The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 01, 2005
Filed:
Jun. 08, 2001
Michael Nelson, Danville, CA (US);
Scott W. Devine, San Jose, CA (US);
Beng-hong Lim, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Michael Nelson, Danville, CA (US);
Scott W. Devine, San Jose, CA (US);
Beng-Hong Lim, Menlo Park, CA (US);
VMware, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A computer architecture includes a first operating system (COS), which may be a commodity operating system, and a kernel, which acts as a second operating system. The COS is used to boot the system as a whole. After booting, the kernel is loaded and displaces the COS from the system level, meaning that the kernel itself directly accesses predetermined physical resources of the computer. All requests for use of system resources then pass via the kernel. System resources are divided into those that, in order to maximize speed, are controlled exclusively by the kernel, those that the kernel allows the COS to handle exclusively, and those for which control is shared by the kernel and COS. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one virtual machine (VM) runs via a virtual machine monitor, which is installed to run on the kernel. Each VM, the COS, and even each processor in a multiprocessor embodiment, are treated as separately schedulable entities that are scheduled by the kernel. Mechanisms for high-speed I/O between VM's and I/O devices are also included.