System and method for processing user space operations directly between an application instance and an I/O adapter

• US 20070078892A1
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Vega, Madeline, Boyd, William, Mena, Agustin, Recio, Renato, Hufferd, John
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,662 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/78 to assure secure storage of data address-based protection against unauthorised use of memory G06F12/14; record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices

Abstract

A system, method, and computer program product that enables user space middleware or applications to pass file name based storage requests directly to a physical I/O Adapter without run-time involvement from the local Operating System (OS) are provided. A mechanism is provided for using a file protection table (FPT) data structure, which may include a file name protection table (FNPT) and file extension protection table (FEPT), to control user space and out of user space Input/Output (I/O) operations. In addition, a mechanism is provided for managing the FPT based on user space operations to create, query, modify and delete entries in the FPT.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on computing device, causes the computing device to:

receive a user space operation from a user management interface;

determine if the user space operation is a resource management operation or a processing queue operation;

perform at least one resource management operation to manage a resource allocation in a file protection table data structure having a file name protection table, a file extension protection table and a storage block address table, if the user space operation is a resource management operation; and

perform at least one processing queue operation, directly with an input/output (I/O) adapter without intervention by a system image, to manage a processing queue, if the user space operation is a processing queue operation.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to perform at least one resource management operations by determining if the user space operation is a resource query operation, and if the user space operation is a resource query operation:

identifying a file name protection table entry corresponding to the resource;

identifying a file extension protection table entry corresponding to the file name protection table entry;

retrieving attribute information of a resource from the file extension protection table entry; and

returning the retrieved attribute information of the resource to the user management interface.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to retrieve attribute information for the resource allocation by using a memory management interface of the I/O adapter to query the file extension protection table entry.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to perform at least one resource management operations by determining if the user space operation is a resource create operation, and if the user space operation is a resource create operation:

creating the resource allocation in a file protection table entry of the file protection table data structure; and

returning results of the creation of the resource allocation to the application instance.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to create the resource allocation in the file protection table entry by:

identifying a file name protection table entry corresponding to the resource;

identifying a file extension protection table entry corresponding to the file name protection table entry;

identifying a segment of the storage block address table corresponding to the file extension protection table entry;

adding at least one entry to the segment of the storage block address table; and

updating the file extension protection table to reference the added at least one entry in the segment of the storage block address table.

6. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to perform at least one resource management operation by determining if the I/O adapter has available resources for allocating based on the user space operation, wherein the resources are allocated by creating the resource allocation only if the I/O adapter has available resources to be allocated.

7. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to create the resource allocation in the file protection table entry of the file protection table data structure by:

creating at least one entry in the storage block address table identifying at least one portion of a storage device which is to be allocated to a file for which the resource allocation is requested;

creating an entry in the file extension protection table for the at least one entry in the storage block address table, wherein the entry in the file extension protection table has a pointer to the at least one entry in the storage block address table and has an associated file extension key;

creating an entry in the file name protection table corresponding to a file for which the resources are to be allocated, wherein the file name protection table entry has a pointer to a segment of the file extension protection table and has an associated file name key; and

returning the file extension key and file name key to the application instance for use in submitting I/O requests.

8. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to create the resource allocation in the file protection table entry by using a memory management interface of the I/O adapter to create the file protection table entry.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to perform at least one resource management operation by:

determining if the user space operation is a resource modify operation; and

modifying at least one attribute associated with a resource allocation in a file protection table entry, if the user space operation is a resource modify operation.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

initiate a timer if there is an I/O transaction active on the file protection table entry;

determine if a quiescent point is reached before the timer times out; and

modify the file protection table entry only if the quiescent point is reached before the timer times out.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to modify at least one attribute associated with a resource allocation in a file protection table entry by modifying an attribute in a storage block address table entry.

12. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to perform at least one processing queue operation by:

building and adding at least one work queue entry to a work queue associated with an application instance running on the data processing system; and

informing the I/O adapter that the at least one work queue entry has been added to the work queue.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

perform, in the I/O adapter, at least one validation check to ensure that the application instance may access portions of a storage device associated with a file referenced in the at least one work queue entry; and

perform, in the I/O adapter, at least one containment check to ensure that the portions of the storage device associated with a file referenced by the at least one work queue entry are within the portions of the storage device that have been allocated to the application instance.

14. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to perform at least one processing queue operation by retrieving a completion queue entry from a completion queue for a completed out of user space input/output operation.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device coupled to the processor, wherein the processor;

receives a user space operation from a user management interface;

determines if the user space operation is a resource management operation or a processing queue operation;

performs at least one resource management operation to manage a resource allocation in a file protection table data structure, stored in the storage device, having a file name protection table, a file extension protection table and a storage block address table, if the user space operation is a resource management operation; and

performs at least one processing queue operation, directly with an input/output (I/O) adapter without intervention by a system image, to manage a processing queue, if the user space operation is a processing queue operation.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor performs at least one resource management operations by determining if the user space operation is a resource query operation, and if the user space operation is a resource query operation:

identifying a file name protection table entry corresponding to the resource;

identifying a file extension protection table entry corresponding to the file name protection table entry;

retrieving attribute information of a resource from the file extension protection table entry; and

returning the retrieved attribute information of the resource to the user management interface.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor performs at least one resource management operations by determining if the user space operation is a resource create operation, and if the user space operation is a resource create operation:

creating the resource allocation in a file protection table entry of the file protection table data structure; and

returning results of the creation of the resource allocation to the application instance.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor performs at least one resource management operation by:

determining if the user space operation is a resource modify operation; and

modifying at least one attribute associated with a resource allocation in a file protection table entry, if the user space operation is a resource modify operation.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor performs at least one processing queue operation by:

building and adding at least one work queue entry to a work queue associated with an application instance running on the data processing system; and

informing the I/O adapter that the at least one work queue entry has been added to the work queue.

20. A method, in a data processing system, comprising:

receiving a user space operation from a user management interface;

determining if the user space operation is a resource management operation or a processing queue operation;

performing at least one resource management operation to manage a resource allocation in a file protection table data structure having a file name protection table, a file extension protection table and a storage block address table, if the user space operation is a resource management operation; and

performing at least one processing queue operation, directly with an input/output (I/O) adapter without intervention by a system image, to manage a processing queue, if the user space operation is a processing queue operation.