WOW!
vmware has invented IRC! Totally cool! Count me in! This will be insanely great!
VMware has applied for a patent to bake an instant messaging client into servers so they can chat in real time with multiple human sysadmins. Patent application 20140173751, aka “System And Method for Chatting With Machines”, points out that when a server has something to report to a control freak it usually fires off emails …
Dave: Server, please initiate a restart in 10 minutes alerting all users.
Server: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Dave: What's the problem?
Server: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do. Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.
Server quits with Error Code 0x80000001
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This sounds like the server will initiate connections to a chat server and allow "authorised" users to run privileged applications on the server. Does anybody else see a problem with this?
It is bad enough locking down a server, with all the crap that a supposed minimal system install ends up installing. Now the damned server itself will connect to the outside world and invite people to do things ("Hey Dave, I have a problem. Want to restart some services or maybe start some that have been disabled?"). You also have the problem that a bit of DNS poisoning or hijacking of a chat server could result in your system being compromised.
Using IP addresses when you just have a couple of servers doesn't cause many problems but when you have 100s of servers it can be an issue.
I've had to re-IP networks/servers in the past and when everything uses private DNS servers it is relatively easy although you often find at least one server running some obscure undocumented application with a hard-coded IP.
One of the issues with using DNS is, of course, that everything now depends on it running smoothly but there are steps you can take to mitigate the DNS servers failing.
Lovely. Another example of just how broken the USPTO really is. The fact that the USPTO hasn't laughed them out of the office right away is a sad, sad reminder that the whole blindingly stupid and greedy department should just be scrapped.
I can think of several ways this has been implemented in several different systems since the late 1970's. In one case using "cat > /dev/tty##" in an suid bash script (when such things didn't immediately result in the dismemberment of the perpetrator). But really it seems they're just trying to patent a fairly typical botnet "chat control" system where systems not only chat in a group account, but the group account can control the systems. No prior art there I guess, especially since the USPTO still seems to think computers still run using paper tape or something.
I guess a lot of companies feel obliged to get themselves a bulging set of patents to look good to their shareholders but you have to wonder what kind of message this kind of thing is sending to the industry at large.
When you've got something interesting to say, I'm happy to listen, but on the other hand if all you have to say is bullshit, then it's better to keep it to oneself.
But the horses at the USPTO have a history of not drinking, at least from "the well of prior art".
Even if they receive a barrage of warnings from the public about the ridiculousness of VMware's claim of orginality here I doubt whether they'll fail to approve the application.
Because, well, that's just how they roll.
Time for someone (Google, AOL, the XMPP Foundation?) to file a declaratory judgment action to head this one off at the pass. Otherwise people are going to be in court a few years from now having to fight VMware's "well established" patent, diverting millions of dollars that could have been spent on real software development into the pockets of patent lawyers.
Archipel
Archipel is a libvirt-based solution to manage and supervise virtual machines. It uses XMPP for all communication. There is no web service or custom protocol. You just need at least one XMPP server, like eJabberd, to start playing with it. This allows Archipel to work completely real time. You never have to refresh the user interface, you'll be notified as soon as something happens. You can even use your favorite chat clients to command your infrastructure. Isn't it great to be able to open a chat conversation with your virtual machine and say things like "How are you today?" or "Hey, please reboot"?