Method for emulating hardware features of a foreign architecture in a host operating system environment

• US 20020029308A1
• Filed: 04/18/2001
• Published: 03/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elbrus International Limited
• Original Assignee: Elbrus International Limited
• Inventors: Khvatov, Roman, Babaian, Boris
• Granted Patent: US 6,732,220 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/240
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1036 for multiple virtual address spaces, e.g. segmentation G06F12/1045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45562 Creating, deleting, cloning virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45583 Memory management, e.g. access or allocation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45504 Abstract machines for programme code execution, e.g. Java virtual machine [JVM], interpreters, emulators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45554 Instruction set architectures of guest OS and hypervisor or native processor differ, e.g. Bochs or VirtualPC on PowerPC MacOS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computer system adapted to efficiently execute binary translated code. In accordance with the present invention, foreign code is stored in a foreign virtual memory space, translated to acquire binary translated code, which is stored in a host virtual memory space and then executed. The host computer system isolates each virtual memory configuration into separate processes referred to as a virtual machine while enabling multiple virtual machines to exist simultaneously. Execution may switch from one virtual machine to another merely by switching to a new page table, where each page table describes the memory configuration of a virtual machine. Common system level resources are shared by the virtual machines under the control of a virtual memory manager.

Claims

1. A host computer system adapted to translate foreign binary code for execution, where said host computer system is architecturally distinct from the foreign architecture capable of executing said foreign binary code, said host computer system comprising:

a foreign virtual memory space for maintaining a virtual machine;

a host virtual memory space for maintaining host processes associated with said virtual machine;

means for detecting a change in said foreign virtual memory space to denote the creation of at least one additional virtual machine in said foreign virtual memory space; and

means for establishing a host process associated with said at least one additional virtual machine.

2. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising means for destroying said virtual machine.

3. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising means for destroying said at least one additional virtual machine.

4. The computer system of claim 1 wherein said detecting means comprises a binary translation process adapted to detect a change in the configuration of said host virtual memory space.

5. The computer system of claim 4 wherein said detecting means further comprises means for creating a host process, said host process associated with a virtual machine defined in said foreign virtual memory space.

6. The computer system of claim 4 further comprising:

a random access memory; and

means for maintaining an image of a foreign virtual machine in said memory, said foreign virtual machine represented as a linear space of said host virtual memory.

7. The computer system of claim 6 wherein said detecting means further comprises means for creating a host process, said host process associated with a virtual machine defined in said foreign virtual memory space where said host process and said foreign virtual machine are maintained in said random access memory.

8. The computer system of claim 7 wherein said host process associated with a virtual machine comprises binary translation processes and code produced by said binary translation process;

said code corresponding to said virtual machine.

9. In a computer system for translating foreign binary code for execution on a host computer system, a method for maintaining a plurality of virtual machines comprising the steps of:

defining a foreign virtual memory space for maintaining a virtual machine;

defining a host virtual memory space for maintaining host processes associated with said virtual machine;

detecting a change in said foreign virtual memory space to denote the creation of at least one additional virtual machine in said foreign virtual memory space; and

establishing a host process associated with said at least one additional virtual machine.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of selectively destroying said virtual machine.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of destroying said at least one additional virtual machine.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of detecting a change in the configuration of said host virtual memory space.

13. The method of claim 12 farther comprising the step of creating a host process, said host process associated with a virtual machine defined in said foreign virtual memory space.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of maintaining an image of a foreign virtual machine, said foreign virtual machine represented as a logical linear space.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of creating a host process, said host process associated with a virtual machine defined in said foreign virtual memory space where said host process and said foreign virtual machine are maintained in said random access memory.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of generating binary translated code, said code corresponding to said virtual machine.

18. The computer system of claim 17 wherein said virtual machine manager further comprises means for associating each of said plurality of host processes with a corresponding one of said plurality of virtual machines.

19. The computer system of claim 18 wherein said virtual machine manager further comprises means for selecting one of a plurality of page tables, each of said plurality of page tables associated with one of said plurality of virtual machines.

20. The computer system of claim 18 wherein said virtual machine manager further comprises means for destroying at least one of said plurality of virtual machines.

21. The computer system of claim 17 further comprising a host operating system for providing system level functions and for interfacing said virtual machine manager to system resources.

22. The computer system of claim 21 wherein said virtual machine manager comprises a module of said host operating system.

17. A host computer system adapted to translate foreign binary code for execution, where said host computer system is architecturally distinct from the foreign architecture capable of executing said foreign binary code, said host computer system comprising:

a foreign virtual memory space for maintaining a plurality of virtual machines, each of said virtual machines implemented in foreign binary code;

a host virtual memory space for maintaining a plurality of host processes;

a virtual machine manager for selectively allocating host computer system resources to each of said plurality of host processes.