Patent ID: 8055951

Claim:
A method for evaluating a virtual machine, the method comprising: applying a machine learning process to define multiple state classes for a virtual machine that is in communication with a hypervisor in a network, wherein said state classes are utilized to define a plurality of operational states for the virtual machine comprising at least one of a faulty state class and a potentially faulty state class, wherein the state classes are determined based on data collected from the virtual machine or other similarly situated virtual machines during a normal course of operation; monitoring information exchanged between the virtual machine and the hypervisor to determine whether the information exchanged provides any evidence of the virtual machine not operating in a normal operational state with respect to normal patterns of CPU utilization as determined by the machine learning process, and by evaluating a state of the virtual machine based on statistical analysis of at least a portion of the monitored information; performing a failure preventative or correction measure, in response to determining a potentially faulty or faulty state class.