Hybrid resource manager

• US 20090007153A1
• Filed: 06/27/2007
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Mysore, Shivaram H., Sledz, Dan
• Granted Patent: US 8,042,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/321
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/545 where tasks reside in different layers, e.g. user- and kernel-space

Abstract

A hybrid resource manager is provided for use in a computing environment. The hybrid resource manager serves as the single resource manager that cooperates with an operating system to manage each of the individual device drivers associated with the various functions of a multifunction hardware device. In one example the hybrid resource manager implements a consistent management and policy framework to prevent conflicts from arising when multiple functions are simultaneously requested by various applications.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating management of hardware resources used by a computing system, comprising:

accepting a resource acquisition request for access to any individual function performed by a multifunction hardware resource;

communicating with a device driver associated with the multifunction hardware resource and dedicated to the requested individual function; and

responsive to communication with the device driver, acquiring the multifunction hardware device for purposes of allowing access to the multifunction hardware device in accordance with the resource acquisition request.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining if the resource acquisition request conforms to a policy established for functions offered by the multifunction hardware resource.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising denying acquisition of the multifunction hardware device if a policy conflict arises between a first resource consumer requesting a first function performed by the multifunction hardware device and a second resource consumer requesting a second function performed by multifunction hardware device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource acquisition request is accepted from a resource consumer through a multifunction API.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource acquisition request is received from an application-level resource consumer.

6. A system for managing hardware resources used by a computing device, comprising:

a multifunction interface accepting consumer function calls from resource consumers for each function performed by a multifunction hardware device;

a hybrid resource manager for allocating different functional resources of the multifunction hardware device in response to the consumer function calls by managing different device drivers dedicated to each of the functions performed by the multifunction hardware device; and

a policy module for establishing at least one predetermined policy to be implemented by the hybrid resource manager to allow acquisition of the multifunction hardware device for purposes of allowing access to the multifunction hardware device in accordance with the consumer function call.

7. The system of claim 6 further comprising:

at least one dedicated interface accepting requests from select resource consumers for one particular function performed by the multifunction device, wherein the select resource consumers are resource consumers whose consumer functions calls are not accepted by the multifunction interface; and

at least one dedicated resource manager for allocating resources for the particular function by managing a device driver dedicated to the particular function.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the dedicated interface conforms to an API standard associated with the particular function performed by the multifunction hybrid device.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the multifunction interface is configured to facilitate (i) device enumeration of the functions performed by the multifunction hardware device and (ii) device acquisition for authentication and verification purposes and (iii) locking of the multifunction hardware device after acquisition thereof.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the policy module is configured to establish a predetermined conflict resolution policy for implementing resource allocation.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the predetermined conflict resolution policy includes a priority-based conflict resolution module.

12. The system of claim 6 further comprising an authentication module for centralizing authentication of the multifunction hardware device and the consumer resources independent of the functional resources being allocated.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising a device manager module for accepting content calls on behalf of the multifunction hardware device to invoke the authentication module.

14. The system of claim 6 wherein the hybrid resource manager resides at a system level within an operating system.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the authentication module is configured to present a common authentication user interface independent of the functional resources being allocated.

16. The system of claim 6 further comprising a plurality of device handlers for implementing communication protocols between the hybrid resource manager and the device drivers, wherein each of the device handlers is dedicated to a different functional resource of the multifunction hardware device.

17. The system of claim 6 wherein the computing device is an electronic device selected from the group consisting of a personal computer, game console, cellular telephone, PDA, and set-top box (STB).

18. A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions which, when performed by one or more processors disposed in an electronic device, implement an operating system having a resource manager performing a method comprising:

accepting a resource acquisition request for access to any individual function performed by a multifunction hardware resource;

communicating with a device driver associated with the multifunction hardware resource and dedicated to the requested individual function; and

responsive to communication with the device driver, acquiring the multifunction hardware device for purposes of allowing access to the multifunction hardware device in accordance with the resource acquisition request.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 further comprising determining if the resource acquisition request conforms to a policy established for functions offered by the multifunction hardware resource.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19 further comprising denying acquisition of the multifunction hardware device if a policy conflict arises between a first resource consumer requesting a first function performed by the multifunction hardware device and a second resource consumer requesting a second function performed by multifunction hardware device.