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Improved methodology working with user profiles in the Linux OS environment

Practical migration of applications to the environment of the Linux family of operating systems is hampered by the lack of effective mechanisms for centralized management of mobile user profiles when they log in from any computer in the domain, functionally similar to the Roaming User Profiles component of Windows OS. However, unlike Windows, where application and system settings are stored in a single registry, on Linux they are located in a variety of hidden files and directories in the user’s home folder, which leads to intensive data transfers and, thus, increases the initialization and termination time of the session and increases the load on the disk subsystem when scanning metadata. The paper proposes an approach to the organization of centralized management of mobile user profiles based on QCOW2 disk images. It uses a mechanism for saving changes and copying them completely locally during the session, known as Copy-On-Write, which eliminates the main disadvantages of network file systems and file synchronization. The structure of the mobile user profile system for Linux environments has been developed, and a methodology has been proposed to ensure their integrity, performance, and fault tolerance, which eliminates the dependence of performance on network quality characteristic of the registry-based method. Estimates of such indicators as the volume of network transfers, login time, speed of reading and writing files during the session, and resistance to network connection failures, obtained on the created layout, revealed a noticeable increase in them compared with similar indicators typical for known methods. The approach can serve as a basis for creating mobile workplaces in heterogeneous Linux environments. Read more...