VStore: efficiently storing virtualized state across mobile devices

ABSTRACT

Mobile virtualization is a nascent technology the value of which lies in enforcing data protection, providing process isolation and simplifying application reuse across device platforms. In this paper, we present VStore, a flexible mechanism for storage management and content protection that exploits virtualization to modularize data access and sharing mechanisms into containers separate from those containing guest operating systems and applications. This can provide mobile devices with rich storage options, including local, remote, or peer to peer stores, without affecting guest operating systems, middleware, or applications, and it enables diverse content create-query-share semantics. Further, VStore can provide the means to support centralized content protection and access control to all resident applications, thereby enabling new content distribution or privacy preservation policies to be enforced transparently. We discuss initial VStore implementation results and conclude by outlining new opportunities and challenges for further research.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.7 Organization and Design
          Subjects: Real-time systems and embedded systems

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.5 COMPUTER SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
      C.5.3 Microcomputers
          Subjects: Portable devices (e.g., laptops, personal digital assistants)

  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.2 Storage Management
      D.4.8 Performance

General Terms:
Design, Management, Performance