Dynamic provisioning of virtual systems

Abstract

A method for dynamic provisioning of virtual systems includes, with a server system that hosts virtual systems, detecting a new virtual system on the server system, and with the server system, using a physical address of the new virtual system to perform network authentication on behalf of the new virtual system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for dynamic provisioning of virtual systems, the method comprising:
 with a server system that hosts virtual systems, detecting a new virtual system on the server system;   with the server system, using a physical address of the new virtual system to perform network authentication on behalf of the new virtual system by impersonating the physical address of the new virtual system; and   with the server system, sending an authentication request to an authentication server on behalf of the new virtual system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein sending an authentication request to an authentication server on behalf of the new virtual system comprises using the physical address of the new virtual system to send the authentication request to the authentication server. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the authentication request indicates the physical address of the new virtual system to be authenticated as a source. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein provisioning information received based on the authentication request is used to configure a port on a network device that connects to the server system. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the provisioning information received based on the authentication request includes at least one of policy information, rate limiting information and class of service information. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein sending the authentication request to the authentication server on behalf of the new virtual system comprises tagging data packets associated with the authentication request with the physical address of the new virtual system. 
     
     
         7 . A server system to host a number of virtual systems, the server system comprising:
 a processor;   a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory comprising computer executable code that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
 detect a new virtual system on the server system; 
 use a physical address of the new virtual system to perform network authentication on behalf of the new virtual system by impersonating the physical address of the new virtual system; and 
 send, from the virtual server system, an authentication request to an authentication server on behalf of the new virtual system, in which: 
   a source of the authentication request is identified as the new virtual system based on the physical address of the new virtual system being indicated as the source of the authentication request.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the virtual server system is controlled by an entity that is different than an entity that controls the new virtual system. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein sending, from the virtual server system, the authentication request to the authentication server on behalf of the new virtual system comprises using the physical address of the new virtual system to send the authentication request to the authentication server. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein sending, from the virtual server system, the authentication request to the authentication server on behalf of the new virtual system comprises tagging data packets associated with the authentication request with the physical address of the new virtual system. 
     
     
         11 . A method for dynamic provisioning of virtual systems, the method comprising:
 with a server system that hosts virtual systems, detecting a new virtual system on the server system;   with the server system, transmitting an authentication request on behalf of the new virtual system, a data packet associated with the request indicating the source of the packet by the physical address of a virtual system running on the server system;   with the server system, transmitting data packets associated with the virtual system to a neighboring network device, the network device to allow transmission of data packets associated with the virtual system as a result of the authentication request.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein transmitting the authentication request on behalf of the new virtual system comprises using the physical address of the new virtual system to send the authentication request to an authentication server. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the authentication request is transmitted upon connection of the new virtual system to a physical port of the neighboring network device. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein transmitting the authentication request to the authentication server on behalf of the new virtual system comprises tagging data packets associated with the authentication request with the physical address of the new virtual system. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising authenticating the virtual server system.