Patent ID: 8793377

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for identifying optimal virtual machine (VM) images in a networked computing environment, comprising: defining a virtual machine (VM) image as a self-contained virtual server having an operating system and a set of software applications; receiving a set of system requirements from a requester of the VM image; accessing a profile associated with the requester, the profile comprising a set of preferences of the requester; determining a performance state of the networked computing environment; analyzing, based on historical data relating to VM images previously deployed by the requester, each VM image in an image library containing a plurality of currently running VM images in the environment, wherein a greater weight is assigned to at least one VM image previously provisioned for the requester; identifying, based on the analysis, a set of VM images from the image library, the set of images having a set of software programs capable of accommodating the set of system requirements, the set of preferences, and the performance state of the networked computing environment, wherein the analysis assigns a greater weight to at least one VM image, from the image library, previously provisioned in an industry of the requester; presenting to the requester the identified set of VM images as recommended VM images; and providing the requester with an option to decline the recommended VM images and use VM images from the image library other than the recommended VM images.