Patent ID: 8656387

Claim:
A method for distribution and processing of a workload in network of virtual machines in a communication network, including a head node system level virtual machine (VM) server computer, the method comprising: creating the head node VM hosted at the server computer, the head node VM specifying the workload, the workload being assignable into sub-tasks; identifying a pool of hosts for hosting a plurality of replica VMs, each of the pool of hosts comprising a physical computing device; replicating a clone of the head node VM specifying the workload at each one of the plurality of replica VMs; coordinating amongst the plurality of replica VMs to assign at least one workload sub-task of the workload to the each one of the plurality of replica VMs; and processing the at least one assigned workload sub-tasks of the workload at the respective each one of the plurality of replica VMs without any additional program and environment information being shared over the network about the workload sub-task other than the replicating of a clone of the head node VM at each one of the plurality of replica VMs to provide at least one sub-task result; wherein the head node VM and each one of the plurality of replica VMs in the network of VMs is a software container that holds a complete operating environment comparable to that provided by a complete physical computer, the operating environment including at least an operating system, system libraries, and application stack.