Providing Restricted Access to Given Devices by Constructing Abstract Devices

A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to:

• generate a virtual device based on one or more physical devices;
• map multiple device actions of the one or more physical devices to multiple device actions of the virtual device exposed by the virtual device;
• incorporate (i) discretionary access control techniques, (ii) policy-based access control techniques, and (iii) a physical device-level partial ordering of actions to determine a resolution in response to a set of multiple user access requests for two or more of the multiple device actions of the virtual device;
• and
• execute the two or more device actions of the virtual device on the virtual device for one or more given users in accordance with said resolution by coordinating the execution of two or more corresponding device actions of the one or more physical devices on the one or more physical devices based on said mapping.

A system comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured for:
• generating a virtual device based on one or more physical devices;
• mapping multiple device actions of the one or more physical devices to multiple device actions of the virtual device exposed by the virtual device;
• incorporating (i) discretionary access control techniques, (ii) policy-based access control techniques, and (iii) a physical device-level partial ordering of actions to determine a resolution in response to a set of multiple user access requests for two or more of the multiple device actions of the virtual device;
• and
• executing the two or more device actions of the virtual device on the virtual device for one or more given users in accordance with said resolution by coordinating the execution of two or more corresponding device actions of the one or more physical devices on the one or more physical devices based on said mapping.

A method comprising the following steps:

• generating a virtual device based on one or more of multiple physical devices;
• mapping multiple device actions of the one or more physical devices to multiple device actions of the virtual device exposed by the virtual device;
• receiving multiple access requests to two or more of the multiple device actions of the virtual device from multiple users and/or two or more of the multiple physical devices;
• decomposing each of the multiple access requests to a physical device-level access request;
• forwarding each physical device-level access request to one or more corresponding physical devices among the multiple physical devices;
• collating each individual physical device-level access decision in response to each physical device-level access request;
• and
• executing, in accordance with said collating, the two or more device actions of the virtual device on the virtual device by coordinating the execution of two or more corresponding device actions of the one or more physical devices on the one or more physical devices based on said mapping;
• wherein at least one of the steps is carried out by a computing device.