Computer system supporting remotely managed it services

A method of updating software in a computer system, the computer system including virtualisation software arranged to provide a virtualisation environment for running a plurality of virtual machines, wherein each virtual machine is arranged to run a respective software module for providing a respective set of software services, the method comprising:

• receiving a software update including update information relating to a plurality of software modules associated with a plurality of first virtual machines of the virtualisation environment;
• generating, by an update module running outside the first virtual machines, updated versions of the plurality of software modules based on the update information;
• and
• replacing each of the first virtual machines with a respective second virtual machine adapted to run an associated updated software module.

A method of updating software in a computer system, the computer system including virtualisation software arranged to provide a virtualisation environment for running a plurality of virtual machines, wherein each virtual machine is arranged to run a respective software module for providing a respective set of software services, the method comprising:

• receiving an instruction to perform a software update relating to a first software module running in a first virtual machine;
• and
• in response to the update instruction, replacing the first virtual machine with a second virtual machine running an updated version of the first software module, the updated version generated by an update module based on software update information associated with the received update instruction, wherein the replacing comprises:
• in response to the update instruction, securely obtaining a copy of the update module software;
• initiating running of the obtained update module software in a third virtual machine;
• generating, by the running update module, the updated version of the first software module;
• and
• configuring the second virtual machine to run the updated version of the first software module.

A method of providing software for execution by a computer system, the software arranged to provide software services to users of the computer system when run, the software comprising files to be stored in a file system, the method comprising:

• identifying a first, immutable, portion of the file system, the immutable portion comprising files which are not normally modified during operation of the software to provide software services;
• identifying a second, mutable, portion of the file system, the second portion comprising files which may be modified during operation of the software to provide software services;
• creating a first storage entity comprising at least some of the first portion of the file system;
• configuring the first storage entity for read-only access;
• creating a second storage entity comprising at least some of the second portion of the file system;
• and
• configuring the second storage entity for read and write access.

A computer system for providing modular software services, the computer system comprising at least one processor and at least one computer-readable medium storing software for execution by the at least one processor, the software comprising:

• virtualisation software arranged to provide a virtualisation environment for running a plurality of virtual machines, wherein each virtual machine is arranged to run a respective software module for providing a respective set of software services;
• and
• update software configured to:
• receive a software update relating to a first software module running in a first virtual machine, the first software module stored in a first storage entity associated with the first virtual machine;
• update a copy of the first storage entity in accordance with the received software update to produce a second storage entity containing an updated version of the first software module, the updating performed by an update module adapted to run outside the first virtual machine;
• and
• create a second virtual machine within the virtualisation environment, the second virtual machine associated with the second storage entity and arranged to run the updated version of the software module from the second storage entity.

A computer system for providing modular software services, the computer system comprising at least one processor and at least one computer-readable medium storing software for execution by the at least one processor, the software comprising:

• virtualisation software arranged to provide a virtualisation environment for running a plurality of virtual machines, wherein each virtual machine is arranged to run a respective software module for providing a respective set of software services;
• and
• update software configured to:
• receive a software update including update information relating to a plurality of software modules associated with a plurality of first virtual machines of the virtualisation environment;
• generate, by an update module adapted to run outside the first virtual machines, updated versions of the plurality of software modules based on the update information;
• and
• replace each of the first virtual machines with a respective second virtual machine adapted to run an associated updated software module.

A computer system for providing modular software services, the computer system comprising at least one processor and at least one computer-readable medium storing software for execution by the at least one processor, the software comprising:

• virtualisation software arranged to provide a virtualisation environment for running a plurality of virtual machines, wherein each virtual machine is arranged to run a respective software module for providing a respective set of software services;
• and
• update software configured to:
• receive an instruction to perform a software update relating to a first software module running in a first virtual machine;
• and
• in response to the update instruction, replace the first virtual machine with a second virtual machine running an updated version of the first software module, the updated version generated by an update module based on software update information associated with the received update instruction, wherein the replacing comprises:
• in response to the update instruction, securely obtaining a copy of the update module software;
• initiating running of the obtained update module software in a third virtual machine;
• generating, by the running update module, the updated version of the first software module;
• and
• configuring the second virtual machine to run the updated version of the first software module.

A computer system for providing modular software services, the computer system comprising at least one processor and at least one computer-readable medium storing software for execution by the at least one processor, the software comprising:

• virtualisation software arranged to provide a virtualisation environment for running a plurality of virtual machines, each virtual machine providing a respective set of software services, and to associate a virtual machine with one or more storage entities storing files used in providing software services;
• and
• configuration software configured to:
• associate with a first one of the virtual machines one or more immutable storage entities comprising a first, immutable, portion of the files associated with the first virtual machine, the immutable portion comprising files which are not modified during operation of the virtual machine to provide software services;
• and
• associate with the first virtual machine one or more mutable storage entities storing a second, mutable, portion of the files associated with the first virtual machine, the second portion comprising files which may be modified during operation of the virtual machine to provide software services.

A system for providing software for execution by a computer system, the software arranged to provide software services to users of the computer system when run, the software comprising files to be stored in a file system, the system comprising at least one processor and at least one computer-readable medium storing executable code for execution by the at least one processor, the executable code configured to:

• identify a first, immutable, portion of the file system, the immutable portion comprising files which are not normally modified during operation of the software to provide software services;
• identify a second, mutable, portion of the file system, the second portion comprising files which may be modified during operation of the software to provide software services;
• create a first storage entity comprising at least some of the first portion of the file system;
• configure the first storage entity for read-only access;
• create a second storage entity comprising at least some of the second portion of the file system;
• and
• configure the second storage entity for read and write access.