Patent ID: 8255484

Claim:
A method for creating a virtualized computer system comprising the following steps: storing a library of a plurality of virtualized hardware components; storing a library of a plurality of operating systems for utilization with the virtualized hardware components; storing a library of applications for execution by the operating systems; enabling requesters to select computer configurations that include a hardware configuration and an operating system configuration; sensing selections by a requester of a desired computer configuration, the selections including indications specific to a desired hardware configuration and a desired operating system configuration, the selections further including an indication of at least one of the applications; and automatically configuring and deploying on a physical host platform a virtual machine according to the selections by the requester, including: a) heuristically selecting from among the virtualized hardware components to most closely implement the desired hardware configuration; and b) heuristically selecting from among the operating systems to most closely match the desired operating system configuration.