Patent ID: 7580826

Claim:
A method for a virtual computing environment to dynamically add virtual hardware devices, said method comprising: scanning, by a computer system, an external service directory having a plurality of virtual hardware devices, each virtual hardware device having a plurality of properties; receiving, by the computer system, input selecting at least one new virtual hardware device and input selecting a specific set of properties from the plurality of properties, the specific set of properties defining operational characteristics of the virtual hardware device; acquiring, by the computer system, said selected specific set of properties from the external service directory for the at least one new virtual hardware device; storing, by the computer system, the specific set of properties for the virtual hardware device in the device listing; presenting, by the computer system, said selected specific set of properties to a virtual machine operating in said virtual computing environment; and utilizing, by the computer system, said specific set of selected properties to instantiate a new virtual hardware device having the specific set of properties.