Creation of link to user profile from user information prior to user logon to a virtual desktop environment
View Patent ↗Techniques for improving logon time for remote desktops a user has not logged onto before. In general, these techniques involve utilizing a pre-logon script to create a profile-specifying registry entry that links to an already created persistent or “mandatory” profile. Linking to a mandatory profile, rather than creating a new profile from whole cloth (which is automatically done by operating systems such as Microsoft Windows upon detecting a log on from a user that has not logged on before), reduces the amount of time associated with logging on.
1. A method, comprising:
creating a mandatory profile;
receiving a request from a first user to log into a non-persistent desktop environment executing on a virtual machine;
before the non-persistent desktop environment receives the request from the first user, executing a start session script to load the mandatory profile into memory and create a first user profile that points to the mandatory profile in memory;
after executing the start session script, logging the first user into the non-persistent desktop environment;
logging the first user out of the non-persistent desktop environment and maintaining the mandatory profile in the memory;
receiving a request from a second user to log into the non-persistent desktop environment;
before the non-persistent desktop environment receives the request from the second user, executing the start session script in a virtual machine running in the host computer to create a second user profile that points to the mandatory profile previously loaded into the memory and maintained in the memory after the first user logged out; and
after executing the start session script, logging the second user into the non-persistent desktop environment.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user profile points to the mandatory profile via a registry entry.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the registry entry includes unique user information and an indication of an on-disk location for the mandatory profile.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mandatory profile includes a list of permitted applications, locations for personal documents, and a desktop background.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user profile comprises a security identifier and a globally unique identifier.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising obtaining, by a host computer, the security identifier and the globally unique identifier from a domain controller coupled to persistent storage storing user account information.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the start session script is executed prior to logon to an operating system of the virtual machine.
8. A virtualized desktop infrastructure system comprising a host computer running a virtual machine, wherein the host computer is configured to:
create a mandatory profile;
receive a request from a first user to log into a non-persistent desktop environment executing on the virtual machine;
before the non-persistent desktop environment receives the request from the first user, execute a start session script to load the mandatory profile into memory and create a first user profile that points to the mandatory profile in memory;
after executing the start session script, log the first user into the non-persistent desktop environment;
log the first user out of the non-persistent desktop environment and maintain the mandatory profile in the memory;
receive a request from a second user to log into the non-persistent desktop environment;
before the non-persistent desktop environment receives the request from the second user, execute the start session script in a virtual machine running in the host computer to create a second user profile that points to the mandatory profile previously loaded into the memory and maintained in the memory after the first user logged out; and
after executing the start session script, log the second user into the non-persistent desktop environment.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first user profile points to the mandatory profile via a registry entry.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the registry entry includes unique user information and an indication of an on-disk location for the mandatory profile.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the mandatory profile includes a list of permitted applications, locations for personal documents, and a desktop background.
12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first user profile comprises a security identifier and a globally unique identifier.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the host computer is further configured to obtain the security identifier and the globally unique identifier from a domain controller coupled to persistent storage storing user account information.
14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the start session script is executed prior to logon to an operating system of the virtual machine.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
creating a mandatory profile;
receiving a request from a first user to log into a non-persistent desktop environment executing on a virtual machine;
before the non-persistent desktop environment receives the request from the first user, executing a start session script to load the mandatory profile into memory and create a first user profile that points to the mandatory profile in memory;
after executing the start session script, logging the first user into the non-persistent desktop environment;
logging the first user out of the non-persistent desktop environment and maintaining the mandatory profile in the memory;
receiving a request from a second user to log into the non-persistent desktop environment;
before the non-persistent desktop environment receives the request from the second user, executing the start session script in a virtual machine running in the host computer to create a second user profile that points to the mandatory profile previously loaded into the memory and maintained in the memory after the first user logged out; and
after executing the start session script, logging the second user into the non-persistent desktop environment.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the first user profile points to the mandatory profile via a registry entry.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the registry entry includes unique user information and an indication of an on-disk location for the mandatory profile.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the mandatory profile includes a list of permitted applications, locations for personal documents, and a desktop background.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the first user profile comprises a security identifier and a globally unique identifier.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the start session script is executed prior to logon to an operating system of the virtual machine.