JP7259203B2 - Information processing device, information processing system and method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing system, and a method executed by the information processing device, and more particularly to an information processing device having a virtualized environment, an information processing system, and a method executed by the information processing device.

In a controller that receives print data from a host device and sends it to a printer engine, an application for performing various processes is operated in an OS environment different from the basic software (also called an operating system, hereinafter referred to as an OS) of the controller itself. Sometimes. Against this background, a virtualization technique is already known in which an image of a virtual hard disk drive (HDD) for use by an OS different from that of the main body is created, installed, and used.

However, in the prior art, when creating a disk image, it was difficult to distinguish the version of the created disk image, the configuration when it was operated, etc. in the state of the disk image file. Therefore, in order to identify the disk image that should be installed, it is recommended to change the name of the disk image to something that is easy to identify, or place the identification information such as the version as a separate file in the same location. was sometimes done.

However, even if the name is changed, the files are installed after being changed to the same original name. Furthermore, when saving another file to be placed in the same location as the disk image, it is necessary to always move or duplicate the file as a set, making management difficult.

In relation to the above, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2009-187247 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique aimed at identifying a distribution source of a disk image file of a virtual machine and preventing leakage of the disk image file. do. In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, security is enhanced by encrypting the disk image of the virtual machine, signing it, and attaching hash data to it.

However, it has not been possible to easily determine whether the disk image is correct before installation or startup.

In view of the above points, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of simply and quickly confirming the validity of a disk image containing basic software.

According to the present disclosure, in order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus having a virtual environment and having the following characteristics is provided. This information processing apparatus includes reading means for reading out identification information from a specific area of a disk image containing basic software and having identification information in a specific area when starting up a virtual machine. The information processing apparatus further includes verification means for verifying the validity of the disk image based on the read identification information, and activation means for activating the virtual machine based on the disk image when the validity is confirmed. including. The information processing apparatus further includes writing means for writing identification information to a predetermined position in the specific area of the disk image when the activated basic software is stopped.

With the above configuration, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of simply and quickly confirming the validity of a disk image containing basic software.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to this embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a controller that configures the printing system according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the controller according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of a disk image stored so as to be accessible by the controller according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram relating to an identification information management function on the controller according to this embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing processing for writing identification information during build, which is executed by the controller according to the present embodiment; 4 is a flow chart showing reading of identification information at the time of installation and validity verification processing based on the read identification information, which is executed by the controller according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a view exemplifying a warning screen displayed when the controller according to the present embodiment cannot confirm validity; 4 is a flowchart showing identification information write processing executed by the controller according to the embodiment when the guest OS is shut down; 4 is a flow chart showing reading of identification information and validity verification processing based on the read identification information, which is executed by the controller according to the present embodiment when the controller is started for the second time after installation.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but the present embodiments are not limited to the embodiments described below. An information processing device and an information processing system including the information processing device will be described below with reference to the controller 130 that controls the printing device 190 and the printing system 100 including the controller 130 as an example. However, the information processing device and the information processing system are not particularly limited.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system 100 according to this embodiment. The printing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a host device 110, a controller 130 connected to the host device 110 via an interface or a storage 120, and a printing device 190 connected to the controller 130 via an interface. Configured.

The host device 110 is composed of a general-purpose computer, and print data required for printing is created and edited on the host device 110 . The print data is sent to the controller 130 via the interface or passed to the controller 130 via the storage 120 .

The controller 130 can receive print data from the host device 110 or read print data from the storage 120 . The controller 130 appropriately converts the acquired print data and transmits the converted data to the printing device 190 . The controller 130 according to this embodiment has a virtualized environment, and is configured to run a plurality of basic software, a so-called operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS), on a virtual machine. In a specific embodiment, an OS (guest OS) separate from the OS of the controller (hereinafter, host OS) is started, and a predetermined application runs on the guest OS.

The printing device 190 receives data from the controller 130 and performs printing. The printing device 190 is equipped with a printer head of a printing method such as an inkjet method or an electrophotographic method, and executes print output on a transfer member such as roll paper.

Next, the hardware configuration of the controller 130 that configures the printing system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the controller 130 according to this embodiment.

The controller 130 shown in FIG. 2 includes a single-core or multi-core CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 16, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 18, a drive It includes a device 24 and a network interface 26 . Additionally, the controller 130 may optionally include an input device 20 and a display device 22 .

The CPU 12 performs overall control such as processing inside the controller 130 . RAM 14 provides a work area for CPU 12 . The ROM 16 stores control programs such as BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The HDD 18 stores an OS (Operating System) for controlling the controller 130, programs for realizing function units to be described later, various system information, and various setting information. A recording medium 30 is detachably inserted into the drive device 24 , and the drive device 24 reads and writes the inserted recording medium 30 .

The input device 20 is an input device such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch screen panel. The display device 22 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display. The input device 20 and the display device 22 can provide a user interface for receiving input of various instructions from the operator. The network interface 26 is an interface device such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) for connecting the controller 130 to a network.

The controller 130 according to this embodiment reads a program from the ROM 16 or HDD 18 and develops it in a work space provided by the RAM 14, thereby realizing the functions and processes of each section described later as the controller 130 under the control of the CPU 12.

The software configuration of the controller 130 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the controller 130 according to this embodiment.

The software configuration shown in FIG. 3 includes a host OS 140 , and the host OS 140 includes a print data reception section 142 , a print data transmission section 144 , and a virtual machine activation control section 146 . Further, the controller 130 has one or more virtual machines 170 so that it can run multiple OSs.

The host OS 140 runs on the controller 130 and performs various processes. Here, the print data receiving unit 142 receives print data sent from the host device 110 connected via the interface. The host OS 140 stores the print data received from the host device 110 via the interface in the storage device of the host OS 140 .

The virtual machine startup control unit 146 controls startup, operation, stop, and the like of the virtual machine 170 . The virtual machine activation controller 146 activates the virtual machine 170 based on the disk image 160 containing the OS. The disk image 160 is loaded onto the virtual machine 170 and booted as a guest OS 172 . The guest OS 172 is stored in the storage device in the form of a disk image 160 file before it is started. The disk image 160 is normally stored in the storage device of the controller 130 and read at startup. However, the disk image 160 only needs to be accessible by the controller 130, and in other embodiments, the disk image 160 may be obtained via a network. Also, the disk image 160 is not limited to a file format, and may be the entire area of a physical disk or a partial area of a partition.

The guest OS 172 can be the same or different OS as the host OS 140 of the controller 130 , but is typically a different OS for the purpose of introducing a virtualized environment on the controller 130 of the printing system 100 . An application 174 running on an OS different from the host OS can be run on the guest OS 172 . Applications 174 are also stored in the files of disk image 160 .

The host OS 140 further includes an identification information management control unit 150 that manages identification information for identifying the disk image 160 and controls reading and writing thereof. More specifically, the identification information management control unit 150 includes an identification information writing unit 152 that writes the identification information at a predetermined location within the disk image 160, and reads the identification information from a predetermined location within the disk image 160. It is configured including an identification information reading unit 154 . The reading or writing of identification information will be described later in detail.

The print data transmission unit 144 transmits the print data processed and edited using the application 174 on the guest OS 172 to the printing device 190 connected via the interface.

Note that the architecture of the virtualization environment is not limited in the above-described embodiment. It may be a host-type virtualization environment in which virtualization software runs on a host OS and a guest OS runs thereon. Alternatively, it may be a bare-metal virtualization environment in which all OSs including the host OS 140 and guest OS 172 described above run on a hypervisor running on hardware.

The disk image 160 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of the disk image 160 stored so as to be accessible by the controller 130 according to this embodiment.

Here, the disk image 160 is a virtual disk drive image file in which the guest OS 172 and appropriate application 174 are stored, and is saved in various formats according to the adopted virtualization method. Major formats of the disk image 160 include img format, vdi format, vmdk format and vhd format. Each of these formats is a unique format for fixing the information necessary for the OS, the applications attached thereto, and the operation after activation.

Although it depends on the specific format, the disk image 160 consists of the guest OS 172 itself and a portion (hereinafter referred to as an OS use area) 162 consisting of information necessary for operation, and a part of the configuration as a disk image file. , and a portion (hereinafter referred to as OS non-use area) 164 that is not necessarily used for the operation of the guest OS 172 . In this embodiment, the OS non-use area 164 is provided with an identification information recording area 166 for storing identification information for identifying the disc image 160 . The OS unused area contains unused areas, often pre-filled with specific data.

The function of managing the identification information provided in the controller 130 according to this embodiment will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the identification information management function on the controller 130 according to this embodiment.

As functional blocks shown in FIG. 5, a disk image build unit 148, a host OS 140 including an identification information management control unit 150, a disk image 160, and a guest OS 172 are shown. Identification information management control unit 150 includes identification information storage unit 156 in addition to identification information writing unit 152 and identification information reading unit 154 described above.

The disk image build unit 148 is means for building a disk image 160 including a predetermined OS. Based on information such as the guest OS 172 to be built and its configuration and version, identification information is created in advance and stored in the identification information storage unit 156 . Here, the identification information includes version information, name and characteristics of the disk image 160, version information of the application 174 installed on the guest OS 172, hardware information of the controller 130, and target area information (for example, destination information). and other updatable status information, activation information, etc. that can be used to identify the In a further preferred embodiment, the identification information can have information indicating the number of times the disk image 160 has been booted. When the disk image build unit 148 builds the disk image 160 , the identification information management control unit 150 writes the created identification information to a predefined location in the OS non-use area 164 of the built disk image 160 .

The means for building the disk image 160 and the means for writing the identification information at the time of building can typically be the disk image build section 148 and the identification information management control section 150 on the controller 130, but are particularly limited. not to be In other embodiments, disk image 160 may be built on a computer other than controller 130 and the identification information written on the same or another computer.

When the disk image 160 built as described above is installed, the identification information reading unit 154 detects the OS unused area 164 and uses predetermined default R/W position information. Then, the identification information is read from the identification information recording area 166 and stored in the identification information storage unit 156 . On the other hand, the identification information recording area 166 on the disk image 160 is deleted from the disk image 160 and restored to its original state. Here, by erasing the identification information from the disk image 160, it is possible not to leave the identification information unnecessarily when writing next time when the writing position changes. Here, the identification information held in the identification information storage unit 156 can be appropriately used for judging whether or not it is valid in the processing as the controller in the host OS 140 .

In addition, the identification information held in the identification information storage unit 156 can be passed from the host OS 140 to the guest OS 172 via another interface such as a shared memory, and can be used for validity judgment inside the guest OS 172. .

For example, the guest OS 172 can compare its own identification information B with the identification information A passed from the host OS 140 to determine its validity. This allows you to quickly determine that the installed disk image is correct and has just been installed for the first time. Also, the guest OS 172 retains the newly set state when the software is updated after booting.

Then, when the guest OS 172 performs shutdown processing according to an input from the user or the like, the guest OS 172 updates the internally held identification information A according to its own setting state, and updates the updated identification information A' to the host OS 172. Return to OS140. The guest OS 172 retains its own identification information B' updated according to the setting information.

The identification information management control unit 150 of the host OS 140 holds the updated identification information A′ in the identification information storage unit 156 . The identification information management control unit 150 holds unique R/W location information 158, and the identification information writing unit 152 writes data based on the unique R/W location information 158 after the shutdown of the guest OS 172 is completed. to write the updated identification information A' to the new write position. As a result, before starting the guest OS 172 next time, it is possible to check whether or not the identification information is correct, and to determine whether or not to start the guest OS 172 .

Note that the predetermined position from which the identification information reading unit 154 reads the identification information when the virtual machine 170 is started immediately after the disk image 160 is installed is the predefined (default) position, as described above. On the other hand, the predetermined position where the identification information writing unit 152 writes the identification information when the guest OS 172 is stopped can be based on the R/W position information 158 unique to the controller 130, and the virtual The predetermined position from which the identification information reading unit 154 reads the identification information when starting the machine 170 can also be based on the unique R/W position information 158 .

Hereinafter, the process of writing identification information at the time of building will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the process of writing identification information during build, executed by the controller 130 according to this embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 6 starts from step S100 in response to a build execution instruction from the operator.

In step S101, the identification information management control unit 150 waits until the build of the disk image 160 ends, and the process loops through step S101 until the process ends (while NO). If it is determined in step S101 that the disk image 160 has been built (YES), the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, the identification information management control unit 150 acquires identification information created in advance. In step S103, the identification information management control unit 150 inspects the built disk image 160 and detects an OS unused area 164 in the disk image 160 that is not used for the guest OS 172 to operate. The unused space can be obtained from the disk image's format specification, but in general, if the disk image 160 is of fixed size, it will have a certain value up to the specified size after the desired configuration is generated. This part can be used because it is filled with data. Even if the size is not fixed, any unused area can be used.

In step S104, the identification information management control unit 150 acquires the default R/W location information 158 for building. The information that determines the position to write the identification information may be a fixed value for all the devices that execute the build, for example, the position that is a multiple of a certain value, or the creation year, month, day, hour, and hour of the disk image 160 generated by the build. may be used to determine a particular position. In step S105, the identification information management control unit 150 writes the identification information to the determined position in the OS non-use area 164 in the disk image 160, and in step S106, ends the process performed during building.

Readout of identification information at the time of installation and validity verification processing based on the readout identification information will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing reading of identification information during installation and validity verification processing based on the read identification information, which is executed by the controller 130 according to the present embodiment. The processing shown in FIG. 7 is started from step S200 in response to an installation instruction specifying the target disk image 160 from the operator. Here, installing a disk image means setting the disk image to be available in association with a predetermined virtual machine in the actual operating environment of the controller 130 .

In step S201, the identification information management control unit 150 waits for the installation process of the disk image 160 to end, and the process loops through step S201 until the installation process ends (while NO). If it is determined in step S201 that the disk image 160 installation process has ended (YES), the process proceeds to step S202.

In step S<b>202 , the identification information management control unit 150 inspects the installed disk image 160 to detect the OS non-use area 164 in the disk image 160 . In step S203, the identification information management control unit 150 acquires the default R/W location information 158 for building, since it has just been installed. In step S204, the identification information management control unit 150 causes the identification information reading unit 154 to read the identification information from the OS non-use area 164 using the default R/W position information.

In step S205, the identification information management control unit 150 compares the read identification information with valid identification information to verify whether or not the identification information is correct. Here, the valid identification information may be input by the operator in advance on the host OS 140 as to whether or not the disk image is to be installed, obtained from the host device 110 via an interface, or obtained from the disk image already acquired on the printing device 190 side. Acquired by receiving image identification information.

If it is determined in step S205 that the read identification information is valid (YES), the process branches to step S206.

In step S206, the identification information management control unit 150 determines that the disk image 160 is valid, so it deletes the identification information from the disk image 160 and returns the disk image 160 to its original state. In step S<b>207 , the identification information management control unit 150 permits the virtual machine activation control unit 146 to activate the virtual machine 170 and causes the virtual machine 170 to load the disk image 160 . The virtual machine activation controller 146 activates the virtual machine 170 based on the disk image 160 .

When the guest OS 172 is booted, the data exchange mechanism between the host OS 140 and the guest OS 172 starts operating. In step S<b>208 , the identification information held in the identification information storage unit 156 by the identification information management control unit 150 is transferred from the host OS 140 to the guest OS 172 . As a data exchange mechanism, various mechanisms for sharing data such as a shared memory provided by a virtualization system and a network shared directory can be used. The guest OS 172 can check its own validity using the identification information passed from the host OS 140, and also retains the identification information during operation.

If it is determined that the identification information read in step S205 is invalid (NO), the process branches to step S209. In step S209, the controller 130 is changed to an error state, and if necessary, a warning screen 300 including a message 310 to the effect that "cannot be used" as shown in FIG. It is displayed on the display device of another terminal connected to the controller 130 via the network.

By the processing shown in FIG. 7, the identification information management control unit 150, when installing the disk image 160 in the actual operating environment, stores the identification information for identifying whether the installed disk image 160 is correct. The image 160 can be read and validated.

Hereinafter, the process of writing the identification information when the installed guest OS is shut down will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing identification information write processing executed by the controller 130 according to the present embodiment when the guest OS 172 is shut down. The processing shown in FIG. 9 is started from step S300 in response to activation of the virtual machine 170 .

In step S301, the identification information management control unit 150 waits for the shutdown of the guest OS 172 to start, and the process loops step S301 until the shutdown starts (while NO). If it is detected in step S301 that the guest OS 172 has started shutdown (YES), the process proceeds to step S302.

In step S<b>302 , the identification information management control unit 150 acquires the identification information A′ from the guest OS 172 using the above-described data exchange mechanism. Here, the guest OS 172 updates its own identification information A' with the current status before executing the shutdown process. Here, the status changes due to updates that occur while the guest OS 172 is running. An update means a change such as an effect of an operation result of the application 174 running inside or a version upgrade, or a change in the setup or setting state caused by the activation of the guest OS 172 . In step S303, the identification information management control unit 150 overwrites and updates the identification information held in the identification information storage unit 156 with the acquired identification information A'.

In step S304, the identification information management control unit 150 waits until the shutdown of the guest OS 172 is completed, and the process loops through step S304 until the shutdown is completed (while NO). If it is detected in step S304 that the shutdown of the guest OS 172 has been completed (YES), the process proceeds to step S305.

In step S304, the identification information management control unit 150 acquires the R/W location information 158 specific to the controller 130, because it is after the guest OS 172 has been activated one or more times, not immediately after installation. In step S305, the identification information management control unit 150 causes the identification information writing unit 152 to use the unique R/W position information 158 to write a new write position in the OS non-use area 164 of the disk image 160 whose operation has ended. The identification information updated by the guest OS 172 is written in the . The unique R/W location information can be set using, for example, a serial number uniquely assigned to the device, the version and language setting of the installed host OS 140, hardware grade, and the like. The unique R/W position information may be written in a plurality of locations by designating a plurality of locations or distributed in a plurality of locations according to the content of the identification information to be extracted.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 10, more detailed description will be given of the processing performed at the second and subsequent activations after installation. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the reading of identification information and the legitimacy verification process based on the read identification information, which is executed by the controller 130 according to the present embodiment when the software is started for the second time after installation. The process shown in FIG. 10 starts from step S400 in response to activation of the controller 130, for example.

In step S401, the identification information management control unit 150 waits for a boot request for the installed guest OS 172, and the process loops step S401 until the boot request is received (while NO). If it is determined in step S401 that the guest OS startup request has been received (YES), the process proceeds to step S402. A guest OS activation request is detected in response to receiving a controller 130 activation, a user interface operation on the host OS 140 , a activation request from the host device 110 , or a activation request from the printing device 190 .

In step S<b>402 , the identification information management control unit 150 inspects the designated disk image 160 and detects the OS non-use area 164 within the disk image 160 . In step S403, the identification information management control unit 150 acquires the R/W position information 158 uniquely set to the controller 130 because it is not activated immediately after installation. Similar to the above, the unique R/W location information can be set using, for example, the serial number uniquely assigned to the device, the version and language setting of the installed host OS 140, the hardware grade, and the like. The unique R/W position information may be obtained from a plurality of locations by designating a plurality of locations, or obtained from a plurality of locations according to the content of the identification information to be extracted, and synthesized. Note that information about the guest OS is not required to obtain unique R/W location information. In step S404, the identification information management control unit 150 causes the identification information reading unit 154 to read the identification information from the OS non-use area 164 using the unique R/W position information.

In step S405, the identification information management control unit 150 compares the read identification information with the identification information saved at the previous shutdown to verify whether or not the identification information is correct. If it is determined that the identification information read in step S405 is valid (YES), the process branches to step S406. For example, when the guest OS 172 runs once, settings suitable for the environment in which it first runs are made internally, but if you accidentally or intentionally try to run it in a virtual machine on a different controller, the serial number, etc. Since the unique information is different, it is possible to identify and judge whether the operating environment is correct. Also, if the number of startups is written as identification information, the startup is not at the time of installation, so if the number of startups is 1 or more and matches the number of startups in the identification information saved at the time of the previous shutdown, can be judged justified.

In step S406, the identification information management control unit 150 determines that the disk image 160 is valid, so it deletes the identification information from the disk image 160 and returns the disk image 160 to its original state. In step S<b>407 , the identification information management control unit 150 permits the virtual machine activation control unit 146 to activate the virtual machine 170 and causes the virtual machine 170 to load the disk image 160 . In step S<b>408 , after communication becomes possible, the identification information held in the identification information storage unit 156 by the identification information management control unit 150 is passed from the host OS 140 to the guest OS 172 .

If it is determined that the identification information read in step S405 is not valid (NO), the process branches to step S409. In step S409, the state is changed to an error state on the controller 130, and if necessary, a warning screen 300 to the effect that "cannot be used" as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

By the processing shown in FIG. 10, before the guest OS 172 is started, it is confirmed that the disk image once started and used is the same as the operating environment at the time of installation from the host OS 140 and is correct. can be done.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, an information processing device, an information processing system, and a method executed by the information processing device that can easily and quickly check the validity of a disk image containing basic software are provided. can provide.

In the above embodiment, when starting the virtual machine, the identification information is read from a specific area of the disk image containing the basic software, and the validity of the disk image is verified based on the read identification information. When the disc image is stopped, identification information is written at a predetermined position in a specific area of the disc image. As a result, when installing a disk image of a virtual machine, it is possible to quickly determine whether the disk image is of the correct version without starting the virtual machine. As a result, there is no need to change the name of the disk image or manage identification information such as the version as a separate file so that it is placed in the same location. In addition, once the basic software is running, settings suitable for the environment in which it was first run may be made internally, but if the virtual machine that was started once is moved to another operating environment by mistake, it will not work properly. can be determined with a simple configuration. As a result, it is possible to prevent malfunction from occurring due to erroneous activation.

In certain embodiments, the retrieved identification information is passed to the underlying software after it is activated. Also, the identification information received from the basic software is written before the basic software is completely stopped. As a result, even if an update or the like is performed on the side of the basic software on the virtual machine, it can be reflected in the written identification information.

In certain embodiments, the underlying software may be characterized by determining legitimacy based on passed identification information and updating identification information in response to changes on the underlying software. . This makes it possible to verify the validity of the basic software of the virtual machine, and even if the basic software of the virtual machine is updated, the updated identification information can be written to the disk image. It becomes possible.

Additionally, in certain embodiments, the identifying information in the disk image is removed after the identifying information is read and before starting the virtual machine. As a result, when the writing position changes, it is possible not to leave the identification information unnecessarily when writing next time.

In a specific embodiment, the identification information includes disk image version information, disk image name, disk image characteristics, application software version information installed on the basic software, information processing device hardware information, target area At least one of information and status information may be included. This makes it possible to verify the validity of unique information that can be used for identification and status information that can be updated.

In a preferred embodiment, the identification information can have information indicating the number of times of activation based on the disk image. As a result, it is possible to prevent a problem from occurring when a recording medium containing a disk image is mistakenly installed in another controller and started up in another device.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the predetermined location from which the identification information is read when the virtual machine is started immediately after installing the disk image is a predefined predetermined location, and the predetermined location to which the identification information is written when the basic software is stopped. The location and the predetermined location from which the identification information is read at the second and subsequent activations after installing the disk image are locations unique to the information processing apparatus. As a result, even if the disk image is duplicated illegally and brought to another controller, it can be known that it is for a different controller.

Further, in certain embodiments, when building a disk image, identification information can be written to a predefined default location in a particular area, and the particular area can be an unused area that is not used by the virtual machine. This allows the disk image to hold the identification information without affecting the operation of the virtual machine.

Note that the above functional units can be realized by computer-executable programs written in legacy programming languages such as assembler, C, C++, C#, Java (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages, etc. ROM, EEPROM, EPROM , flash memory, flexible disk, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, Blu-ray disc, SD card, MO or other device-readable recording medium, or through an electric communication line can be distributed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc. may occur to those skilled in the art. It is included in the scope of the present invention as long as it can be changed within the possible range and the action and effect of the present invention can be obtained in any aspect.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100... Printing system 110... Host apparatus 130... Controller 140... Host OS 142... Print data receiving part 144... Print data sending part 146... Virtual machine activation control part 148... Disk image build part 150... Identification information management control unit 152 Identification information writing unit 154 Identification information reading unit 156 Identification information storage unit 160 Disc image 162 Used area 164 Non-used area 166 Identification information recording area , 170 ... virtual machine, 172 ... guest OS, 174 ... application, 190 ... printer

JP 2009-187247 A

Claims (10)

An information processing device having a virtualized environment,
reading means for reading identification information from a specific area of a disk image containing basic software and having identification information in a specific area when starting a virtual machine;
verification means for verifying the validity of the disk image based on the read identification information;
booting means for booting a virtual machine based on the disk image when the validity is confirmed;
writing means for writing identification information to a predetermined position in the specific area of the disk image when the activated basic software is stopped, wherein the identification information in the disk image is read from the disk image. The information processing device deleted before starting the virtual machine after the means reads the identification information. means for passing the read identification information to the basic software after the basic software is activated;
2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for receiving identification information from said basic software before completion of stopping said basic software, wherein said writing means writes the identification information received from said basic software. . 3. The information according to claim 2, wherein said basic software judges validity based on the passed identification information and updates said identification information in response to a change on said basic software. processing equipment. The identification information includes version information of the disk image, name of the disk image, characteristics of the disk image, version information of application software installed on the basic software, hardware information of the information processing device, and target area information. and status information. 5. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said identification information includes information indicating the number of times of activation based on said disk image. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising means for writing identification information to a predetermined location of a specific area when building said disk image, said specific area being an unused area not used by said virtual machine. 1. The information processing apparatus according to 1. An information processing device having a virtualized environment,
reading means for reading identification information from a specific area of a disk image containing basic software and having identification information in a specific area when starting a virtual machine;
verification means for verifying the validity of the disk image based on the read identification information;
booting means for booting a virtual machine based on the disk image when the validity is confirmed;
writing means for writing identification information to a predetermined position in the specific area of the disk image when the activated basic software is stopped, wherein the identification information in the disk image is read by the reading means. An information processing device that is later deleted before starting the virtual machine. An information processing device having a virtualized environment,
reading means for reading identification information from a specific area of a disk image containing basic software and having identification information in a specific area when starting a virtual machine;
verification means for verifying the validity of the disk image based on the read identification information;
booting means for booting a virtual machine based on the disk image when the validity is confirmed;
writing means for writing identification information to a predetermined position in the specific area of the disk image when the started basic software is stopped, wherein the reading means writes the identification information when the virtual machine is started immediately after installing the disk image. The predetermined position from which the information is read is a predefined default position, a predetermined position to which the writing means writes the identification information when the basic software is stopped, and a predetermined position to which the reading means writes the identification information when the disk image is installed and the second time and thereafter the disk image is started. The information processing device, wherein the predetermined position from which the identification information is read is a position unique to the information processing device. An information processing system including an information processing device having a virtualized environment,
storage means for storing a disk image containing basic software and having identification information in a specific area;
reading means for reading identification information from a specific area of the disk image when starting the virtual machine;
verification means for verifying the validity of the disk image based on the read identification information;
booting means for booting a virtual machine based on the disk image when the validity is confirmed;
writing means for writing identification information to a predetermined position in the specific area of the disk image when the activated basic software is stopped, wherein the identification information in the disk image is read from the disk image. Information processing system wherein the means is deleted after reading the identification information and before starting the virtual machine. A method executed by an information processing device having a virtualization environment, comprising:
a step in which the information processing apparatus, when activating the virtual machine, reads the identification information from the specific area of the disk image containing the basic software and having the identification information in the specific area;
verifying the validity of the disc image based on the read identification information;
booting a virtual machine based on the disk image if validated;
and writing identification information to a predetermined location in the specific area of the disk image after the completion of the shutdown, when stopping the activated basic software, wherein the identification information in the disk image is read in the reading step. deleted before starting said virtual machine after being read .

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