VM inter-process communication

• US 10,628,330 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2018
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wibling, Gustav Seth, Krishnan, Jagannath Gopal
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Sheng Jen
• Application Number:
  US15/947,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20180225222A1
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 711147
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/109 for multiple virtual address spaces, e.g. segmentation G06F12/1036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1008 Correctness of operation, e.g. memory ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/152 Virtualized environment, e.g. logically partitioned system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/656 Address space sharing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/657 Virtual address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5016 the resource being the memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes

Abstract

A method is described for enabling inter-process communication between a first application and a second application, the first application running within a first virtual machine (VM) in a host and the second application running within a second VM in the host, The method includes receiving a request to attach a shared region of memory to a memory allocation, identifying a list of one or more physical memory pages defining the shared region that corresponds to the handle, and mapping guest memory pages corresponding to the allocation to the physical memory pages. The request may be received by a framework from the second application and includes a handle that uniquely identifies the shared region of memory as well as an identification of at least one guest memory page corresponding to the memory allocation.

Claims

1. A method for enabling inter-process communication between a first application and a second application, the first application running within a first virtual machine (VM) in a host and the second application running within a second VM in the host, the method comprising:

creating a notification endpoint for the second application in the second VM, including calling, from the second application, a communication interface driver in the second VM that generates a unique handle identifying the notification endpoint and then calling, from the communication interface driver in the second VM, a framework that maintains the unique handle with a context identifier that is assigned to the second VM, wherein the framework is a component of a virtualization software in the host that is separate from the first VM and the second VM;

in response to a notification, which includes the unique handle corresponding to the notification endpoint for the second application, from the first application, obtaining the context identifier associated with the unique handle using the framework;

using the framework, identifying the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the obtained context identifier; and

using the framework, causing the communication interface driver in the second VM to supply the notification to the second application running within the second VM.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the first VM has permission to send the notification to the second VM.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the communication interface driver to supply the notification to the second application comprises performing a guest call from the framework to the communication interface driver.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein causing the communication interface driver to supply the notification to the second application further comprises causing the communication interface driver to trigger an interrupt to provide the notification to the second application.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the context identifier comprises identifying the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the context identifier using the framework in response to a hypercall.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering the notification endpoint for the second application with the framework.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein registering the notification endpoint for the second application with the framework comprises maintaining a registry of the unique handle and the second application using the framework.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying program instructions for causing a computer to perform a method for enabling inter-process communication between a first application and a second application, the first application running within a first virtual machine (VM) in a host and the second application running within a second VM in the host, the method comprising:

creating a notification endpoint for the second application in the second VM, including calling, from the second application, a communication interface driver in the second VM that generates a unique handle identifying the notification endpoint and then calling, from the communication interface driver in the second VM, a framework that maintains the unique handle with a context identifier that is assigned to the second VM, wherein the framework is a component of a virtualization software in the host that is separate from the first VM and the second VM;

in response to a notification, which includes the unique handle corresponding to the notification endpoint for the second application, from the first application, obtaining the context identifier associated with the unique handle using the framework;

using the framework, identifying the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the obtained context identifier by the framework; and

using the framework, causing the communication interface driver in the second VM to supply the notification to the second application running within the second VM.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises determining that the first VM has permission to send the notification to the second VM.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein causing the communication interface driver to supply the notification to the second application comprises performing a guest call from the framework to the communication interface driver.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein causing the communication interface driver to supply the notification to the second application further comprises causing the communication interface driver to trigger an interrupt to provide the notification to the second application.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein identifying the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the context identifier comprises identifying the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the context identifier using the framework in response to a hypercall.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises registering the notification endpoint for the second application with the framework.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein registering the notification endpoint for the second application with the framework comprises maintaining a registry of the unique handle and the second application using the framework.

15. A host computer for enabling inter-process communication between a first application and a second application, the first application running within a first virtual machine (VM) in the host computer and the second application running within a second VM in the host computer, the host computer comprising:

memory; and

at least one processor configured to;

create a notification endpoint for the second application in the second VM, including calling, from the second application, a communication interface driver in the second VM that generates a unique handle identifying the notification endpoint and then calling, from the communication interface driver in the second VM, a framework that maintains the unique handle with a context identifier that is assigned to the second VM, wherein the framework is a component of a virtualization software in the host that is separate from the first VM and the second VM;

in response to a notification, which includes the unique handle corresponding to the notification endpoint for the second application, from the first application, obtain the context identifier associated with the unique handle using the framework;

using the framework, identify the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the obtained context identifier; and

using the framework, cause the communication interface driver in the second VM to supply the notification to the second application running within the second VM.

16. The host computer of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine that the first VM has permission to send the notification to the second VM.

17. The host computer of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform a guest call from the framework to the communication interface driver.

18. The host computer of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the communication interface driver to trigger an interrupt to provide the notification to the second application.

19. The host computer of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to identify the communication interface driver in the second VM based on the context identifier using the framework in response to a hypercall.

20. The host computer of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to register the notification endpoint for the second application with the framework.