OPERATING SYSTEM SWITCHING CONTROL DEVICE AND COMPUTER SYSTEM

• US 20080184274A1
• Filed: 07/25/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakayama, Takehiro, Ohta, Ken, Inamura, Yu, Eguchi, Hisatoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,042,117 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/319
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/485 Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution G06F9/4881 takes precedence

Abstract

In a computer system according to the present invention, a switch-source OS controller unit includes: a OS switch request receiver unit configured to receive an OS switch request for requesting that the switch-destination OS in a suspend status becomes the OS in the active status; a switch event notifying unit configured to notify event information to the switch-destination OS or an application on the switch-destination OS, the event information being included in the received OS switch request, and requesting the switch-destination OS or the application on the switch-destination OS to perform a process; and a switch controller unit configured to call the OS switching function, by using the event information as an argument, so that the switch-destination OS becomes the OS in the active status.

Claims

1. An operating system switching control device provided in a computer system comprising an operating system switching function of exclusively switching an operating system in an active status from a switch-source operating system to a switch-destination operating system, comprising:

a switch-source operating system controller unit configured to operate when the switch-source operating system is in the active status;

wherein

the switch-source operating system controller unit comprises;

an operating system switch request receiver unit configured to receive an operating system switch request for requesting that the switch-destination operating system in a suspend status becomes the operating system in the active status;

a switch event notifying unit configured to notify event information, which is included in the received operating system switch request, to the switch-destination operating system or an application on the switch-destination operating system for requesting the switch-destination operating system or the application on the switch-destination operating system to perform a process in accordance with the event information; and

a switch controller unit configured to call the operating system switching function, by using the event information as an argument, so that the switch-destination operating system becomes the operating system in the active status.

2. The operating system switching control device according to claim 1, wherein

the switch controller unit is configured to further perform switch-related processes of a switch-source operating system selected in accordance with the event information.

3. The operating system switching control device according to claim 1, comprising;

a switch-destination operating system controller unit configured to operate when the switch-destination operating system is in the active status;

wherein

the switch-destination operating system controller unit comprises;

a switch event acquiring unit configured to acquire the event information after the switch-destination operating system becomes the operating system in the active status; and

an event processor unit configured to execute an event process corresponding to the acquired event information.

4. The operating system switching control device according to claim 3, wherein

the switch controller unit is configured to further perform switch-related processes on a switch-destination operating system selected in accordance with the acquired event information.

5. The operating system switching control device according to claim 1, wherein

the switch-source operating system controller unit comprises a switch judgment unit configured to determine whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in a suspend status;

and

when it is determined that the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, the switch controller unit is configured to instruct the operating system switching function that the switch-destination operating system becomes the operating system in the active status.

6. The operating system switching control device according to claim 5, wherein

the switch-source operating system controller unit comprises:

a switch lock request receiver unit configured to receive a switch lock request for prohibiting or stop prohibiting the switch-source operating system from becoming the operating system in the suspend status; and

the switch judgment unit is configured to determine whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, in accordance with the received switch lock request.

7. The operating system switching control device according to claim 6, wherein

the switch lock request receiver unit is configured to receive the switch lock request including a priority;

the operating system switch request receiver unit is configured to receive the operating system switch request including a priority; and

the switch judgment unit is configured to determine whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, in accordance with the priority of the received switch lock request and the priority of the received operating system switch request.

8. The operating system switching control device according to claim 6, wherein

the switch-source operating system controller unit comprises an activity notifying unit configured to periodically notify, to the operating system switching function, that the operating system switching control device operates normally.

9. The operating system switching control device according to claim 5, wherein

the switch-source operating system control unit comprises an operation inspector unit configured to monitor executing processes which are being executed in the switch-source operating system;

and

the switch judgment unit is configured to determine whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, in accordance with the executing process.

10. The operating system switching control device according to claim 9, wherein

the switch-source operating system control unit comprises an switching permission information manager unit configured to manage information on whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, for a combination of the event information and a process type for specifying the executing process;

the operation inspector unit is configured to monitor whether or not a process specified by the process type is being executed in the switch-source operating system; and

the switch judgment unit is configured to determine whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, in accordance with the combination of the process type for specifying the executing process and the notified event information, defined in the switching permission information manager unit.

11. The operating system switching control device according to claim 10, wherein

the switch-source operating system controller unit comprises an switching permission information manager unit configured to manage information on whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, for a combination of the event information and a process type for specifying the executing process;

the switch lock request receiver unit is configured to receive the switch lock request for every process type; and

the switch judgment unit is configured to determine whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, in accordance with the combination of the process type corresponding to the switch lock request and the notified event information, by referring to the switching permission information manager unit.

12. The operating system switching control device according to claim 10, wherein

the switch-source operating system controller unit comprises a user inquiring unit configured to make an inquiry to a user about whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status;

the switching permission information manager unit is configured to manage, for the combination of the event information and the process type, whether or not an inquiry needs to be made to a user about whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status; and

the switch judgment unit is configured to determine whether or not the switch-source operating system can become the operating system in the suspend status, in accordance with a result of making the inquiry to the user.

13. A computer system which comprises a plurality of operating systems each exclusively becoming an operating system in an active status, or a plurality of virtual operating systems provided by a single operating system with a plurality of setting modes, and in which an operating system switching function exclusively switches an operating system in the active status from a switch-source operating system to a switch-destination operating system, the computer system comprising:

an operating system switching control device configured to operate when the switch-destination operating system is in the active status;

wherein

the operating system switching control device comprises;

an operating system switch request receiver unit configured to receive an operating system switch request for requesting that a switch-destination operating system in a suspend status becomes an operating system in the active status;

a switch event notifying unit configured to notify event information, which is included in the received operating system switch request, to the switch-destination operating system or an application on the switch-destination operating system for requesting the switch-destination operating system or the application on the switch-destination operating system to perform a process in accordance with the event information; and

a switch controller unit configured to call the operating system switching function, by using the event information as an argument, so that the switch-destination operating system becomes the operating system in the active status.

14. The computer system according to claim 13, wherein

the switch controller unit is configured to further perform switch-related processes of the switch-source operating system selected in accordance with the event information.