the apparatus:

determines that the operating system has booted successfully, and

acquires a representation of a display output of the virtual machine, the representation indicating of successful booting of the virtual machine.

Assignments (14)