How Virtual Machines Keep Their Data Separate on Shared Storage
A method for virtual machines to store data in isolated, non-mixed logical storage units to improve security and management efficiency within a shared physical storage pool.
Original patent title: “Storage architecture for virtual machines”
A method for virtual machines to store data in isolated, non-mixed logical storage units to improve security and management efficiency within a shared physical storage pool. Granted to VMware LLC in 2017 with 21 claims and 12 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a way to organize how virtual machines (VMs) talk to physical hard drives. Instead of letting multiple VMs dump their data into the same shared storage bucket, the system creates 'logical units'—essentially private lanes for each VM's virtual disk. A specialized 'virtualized disk I/O handler' sits between the VM and the storage. When a VM wants to read or write data, this handler intercepts the request, checks if it has permission, and maps the request specifically to the correct, isolated logical unit. This prevents data from different VMs from being commingled, which makes it easier to take snapshots or move individual VMs without affecting others.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover storage architectures where data from multiple virtual machines is intentionally stored on the same logical unit.
- Does not cover physical storage management that lacks a virtualized disk I/O handler for request interception.
- Does not cover non-virtualized computing environments where direct hardware access is not mediated by a hypervisor.
- Does not cover storage systems that do not utilize a storage pool abstraction layer.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation is the 'virtualized disk I/O handler' that dynamically modifies disk access requests to map them to specific logical units, effectively acting as a gatekeeper that ensures strict physical isolation for virtual assets.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
VMware vSphere storage environments
Enterprise cloud data centers
Virtualized server clusters using iSCSI protocols
Why it matters
The bigger picture
In data centers, managing storage for thousands of VMs is a massive performance and security challenge. By ensuring that one VM's data cannot be mixed with another's at the logical unit level, this architecture simplifies administrative tasks like backing up specific VMs or moving them between servers. It provides a blueprint for 'clean' storage isolation that is critical for enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure.
Filed
November 10, 2015
Granted
September 12, 2017
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
VMware remains the primary driver of this technology, integrating these concepts into their vSphere and vSAN product lines. Other major cloud infrastructure providers and hypervisor developers utilize similar principles of storage abstraction and isolation to manage multi-tenant workloads.
Market impact
This patent helped formalize the 'logical unit' isolation standard in virtualized environments, which has become a baseline requirement for enterprise security and data management. It allows cloud providers to offer more granular control over VM storage, reducing the risk of cross-VM data corruption and simplifying disaster recovery operations.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a way to organize how virtual machines (VMs) talk to physical hard drives. Instead of letting multiple VMs dump their data into the same shared storage bucket, the system creates 'logical units'—essentially private lanes for each VM's virtual disk. A specialized 'virtualized disk I/O handler' sits between the VM and the storage. When a VM wants to read or write data, this handler intercepts the request, checks if it has permission, and maps the request specifically to the correct, isolated logical unit. This prevents data from different VMs from being commingled, which makes it easier to take snapshots or move individual VMs without affecting others.
The clever bit
The innovation is the 'virtualized disk I/O handler' that dynamically modifies disk access requests to map them to specific logical units, effectively acting as a gatekeeper that ensures strict physical isolation for virtual assets.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover storage architectures where data from multiple virtual machines is intentionally stored on the same logical unit.
- Does not cover physical storage management that lacks a virtualized disk I/O handler for request interception.
- Does not cover non-virtualized computing environments where direct hardware access is not mediated by a hypervisor.
- Does not cover storage systems that do not utilize a storage pool abstraction layer.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
22/40
Moderately cited
Claim breadth
14/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
10/20
Granted 5–10 years ago
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$125K – $399K
Midpoint $250K · 9.4 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
21 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Schmidt, R. W., & Hiltgen, D. K. (2017). How Virtual Machines Keep Their Data Separate on Shared Storage (U.S. Patent No. 9,760,393). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9760393/azure-machine-learning
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Virtual Machines Keep Their Data Separate on Shared Storage cover?
A method for virtual machines to store data in isolated, non-mixed logical storage units to improve security and management efficiency within a shared physical storage pool.
Who owns patent US 9760393?
VMware LLC owns this patent, granted in 2017.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on September 12, 2037, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 9760393 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 12 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
In data centers, managing storage for thousands of VMs is a massive performance and security challenge. By ensuring that one VM's data cannot be mixed with another's at the logical unit level, this architecture simplifies administrative tasks like backing up specific VMs or moving them between servers. It provides a blueprint for 'clean' storage isolation that is critical for enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover storage architectures where data from multiple virtual machines is intentionally stored on the same logical unit.
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