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Better Updates for the Offline Cloud

Rebecca Kutzer-Rice | Date: 12-02-10 | Comments

A new technology allows cloud administrators to apply critical security updates to cloud-based virtual machines, even when the systems are offline.

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Better Updates for the Offline Cloud
If your IT organization is like most, you're likely considering or working toward transitioning your data to the cloud. Despite the many benefits the virtual world offers, some downsides, such as system holes and security defects, still exist. Now, researchers from North Carolina State University and IBM have developed a technology to update cloud-based computer systems�even when those systems are offline.

Offline updates are particularly vital for many organizations, in which users can easily create many virtual machines (VMs) on one cloud computing platform. Individuals often use a VM for a very specific function, so VMs that are used infrequently are left dormant for long periods of time. During these dormant periods, offline VMs do not receive critical security patches and are vulnerable to cyber-attacks when brought back online. The new technology could better protect dormant VMs by applying updates even when the system is offline.

Called Nuwa�after the Chinese deity who patched holes in the sky�the new cloud computing patch tool guarantees that VMs receive the critical security updates they need. These updates protect VMs from cyber-attacks, thereby protecting data. The new tool also allows for offline updates, which the researchers have determined are up to four times faster than online patch applications.

"We've designed a way to patch these virtual machines while they are offline, so that they are kept up to date in terms of security protection," says Dr. Peng Ning, professor of Computer Science at NC State, according to a press release. "Current patching systems are designed for computers that are online, and they don't work for dormant computers or virtual machines. The tool we developed automatically analyzes the 'script' that dictates how a security patch is installed and then automatically rewrites the script to make it compatible with an offline system."

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