Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Johannes Helander

Alessandro Forin

Gilad Odinak

Raymond W McCollum

Brian Reistad

Alexander Evgenievich Nosov

Andrew Raffman

Steve Menzies

Stefan B Sigurdsson

Paul T Pham

Vishwa Kumbalimutt

Automatic programming, scheduling, and control of planned activities at 'worker nodes' in a distributed environment are provided by a 'real-time self tuner'(RTST). The RTST provides self-tuning of controlled interoperation among an interconnected set of distributed components (i.e., worker nodes) including, for example, home appliances, security systems, lighting, sensor networks, medical electronic devices, wearable computers, robotics, industrial controls, wireless communication systems, audio nets, distributed computers, toys, games, etc. The RTST acts as a centralized &#x201c;planner&#x201d; that is either one of the nodes or a dedicated computing device. A set of protocols allow applications to communicate with the nodes, and allow one or more nodes to communicate with each other. Self-tuning of the interoperation and scheduling of tasks to be performed at each node uses an on-line sampling driven statistical model and predefined node &#x201c;behavior patterns&#x201d; to predict and manage resource requirements needed by each node for completing assigned tasks.

Orchestrating competing activities for scheduling actions of multiple nodes in a distributed environment

Automatic programming, scheduling, and control of planned activities at 'worker nodes' in a distributed environment are provided by a 'real-time self tuner' (RTST). The RTST provides self-tuning of controlled interoperation among an interconnected set of distributed components (i.e., worker nodes) including, for example, home appliances, security systems, lighting, sensor networks, medical electronic devices, wearable computers, robotics, industrial controls, wireless communication systems, audio nets, distributed computers, toys, games, etc. The RTST acts as a centralized &#x201c;planner&#x201d; that is either one of the nodes or a dedicated computing device. A set of protocols allow applications to communicate with the nodes, and allow one or more nodes to communicate with each other. Self-tuning of the interoperation and scheduling of tasks to be performed at each node uses an on-line sampling driven statistical model and predefined node &#x201c;behavior patterns&#x201d; to predict and manage resource requirements needed by each node for completing assigned tasks.

Centralized planning for real-time self tuning of planned actions in a distributed environment

A method of producing an executable image from an object file without shared library support from the operating system, wherein the executable image requires a shared library file in order to resolve at least one of the symbols called for in the object file. A method of optimizing the loading of a previously linked file into working memory in a computer for executing in a single address space of the working memory, the file containing an instruction to make an indirect jump to a location in a shared library through an import section of the file. A method for optimizing the loading of a previously linked file into working memory in a computer for executing in a single address space of the working memory, the file containing plural sections with number-filled padding between the end of each section and a succeeding page boundary. A method of optimizing the loading of a previously linked file into working memory in a computer for executing in a memory sharable with other executables. This method includes selecting a portion of code in the previously linked file, removing the portion of code from the previously linked file, and constructing a dynamically linked library file containing the portion of the code, the dynamically linked library file being available to plural files including the previously linked-file. A method of converting an image which has been previously linked for executing in an unshared memory into an image optimized for use with virtual memory.

Efficient linking and loading for late binding and platform retargeting

Real-time self tuning of planned actions in a distributed environment

Embodiments described herein are based on the principle that shells execute commands as units of characters sent within a message. Accordingly, embodiments herein provide for establishing a remote processing session for commands by using a binding mechanism that binds a series of commands to a remote shell using a message rather than a binary stream of data. More specifically, embodiments herein provided for a mechanism of encapsulating both a command and a binding mechanism (e.g., a shell identifier and/or shell token) into a single message. Accordingly, the binding mechanism can be used throughout the lifetime of the session and allows for modeling the shell processor session (its lifetime) as a series of commands, rather than as a series of characters. In addition, note that because the binding mechanism for the shell sessions is sent within messages, the problems associated with binary or character-by-character establishment of current shell sessions are overcome.

Shell sessions

A 'Device Correlator,' operates to identify and configure complementary devices as a combined function of device 'touching' and observations of contextual history of human interaction with the various devices in an ad-hoc network environment. New devices are brought into a local trust domain of the network via a &#x201c;touch-based&#x201d; process. Further, as each device is added to the trust domain, a contextual history of user interaction with each device is recorded. This recorded context history is evaluated to determine probable device associations. Inter-device associations and device behaviors for trusted devices are then automatically configured as a function of both the context history and the capabilities of the various devices. The result is an automatically configured invisible computing environment, wherein the only actions required by the user are to bring new devices into the local area of the ad-hoc network, and then designate those devices as being trusted.

Configuring devices using context histories

The present invention is directed to a loadable virtual memory manager, and generally to a computer operating system capable of supporting application programs running in a computer having a working memory, the computer operating system including a kernel resident in the working memory at run time, and a loadable virtual memory manager resident at link time outside of the working memory and dynamically loadable into the working memory at run time upon demand of one of the application programs. The kernel includes a loader for loading the virtual memory manager into the working memory in response to a demand from one of the application programs. The computer is able to access a storage memory separate from the working memory, the loadable virtual memory manager residing at link time in the storage memory. The loader loads the virtual memory manager from the storage memory to the working memory. The loadable virtual memory manager is removable from the working memory upon lack of demand therefor by the application programs.

Highly componentized system architecture with loadable virtual memory manager

A method of producing an executable image from an object file without shared library support from the operating system, wherein the executable image requires a shared library file in order to resolve at least one of the symbols called for in the object file. A method of optimizing the loading of a previously linked file into working memory in a computer for executing in a single address space of the working memory, the file containing an instruction to make an indirect jump to a location in a shared library through an import section of the file. A method for optimizing the loading of a previously linked file into working memory in a computer for executing in a single address space of the working memory, the file containing plural sections with number-filled padding between the end of each section and a succeeding page boundary. A method of optimizing the loading of a previously linked file into working memory in a computer for executing in a memory sharable with other executables. This method includes selecting a portion of code in the previously linked file, removing the portion of code from the previously linked file, and constructing a dynamically linked library file containing the portion of the code, the dynamically linked library file being available to plural files including the previously linked file. A method of converting an image which has been previously linked for executing in an unshared memory into an image optimized for use with virtual memory.

Methods of optimizing the loading of a previously linked file into working memory in a computer for executing in a memory sharable with other executables, and converting an image which has been previously linked for executing in an unshared memory into an image optimized for use with virtual memory.

A method and system for managing the execution of threads uses a single scheduler for both threads and work items. Objects representing the threads and the work items are either maintained in separate queues or are stored together in a single queue. Each thread object or work item object may contain information that allows the scheduler to determine what order to execute the corresponding threads or to process the corresponding work items.

Method and system for managing the execution of threads and the processing of data

In accordance with another aspect, the invention is embodied in a computer operating system capable of supporting plural objects running in a computer having a working memory, the computer operating system including a kernel resident in the working memory at link time, and a loadable mutation object resident at link time outside of the working memory and dynamically loadable into the working memory at run time upon demand of one of the application programs, the mutation object including an interface with methods for mutating any one of the plural objects. The kernel includes a loader for loading the mutation object into the working memory in response to a demand from one of the plural objects. The computer further includes a storage memory separate from the working memory, the loadable mutation object residing at link time in the storage memory. The loader loads the mutation object from the storage memory to the working memory, and the loadable mutation object is terminable from the working memory upon lack of demand therefor by the plural objects. Preferably, the kernel of the operating system includes a Namespace for registering the mutation object upon the mutation object being loaded into the working memory, whereby the mutation object becomes available to each of the plural objects through the Namespace.

Highly componentized system architecture with object mutation

The invention is embodied in software executable on a computer having a working memory with demand-loadable components initially stored outside of the working memory, each component having an entry point including a constructor for an object. Preferably, the demand-loadable components are initially provided in a memory within the computer or a location external of the computer. A Namespace in the working memory provides access in the working memory to the components as they become needed by applications running in the computer. The Namespace provides the access by managing demand-loading and unloading of the components in the working memory.

Highly componentized system architecture with a demand-loading namespace and programming model

The invention is directed toward a loadable interprocess communication manager and generally to a computer operating system capable of supporting plural threads running in a computer having a working memory, the computer operating system including a kernel resident in the working memory at link time and a loadable interprocess communication manager resident at link time outside of the working memory and dynamically loadable into the working memory at run time upon request by one of the threads in one address space to communicate with an other thread in an other address space. The kernel includes a loader for loading the interprocess communication manager into the working memory in response to the request by the one thread. The computer further includes a storage memory separate from the working memory, the loadable interprocess communication manager residing at link time in the storage memory. The loader loads the interprocess communication manager from the storage memory to the working memory. The loadable interprocess communication manager is terminable from the working memory upon lack of a need for communication between threads in different address spaces.

Highly componentized system architecture with a loadable interprocess communication manager

A hierarchical bitmap-based memory manager maintains a hierarchical bitmap having an entry for each memory block in a memory heap. Each bitmap entry contains a multi-bit value that represents an allocation state of the corresponding memory block. The memory manager manages allocation, deallocation, and reallocation of the memory blocks, and tracks the changes in allocation state via the hierarchical bitmap. Using a-two-bit value, the bitmap can represent at most four different allocation states of the corresponding memory block, including a &ldquo;free&rdquo; state, a &ldquo;sub-allocated&rdquo; state in which the corresponding memory block is itself an allocated set of smaller memory blocks, a &ldquo;continue&rdquo; state in which the corresponding memory block is allocated and part of, but not last in, a larger allocation of plural blocks, and a &ldquo;last&rdquo; state in which the corresponding memory block is allocated and last in an allocation of one or more memory blocks.

Growing community of inventors

Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Johannes Helander